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‘What is it? What else did they say?’
He swallowed. ‘One of them said the boss said do what you want with his puta, but don’t touch the girl.’
I felt like someone had hit me in the solar plexus with a baseball bat. My knees buckled. All I could see was Alana’s beautiful face. Imagine what those animals might be doing to her. Jax put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed, grounding me back to the present.
‘We’re going to find them, amigo. I promise you,’ he growled.
I turned to him and nodded before taking a deep lungful of air. Now was not the time to think about these things. Now wasn’t the time for fear or worry. Only my rage and anger were of any use to me right now, and that was all I could focus on, because to think about anything else would have made me completely useless to both her and Lucia.
‘If Lucia is important then I want you to redouble your efforts in Chicago, Jax. Find out who the fuck has got my wife!’ I snarled.
‘I’m on it,’ he said and then he walked out of the room.
I turned back to Hugo. ‘Get yourself back on your feet as soon as you can. And if you remember anything else, you call me right away.’
He nodded. ‘I will, Boss.’
CHAPTER 46
ALEJANDRO
My cell vibrated on the desk in front of me. I saw Jax’s name on the screen and put him on speaker. ‘Please tell me you have some fucking leads for me, amigo.’
‘Maybe. I’m not sure.’
‘Go on,’ I said as I leaned forward in my chair.
‘I still got nothing on who might want Lucia dead. I think we’ve dealt with that threat effectively, amigo. So that got me thinking, who would want her alive?’
‘And?’
‘I didn’t even know where to start, but I spoke to a few people from her old neighborhood. The ones I’d spoken with when you first had me look into her.’
‘Yeah?’
‘You remember that hooker I mentioned. Crystal? The one who made me buy her four cheeseburgers and kept me talking in her apartment for three hours?’
‘Yes,’ I snapped, wishing he would get to the fucking point.
‘Well, she was stoned off her ass, and she talked a lot of shit. At least I thought she did. But, something stood out among her ramblings. She mentioned something about Lucia not being a real Ramos. I thought she was referring to her being different to her brothers, but, fuck, amigo, I had no other leads to follow. So, I went back to speak to her just now. It took me a hell of a lot more than four cheeseburgers, but she admitted that Lucia was not Miguel Ramos’s kid.’
‘How the fuck would she know that?’
‘Seemed she was friends with Lucia’s mom. That was why Ramos hated the girl so much. He always suspected but it was never proven. He never wanted it to get out that his wife had fucked someone else behind his back. Imagine what that would have done to an ego like his? So, he made his wife’s life a misery and punished her daughter for her mother’s sins.’
‘And you believe this Crystal?’
‘I’m not sure why she’d lie about it now. I gave her the money upfront so she had no reason to lie to me. She never told anyone while Ramos was alive because she knew he would kill her. And then Lucia disappeared and she had no-one left to tell. Seemed like she was telling the truth to me anyway, amigo.’
I sat back in my chair. I didn’t know who or what to believe any more. Jax stayed silent while the cogs in my brain ticked over as I tried to slot this new piece of the puzzle into place.
‘Did Crystal say anything about who Lucia’s father was?’ I asked.
‘Lucia’s mom told her he was Spanish. Handsome. And even more powerful than her husband.’
Lucia was born seventeen years ago. In September 2004. It was a summer that my family never spoke of. I swallowed the bile as it rose in my throat.
‘Fuck, Jax!’ I hissed.
