With a quick flick of her wrist she threw the wallet at him and it hit him in the middle of his chest before dropping to his lap. “I believe that belongs to you.”
“What the hell is this?” Rodolfo asked, not touching the wallet.
“An example of how you have no control over your people. What I want to know before I take you back safe and sound, realizing as soon as you make it to the hotel you’re at war with me, is what the hell you were thinking when you gave out the orders against my family.”
“I’ve done nothing to make you move against me.”
“Open the wallet,” Cain said, her voice icy. “Jesus belonged to you, so I assume when he killed one of my men he was acting on your orders. I don’t know how you handle this situation in Mexico, but here to kill without provocation invites me to kick your ass.”
Rodolfo looked back at Carlos, who shook his head. “This man was not acting on my behalf.”
“I believe that’s your first admission that you’re just an old man who plays at being the head of his family.”
“I’m willing to put up with only so many insults before you
“That’s right. You’ve got a unique way of dealing with people who go against you. You tie them to trees and let ants do the dirty work for you. That sounds manly to me. What about you, Lou?”
“Sounds more like chicken shit, Boss.”
“How do you know anything about my business?”
Cain smiled and Rodolfo’s eyes dropped to his lap. “I’m a woman who controls what happens in my family and what’s done in my name. Unlike you, when I take care of a problem, it doesn’t come back to haunt me.”
“I have no ghosts to worry about,” Rodolfo said, flicking his fingers at her as though to dismiss her. “And I still don’t know why I’m here. Is it to listen to you spin tales?”
“You’re here because Jesus Vega and Oscar Cardone, along with a few others, went to the airport recently and killed one of my men. Your men killed mine for no reason other than to hide your so-called ghost.”
“Enough riddles.” Rodolfo’s voice rose higher than Cain found acceptable. “You dare—”
“Do you remember Armando Ortega?”
“Armando Ortega is dead,” Carlos said. “Just like you will be for showing Senor Luis such disrespect.”
“What does Ortega have to do with this?” Rodolfo asked.
“His son is here. What do you think he wants?” Cain finally got the reaction she was hoping for when Rodolfo paled.
“Impossible. I sent him home, and he knows nothing of Ortega.” Rodolfo laughed and Carlos joined him. The wallet Cain had given him dropped to the floor when she handed him the passenger manifest. The circled name was hard to miss. “Hijo de puta,” Rodolfo whispered as he crumpled the page in his hand.
“Juan Armando Ortega doesn’t sound familiar to you?” Cain asked this time, watching Carlos’s reaction to the name. “You’re right, he’s not a ghost, but he’s yours nonetheless. I want to know where he is, because if he harms my family you’re going to pay.”
“I don’t know where he is.”
“Are you sure?” Cain asked, her eyes cut to Lou which made him wrap his hands around Cain’s bargaining chip.
Rodolfo stood up when Carlos grunted as Lou tightened his grip around his neck. “No,” Rodolfo said. “If I knew where he was I’d tell you, but Carlos isn’t at fault here.
He almost sounded anguished and Cain nodded to Lou, who let go but kept his hands on Carlos’s shoulders. “You owe me a debt,” Cain said.
“What do you want?”
“Oscar Cardone and anyone he was with that day. Jesus didn’t strike me as the kind of man who acted alone.”
Rodolfo sat down again, the ball of paper still in his hand. “Done, but I am sure this is not all.”
“I want Juan. It’s time to completely put your ghosts to rest.”
“I’ll deal with my nephew.”
“Unless you plan to bring me Juan’s head in a box, I’ll take care of him. You’ve proven to me that you can’t be trusted to take care of anything.”
“If I give you what you want, will you consider my debt paid?”
“In full.”
Their meeting had ended and Rodolfo stood as Carlos got to his feet. Rodolfo put his hand on Carlos’s arm when he reached for the gun Lou had returned to him, then they found their way back to the car alone.
“Think he can find the little shit?” Lou asked when they were by themselves.
“No, but Rodolfo’s going to use whatever means he can to look for him. He had no idea Juan’s here, and the fact he made it back without detection is scaring the shit out of him.” Cain picked up her jacket and walked with Lou to the car they’d left out back. This meeting had been early so she could make it back home before Emma got up. “Losing control of his men doesn’t scare him as much as losing control of Juan.”
“Both scenarios should scare him.” Lou started the car and followed the wharf as far as he could before turning onto the street.
