JT pulled a detonator out of his pocket, flipped the switch, then pressed two buttons simultaneously. Every corner of the compound perimeter exploded simultaneously. The bombs had been placed outside the gates because they couldn’t access the inside until Kane had found Jesse. But the distraction was just what they needed. All the guards rushed toward the house to protect the structure. And Kane, JT, and a reluctant but terrified Carson Spade ran toward the road.
The jeep was right where they’d left it, hiding two hundred yards from the entrance. Kane cuffed Carson to the vehicle because if he didn’t, he might have killed him.
He didn’t like criminals as a general rule, but he despised criminals who put kids in danger.
Especially when the kid was family.
*
Everything that had happened from the moment that Sean had cornered him at the football game had seemed surreal. But tonight … Jesse was living an action movie, only it wasn’t as exciting as he’d thought it might be.
In fact, he’d been scared to death. He still was.
“Explain that again, Matt?” Sean asked the driver.
“I said, you only have 1500 feet to land and take off. But it’s secure.”
“That’s next to impossible. Not the landing part, but we’re going to have what, seven—no, eight—passengers. I need more room.”
“We don’t have more room.”
“We’ll have to dump everything.”
“Okay.”
“And half the fuel.”
“Um, is that a good idea?”
“Do you want to fly or crash?”
“I see your point.” Matt didn’t talk for a while. “Are you going to have enough fuel to make it to Hidalgo?”
“No. Kane better know a place where we can refuel before we hit Monterrey.”
Jesse had flown many times, but never in a small plane. He was scared. And excited.
But mostly scared.
“Jesse, you good?” Sean asked. He looked back at him, winked. “We’ll be fine.”
Fine? He didn’t know if he’d done the right thing. Well, he did … but he didn’t. When Carson didn’t let him call his mom … and then he got the letter from Sean … he thought okay, this was going to happen, Sean was his real dad.
But his real dad was a jerk. His mom said so. His mom said he’d told her he didn’t want a kid and why not just get an abortion. So why would he swoop in and save him now? Risk his life? It didn’t make any sense.
“Seriously, you aren’t hurt or anything, are you? Jesse, talk to me.”
“I’m fine.” He bit his lip. “My mom told me you didn’t want her to have a baby.”
Sean turned in his seat and stared at him. Sean looked really upset. Angry and sad all together.
“Jesse, I don’t know why Madison said or did any of the things that she did. All I can say is this: She was nineteen and pregnant and in college. She made decisions based on what she thought was best for her. I’m not going to fault her for that. But I’m going to tell you this once, and it’s the truth. I never knew you existed until this week. I didn’t know your mom was pregnant. If I had, I would have been there. I wish I had been. God, Jess, I love you.” He looked away. For a second Jesse thought Sean was crying, but maybe not.
He shifted in the seat so he could see Sean better. Yeah, his eyes were wet, Jesse could see that even in the near-dark. Sean put the palms of his hands against his eyes, pressed hard.
Jesse didn’t know what to say. Everything he’d believed for his entire life was a lie. His mom lied to him … and Carson. He couldn’t call Carson Dad anymore. Carson lied to him, too. Told him he couldn’t call his mom, took away his phone, said he’d talked to her. Had he? Had he really talked to her?
And then there was that conversation this morning.
“I heard Carson talking to Mr. Flores this morning,” Jesse said quietly.
“You don’t have to tell me.”
“You were right. About everything you said in your message. And more. He … he talked about it. About how he was moving money around so Dominick could access it. I didn’t understand a lot … but Dominick was angry with my dad. With Carson,” he corrected himself. “Carson kept saying it wasn’t his fault, that he set up these bank accounts and companies or whatever perfectly. But Dominick said, ‘Fix it or else.’ And I knew Carson was scared that the or else meant he’d be killed.” What would that have meant for him? Would they have killed Jesse, too? His mom?
“Carson worked for dangerous people,” Sean said.
“Criminals,” Jesse said. “You said they were criminals.”
“They are,” Sean said. “Flores and his family run a drug and human trafficking organization, and Carson set up their money-laundering operation. The FBI has proof, and that’s why my brother went back to get him.”
“Would Dominick have killed him?”
“Yes,” Sean answered. Matt cleared his throat. “Matt, I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not going to lie to my son.”
Sean looked back at Jesse. “Jesse, you’re young and you’ve had a quick and violent education in the last three days. I’m never going to lie to you, okay? Maybe I’m too blunt sometimes, and I’ll work on that—but I was raised by my brothers, and they never sugarcoated anything. Ignorance is never an option.”
“So Kane is my uncle.”
“Yes he is.” Sean smiled.