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“Juan came by the warehouse earlier,” she starts. “He knows where they’re holding the kids that were separated from their mothers. They’re working in a warehouse, somewhere in New Orleans. But he didn’t give me an exact location.”

“Those kids…” My gut clenches at the thought of them, trapped and afraid. “If we manage to bring them back to their mothers, none of them can stay in the city. They’ll be marked.”

“They’d have to run and—”

“Disappear,” I finish, nodding.

“Can you help make that happen?” she asks softly.

“Yeah, we can do that. We’ll get them out of Juan’s grasp and take them away from all this madness.”

“Those families belong together.”

“Absolutely.” I agree.

The low hum of the AC in the corner is the only sound breaking the charged silence between us. I lean forward, elbows on knees, and lock eyes with Isabella. Considering what she’s been through today, she’s holding up well. She’s so strong, which is sexy as hell.

“Once they’re safe, how will you make sure he never gets a hold of them again?” she asks, bringing my attention back to what’s important right now.

“We’ve got a network, like an underground railroad. It runs through all of the chapters of Underground Vengeance MC, across the country.”

“Are they like safe houses?”

“More than that,” I say. “We have a whole system dedicated to helping people like those women and kids vanish. They get new identities. New lives.”

“Like witness protection.”

“Exactly.”

She bites her lower lip, contemplating the magnitude of what I’m offering. “I need to get Juan to tell me where that warehouse is. Then we can—”

“No way,” I cut her off. “You can’t go back to work or home. Juan’s already suspicious. He sent a tail after you, and that SUV driver will rat you out. Juan will know someone fromUVMC interfered, and it won’t take long for Juan to put two and two together. He’ll realize the increased security at the new clubhouse site only happened after he told you his plan. It won’t take him long to realize that you probably warned us. Once he figures out that you’re working with the MC, he’ll be furious.”

Her body tenses, and the blue of her eyes darkens like a gathering storm. “He’s going to kill me.”

“I’m sure he’ll try, but you’re not dying. I won’t let that happen.”

“What am I going to do?” she murmurs.

“Listen,” I say, reaching out to grasp her hands in mine. “Your life’s on the line now. Because of tonight.”

“I know, but I’m not ready to run. I don’t have enough money… I can’t just—”

“Money isn’t an issue. I’ll give you what you need. But we need your help first.”

“My help?” She cocks her head to one side.

“Isabella, you know far more about your brother than we do. We’re going to bring the cartel down, but we can’t do it without you.”

“Are you sure you need me?”

“I do.” In more ways than one, I silently add.

“If I can help you, I will. But I need something too. Those women and their children, I’m not leaving them behind. Not until they’re safe.”

“Neither will I. We won’t stop until we’ve rescued every single one of them,” I promise.

“Oh, Ice.” The warmth of Isabella’s body crashes into mine as she wraps her arms around me. Her warm embrace soothes the tension in my shoulders. “I can’t thank you enough,” she whispers against my chest, her voice muffled by my leather cut. “If I hadn’t met you at Velvet…”