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River and I side-eyed each other.
Jorge was another man who’d disappeared. He and Luiz the elder had worked for Carillo the longest.
“Why’s that trade better for us?” I asked.
“Because he has your little brother,” Luiz confessed.
I clenched my jaw to make sure I didn’t let a single trace of the onslaught of emotions spill out.Holy fuck, if you’re lying, you piece of shit, I will cut off your—
“You’re loyal to Carillo Mesa,” River stated, his stance tense. “Never mind that you’re selling out your own flesh and blood, but you’re giving up one of Carillo’s top players at a time when he doesn’t have many to rely on.”
“He’s a fucking coward,” Luiz spat out. “My uncle has been against Carillo’s move since day one, but he kept his mouth shut. He just left for Mexico two days ago, and I don’t think he plans on coming back.”
I stiffened. “He took Shay across the border too?”
Luiz inclined his head. “I have the addresses to both safehouses my uncle owns outside Tijuana.”
“If you consider your uncle a traitor, why wait to give him up till now?” River pressed.
“Because my boss is enjoying this little game of having Frank Rivera run around to kill Vincente,” he said, ticked off. Frank Rivera was the name of Elliott’s persona, the identity he’d used when taking down Carillo last year. It struck me as odd that only the closest circle of Carillo’s associates knew Elliott’s real name, considering almost twenty of their low-men had shown up at his house.
On the other hand, low-men knew better than to ask questions. If they were given an address to attack someone, they just went. But this meant the guy in front of us might not be as valued to Carillo as he hoped, if he knew Elliott only as Frank Rivera.
“And you don’t wanna upset your boss,” River concluded. “But you don’t necessarily agree with Carillo’s plan either. Do you?”
Luiz jutted his chin. “He needs to give me a chance to show him I should be his California leader. I was ready to take Vincente out for him.”
Boy, was he chatty now. River and I needed to tread carefully.
“So you give up Jorge now, and that’s one of the old-timers down, and one to go?” River guessed.
Luiz shrugged, a movement that had to hurt. He winced and cursed. “I can’t show Carillo I’m his best choice if I’m dead, can I?”
I narrowed my eyes. The puzzle pieces had come together for little Luiz. He wasn’t strong, mentally or physically, but he’d spotted an opening with Carillo going rogue. A chance to climb ranks without putting in the work. Not by lifting himself up, but by killing the competition. Carillo’s organization was doomed if he let lazy, conniving little cockroaches like Luiz hold any important positions.
Then again, if Luiz didn’t know Elliott’s real name, chances were Carillo wasn’t impressed by Luiz yet.
Which made me curious… “What have you done to prove yourself to Carillo?” I asked.
Something in his expression shuttered. “I am willing to give you my uncle—if he doesn’t have Shay Tenley at his safehouse, he at least knows where the guy is. Will you let me go?”
River nudged me, then tilted his head at the exit.
I nodded and followed him out into the sun.
“Whether he’s lyin’ or not, we have to check things out,” he said quietly. “Who do we know with the Federales?”
“I think Vásquez is still on the job,” I answered. “You want me to ask him to take a look around?”
River and I didn’t cross the border unless we had to. Much like Elliott, we’d racked up a fair number of enemies over the years, and they were starting to get out of prison at this point. It was the only downside to us being twins; we were too recognizable in the wrong circles. Especially in Tijuana.
“If he can go to one of the addresses, and Emerson and Danny to the other, we’ll know within twenty-four hours,” Riv responded.
I nodded. “I’ll call Emerson.”
“I’ll go back in.” He jerked his chin toward Luiz. “I wanna dig into his willingness to impress Carillo.”
That gave me pause. I’d thought briefly about it earlier, and now I could see my brother had a plan. He had a theory too, didn’t he?
