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Mexican Mafia, but more powerful because they were smarter. They would swear allegiance to the TMM, but the general had it worked out that they were to be partners, not subordinates.
    If the plan was executed.
    And Michael was the wild card. He had to play his part or the entire plan would fail.
    His burner phone rang. The only person who had this number was the general himself.
    “Yeah,” he answered.
    “What happened?” the general asked, his voice low and rough.
    “I told you Michael was a threat. He escaped.”
    “The feds are all over your house.”
    “That ain’t my problem.”
    “It is if your stupid brother talks.”
    “He won’t.” Jaime wasn’t so sure of that, but he couldn’t let the general know George was trouble. “And if he does, he doesn’t know anything about the plan.”
    “He knows enough. Mirabelle has been arrested as well.”
    “She probably mouthed off at the cops.”
    “Which leads me to the most important question. Where is Isabella?”
    Jaime’s face twisted in a grimace. “Safe,” he said.
    “She’s with the authorities. You know our agreement, Jaime. I want her. Find her and bring her to me. No more waiting.”
    Mirabelle would never forgive him, but it was her own fault. Mirabelle had brought the general into their lives in the first place.
    You made your bed, sister, now suck it up.
    “I told you I would.”
    “It sounds like you have a lot of problems, Jaime. Take care of them.”
    The line went dead.
    Jaime glanced at the river and considered throwing the phone in and running. But where would he go? All his contacts and friends where here. He’d be a sitting duck anywhere else in the West. He had no resources to disappear.
    If he stayed, the reward would be great. But first, he would have to survive the coming war. And survival depended on finding Michael and sending him in to do his part. Jaime wished there were someone else, but it had to be Michael.
    He dumped Mirabelle’s car and stole another ride, took it to the warehouse on 39th. His boys were there and were happy to see him.
    Andy said, “The feds are everywhere today. Some fucking sweep, ever heard of such a thing?”
    Jaime shook his head. “They were at Mirabelle’s. They have her and George. I need a kit and a clean car.”
    “Got it ready. Ben went underground. They hit his place, but he’d already heard about the sweep and disappeared.”
    “When he checks in, have him tag me. I need his help.”
    Jaime looked over the car Andy had stripped and rebuilt. There were hidden compartments for drugs and guns, but Jaime didn’t need drugs right now. He packed up the weapons he could use, and cash. “Keep your eyes open,” he said. “I’ll check in later.”
    Jaime drove off, heading south. He couldn’t leave the city until he had Bella, but he had a safe house just outside town where he could lay low for the rest of the day and have his people search for Michael. There weren’t many places the kid could go.
    As soon as he had Michael, he’d grab Bella and head south of the border. Once the general had her, Jaime could rest easier, buy some more time.
    The feds might have his niece now, but finding her would be a piece of cake.

 
    CHAPTER 3
    Watching Brad Donnelly work, Lucy realized he’d done this a hundred times. He wasn’t that old—in his late thirties—but he was comfortable giving orders and executing a plan. He pulled a unit from another team to transport George to a holding cell, assigned Officer Wyatt and his partner to stay with Bella and CeCe through CPS processing until they were secure in the foster home, and left two officers to stake out the Sanchez-Borez home in case Jaime returned. Within an hour he had a new staging area set up half a mile from the hardware store that, according to George Sanchez, fronted for Jaime’s drug and gun storage facility.
    If George was lying, they’d gambled and lost, but all that would be wasted was time. Donnelly seemed optimistic, but with