Basement Level 5: Never Scared (27 page)

She shook her head. “A week later he called us back and asked us to help him set it up to look like she was killed.”

Kendrick stopped typing for a second. “He made it seem like her kidnappers eliminated her, which was what Senator Owens wanted.”

“
How did he do that?” Chase asked.

Kendrick struggled to remember the details. “I want to say he drugged her with Propofol to knock her out and dumped her in a public park. He told us to watch her. When she was spotted in the park by a runner, the police were called. She was taken to the hospital via ambulance. He ordered us to go to the hospital and wait.”

“
Daddy called in a favor to one of the doctors at the hospital. They pronounced her dead then we waited until Senator Owens identified her,” Alexa said, taking up the story. “Kendrick and I broke into the morgue, removed her, and took her to a different safe house.”

“
And he never told you why he was doing this, Alexa?” Lei questioned.

“
Daddy must have paid off the funeral home because we were able to sneak her back in so she could play dead for the funeral. Then Daddy took her away himself. We never heard anything else about her again.” Alexa eyed her brother. “Lei, I couldn’t think of another explanation. Why would Daddy save someone who meant nothing to him?”

“
That still doesn’t mean he had an affair with her,” Lei said. “I mean, I know why you would think that. But this whole thing is unlike him. There has to be more to this.”

“
It doesn’t sit right with me either,” Dro added. “There has to be another explanation. Don’t go thinking he carried on an affair with this woman. He wouldn’t do that to Ma.”

Pop and Ma had the respect and admiration of all of them. They were happily married, which was a rarity in this business. Pop loved Veronica more than life it seemed. They married before he shipped off to war. Since they were both teenagers, everyone predicted it wouldn’t last. They beat all the odds, though. Veronica had waited for him while he served his country. And when he returned, they began their life together. She stuck by him through everything—his business and the danger it brought to their family. It was hard to believe Pop would violate that trust by having an affair, but why would he risk so much to help that woman?

Kendrick plugged away on his keyboard. “Pop asked me to make her disappear, and set her up with a new identity. I saved it in an encrypted file. If we find her, we may find him.”

Alexa ran her fingers through her curls. “That would mean he’s been keeping tabs on her this whole time. That’s not like him, right Lei?”

“
No, but Kendrick is right. We can’t find him anywhere else. We need to try her.”

“
I found it,” Kendrick announced, after a few moments of tense silence. “She’s now known as Aaliyah Hernandez. And she’s in—” He tapped another button on the keyboard. “Puerto Rico?”

“
He hid her in Puerto Rico?” Dro asked. “That’s too obvious. Why would he hide her there?”

“
So he could get to her if he needs to without suspicion,” Lei surmised.

“
He’s hiding her in plain sight so he can ensure her protection,” Alexa added.

Dro rubbed the stubble on his face. “But he wouldn’t take the kids there. It’s too obvious. Everyone knows we have a connection to Puerto Rico.” Although Martinez conducted most business in the States, there were still active Martinez businesses in Puerto Rico.

“
Hold on,” Kendrick said, focusing on the computer screen. “It looks like there’s recent credit card activity.”

“
Where at?” Chase asked.

Kendrick sighed. “Pop must have been in contact with her. She’s on the island.”

Everyone was silent. Enrique had purchased a private island off the coast of Puerto Rico. It was a protected haven for the family. As children, they were shipped off to it when things were too hot in the States. The only people allowed on the island were family members.

“
We need to go there,” Dro said. “Pop has been in touch with her. Why else would she be on the island? Lei, call and get the plane ready. We need to be out of here within the hour.”

Lei’s phone blared. He hit the talk button and turned the speaker on. “This is Lei.”

“
Lei?” Pop’s voice carried through the receiver.

“
Pop?” Lei asked. “Where are you?”

“
Tell Kendrick to stop looking for her. I’m in B5. You need to come here now. I’ll explain everything.”

***

Alexa and the others followed Dro into B5. They hurried through the kitchen into the living room where Pop was sitting on the couch.

She flung herself into his arms when he stood. “Daddy! Thank God you’re okay.”

He rubbed her hair. “I’m fine, ladybug.”

Alexa reluctantly let her father go and moved aside so the others could greet him. “Where are my children?” she asked. “Where is everybody?”

Pop picked up a glass of amber colored liquid off one of the coffee tables and took a small sip. “I know you all have questions, and I want to answer them.”

“
Pop—” Dro started.

Pop held up his hand. “Dro—son, let me talk before you ask any questions.”

Dro nodded, taking a seat at the dining room table and pulling Alexa into his lap.

“
When Chase informed me that someone was following us to the safe house,” Pop explained. “I decided to change plans. I had to assume the enemy knew all of the safe house locations, so I made a few calls, and arranged for the family to be hidden where no one would think to find them.”

“
On the island?” Lei asked. “Why would you take them there?”

“
They’re not on the island, Lei.” Pop took another sip from his glass. He joined Dro and Alexa at the table. “That was too dangerous for them. I knew someone in Martinez was leaking information about the safe houses, so I figured the same person could’ve leaked information about the island.”

“
So where are they?” Alexa asked.

“
They’re safe,” Pop answered. “Well protected.”

“
Pop, you know I respect your opinion, but I need to know where my family is,” Dro insisted. “We got a report there was blood in the truck you were driving. Was someone hurt?”

Pop shook his head. “CJ had a bloody nose. Some of his blood must have ended up on the seat. Everyone is fine.”

Dro frowned. “Where are they? I need to know.”

“
I understand that,” Pop said, tracing the rim of his glass. “And believe me, I would feel the same way in your shoes. Do you trust me?”

Dro nodded without hesitation. “Of course, I trust you.”

“
Then trust me on this. The children are safe and protected. So is everyone else.”

Dro’s jaw ticked. “Fine.” He sighed. “I’ll accept that for now. But you need to tell us what’s going on.”

Alexa turned to Dro, her eyes wide. No one ever talked to her father like that. Everyone knew Dro was
Jefe
, but he’d always respected Pop’s position in the family and his history with Martinez. Dro never asserted his power over Pop.

“
And I’ll tell you everything you want to know, son,” Pop said, crossing his legs.

“
Daddy, how did you know we were looking for Mrs. Owens?” Alexa asked.

“
I did some checking around,” Pop admitted. “I called in a few favors. I figured out Senator Clive Owens was behind this attack. I knew you and Kendrick would remember that job I assigned all those years ago. Once you remembered, it was only a matter of time before Kendrick started looking for her.”

“
She’s been in Puerto Rico this entire time?” Kendrick asked.

“
I needed to keep her safe,” Pop said with a shrug.

“
Why?” Alexa demanded. “Why did you need to keep her safe? Why have you gone to so much trouble for her, Daddy? Are you having an affair?”

“
I can’t even believe you would ask me that, ladybug. I would never cheat on your mother.”

Alexa jumped to her feet. “I’m sorry, Daddy, but you have to tell me more. This isn’t some secret operation, and I’m not a child,” she yelled. “You can’t just tell me to do something because you say so anymore. Why did you fake her death? Who is she?”

Pop met her gaze, and she swallowed. She had never disrespected him before. “Alexa...” His tone left no doubt as to whom the parent was in this conversation.

She couldn’t believe he called her by her given name. Even at her wedding, he called her ladybug and it was a formal event. She averted her gaze from him. “Daddy, I don’t mean to yell. But I need more.”

“
She’s right, Pop,” Lei added. “We need more.”

Alexa smiled at Lei, thankful he stepped in to diffuse the situation.

“
When we were young, Enrique and I grew up in the same neighborhood with Senator Owens,” Pop began. “Once he was old enough, he decided to distance himself from us because of our illegal activities. He knew he was going into politics. He married, moved away, and never spoke to us again.”

“
So why would he hire you to eliminate his wife?” Kendrick asked, finally taking a seat at the table.

“
He didn’t, and I wouldn’t.” Pop tapped his forefinger on the table.

“
So, how did you get involved?” Dro asked.

Pop chuckled. “If I didn’t feel like I was on the spot, I could embrace the pride I have for you all. You all grew into very strong, capable people. We always taught you to protect each other. I’m glad that lesson stuck, even if you’re protecting each other against me. That’s all Enrique and I could have asked for.”

When they glared at him, he sighed and continued. “The idea to start a business came from a conversation I had with Enrique. A friend of mine, a CIA operative, sought me out to complete an assassination job. Enrique thought it would be good for me to branch off and concentrate on my own thing. Although Enrique hated to lose my presence on a daily basis, he told me he wanted his ‘brother’ to be happy.

“
I used my connections to start a security business that was a front for contract work with the CIA. Officials with the CIA contacted me when they wanted certain jobs done, more specifically eliminating threats to national security.” Pop was the point of contact and he assigned tasks to the group. They were instructed to use whatever means necessary to carry out these “hard tasks.”

“
I spent many years working for Enrique,” Pop continued. “Although, I wanted you all to work on the legitimate side of the business, sometimes the lines were blurred. This was one of those times.”

Pop rubbed his graying beard. “I heard from a close business associate that Senator Owens had put the word to the ground that he needed his wife taken care of so I arranged for one of my employees to accept the job.”

“
Why, Daddy?” Alexa asked. “Why would you intercept this job?”

“
I would never let Owens eliminate his wife and he knew that. That’s why he tried to keep his plans from me.”

“
I still don’t get it,” Dro said. “Owens obviously didn’t want to get you involved. But you got involved anyway. Was this some sort of revenge for something that happened when you were younger?”

“
No, but I wasn’t going to sit back and let Owens have my sister killed.”

Alexa gasped. “What?”

“
You heard me. Owens was married to my sister. I couldn’t let him kill her.”

CHAPTER 28

The room was silent. Alexa could hardly believe the huge bombshell Pop had just dropped on all of them. Owens’ wife was his sister? They’d grown up believing he didn’t have any family, except for them.

Pop finished his drink and set the glass on the table. “When we were younger, Clive and my sister were in love. When Clive opted to leave the neighborhood for greener pastures, he took my sister with him. I fought to keep her from leaving. I knew once he got her away, I would never see her again. She was determined, though. We lost touch, but I still kept tabs on her.”

“
Why didn’t you tell us you had a sister, Daddy?” Alexa asked, feeling betrayed.

“
When she left, I told her she was dead to me. It hurt me that she fell for Clive’s lies and turned her back on me. So, I—I turned my back on her. I didn’t speak about her again.”

“
So, this friend, the one who told you about Clive hiring a hit man...who was it?” Lei asked.

Pop sighed. “Over the years, I let my emotions rule me when it came to my sister. Ultimately, I just couldn’t let her go completely. I hired someone to work for Clive and watch out for her. He would report back to me monthly. Apparently, he was the one that Clive ordered to find a hit man. I always knew Clive was unfaithful to her, but she would never believe me. He was also verbally and physically abusive. Yet, I never thought he would try to kill her. I couldn’t let that happen.”

Alexa rubbed her temple, feeling a headache coming on. “So, you did all of this to save your sister. Why lie to us?”

“
I didn’t lie, ladybug,” Pop argued. “I just didn’t tell you everything. It didn’t matter anyway.”

“
Why wouldn’t it matter?” she asked incredulously.

“
I knew I had to make her disappear. No one was to know she was still alive, or she would have been in danger.”