Hard Rules

“What’s to stop Derek from doing the same?”

“I told her I’d ruin her medical career. She’s expecting your call.”

His eyes sharpen. “Gloves off. Now we’re playing like New Yorkers. Good thing.” He lifts a folder. “You aren’t going to like this.”

“Just get to it,” I snap irritably. “I can do without any more dramatics today.”

He drops the folder on my desk and flips it open to yet another photo of my brother, this time with a very young, pretty, dark-haired woman. “Teresa Martina,” he says. “He’s quite friendly with her.”

“And I care why?”

“Because she’s the daughter of Roberto Martina, the kingpin for one of the largest cartels in existence. And while Roberto favors Mexico, her brother Adrian runs the U.S. operations from right here in Denver.”

Anger rips through me and I press my fists to the desk. “Has he dragged the BP division into the cartel?”

“He has a relationship with Adrian, though I don’t yet know the extent.”

“In other words, if he hasn’t, he’s working on it. He has to have someone inside BP involved in this.”

“Agreed,” Seth says, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “William Nichols, your head of research and development, had some activity on the surveillance footage I find of interest, but nothing I can say is related to this.”

“What kind of activity?”

“Taking calls outside while pacing and appearing on edge, but the man could be going through something personal. We’re putting him under watch.”

“I know this security team we’ve hired signed the contracts I drew up, but make damn sure they aren’t for sale to the highest bidder.”

“I know the owner personally. I promise you. We’re golden.” He narrows his gaze on me. “You don’t just walk away from a cartel, Shane. I dealt with these people when I was with the CIA. And if that’s where we’re at, our problems are far bigger than the police.”

“I’m aware of that.” I push off the desk and turn to the window, unbuttoning my jacket and settling my hands on my hips. Seth joins me, both of us staring at the thick, black clouds. “What I don’t understand,” I say, “is how the hell Derek doesn’t.” My mind tracks back to my father’s office yesterday. “Derek made a point of reminding me that BP is my acquisition and I’m linked to anything that happens there.”

“A threat,” Seth says wryly, leaning a shoulder on the steel beam running along the window. “You could walk away, Shane. Get the hell out of here.”

“If I do that, my father and brother will end up dead. And my mother could end up collateral damage.”

“What about you? What happens when they ruin your life?”

“I’ll take my chances.” I turn to face him, hands still on my hips. “At this point, we don’t know anything. Derek aspiring to work with the Martina family, and doing it, are two different things. And as much as I’d like to take the direct approach and bulldoze him for answers, he won’t be honest and it will only alert anyone who might be helping him to stay off our radar.”

Seth gives me a disapproving look. “There are a lot of things I could say to you right now, but I won’t.”

“Good decision.” I glance at my desk where the envelope Jessica brought me lies, realization coming with cold, hard clarity. “Son of a bitch. My father just gave me the proposed paperwork for an investment that’s an obvious cover for a payoff.”

“That Nina person,” Seth assumes.

“Yes. That Nina person, who left the trucking division abruptly a month ago and is suddenly worth the hundred and fifty thousand dollar investment my father wants to make.”

“And the trucking company is a perfect target for running drugs. It would be easy to come to the conclusion there’s already activity happening there.”

“Whether there is or not, if we are thinking about this, then Martina will be thinking about this.” I scrub my jaw. “I need to shed that division.”

“Not only will that send up red flags to your brother, and your father if he’s involved, but it’ll risk a potential riff with Martina that you don’t want to go into blindly, if at all.”

“Which means I need to control them instead.”

He reaches into his pocket and offers me a flash drive. “That has enough damning information on Riker Ward, the CEO of that division, to do that and more. It also has equally invasive information on the rest of the board, aside from Mike, and therefore, offers you the power to command them all.”

“Unless my brother, or father, beat me to the punch,” I say, accepting it.

“Derek’s too busy paying everyone off to know how to really control them.”

“Don’t underestimate Derek, and since my father handled this payoff for the trucking division, I lean toward his involvement. And he is all about control. Which brings me back to my questions about Mike. But the highest priority right now is finding out if we’re already in bed with Martina.”

“Which, in turn, brings me back to the transportation division. Send me to Boulder, and I promise you, with the dirt I have on Riker, he’ll tell us exactly what’s going on up there and what that payoff is for as well.”

I lift the flash drive. “Spare me the reading time,” I say, placing it in my pocket. “What’s the dirt you’re referencing?”