Chapter Twenty
Axe held his breath and drove well within the speed limit through the sleepy town. Chickens pecked at the roadside, and crows scattered from a piece of roadkill. The traffic had cleared as dusk settled, and the few pedestrians hurried to the safety of their homes. Every window was covered with bars, and driveways were walled and gated.
Leanna wept with barely any noise. She leaned against the window, her hair covering her face. Her shoulders shuddered, and every so often, she’d sob and catch her breath.
He eased the truck back past the cemetery and noticed the limos were clearing out. Dusk was a dangerous time and the time when cartels carried out their executions.
His cell phone rang, and he cursed, wanting to silence it. He’d gotten it out of the Oldsmobile before pushing it into the river. Now, someone could be tracking him—someone like Leanna’s father.
Axe glanced at the caller ID and let out a whoosh of relief. It was his father.
“Yeah?” he answered, silencing the phone.
“Hey, you in a safe place?” his father asked, meaning if he was able to speak without worry.
“Yes, I’m in a pickup truck. What’s going on?” He cranked up the air conditioning to keep Leanna from listening in.
“Heard from Pablo a few hours ago. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before, but he says he can exchange Leanna for Soledad. He never took the vow of not harming Leanna like we did.”
“We did that so they wouldn’t hurt our family.”
“Right, but the truce is only good in the US.” His father sounded excited, and that meant he was up to no good.
“What are you getting at?”
“Soledad is in Mexico. Pablo says he found her, but he won’t tell me where. Obviously, because he’s a snitch, and he wants to get paid. He can’t find Carmelita, but the good news is, he’s going to get Tomas Rivera’s daughter, and he’s free to make a deal.”
Pablo must have called before he captured Leanna, and Axe wasn’t going to tell his father he was dead without hearing what was planned.
“What kind of deal?” Axe glanced at Leanna. She was still sobbing, but not as hard as before.
“Hold Leanna hostage until Soledad is returned to us. We don’t need Cano’s daughter when we have Rivera’s daughter.”
“They might suspect me of having something to do with it,” Axe said.
“No, the beauty of it all is that he’s going to take shots at you but miss on purpose. He already got the jump on you, isn’t that right? How come you didn’t tell me that’s how you lost Leanna.”
“I’m okay.”
“You have someone there, don’t you?”
“Not important.”
“Female?”
“I’m safe.”
“Okay, got it. You can’t talk, but Pablo updated me. And don’t go charging in there to rescue her. I want you as far away from her as possible. You lost her, so come home. Pablo will make the exchange. It’s going to cost us, but once we have Soledad, we can even the score. Tomas is going to rescue his daughter, and we will be ready to get the jump on him. Dom will be avenged.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Nothing. You did your part. Guarded Leanna and lost her in front of witnesses. They texted a picture of you knocked out in the alley. Pablo said he double-crossed you and left you without wheels, money, guns, or passport. Go to the American Embassy and tell them you were robbed and then come home.”
“Okay, got it. I’ll do as you say. Gotta go. It’s getting dark here. I’m ditching the phone. Bye.” He ended the call.
“What was that about?” Leanna asked.
“My family checking up on me,” Axe said. “I’ll need to disable your phone in case anyone is tracking us.”
