Chapter Eighteen
Axe called Leanna by using the burner phone, but she didn’t answer. He left a message. “Hey, call me back. I need to talk to you. I hope you’re safe. Someone stole my phone, so only call me back at this number. It’s a burner.”
Things didn’t add up with Pablo. He was supposed to be helping Axe. But the fact he’d taken the Oldsmobile and ran away was disturbing. Was he working with the three thugs who met up with Leanna and presumably kidnapped her? Had he tipped them off that Axe would be backing up Leanna and then had him jumped?
Axe risked a call to his father. “Hey, having trouble here. I lost Leanna, and her cousins are murdered. Carmelita is also missing. The neighbor boy says she was last seen a few days ago.”
“What does Pablo say?” Axe’s father asked.
“Pablo can’t be trusted.” Axe described Pablo’s strange behavior. “He robbed me and lied to me about Carmelita. He says she ran off with friends while the kid across the street said she went with smugglers.”
Axe’s father groaned. “Who’s this kid? He could be lying.”
“I think he’s Carmelita’s boyfriend. I don’t know if he’s lying or not, but something got Ana and Eduardo killed. Whatever it is, I’m worried about both Leanna and Carmelita. I found Carmelita’s school ID, got her hairbrush and toothbrush, and I can send them in for DNA analysis.”
“FedEx them to me,” his dad said. “At least now, we know Carmelita is real. This gives us an advantage over the Canos.”
“What’s going on here?” Prickles bristled over the back of Axe’s neck. “I feel like I’m only seeing the tip of the iceberg. Something bigger and more dangerous is going on.”
“Probably,” his dad replied. “Leanna’s father is on his way. He overheard the Canos talking about her. We have to get to her first.”
“Right. I promised Leanna I’d help her find her daughter.”
“Don’t you want to findyourdaughter?” His father’s voice turned growly. “For years, the Canos have held your Soledad hostage to keep us from retaliating against them for killing Dom.”
Dom was Axe’s father’s twin brother who was horning in on Cano territory when he was killed.
“I don’t see how helping Leanna find Carmelita would have anything to do with Soledad,” Axe retorted. Pain seared in his heart like a hot iron at the reminder of his lost daughter.
“Have you lost your brains?” His father snickered. “If we grab Carmelita, we can use her as a hostage in exchange for Soledad.”
“But Leanna’s caught in the middle,” Axe said. “We can’t threaten Carmelita without hurting Leanna.”
“You dunce!” Axe’s father roared. “I told you to watch over Leanna not so you’d take her side, but to keep Soledad safe. Once we have Soledad back, we can avenge Dom. This is our chance. Pablo saw that, and I’m betting he’s on his way to find Carmelita.”
“Oh, no!” Axe exclaimed. “We can’t let Pablo find Carmelita. He might hold out on us and hold her for ransom to the highest bidder.”
“True, Pablo is a sneak,” Axe’s father said. “In that case, you have to find Carmelita. Forget about protecting Leanna. Her father will take care of that.”
“I promised Leanna I’d keep her safe, and right now, she’s in danger. I don’t know a thing about these three guys, except I was able to find their names. Juan Espinosa, Ivan Moreno, and Reuben Castillo. The teenage boy who I believe is Carmelita’s boyfriend is Gabriel Espinosa.”
“I’ll have them checked out,” Axe’s father said. “But you need your priorities straight. If we grab Cano’s spawn, we can negotiate.”
“You’re assuming Joshua Cano cares about Carmelita and would make the exchange. The way Leanna acts, she seems fearful of Joshua finding out she never aborted the baby.”
“Damn. This complicates things.”
“Exactly. If the Canos don’t care about Carmelita existing, there is no leverage for us, even if we do ‘grab’ her, as you say. The way I see it, I’m here to keep Leanna safe, and by extension, Carmelita.”
“You won’t be safe if you run into Leanna’s father or any of the Cano hitmen,” his father warned. “We only have peace with the Canos in San Francisco—a tenuous peace held together by Soledad and Leanna. All bets are off in Mexico.”
“Thanks for the warning. I’ll watch my back.”
“Don’t trust anyone. If the Canos find you interfering, their first instinct will be to eliminate everyone in their way and ask questions later. Leanna’s father is dangerous. I don’t have to remind you.”
Of course, Axe didn’t need a reminder. Leanna’s father had taken out Uncle Dom who’d been lured to a party that turned out to be on Joshua Cano’s yacht. Dom and his father were identical twins, and his death had thrown his father into a deep spiral of depression, even though it meant assuming the kingpin position for the Salvadori Clan.
Frustration and anger curled into one hot mess in Axe’s gut. “I’m worried. The fact someone executed Ana and Eduardo means we’re up against something we don’t understand.”
