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 around 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.