The Chaos Order (Fanghunters Book Three) by Leo Romero

Trixie hard for a second. “Lionel?” she then echoed, flicking her eyes over to Dom. “Lionel’s dead,” she said, her eyes brimming with sorrow.
    Dom lowered his head. “Oh. Sorry.”
    “Los Verdugos shot him in cold blood. They’re the cartel in control of Tijuana. Lionel was the leader of the autodefensa , us, la Sagrada Família, the Holy Family. We’re resistance fighters against the cartel. We were getting close to Los Verdugos’ boss, el Víbora, the Viper. His gangster hideout is at the top of this valley.” She pointed up the highway. “That was when they killed Lionel. I’m Lionel’s daughter, Alicia.”
    “I’m Dom, this is Trixie.”
    “Nice to meet you. We’ve been expecting you; we just had to make sure of who you were because you’ve just walked into the middle of a war zone.” She smiled. “I don’t know who this Vincent is, but we’ve still got access to my father’s emails and I saw messages sent between them both. They were obviously friends. And a friend of my father’s is a friend of ours. This Vincent said you two could help us.”
    “Maybe we can help each other,” said Trixie.
    Alicia stared at her for a second or two, and then nodded. “Welcome to Mexico.”
    “Well if the greeting’s anything to go by, this should be a blast,” Dom said to Trixie in a quiet voice.
    Alicia turned to her guys. “ Bajar las armas , ” she said.
    They all lowered their guns.
    Dom relaxed.
    “Come on,” Alicia said to Dom and Trixie. “We’ll take you to town so we can talk.”
    “Sounds good to me,” Dom said with a grin, stepping toward Alicia with much enthusiasm. “Get our bags, Trixie,” he said over his shoulder.
    Trixie’s jaw dropped. “Yes, boss!”
    Dom ignored her. Instead, he kept his focus on Alicia.
    Alicia gave him a return smile. “How was your trip?” she asked him in a casual tone.
    “Great!” Dom lied. “I love flying.”
    “So what are your first impressions of Mexico?”
    Dom ran his eyes down her slim, tanned body, that thin sheen of sweat causing her skin to glisten in the sun. He smiled. “Hot,” he replied.
     
     

     
     
    T rixie followed up, feeling like a third wheel as she struggled with all the baggage. One of the Sagrada Família guys came over and offered to take her bag for her.
    “Thank you,” she said as he then dumped it in the back of a truck like it was a bag of trash. “Thanks,” she then said without much enthusiasm. He then curtly ushered her over. He grabbed her arm and yanked her up and into the back of the truck with a few other guys. While that was going on, Dom was shown into the front seat of the Humvee complete with air con. He was laughing and smiling with Alicia the whole way like they were long-lost friends.
    Trixie rolled her eyes. She turned her face up to the sun; it was beating down on her, something she wasn’t used to one iota. Chicago’s gray skyline was more her style.
    She heard Dom laugh one more time before it was cut off once the passenger door shut. “Thanks, Dom,” she said to herself, glancing at the mean faces surrounding her, some of them obscured by bandannas. She sighed and sat back, the sun cooking her.
    One of the guys handed her a bottle of water.
    Trixie took it. “ Gracias. ”
    “What’s your name,” the guy asked.
    “Trixie.”
    “I’m Rafa,” he said with a half-smile.
    Trixie returned the faint smile. “Pleased to meet you.” She threw the cap off the bottle of water and gulped it down. It was warm and gritty, but right then, it was good.
    The vehicles then all started up, and they headed along the highway toward the houses in the near distance.
    They pulled up outside a series of small shacks. Chickens flew in terror as the Humvees approached. Somewhere nearby a grazing goat was bleating. Beyond the village were lush fields of golden corn that rose up to the perfect blue sky. Some of the trees that were dotted around were bursting with the greenest limes Trixie had ever