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A notification appeared on Nik’s screen, pulling his attention back to the laptop.

“Speaking of the mess Delgado left behind, Marcela made it to a hospital. Isabella did an impressive job on her face, but not enough to keep her there. She’s already been discharged.”

I sat forward. “Where is she?”

“On the move with a man named Mateo Cruz.”

“He’s her second. I put a bullet through his upper arm before we got out.”

“Obviously, that wasn’t enough to damage his loyalty.”

“Should’ve aimed lower.”

Nik’s mouth twitched before he opened another file. “You had other things to worry about. More importantly, Delgado’s organization is starting to split. His senior people in the US are trying to hold the American side together while Marcela buys anyone willing to switch allegiance. And she’s moving money so fast she’s practically lighting road flares behind her.”

“Ciro underestimated how much she’d stolen from him.”

“So did everyone else.” Nik’s expression hardened as figures filled the screen. “She had accounts under multiple identities, crypto holdings, and access Ciro apparently didn’t know she had. Now she’s draining whatever she can reach before his people lock her out.”

Gabriel took a drink. “How much?”

“Less than she thinks,” Nik said with a smirk.

“What did you do?”

“I introduced Ciro Delgado to several highly respectable charities that he funded under a private identity.”

A laugh escaped me, earning another protest from my ribs.

“Christ.”

“He’s become surprisingly generous toward organizations helping women exploited by sex traffickers.”

Rory actually laughed at that too.

“Posthumous personal growth,” Gabriel said.

I lifted my glass. “Very touching.”

Nik ignored us. “Ciro’s death will hurt the trafficking operation. Routes will stall. Men will fight over money. Buyers and sellers will get nervous. But the demand didn’t die with him, and neither did the people financing it.”

“Whitaker,” Lucian said.

Nik’s expression went cold.

“Marcela reached out to him within hours of leaving the hospital.”

That got my full attention.

“She contacted him?”

“She contacted someone close enough to him that I’m interested. She’s moving too quickly and making mistakes she normally wouldn’t.”

“Panic.”

“And ambition,” Nik replied. “Ciro gave her access to a criminal machine she may not be able to manage, but she isn’t going to walk away from it.”

No—Marcela would crawl through broken glass before she surrendered power.