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“And have a drink, for God’s sake.” She trails her fingers along Vince’s arm. “Take off that jacket too.”

“You’re always so insightful, Mother.” He watches her disappear into the house before he joins me at the table. “How’s our wild child?”

I glance over his shoulder at where Lia’s still riding, chasing after cattle now. “Enjoying herself.”

“That girl’s going to get killed one of these days.”

“Maybe, but she’ll go down having a good time.”

He smiles grimly before spreading the papers out in front of me. “Need some signatures.”

“What are we looking at here?”

“Trucking contracts, donations to the police union, political donations⁠—”

“Bribes, you mean?”

Vince stares at me flatly. “Donations. Sign, Bass.”

I take the pen and scribble my name, not bothering to read it.

Vince is the name. He’s the clean brother, the front that protects the rest of us. Any company that needs a legitimate owner goes through him. That was the agreement we came up with back in the early days and it suits him. Vince likes structure, he likes rules. He takes every damn thing seriously.

“Anything else?”

“The usual. Payroll is due. We’re in good shape.” He clears his throat and shuffles the folder, producing another sheaf of documents. “Nico wanted to send this along.”

I frown and flip through. “What is all this?”

“His guys have been… following someone.” He sits straighter. “Marisol Keene.”

My heart stutters. In the distance, Lia lets out a vicious whoop of joy.

“Interesting,” I say, trying to disguise my feelings.

“Were you going to tell me?” Vince’s jaw works. He jabs a finger at the papers. “She’s Escalante.”

“You figured it out from this?”

“I’m not fucking stupid, Bass. Nico doesn’t stalk random cartel girls for no reason. When’s the wedding?”

“I don’t know,” I murmur, pausing on an image of a car. Mari’s mother’s vehicle, apparently what she takes to work. Another image of Mari leaving the hotel. Another of Mari going to her family house. Another of Mari with her younger brother Cruz, another of her older brother Javi with Ruben, another of Mari running some errand. “Did you tell Lia yet?”

“I assume you want to be the one who breaks the news.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“You could always order me to keep my mouth shut, you know.” He sits back, crossing his arms and looking away.

I can’t help but smile. “You’re the only one who’d actually listen.”

He glares at me—but his facade cracks. “This family would be ruined without me, you know.”

“You love reminding me.”

“Good.” He nods at the papers. “She seems decent. Are you sure about this?”

“It’s for the best. With Escalante connections…” I trail off, reading a short memo from one of Nico’s soldiers.