Madison stared at Lucy. “You really don’t know Sean, do you?” She stood up and started pacing. “He’s doing this as payback. I told him to stand down, and he won’t because he’s stubborn and angry. He’s going to make me pay because of one little secret, one stupid mistake. I will not lose my son to him. He has no legal recourse to take him from me. You have got to talk to him, tell him to leave this alone and forget I ever came here. If he ever once cared for me… please… my husband’s life-my son’s life-depends on it. Please. I’m begging you, Lucy.”
Lucy might have been naive about interpersonal relationships, but not this. It was as clear as glass.
“I will talk to him,” Lucy heard herself saying as she stood up. The room faded around her, and all she saw was a long tunnel. It was like she was swimming through molasses as she walked Madison to the door. “That is all I can promise.”
“Thank you. Really, thank you so much. Tell him if he does this for me, if he leaves this whole thing alone, I’ll tell Jesse the truth. On my terms, in my way. I’ll tell him everything.”
“Okay.” Lucy walked Madison to the door, said something she didn’t quite remember, and closed it behind her.
On autopilot, Lucy walked to Sean’s office. She logged into his computer. Sean was super-security-conscious, but he gave Lucy all his access codes in case she needed “the best computer money can buy,” as he said.
She didn’t need his computer, except for the fact that all the research he’d done on Carson and Madison Spade would be here.
She didn’t need to look far. All she needed was to look at the photograph of Jesse Spade to know that he was Sean’s son.
Jesse was up early. Well, maybe because he didn’t really sleep much last night. When he was certain his dad was asleep, he snuck into his room and grabbed his cell phone. He tried to call his mom, but the call wouldn’t go through. Jesse didn’t know why-just that cellular service was unavailable. Then he went downstairs in search of a landline, and couldn’t find one. He knew there was one in Dominick’s office, but the door was locked. Jesse thought that he might be able to break in, but he was too scared. So he went back upstairs and lay in bed until the sun was up. He might have slept a bit, but when he woke, he was still tired.
His dad was sleeping and the house was quiet. He went swimming, but not for long. Antsy, he returned to his suite and took a shower and played his DS because he didn’t have anything else to do. As soon as his dad woke up, he said, “Can I call Mom?”
“Maybe later.”
“Can we leave today?”
“I said we might be able to-I have to go to town and set up a new bank account for business. If everything goes well, probably tomorrow. Friday at the latest. Like I said.”
“I really miss Mom.”
“I talked to her last night, when you were sleeping. She didn’t want me to wake you up. You know, she is a little angry with me because you’re missing so much school, but she can’t wait to hear about the football game. That was fun, right?”
“Yeah.” It had been the best night since they’d been here, until those two men grabbed him and tried to tell him his dad was some sort of criminal. “If you talk to her tonight, would you wake me up?”
His dad smiled and ruffled his hair. “Of course. I would have woken you up last night if I knew it was so important to you.”
“Can we go do something after you go to the bank? Maybe I can go with you and check out the museum, they have a reptile exhibit-”
“No, this is business, Jesse, you need to stay here where it’s safe. I can’t keep an eye on you if I’m working with the bank to set up a complex business account.”
“I’m twelve, Dad. I don’t need to be babysat all the time. I just want to-”
“No,” he said. “Jesus, Jess, let it go. We’re not in Redondo Beach, California-we’re in the middle of Mexico. It’s not safe for Americans to just wander around.”
“I wouldn’t be wandering, just-”
“No.”
“Fine.” Jesse walked to his bedroom and slammed the door. He was so bored. And a little scared. Because his dad was acting weird, and Jesse didn’t like all these guys with guns everywhere, and he thought for certain that Gabriella had seen that guy with the scar on his neck grab him and she didn’t say anything… what was his name?
Kane.
The guy Sean called him Kane. Who were they? Why had they tried to get him to go with them? Kidnappers? But if they were kidnappers who wanted to ransom him like his dad was afraid of, wouldn’t they have like maybe knocked him out and carried him out of the stadium? Or drugged him or something? Why try to talk to him about coming with them? And they sounded American.
It was weird, and Jesse really wanted to talk to his mom.
Maybe Gabriella would let him use her phone.
He fell back onto his bed and looked at the clock. It was still early, not even eight in the morning. Gabriella never got up early, but Jesse knew she’d be around later. He’d wait.
It wasn’t like he was going anywhere.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Kane left camp before dawn.
Neither he nor Sean had slept well, but now that they’d confirmed Jesse was at the Flores compound, there were really only two options. First-convince Gabriella to let them inside. The chance of that was slim to none. Revenge that had been percolating for ten years wouldn’t be set aside for anyone, and especially not for a Rogan.
Which left the second option. One that Sean would never agree to, so Kane needed backup not only to protect him, but to protect his little brother. The risk was great, but Kane had mentally worked through all scenarios, and this was the only one that had a chance.
If Carson Spade was really as deep into the Flores cartel as Kane thought, Dominick wouldn’t let him just walk away. He’d require something… an action from which there would be no turning back. Kane had seen it before, and because Jesse was here, it would involve Spade’s son. Jesse might be allowed back to the States… he might return home unharmed… but he could become part of something from which there was no return.
Years ago, Kane had witnessed the brutal slaying of a traitor to one of the cartels. He couldn’t have stopped it if he wanted to-he was deep cover, and if he exposed himself, far more people would have died. But the traitor was tortured and killed in front of his own teenage daughter, who had been so traumatized that she committed suicide months later.
Kane couldn’t care less about Carson Spade. He was a grown man who had made the wrong choice; whatever the consequences, death or prison, Kane didn’t concern himself with it. Jesse was innocent. A child.
Sean’s son.
Kane would not allow the kid to become lost, to be forced to witness violence, to live in danger his entire life. He would not allow Jesse to become one of them, because he knew how easy it was to turn a boy. He’d seen that, too. The flip side of violence was the rewards it brought. The money. The toys. And when he was older, the women. The power that the cartels had could be heady to someone who wasn’t raised to discern good from evil.
His nephew would not become one of them if Kane had a breath left in his body.
The Flores cartel had its fingers in many pies, which was what made them particularly dangerous. If one route or supply was cut off, they had a dozen more to pick up the slack.
Dominick Flores had been the leader of the family ever since his father died. Murdered, on the vote of his own sons Kane had once heard, back when he and Dante were on better terms. Dom’s brother Samuel was far more dangerous-he enjoyed violence. He was the one who had killed Gabriella’s fiancé. Tortured and murdered him.
Gabriella had found his butchered body. If it weren’t for Jack Kincaid, she would also be dead.