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“Okay then. Maybe in the morning we can talk further.”

“Sure. Whatever you say.” He immediately went to grab a jacket, the same leather he’d been wearing for years. He’d grown into the damn thing, a gift from our father a long time ago.

I didn’t budge from his bed as he grabbed some crazy-looking game console, no longer paying me any attention. The action brought back memories of how excited he’d been as a kid on Christmas morning when he opened whatever game he’d just had to have.

At least as a family there’d been an attempt to pretend as if we were normal. Just like I’d done in New York. Emiliano was right. I could do anything I wanted to.

What was the old saying? I am woman, hear me roar.

CHAPTER 16

Jago

There were no fancy offices, no benign employees who handled fake day-to-day operations to try to hide who and what the Torres Empire stood for. Sure, we had a couple of businesses like the club I owned and operated to help us launder money, but so much of what we did was underground.

It had to be.

But times were changing. Even for the most brutal cartels.

Internet. Social media. Internet banking. Zoom calls. Hell, if I wasn’t careful, the entire operation would become legitimized.

Not unless hell froze over.

From the research I’d done on the Morales Corporation, a consulting firm for improving logistics, Julio Morales had created a goldmine situation for money laundering. While Genevieve’s experience was limited, her diploma from such an esteemed university alone would provide additional credibility.

That, in turn, would drive business their way. Even now after his death.

The corporation had a glossy exterior and provided both privacy and organization while doing business under the table.

Up until now, I hadn’t believed the pretense was necessary.

Had I considered delving into more legitimate operations? Yes, but I’d always come to the conclusion doing so would take more time and effort than I was willing to put in.

I’d concentrated on building our illegal drug empire, ignoring the push to go into arms although I had a feeling that would be on the horizon. Fortunately, even with the increased competition, cocaine continued to be in great demand in every part of the world. However, I was a greedy bastard, always hungry for additional methods of creating revenue.

But as savage as I’d become, even I had limitations.

What I abhorred were the cartels who were involved in the slave trade industry. They were sick fucks who’d sold their souls long before they’d begun sending women and children to fates worse than hell. Arms were dicey, considering the international law enforcement agencies were almost as ruthless as my organization.

Plus, the Russians had a stronghold on illegal weapons and they were utter brutes.

I was rich beyond my means, a cautious tale of mercenary action and preying on the proclivities of mankind. Drugs were profitable. Period.

In the course of doing business, there were aspects of money laundering by use of remittances and that had proven highlysuccessful up to this point. I did employ dozens of people to handle that aspect of my business. Using blackmail, I’d managed to collect several highly respected politicians that in a sense were on my payroll.

At least I allowed them to live and carry out their menial lives by looking the other way. The threat of scandal had always worked well as a deterrent.

I’d also inherited two shell companies, which also helped in cleaning our funds. They’d kept the heat from emerging to a minimum.

Considering bringing the Morales Empire into my fold brought a few different avenues to the table, including a more legitimized base of operations. A few profitable and legitimate businesses and contracts. There was a draw in a way, although doing so would add a list of complications. But I couldn’t afford to pass up the opportunity, nor could I allow her holdings to fall into the wrong hands. Maybe working with contracts was the way to go.

Shit. What the hell was I saying? Was I starting to think like the feisty woman now?

Although I’d yet to find a thug adhering to a single contract. But as I’d said, times were changing. My attorney was a decent man but had been used to keep me out of prison, not to create a corporate contract. I created a basic list of wants and needs, spelling out certain details, and had forwarded it to him with the explicit instructions of figuring it out and getting something legitimate back to me by the early hours of the morning.

If the rumbles on the street were correct, the Moroccan pigs were pushing forward with moving into Spain. I’d need to actfast, which meant Genevieve didn’t have much time. What I’d yet to explain to her was that I’d meant what I said.

I couldn’t take no for an answer. While it had initially been all about business and nothing else, after meeting her, my thoughts had shifted.