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“Who’s Ice?”

“He’s the Vice President of Underground Vengeance MC.”

“A biker! Isn’t that the MC trying to destroy the cartel? Isabella, what have you gotten yourself into?” she demands.

“I don’t know,” I admit. I glance around the sparse motel room, wondering the same thing myself. “But I couldn’t live in Juan’s world a second longer. I just couldn’t.”

The weight of everything I’ve left behind presses down on me. The minute I stepped into Velvet, everything changed. I started down a path I couldn’t turn back from. But I don’t ever want to go back to that life. As scared as I am, a small part of me feels free. I’ve never felt that way before, and I like it.

“What are you going to do now?” Maria asks softly.

I wish I had an answer for her. Instead, I say, “I’m not sure yet. But I’ll figure it out.”

“You can’t go home.” Maria’s voice drops to an urgent whisper. “Juan’s threatening to kill you.”

I suspected he might want me dead, but finding out that I was right makes my blood run cold. As much as I hate what hedoes with the cartel, Juan’s the only family I have left. I knew this would happen, but it still cuts deep.

“What did he say?” I ask.

“Juan came to our house before Pedro left for work. He interrogated Pedro about your whereabouts, but Pedro didn’t know anything.”

“Is Pedro okay?”

“He’s furious,” Maria says. “His integrity is being questioned, and you know how much that means to him. But Isabella…” Her voice softens. “He hopes you’re safe. He’s always liked you, you know.”

A lump forms in my throat. I never meant to drag Pedro and Maria into this mess.

“I’m going to disappear,” I tell her, my resolve strengthening with each word. “Juan will never find me. But first, I need to rescue the children.”

“Children?” Her confusion is palpable. “What children?”

“The ones working in the cartel’s textile factory,” I explain. “The women in the drug cutting warehouse were separated from their kids shortly after they were smuggled into the country. I have to reunite them and get them away from the cartel.”

There’s a long pause on the other end of the line. When Maria speaks again, her voice trembles with horror and rage. “Juan has kids working for the cartel?Dios mío, Isabella… I had no idea.”

“I know,” I say. “It’s worse than we ever imagined.”

“I’ve tried not to pay any attention to my husband’s work with the cartel, but this is too much. Pedro is a good man. There’s no way he knew about this.”

“Even if he did, he couldn’t do anything about it.” I’m not sure how much Pedro knows, but he could be exactly like his wife, turning a blind eye to everything associated with the cartel’s other operations. I grip the phone tighter, my heartracing. “Maria, do you know anything about where the other factories might be?”

There’s a sharp intake of breath on the other end. “I… I think I might,” she says hesitantly. “Pedro took me to one a few times. I wasn’t allowed inside, but I remember where it was.”

“Is Pedro with you right now? Does he know the address?”

“No. He went to work right after Juan left.”

“Can you tell me how to get to the warehouse?” My pulse quickens.

“It’s on the outskirts of town, near the abandoned railroad tracks.” Her voice drops even lower. “There’s a dilapidated warehouse with faded blue paint. It looks abandoned from the outside.”

I close my eyes, picturing it. “What else do you remember?”

“There were guards,” she continues, her words rushed now. “Two at the main gate, others patrolling the perimeter. And… there were bars on the windows.”

My stomach churns. “Anything else?”

“Delivery trucks. They came and went at odd hours. And once, I swear I heard…” She pauses, her voice breaking. “I heard children crying.”