Leanna growled, snarling and exposing her teeth. “Fuck off.”
“I’ll take you up on that later. Right now, we need to put our heads together and figure this out,” Axe said, maneuvering the pickup up down the dark, forsaken road with one hand as he held her hand. “Promise me you won’t freak out if I tell you the truth.”
She felt like punching the asshole. So arrogant and acting like he knew more than she did. “What truth? Why should I believe you over anyone else?”
Axe steered around an obstacle sharply. “Because I know who wants you dead.”
Every nerve in Leanna’s body froze, and her muscles stiffened. She gritted her teeth, trying to hold back a shudder. She couldn’t show fear, and she had to listen to him, no matter how hard.
“Okay,” she managed to eke out.
The temperature had dropped, and goosebumps formed over her shoulders.
“The reason I took out the SIM cards was so my father cannot track us. He has a fight with the Canos, and that’s where Carmelita comes in.”
“What do you mean?” Leanna swallowed, closing her eyes. Her mother had always hinted they should not be involved in Cano business, but she’d remembered the yachts, the casinos, and the strip clubs Joshua Cano took her to as a teen—as his teen lover.
The most galling thing was her father had allowed it, and she could think of only one reason. Joshua Cano controlled her parents.
“They are involved with organized crime.” Axe’s words drilled ice into her veins, confirming the suspicions she did not want to admit. “Your father is a Cano hitman, and my father is the capo of the Salvadori Clan. They don’t like each other, although they have a truce in San Francisco.”
All the fight Leanna had toward Axe dissipated like air out of a flattened balloon. “I was afraid of something like this.”
“I’ve kept my nose clean,” Axe said. “My father promised my mom before she passed away to leave me out of the family business. But I can’t say it didn’t affect me.”
“I was screwed, literally.” Leanna rubbed her bare arms, hugging herself. “You probably guessed.”
“It’s criminal what they did to you,” Axe said. “How did you make it stop?”
“I didn’t make it stop. He no longer wanted me after I got pregnant. He found himself a younger girl, and her father got a big promotion in the organization.”
“Why did your father let this happen?” Axe’s voice was choked and raw. “How could he?”
“I shouldn’t talk to you about it,” Leanna said. “I’m not allowed to talk Cano business. They kill if word gets out.”
“Same with my family,” Axe said. “But we have to talk.”
“You don’t need to know why my father does what Cano says.”
“True, but he killed my Uncle Dom. Did you know about it?”
Leanna bit her lip and breathed slowly through her nose to suppress the curl of anxiety roiling beneath her heart. She’d been on Joshua Cano’s party yacht when it happened.
“Whether you know about it or not doesn’t matter,” Axe concluded. “He shot Uncle Dom, but when my family tried to retaliate, Cano snatched my baby girl.”
Leanna’s entire body jerked, and a sharp intake of air slammed the back of her throat. “You had a baby girl?”
“Soledad, two months old,” Axe said. “Her mom was a stripper, and I was a young fool. Anyway, you don’t need to know how I got her pregnant.”
“I’m sure there’s only one way.” Leanna’s nostrils pinched, and her stomach dropped as if he’d cheated on her, which was ridiculous, since she hadn’t even known him. “Where is she now?”
“Somewhere in Mexico,” Axe said. “Every year, they send me a video so we know she’s safe. In return, our family has peace with the Canos, and we don’t retaliate.”
“Shit.” Leanna slapped her forehead. “I just realized something. Maybe Joshua figured out I didn’t abort Carmelita and tracked her down to Ana and Eduardo’s place. Then he had them fake her death to avoid your family coming after her.”
“Probably. Then my father wanted to get you because your father did the hit.” Axe’s words spiked ice through Leanna’s fingers and toes.
“Me?”
