Page 40 of Xane

Spence and Fawkes are right behind me when we hear a female voice rattling through Roux’s laptop.

Roux points at it and explains, “I duplicated Neron’s phone at the scene and had Luisa’s number in there.He wasn’t using a burner, and I hoped his wife wasn’t either and I was right.”

“Phone tap,” I mutter and we fall silent to hear Luisa snapping at someone.

This is too damn easy.Why isn’t she more careful when she’s the sister of a cartel boss?

“Look.”He points at the screen that’s now filled with a map with lines jumping cell towers.“We now have the location of her brother.”

“Stupid not to use a burner.Why the hell would she fuck up like that?”Spence wonders out loud, and it’s the same thing that crossed my mind.

They must think they’re safe in this town and aren’t tracked by the feds or anyone else trying to bring them down.

“Don’t know, don’t care,” Roux mutters.

It’s then I realize what might happen and snap, “You need to cut the damn connection,” as I grab my phone.

Spence raises his eyebrow in question and it’s why I stare at him while I tell Remmer, “Heads-up, Luisa might be heading in your direction and you need to intercept her before she realizes we killed her husband.Make it seem like an FBI raid.”

“On it,” Remmer rumbles and disconnects the line.

Shoving my phone back into my pocket, I explain to the others, “Luisa probably acted without Neron’s knowledge.Those dead fuckers inside the clubhouse were dressed differently than the men at Neron’s mansion.”

“They’re probably cartel.Fuck, you’re right,” Spence snaps.“If so, they came straight here where Luisa was waiting for them.”

I give him a tight nod.“She’s currently unaware of the shit that went down at her own home.”

“Her phone is disabled and I listened back to the conversation.She demanded more men because the others failed.I just confirmed that the voice she was talking to is Alonso Mendoza, her brother, and leader of the cartel.The fucker told her he was going to send his own hitman since the guy needed to leave town due to assassinating a high official.I’m going to dive into this, give me a second.”

“Gather all the information and send it to our government contact,” Spence orders and glances at me.“I can deal with the cartel part from home, if you don’t mind me taking over.It will free your hands to deal with all of this, the paperwork, and Luisa still missing.Let’s hope Remmer manages to catch her.Besides, if you do manage to handle all of it you can always join in if needed.Though, I’m guessing the government would like to handle the cartel themselves since they only needed the direct evidence, which Roux has if Alonso admitted to a crime during a call with his sister.”

I rub the back of my neck.“Sounds good.You need to go back to Penny and your baby girl anyway.Let me know if you need help.”

He smacks my shoulder and walks out.

Looking at Roux who is typing away on his laptop, I rumble, “You heard the plan, right?”

“On it, Prez,” Roux mutters.

“Thanks, brother,” I fire back and glance at Fawkes.“You good?”

“Fuck no,” Fawkes grunts.“That was some fucked-up shit, Prez.Your woman was trying to keep Neo alive when I had a gun pressed against my head.Neo killed him, last thing he did before he died.He died protecting the president’s old lady and saving my ass.”

We fall silent for a few heartbeats.The sound of footsteps getting closer draws my attention.Z walks into church, both her arms covered with bandages.

“What do we do now?”she asks.

I want to say, “Fuck if I know,” yet, I can’t.I’m the president and the one who should have all the answers.

“Prez already handled the backlash,” Fawkes simply states.

I hold my hand out and feel my heart swell when she steps closer and leans into my body.

Placing a kiss on her head, I murmur, “What Fawkes means is that Roux managed to tap into Luisa’s phone.She called her brother which gave us his location and he admitted something the government can use as evidence.Spence left to handle the cartel.Luisa is still out there.I called Remmer to keep an eye out in case she goes home.They can place FBI magnets on the black SUVs that are still at the scene.The way Luisa called in men from her brother shows they think we’re just a biker club.”

“The fuck we are,” Fawkes snarls.

I give Fawkes my attention.“Did any of the brothers go with Stellan?If not, can you have one of them go to the hospital to check on him?”