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Bennie climbed in beside me, draping an arm along the back of the seat and slouching down. “Shopping is boring,” he complained.
“You’ll survive,” I assured him, putting my phone away before he got nosy and tried to read over my shoulder.
Ciana slid along the bench seat across from me, out of breath and clutching at her huge purse. Vito followed her, shutting the door behind himself, laughing hard. “I’ve never seen you move so fast as when you think you’re going to get left behind from a shopping trip, Ciana.”
“Didn’t you just go shopping last week with Tavia?” Bennie commented.
“Yes,” she said, opening her mirror to fix her hair. “But I haven’t seen Nova in forever. I’m just excited to get to spend some time with her.”
“And get a new pair of shoes,” her youngest brother said with a roll of his blue eyes.
“What’s wrong with getting new shoes?” she asked, narrowing her eyes on Bennie. “I spend my own money, that I work hard for. Is it taking anything away from you?”
He grunted but didn’t have a ready comeback for her, which made the rest of us laugh as he crossed his arms over his chest with a dramatic huff. The limo started moving, but I opened the divider and told the driver which mall I wanted to go to.
“Sure thing, Miss Nova,” he called back.
“What’s so special about that mall?” Bennie demanded.
“There’s an outfit I’m looking for, and the online store said it was in stock,” I told him with a shrug.
But really, that particular mall was connected to the hotel where Cali was currently staying.
Matias Ramirez was having surgery at the hospital a few blocks away, which meant that Cali’s stepbrother would be there and not at the hotel with her. At least, that was what Cali had said in her message. I didn’t know how much longer she would be alone—or as alone as a person could be with a small army of guards keeping her under lock and key.
14
Nova
As soon as we walked into the store, I started grabbing things in my size that I just had to try on. Back at home with my parents, I was a simple jeans and T-shirt type of girl—give me a pair of Converse or boots, and I was ready for the day. But when I was in Ryan’s world, I knew I couldn’t be that girl all the time. I had to play the part, show everyone that I belonged beside a Vitucci.
I piled everything into Bennie’s arms, making him follow me around until the stack was almost over his face.
Figuring that would be enough to make him think I was busy for as long as I needed, I followed the associate back to the huge changing rooms. “I think I can take it from here,” I told her with a cheerful smile. “But could you make sure my cousin doesn’t get bored?”
Since Ciana was a regular at this particular shop, the woman was already fawning all over Bennie, offering him a snack and coffee. He rolled his eyes and pulled his phone from his pants pocket as he dropped down into a chair. One of his guards moved to stand off to the side, being as inconspicuous as possible.
The twins’ security detail was a little more lax than Ryan’s or even the team that followed Ciana ar
ound when she went out alone. I knew if things didn’t go the way I was hoping, the guards would get in trouble, but that was a risk I was willing to take in order to save my friend. Besides, it would teach them to be more vigilant.
I walked into the changing room and sat down, messaging Cali that I would see her soon and preparing myself for the possibility of things going south and having to take more drastic measures to ensure my friend’s safety. Vito had taken Ciana to a different shop so she could find a few more bathing suits, which made this a little easier than I’d anticipated. But there were plenty of other obstacles in my way between Cali and myself.
There were no cameras in the area outside the changing rooms, something I’d noticed in the past when I’d come to this shop and the associate hadn’t been able to find a dress I wanted in my size. She’d taken forever trying to find it, and I’d gotten impatient at the time and gone back to help her find it myself. Now, I quietly opened the door and snuck into the back room, where storage was kept—where I found a hat that I ripped the price tag off and tucked my hair up under—and where the employee entrance was. From there, that entrance led to a hallway that would take me out to the main part of the mall.
I’d chosen a shop on the same floor as the hotel entrance, and once I was inside the lobby, I walked over to the bank of elevators like I belonged there. Cali was on the tenth floor, so I pressed the eleventh, then took the stairs down one floor.
There were no guards outside the doors of her room. That would draw too much attention, and attention was the last thing Manuel wanted to bring to his stay in New York City. Ryan and his family had eyes and ears everywhere. One little peep of anyone with the last name Ramirez being in the city and there would be war. For the past few years, Manuel had stayed barricaded inside the fortresslike compound Matias owned in Colombia, tossing out orders to his street soldiers as they attempted to take over one territory after another in the Ramirez name.
But just because there was no sign of a guard didn’t mean there weren’t any. I knew there would be plenty in the surrounding rooms. The least little sound, and they would be pulling their guns on me.
As soon as I reached Cali’s room and knocked, the door opened and I quickly stepped inside, making sure the door didn’t even make a clicking sound as it shut behind me.
Cali’s dark hair fell over her face, shielding half of it from me, but I pushed it back and swallowed my gasp when I saw how badly her face was bruised. As an influencer, Cali had gained her following by doing makeup videos. She knew how to change the entire appearance of her face so drastically, she could make herself look like almost any celebrity. But right then, there was no hiding the destruction someone had violently inflicted.
Her jaw was swollen, and she had a black eye. The difference between the sides of her face was like night and day. One side flawless, the other something from a horror film. The effect made her blue eyes more striking with her dark hair and alabaster complexion. “When did this happen?” I hissed.
“Last night,” she whispered back, so softly I had to strain to hear her. “I begged him to let me see Matias, and he punched me.”
