The last time I’d had to deal with one of them, I’d spent three hours in some office listening to his partner, Nathan Greene, talk in circles. I was still cleaning up the mess from the last time one of them had tried to put their nose in our business, and now Max wanted to voluntarily tie Valentina to a family with enough leverage to drag us into their war?
“You want to be responsible for making Sebastian Callahan part of your family? For giving him access to your businesses? For letting him sit at your table while his brothers whisper to every politician they’ve got on speed dial?”
Max didn’t say anything.
Lev was still watching me.
Mikhail, for once, was quiet.
“Do it,” I said simply, “and find a new lawyer.”
I wasn’t going to be the one brokering deals with the Callahans. I wasn’t going to be the one fielding questions from their contacts in law enforcement, handling the fallout when one of them inevitably fucked up.
I wasn’t going to be the one who had to sit across from NathanfuckingGreene again, pretending I didn’t want to punch him in the throat every time he opened his goddamn mouth, andI sure as hell wasn’t going to be the one responsible for handing Valentina over to them.
That last thought—that—was the one that sat the heaviest.
When I got to the office the next morning, I saw Remy waiting for me, which put me in a bad mood instantly. He was only ever here when he wanted something.
“You’re in my office before I’ve even had my first coffee. That means this is either really good or really bad.”
Remy smirked, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. That was how I knew it was the latter.
“Depends,” he said smoothly. “Do you like making more money?”
I sat down. “What do you have?”
Remy chuckled, but then he slid a file across my desk. “Take a look.”
I glanced at it. The logo in the corner caught my eye immediately.
The Castillo Group.
I clicked my tongue. “Didn’t you tell Max we were staying out of their business?”
Remy leaned back in the chair, arms crossed, watching me. “I did.”
“And yet?—”
“Things change.”
I flipped the folder open, scanning the first page. Legal agreements. Arbitration clauses. A whole lot of fancy language covering up one simple fact: the Castillo Group was trying to launder their money through legitimate investment firms.
I flipped to the next page.
And they wanted us to help them do it.
“Fucking hell, Remy.”
“It’s not a problem if we structure it right.”
I scoffed. “Says who?”
“Says me,” he shot back. “The SEC is sniffing around their finances. They want to make sure their funds look clean. They’re looking to invest through shell LLCs that will blend into the private equity space.”
I studied the papers, turning them over in my head.
It was doable.
