Page 43 of Till Death Do Us Part

ChapterEleven

Mia

Istood up, befuddled at my brother-in-law’s demand. “Why? Where is Aléjandro?” My palms grew clammy. “Is he okay?” As Rei appeared to be measuring his words, I asked again, “What’s happening?”

Before he could answer, my phone rang, Aléjandro’s name appeared on the screen. I let out the breath I was holding. “This is Aléjandro.”

“No, Mia. It’s not.” Rei came closer. “Give me the phone.”

I turned away, hitting the green button. “This means you’re okay.”

“SeñoraRoríguez?” An unfamiliar voice came from the phone.

Rei was now inches away, his voice a low growl coming from over my shoulder. “Disconnect the call.”

I looked down at the phone in my hands and turned back to my brother-in-law. Before I could decide, he ripped the phone from my grip and hit the disconnect button.

The small hairs on the back of my neck were standing to attention. “What the hell?”

“Have you had any other calls?” he asked as he hit the button to turn off the phone and slid it into his pocket.

“Give me that back.” I clenched my teeth.

“Any other calls?”

“No.” I let my hands drop, slapping my thighs. “I’ve been unpacking.” I looked around the bedroom. “Tell me why you took my phone and disconnected that call.” I recalled the unfamiliar voice. Looking up, I asked, “Is Aléjandro okay?”

“Sí, he will be. Come with me.”

With my circulation thumping in my ears, I turned a circle, taking in our bedroom. Once I was again facing Rei, I said, “He told me to stay here.”

Rei offered his hand. “Come with me. Something happened after his meeting at Wanderland. Aléjandro trusts me to take you to him.”

“Take me where? Is he hurt? Who was calling?” My questions were coming faster than answers. I didn’t take Rei’s hand, but I did nod. “I’ll go with you.”

“We should hurry.”

That didn’t help my nerves. My quick assessment of myself was that I needed to change clothes. I’d been unpacking all afternoon, and I looked haggard. Instead, I ran my hand over my hair, slipped my feet into a pair of sandals, and grabbed my purse. We quickly made our way downstairs and out the front door. As we stepped out into the evening air, I realized I didn’t have a key to the house.

Rei pushed buttons on the keypad and the lock clicked with its activation.

“I should know that.”

Rei nodded. “I believe the plan was to put in a new system if you liked the house.”

If I liked it.

Aléjandro said the same thing.

Rei’s car was still parked on the driveway. After locking the gate with another series of numbers, Rei opened the passenger door. Instead of opening out, the car door went up.

I looked up before getting inside. “That’s…”

He grinned. “Too bad they quit making these. It’s a hell of a lot nicer than Jano’s Porsche.”

Now didn’t seem like the time to be comparing sports cars. “Where are we going?”

“To one of the cartel hideouts.”

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