I grabbed my bags off the luggage carousel and walked out to meet my driver. As we drove through Barcelona, I could feel my body relaxing. It had been too long now since I’d been back to the city of my childhood. For the past few years, I hadn’t even been back for vacations; instead, my parents had come to meet me in different places abroad, trying to keep me from the city in any way that they could.

I knew their intentions were good. With Papa involved with the Audaz gang, he wanted to make sure that I was safe. That I never had to show where my loyalties lay. But I hoped they would finally realize that I was a grown woman and that I could handle the consequences of my actions.

Of course, they wouldn’t be as concerned with me at the moment, I thought darkly. Mama had come down with some disease that I had never heard of before, and it had put her in the hospital for the past month, her condition gradually worsening. I hadn’t known about any of it until the previous weekend; as soon as Papa had admitted it to me, I had booked my flight home.

I went straight to the hospital, instructing the driver to bring my luggage home and then circle back to pick me up. I should probably talk to Papa before I visited Mama, but I couldn’t find it in me to be patient. My biggest flaw, Mama had always said.

I paused in the doorway at the hospital, staring down at Mama. She looked pale and weak, her hair tangled against the pillow. I slowly sat down at the bedside, reaching for her hand and grimacing at how dry and cold it felt. Mama’s eyes flickered open as I tugged the blanket higher around her chin.

“Ah, mi hija,” she murmured, sounding like a ghost of her former self.

“Mama,” I whispered, overcome by emotion. I wasn’t going to lose her. The doctors said there were treatments for this. Expensive ones, but the cost didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to lose her. “I’ll get a job,” I told her fiercely. “I’ll help out with the payments. Papa doesn’t need to shoulder all of this on his own.”

Mama smiled, her eyes fluttering shut for a moment. “My brave, proud daughter,” she said. She pushed herself up against the pillows. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

I raised an eyebrow at her, but there was nothing I could say in response to that. She had to know exactly how bad it was.

“There are treatments, though,” I pointed out.

“Yes,” Mama said, but she looked away from me, her expression guilty. “Your papa has had some hard times with his business lately. He didn’t want to tell you. But I’m afraid that the treatments are…out of the question.”

“No!” I said, shaking my head vehemently, refusing to believe it. “Mama, there must be some way.”

“There is,” a deep, male voice said from behind me.

I spun around to see my father’s friend Roberto, giving me an appraising look. Slowly, I rose to my feet. Mama looked less than happy to see him there. “Roberto Diego Ruiz, tu diablo,” she hissed, but that seemed to be all that her strength would allow for the day. I watched her eyes drift closed and worriedly looked to make sure she was still breathing, that her chest was still rising and falling normally.

Then, I let out a long breath and turned to Roberto. “Maybe we should talk out in the hallway,” I suggested.

Roberto inclined his head towards me and led the way. “University has agreed with you,” he said as he scanned my body.

I grinned at him and shook my head. “Roberto, you old rascal. You’re still my father’s best friend, remember.”

Roberto snorted. “It’s good to see you back in Barcelona where you belong, though,” he said. He paused. “As for the matter of your mother’s medical bills…Audaz is fully prepared to step in and pay for these treatments that she requires.”

I stared at him, wondering just what Papa had done to warrant that. But in a flash of understanding, I realized that it wasn’t about what Papa had done. No, there was a reason that Roberto was here to meet me the second I arrived in the city.

I felt a sinking feeling in my gut. My parents had never wanted me to get involved in Audaz, and for good reason. They were one of the most powerful gangs in Spain. I would never be free from them once I got involved—they’d ask for one favor, and then another smaller favor, and sometime five years from now, they’d expect me to, I don’t know, rob a bank or kill a man.

Well, probably not. I didn’t really know what they were involved in, but I knew a lot of it was just petty crime, some weapons deals, maybe a drug deal or two. Stuff that the authorities could look the other way on. But I wasn’t about to ruin my life by joining up with them.

Still, when it came down to it… If this was the only way to save my mother, I didn’t really have a choice.

I glanced back towards the closed hospital doorway. Through the window, I could see Mama sleeping there, her body frail and her expression tired as her body fought this strange disease. She was wasting away, and soon, no treatment in the world would be able to save her.

I turned back towards Roberto. “What do you need me to do?”

Roberto grinned at me. “I always appreciate practicality in a woman,” he said. He glanced around the hallway and then pulled me along into an empty room. “This isn’t the sort of thing we should be discussing in public.”

I swallowed hard, even though I knew what I was getting myself into with Audaz. “Right,” I said.

“What do you know about the Volkov family?” Roberto asked.

I frowned, trying to place the name. But it didn’t ring any bells. I shook my head, and Roberto laughed.

“Your parents really did a good job keeping you away from Audaz business, didn’t they?” he asked. He shook his head. “The Volkov family is a rival gang. Russian mob. They’ve been doing their best to take over Barcelona. But of course, we can’t let that happen.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Russians are trying to take over Barcelona?” I asked in disbelief.

Roberto clucked his tongue. “You’re a smart girl; I’m sure you can figure out why,” he said. “What industry in this city could the Russians possibly be interested in?”

I thought for a moment. “Tourism,” I finally said slowly, thinking of everything that I knew about the Russian mob, most of which information came from watching Hollywood movies. “They must be involved in the club scene.”

“We’ll make a member out of you yet,” Roberto said proudly.

I shook my head but didn’t fight him on that for the moment. “But why Barcelona? Why not Ibiza or Mallorca or somewhere?”

Roberto shrugged. “All I know is that they’re trying to encroach on our territory. We have it on good authority that they’re preparing to launch an offensive against us. Unfortunately, our inside spy was caught and executed, leaving us with a dangerous dearth of information. That’s where you come in.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “If you’re suggesting that I disguise myself as a Russian and infiltrate their gang, I’m afraid that could take a while,” I told him. “I don’t speak a word of Russian, and I’ve heard it’s a difficult language to learn…”

Roberto laughed. “It’s admirable that you would think to try. But I have something much simpler in mind.” He pulled a printed photo out of his pocket. “This is Dmitry Volkov, the nephew of the mob leader. He’s a few years older than you and quite the player.”

I frowned at Roberto, trying to figure out what he wanted from me. “You’re not asking me to kill him, are you?” I whispered.

Again, Roberto laughed. “Of course not, darling,” he said. “If we wanted that, he’d be dead already. But his death wouldn’t help us figure out their plans, would it?”

I shook my head mutely. Then, I suddenly understood. “You want me to get close to him. To get him to spill his secrets.” I mulled it over. “You want me to take him out clubbing and get him drunk?”

“A good idea, but it would take a lot to get a Russian drunk,” Roberto said. “I was thinking more that you might…entice him. As I said, the man is a known player. Get him to take you out on a date. Get him wrapped around your finger.” He gave me another lewd once-over. “I’m sure you know what to do.”

I stared at Roberto for a moment. “You want me to seduce him, get him to trust me, and then steal the Volkov secrets,” I said slowly. It wasn’t a bad idea. And as much as I didn’t like the idea of being involved with Audaz, this wasn’t such a bad plan. They weren’t asking me to do anything illegal. But—

“If I do this, you’ll pay my mother’s medical bills?” I asked. “All of them, until she is fully recovered.”

“You have my word,” Roberto said, putting a hand over his heart. “I know how important family is. We are all Catalan.”

I paused. “And this wouldn’t make me a member of Audaz? Once I’ve done this, I don’t have to do anything else?”

“Oh no, no, no,” Roberto said, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t do that to your father.”

I considered the plan. I wasn’t thrilled to pretend to date some Russian pig, for however long this took, but I’d do anything to help my family, and this could be the best way. We needed that money now, and if Audaz was willing to help...

“All right, I’ll do it,” I said. I’d just have to make sure that neither of my parents found out what I was up to. I was sure the shock would drive my mother to her grave—it would break her poor heart if she thought that everything she’d ever protected me from was ruined, all by her illness.

“Perfecto,” Roberto said, grinning toothily at me. “I’ll give you the address to our headquarters so that you can come by and learn more about Dmitry and the Volkovs.”