* * *
Leanna smiled but did not acknowledge any of the catcalls. Men in Mexico were way more open about their appreciation of the female form than those in North America. She allowed a gangly, middle-aged man to open the door for her. The pulsing music hit her full force as her eyes adjusted to the glow of the purplish-red light inside. A huddle of vinyl booths surrounded a stage flashing with strobe lights where nearly naked female dancers rubbed themselves up and down and around the brass poles. Gaggles of men slouched around the stage, most of them disinterested in the dancers who weren’t making much of an effort in the heat and humidity.
Leanna spotted the threeamigoseasily by their profiles, skinny, stout, and squat, leaning against a long bar which wrapped around two sides of the cantina. Mirrors reflected the bottles and beer tap handles, and feminine silhouettes of large-breasted, long-legged women in various stripper and bedroom poses were pasted over the mirrored wall.
She walked by a booth, and a hand reached out, snagging her. “Hey, sexy lady. I need a lap dance.”
“She’s not one of the hookers,” another man said as Leanna twisted her wrist loose. “Come sit with us.”
“I’m actually with them,” Leanna said, pointing to the threesome in the corner.
“They’re thugs. Lowlife, scum. You’re better off with us.” A sweaty man with his shirt unbuttoned all the way to his beer belly corralled her toward the booth while his buddy made loud smooching and kissing sounds.
Disgusting.
“It’s business only,” Leanna said, extricating herself from the disgusting cadre of machismo, each trying to outdo the other in sheer nastiness.
Here and there, she brushed off a hand, dodged another one, elbowed a man walking by who tried to press against her. Without appearing to look, she tried to figure out where Axe was situated. He was most likely near the restrooms where the neon signs flashed over a potted tree or behind the group at the pool table where he could appear to watch the action without stepping in to play.
Leanna straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath. She could do this. She had to. Her daughter was out there alone and lost, accompanied bypolleros. Dirty human traffickers. Sure, she’d gone willingly according to Gabriel, but what did a thirteen-year-old know?
Axe had her back, and all she had to do was talk Scabby Goatee into tracking Carmelita down. Whatever profits thepollerosthought they’d get for Carmelita, they’d get more from Leanna, even if she had to sell her bakery.
A man wearing a flashy suit edged up to Leanna, blocking her path. His hair was straight and slicked back, and he appeared to be in his early thirties—not bad to look at in other circumstances.
“A nice girl like you shouldn’t be in a place like this,” the suited guy said. “Come with me before you get into trouble.”
“I have friends here,” Leanna said. She nodded toward the bar.
“Do you seriously know what goes on here?” Slick Suit said. “I’m taking a big risk talking to you, but if you pretend you came to meet me, I’ll escort you out of here.”
“I thank you, but I can take care of myself.” Leanna tried to step around him, but the man moved every time she did. “Aren’t you boiling in that polyester suit?”
From the corner of her eye, she spied Blue Skull. He casually got off his barstool and ambled their direction.
The suited man’s hand shot out, and he clamped his arm around Leanna’s shoulder. “You’re out of your league here. I suggest you go home.”
“Ah, let me guess,” Leanna said. “You were sent to warn me off.”
“I’m here to protect you. Let’s go now, and don’t cause a scene.”
“Take your hand off me.” Leanna gritted her teeth, pissed at herself for falling into Axe’s trap again. “You tell your buddy I do things my way. Not his.”
“Hey, leave the lady alone,” Blue Skull said, jutting his bulk up to Mr. Slick Suit.
The man let go of Leanna, raising both hands and backing away. “No trouble here. Didn’t know she was yours.”
Blue Skull shook his fist at the slickster. “If you ever horn in on my business again, I’ll send you to the morgue.”
Leanna let herself be steered away by Blue Skull.
“We told you to come alone,” Blue Skull growled. “You better not be playing tricks.”
“I don’t know who that guy is,” Leanna said. “It’s not my fault I get hit on everywhere I go.”
Blue Skull leered at her cleavage, popping from her skin-tight sundress. “What will you have to drink?”
“A bottle of mineral water,” Leanna said. “Unopened.”
