“Me?” he asks, clearly surprised.
I nod. “I realized that if theBratvawere ever going to grow in this city, we needed strong partnerships. And that meant mingling and getting to know all the right people. Influential people on the Illinois Gaming Board Commissioners, for instance. People who don’t mind turning a blind eye as long as they get paid for their trouble. And as it just so happens, I’ve made quite a few new friends since the last time we saw each other.”
“So I see,” Vincent muses, eyes lingering on the deed for the only riverboat casino the state of Illinois allows anyone to have.
“And tell me…what of its previous owners, the Sinclair family? How did they respond to your generous offer to buy their casino right out from under them?”
“Some were more eager to sell than others.”
“And how did you influence the less eager ones to change their minds?”
“The old-fashioned way. TheBratvaway.”
To put it simply, every board member of the Sinclair gambling dynasty who turned down my generous offer is currently hanging in a meat-locker truck next to a shipment of cow carcasses on its way out of state.
“This was quite a feat you’ve accomplished,” Vincent admits. “But I fail to see where I come into the equation. If you needed my blessing, you would have come for it before you started.” His tone edges toward irritation.
“It’s not your blessing I came for, but a partnership. One that benefits us both while solidifying our alliance.”
“Speak plainly, Kirill,” he says, looking more annoyed than interested in my offer.
“What Vincent is trying to say,” Giovanni interjects with a cocky smirk to his lips, “is that you kissing his ass is growing tiresome.”
Shit.
Is that what I was doing?
Trying to impress him?
Fuck.
Look how far I’ve fallen for you, Stella.
Before I met you, I’d never let a man talk to me like that and not cut out his tongue for it.
“It’s a well-known fact that you have a casino running up in Canada,” I begin to explain, “with the Canadian mob laundering your money while they take all the risk of exposure. What I’m offering is a similar deal.”
“You want to wash my money?” Vincent asks flatly. “Why would I get in bed with you, when I have other ways to do that?”
“My niece says your twin sons are wizards with computers. That there’s nothing they can’t do with them.”
Gio’s jaw ticks, but Vincent stays cool and unreadable with the out-of-left-field statement.
“Yes, they’re talented in that area,” he says evenly. “So what of it?”
“I’m sure they’ve found ways to make you millions with the push of a button,” I reply. “Using crypto to hide how much they make and launder it through shell companies before it evertouches your books.” When I see I have his full attention, I continue. “But even with all those precautions, there’s still a risk of getting caught. Especially since cybercrime is on the up with the FBI. What I’m offering is a second system, a backup, if you will. If one falls and gets hit by the feds…”
“…then the other stays clean with me,” Vincent finishes, finally seeing the full picture.
“It’s a fail-safe,” I say. “A way to protect your assets without anyone being the wiser. As far as the world is concerned, the casino belongs to my family and only my family. The Romano name continues clean as a whistle.”
“And if the feds knock on your doorstep?”
“The fall lands with me. And no one else.”
Vincent hums, assessing me. “All of this for what? A percentage, I assume.”
“A humble twenty percent.” I smile for the first time since I entered his office.
