Page 89 of Till Death Do Us Part

“Then delay the shipment.” I sat forward. “Delay it. Get word out among the soldiers that the glitch with the recent seizure is fucking with our network.”

“That will make us look weak.”

“Only temporarily. The shipment will proceed as planned, but I don’t want anyone outside our top lieutenants to have that information. I’ve been thinking for a while that we may have a mole or a whole fucking nest, and we need to fucking exterminate.”

Rei’s cheeks rose. “And when the shipment arrives as planned, no one will say we’re weak.”

I thought about Mia’s request. “How are things going up north with Gerardo Ruiz’s crew?”

Rei shrugged his shoulders. “He reports toPadre.”

“Andres and Nicolas report to me. What’s Gerardo’s problem with the chain of command?”

“Padresaid to give him time. Gerardo’s money-laundering network has exceeded expectations. With the loss of the horse tracks, Gerardo made headway with the casinos. We’re not supposed to rock the boat.”

“I don’t like it,” I said. “I think I’m going to take a day trip up north and get an eye on things.Padre’sback inMéxico. The stateside overseeing of the cartel is my responsibility, whether Gerardo likes it or not. I’ll have Silas book one ofPadre’splanes, and I’m taking Mia.” I scoffed. “No one has time for a fucking eight-and-a-half-hour drive.” When Rei looked as if he were about to question me, I added, “Mia spoke with Gerardo’s wife, Liliana, the morning after our wedding. Mia mentioned something about missing her family. Maybe talking to another recently married bride would be good for her.” That wasn’t one hundred percent forthcoming, but it was enough to pave the way for the trip I believed the Roríguez cartel needed and my wife wanted.

“I checked on Wanderland last night, unannounced,” Rei said, changing from one fire to the next.

“And?”

He shook his head. “Nicolas is all talk and no action. Nothing has changed with the whores. He had two new ones, and fuck, I didn’t get the vibe they were enjoying their new employment.”

“Did they say something?”

“Nicolas had them come to his office while I was there.” Rei’s nostrils flared. “Looked like frightened kittens. Wouldn’t say a thing in front of Nicolas.”

I gritted my teeth. “Did you get names?”

“Only first names.”

“If they won’t talk to you,” I asked, “who do you think can get us the deets?”

“I was thinking Em.”

My forehead furrowed. “You think Nicolas Ruiz’s nephew will get us dirt?”

“If there’s any to be found.” Rei was still living in the Ruiz pool house. “Em’s had it with some of Nicolas and Gerardo’s shit. Em knows that if Wanderland is busted with underage, undocumented, or unwilling sex workers, it will be bad for the entire cartel. We clean millions through that club every year. If it were shut down, we’d be scrambling.”

That made me think. “We might need to move the operation to Gerardo’s territory.”

Is that a plan?

Who will it benefit?

Rei sat straighter and the muscles in the sides of his face pulled tight. “Go see what’s happening up there. I can keep things down here running smoothly.”

“I’ll go tomorrow and take Mia with me. We’ll pay Gerardo and his wife a visit.”

ChapterTwenty-Four

Mia

My nerves were in tatters as the attendant on our twelve-passenger Gulfstream announced that we would be landing shortly. Sitting across the small table from Aléjandro, I peered out the window to my right, taking in the ground below. With the summer solstice quickly approaching, Northern California was greener with more trees than its southern counterpart. That said, there was still plenty of brown. For a moment, I thought about the vegetation around my mother’s home. By now, it would be green in every direction for as far as you could see.

Twisting my wedding rings, I looked down at my hand, but I wasn’t seeing what was right in front of me. My mind’s eye was remembering what it was like to hide bruises and walk on eggshells, never knowing exactly what to do or say. If my instincts were correct about their relationship, part of me worried that our visit might incite Gerardo’s wrath on his young wife.

Maybe I was way off in my assessment. Perhaps it was my own ghosts I was projecting on Liliana. Maybe during this visit I’d learn that Liliana was simply shy but nonetheless, a happily married woman.