Moreno's (Moreno Brothers Series) - Elizabeth Reyes Page 0,76
day.
Shaking the thoughts away, he rushed to the small back office as soon as they cut to commercial. He pulled the yellow pages off the desk and headed back to the dining room in case there was more coverage of the sting. Pulling the phone out from under the counter, he opened the phone book and got right to it.
“Que haces?” his dad asked, pointing at the yellow pages he was sifting through.
“I’m gonna call the jails.”
“Para que?”
“Isa works for them now, remember?”
Since the day of the food truck festival, all Alej had told his dad was that it was Isa whom he’d pulled from the Ochoa’s burning truck. That he’d briefly spoken to her and Cido and she’d been working for them for over a year. His dad hadn’t commented much at first because Carmela had been there, but later when they were alone, he’d asked Alej how he’d felt seeing her again.
Being that he was married with a kid on the way at the time, Alej had played it way down. He told his dad it’d been nice to see her again and that she looked good. But he was certain his father hadn’t bought his indifferent attitude about it. His father knew firsthand how devastating it’d been for Alej to lose touch with her. He’d made the trip with him to El Paso to find her and was there when he hit a wall. As much as Alej had tried to hold it together, he’d shed tears on the disappointing drive home when he thought his dad was asleep. He’d been so sure and anxious about finally reconnecting with her. It’d been a surprise when his dad had tapped his leg as Alej had swatted exasperated tears away and assured him, they’d find her eventually.
Months after Carmela’s death, his dad had approached him cautiously to ask if he ever planned to try and reconnect with Isa again. He’d been slightly more honest about it, saying he thought maybe she and Cido were a thing now. No longer obligated to stay away from her now, Alej was certain he couldn’t. So, he hadn’t wanted his dad to know she was living with the guy. He knew his dad would have issue with that. He’d always said anyone messing with another man’s mujer should be prepared to fight to the death for her, and no woman was worth that. Although Alej could argue that Isa was absolutely worth it. But he hadn’t wanted to open that can of worms just yet. He glanced up at his dad since he hadn’t commented about Isa, but Alej could feel him staring at him in question.
“If she’s in jail, I wanna see if there’s anything I can do to get her out.”
“I thought you said she and Cido are a thing now?”
Frowning, Alej glanced back down at the phone book. “Yeah, well, he’s one of the main ones involved in that mess. He’ll probably be one of the last ones to make bail. What’s he gonna do for her in there? ¡Maldito sea!” he muttered when he saw how many detention centers and jails were listed in the San Diego area. “Did they mention at all where all the detainees were taken? There’s a chingo of jails in the area.”
“I didn’t hear it, but they’ll likely repeat the same mierda over and over every half hour.” His dad stood up from where he’d sat down to watch the news. “Maybe we should go home and watch it from there. You can make your calls from home.”
Alej didn’t have any luck at home. Most of the detention centers didn’t take calls after hours. The next day he went out to get the paper first thing to see if there was anything new about the case or if they mentioned where they’d been taken. Alej wasn’t even sure what he was more worried about: Isa sitting in jail scared or the Ochoa’s crooked asses skipping bail once released. They’d more than likely go into hiding in Mexico, taking Isa with them, and she’d become a fugitive on the run—with a baby on the way.
Regardless of the circumstances, Alej still cared for Isa’s well-being. And despite not admitting it out loud to anyone but her if he ever got the chance to, seeing her again was a reminder of just how desperately he was still in love with her, damn it. There was no way he could in clear conscience not at least try to