“I don’t have the details yet,” Miko said, staying calm even in the face of my anger. “I just got the call. I’m ten minutes from your Ma’s house. I can swing by to get you and meet them.”

“No, Sil will drive me,” I said, looking over to see him nod in agreement. “Where are we meeting?” I asked, getting the address of a fucking pharmacy from him, then hanging up.

“No, no. Go, please,” Ma said, waving us toward the door. “Someone please keep me updated, though,” she demanded.

“Will do. Food was good, Ma,” Silvano was present enough of mind to say.

I didn’t.

I just rushed out the door without a word.

My mind was spinning.

Halle was gone?

Disappeared?

Missing?

What the fuck did that mean?

How the fuck had she even convinced the guards to take her out, when I’d been pretty clear about her staying the fuck in the penthouse.

“You can—“ I started when he lucked into a parking spot half a block away from the pharmacy.

“I’m coming,” he said, climbing out even as I did.

I normally would have argued.

I couldn’t right then.

Because if something happened to Halle, I would call in the entire motherfucking Family to find her.

“What thefuck?” I exploded at Tony as soon as I saw him, shoving my hands into his chest for emphasis. “How the fuck did this happen?”

“She… she needed, ah…”

“Tampons,” Miko supplied, rolling his eyes. “You can’t fucking say tampons? How fucking old are you?”

“She grabbed a box, then she handed it to Joe. And took one out, said she had to… you know… go to the bathroom…”

“And you, what? Didn’t keep an eye on the door?” I asked, teeth aching from my jaw clenching so tight.

“The women’s bathroom is down its own hall,” Joe said. “We couldn’t lurk outside of it without other women freaking the fuck out. But she didn’t come back out of the hall.”

“What the fuck do you mean she didn’t come back out?” I ground out.

“Turns out, the hallway opens up at the other end,” Joe said, exhaling hard, knowing he’d fucked up.

“Were there people in the store?” Miko asked.

“Yeah. The place was hopping,” Tony said.

“So, no way someone dragged her out of there against her will?”

“Nah, I don’t think so,” Joe said, shaking his head.

“So, you think this was all a ruse?” Miko asked.