She took a deep breath. “Yes, that’s right.”
I stared at her, both stunned and alarmed. What the hell had she gotten herself into?
“Dad?” Wally said. “Do you know who they are?”
“Have you ever heard of the Azure Cartel?” I asked, my voice low.
Vivian arched an eyebrow. “No, but the account I flagged belonged to a company called the Azuras Association. Are they connected somehow?”
“I’m not sure, but I know for a fact that you should never mess with the Azure Cartel. They’ve been running rampant in the Chicago area for years. They mostly deal with weapons and drugs, but I have it on good authority that they’ve been branching out into human trafficking.”
Vivian visibly paled. “They tried to shove Wally and me into a van. Do you think…” She shuddered. “How do you know it’s even them?”
“Those tattoos are a part of their initiation process. New recruits earn their tattoo once they’ve successfully—” I licked my lips, struggling to find a delicate way to put it.
“What?” she urged.
“It’s like a badge of honor,” I said. “One they earn after their first successful kill.”
I expected her to cry. I expected her to squirm in her seat. Any sane person would be rightly worried for their lives.
Vivian didn’t so much as flinch. “We need to go to the police,” she decided firmly. “If they have Molly… We need to get her back as soon as possible.” A fire ignited behind her eyes. Sheer determination in the face of the looming unknown. It was startling.
And sexy as hell.
The Azure Cartel meant business. If Vivian was telling the truth —and I had no reason to believe that she’d lie— this was no joke.
I knew that the smart thing to do was let the police handle this, but I also knew from experience that if I wanted something done right, I needed to do it myself. If the cartel really was after Vivian and had already gotten their hands on her friend, there was likely next to nothing the cops could do. As grim a truth as it was, people went missing under police protection all the time. Sometimes, unfortunately, with their cooperation.
“You’ve made up the guestroom for her?” I asked Wally.
He nodded. “Yep.”
“We’ll file a missing person’s report for your friend first thing in the morning. You’ll stay here until the authorities get to the bottom of this.”
Vivian’s eyes widened. “You mean… You mean I can stay here?”
“Would you rather go it alone?”
“No, I…” She inhaled through clenched teeth. “Thank you.”
“We’ll have to establish some ground rules,” I continued firmly. “Until we know that you’re out of harm’s way, you will not be permitted to return to your place of work. If your employers are somehow linked to the cartel, returning would make you an easy target.”
“Won’t people be suspicious if I don’t go?”
“Better safe than sorry. You can call in tomorrow morning and tell them you’ll be taking an extended leave of absence due to a family emergency.”
“O-kay,” Vivian said slowly. “Anything else?”
“You will not be permitted to leave this penthouse without supervision.”
“Is that really necessary?”
“You were almost kidnapped in broad daylight,” I pointed out. “They got within inches of you, correct?”
She nodded stiffly. “Yes.”
“It will feel restrictive at first, but it’s for your own good. As far as I’m aware, the men who are after you don’t know you’re here. The penthouse is a fortress. It’s the safest place for you to be, even at the cost of your usual freedoms.”