Chapter Twenty-Three
Axe paced around the room, loading and checking his handguns. Leanna was on the phone, and she was loud, shouting and arguing.
“We’re not telling you where we are.” Leanna paced the room the opposite direction, and since it was small, they brushed against each other at every turn. “We need your help. You two have to work together. I know he wants to kill you, but he won’t. He wants his granddaughter more. No, no, no, you listen to me. We can’t find Carmelita, and Axe’s people don’t have her. If they did, they’d propose a trade for Soledad. Now that Axe and I are getting married…”
A barrage of shouting emanated from her phone, but she yelled louder, as if her voice would carry across the entire hemisphere.
“I told you I caught Axe, and I did. You didn’t believe me. He’s right here with me, and I’m wearing his mother’s ring. No, no, no, you’re not going to kill him or his father or anyone in his family. We are all going to be one big, happy family. I’m sure Mom will agree.”
Axe clasped a Mossberg subcompact 9mm handgun into Leanna’s left hand. He then took a picture of her hand, including the ring and gun.
He sent it in a text message to his father.
I’ve asked Leanna to marry me. I love her and will protect her with my life, even against you. We need you to work with her father to get Soledad and Carmelita back from Joshua Cano.
Leanna shook her phone as her dad’s voice rumbled. “Have you forgotten the Canos? They’ll kill us all. You’reloca. Crazy. They don’t care about happy family. I just found out Carmelita’s alive, and if that’s the case, Joshua won’t let her go. He probably killed Ana and Eduardo and ran off with her. We’ll never find her.”
“You think that’s what happened?” Leanna fanned her chest and stared at Axe. “He says Joshua probably killed Ana and Eduardo to steal Carmelita away.”
“Your dad’s most likely right,” Axe said. “Let me speak to him.”
He grabbed the phone without waiting for Leanna’s agreement. “Señor Rivera. I’m Axe Salvadori, and I’ve been protecting your daughter for years. Right now, I’m asking for your daughter’s hand in marriage. I love her, and I want to keep her safe.”
“Your father wants to kills us,” Tomas Rivera said. “I cannot trust this arrangement. I’m warning you. If you hurt one hair of Leanna’s head, I’ll hunt down your daughter.”
Axe held the phone tightly against his ear. He gritted his teeth. “This war has to end. I’ll convince my father to bury the hatchet. It won’t be easy because you killed my Uncle Dom. However, if you find Soledad and give her back to us, maybe he will forgive you.”
“I cannot go against Joshua Cano’s wishes. Soledad is the only reason Leanna is safe.”
“No, I’m the reason Leanna is safe. I will father more children with Leanna, and my family will not touch the mother of my children. You understand that.”
“Sí, sí, sí,” Tomas said. “But Joshua will never give up Carmelita, and Leanna will never stop until she has her daughter now that Ana and Eduardo are dead.”
“We work together. We take out Joshua Cano.”
“Dios mío! You’reloco. Out of your mind.”
“He has one weak spot, and that’s Carmelita. Find her and bring her to the table.”
“You cannot threaten her,” Leanna’s father growled. “We’ll kill all of you, family or not.”
“Let me talk to him.” Leanna wrestled the phone from Axe. “Papa, no one wants to hurt Carmelita. The problem is, Joshua has been hiding her from us. He means to keep her away from us. Don’t you get it? She’s the only leverage we have. Here’s what I want. I want custody of my daughter. Revenge for Ana and Eduardo. Soledad back to my husband’s family. Safe passage for Vinny and Axe. You take over Cano’s operation. Kill him.”
Wow! Axe’s jaw dropped, and his heart leaped. What a woman.
She ended the call and dropped the phone on the bed. Looking triumphantly at Axe, she said, “There. Let’s see what his next step will be.”
“I had no clue you’re such a criminal.” He grabbed her arms and jiggled her excitedly. “Here I thought you were a baker and cake decorator.”
“What do you think goes through my mind while I squeeze the fondant?” She giggled and twirled into his arms. “What have you told your father?”
“I texted him, and he hasn’t replied.”
“Get him to watch my dad’s back. In the meantime, I say we pick up Gabriel and Belinda. Oh, and the cat, Panchito.”
“You mean kidnapping?”
Leanna caressed the Mossberg, kissing the tip of the muzzle. “Enhanced interrogation. Let’s do it.”
