Page 68 of The Billionaire's Wife

“It’s always good to get out of the office.” He glanced around. “This isn’t exactly private.”

“No. But I thought that might make it seem less like I was trying to hide something.”

“Are you?” His eyebrows lifted.

I laughed and reached for the latte with fancy foam art on top. “No. But I didn’t want it to look like I was, either.”

He sat and lifted his to-go cup to take a drink.

I cleared my throat. “Anyway, I wanted to show you this. It seems like neither Faith nor I are going to end up being any use to you after all.”

I slid the manila envelope containing the Ortegas’ document across the table, then picked up my coffee and drank. I hadn’t actually wanted a beverage. I just needed something to do with my hands to keep the nerves from showing. I probably shouldn’t be nervous, but it wasn’t as if I spent a ton of time dealing with the FBI.

Special Agent Orbison undid the clasp on the envelope and pulled out the document. His eyebrows inched up as he read. By the time he flipped to the last page, I had a hard time reading his expression.

He set the papers down, then flipped them over so the blank back was up. “Well.”

I waited. There had to be more, didn’t there?

“This is unexpected.” Special Agent Orbison tapped a single finger on the document. “You’ve signed it, I see.”

I nodded. “That’s actually my copy. I sent the signed originals back to Mr. Ortega yesterday.”

“I see.” Special Agent Orbison took a drink from his cup. “That certainly changes things.”

“Does it? I mean, I realize we aren’t going to be able to help with your undercover investigation, but you had to know that the possibility of anything seriously useful coming from what Faith or I did was slim.” I’d puzzled through that over the last twenty-four hours as Faith had dribbled out more about the types of things she’d been doing while she was off the radar.

I’d tried to tell her it didn’t matter to me, but she was determined to confess to someone. And while I thought that was taking it a little far, I also didn’t mind listening to her if it helped. Plus, she’d spent the time snuggled up at my side on the couch while she poured it all out, and I was definitely not going to rebuff that contact.

“She was never going to be hugely important to their schemes. At best, she made some documents that made it easier for them to launder money and cross the border.” I shrugged, even though it was hard to downplay. I didn’t love her brush with the criminal world, but I understood, sort of, why she’d gone there.

The FBI man nodded slowly. “I can see how it looks that way. Of course, I could also point out that she admitted crimes to a federal agent. That’s not something that we take lightly. It was one thing to consider immunity when there was some reciprocity. But now?”

“Seriously?” I frowned. This was the worst-case scenario I’d been hoping we could avoid. “You want to prosecute her, even though it won’t make a tiny bit of difference to the Ortegas? To prove what point?”

“Crimes were committed. Justice must be served.”

I pressed my lips together. I was a family lawyer, primarily, but I had friends who dealt with criminal. I was reasonably certain there wasn’t much of a case here. If he pushed, seriously pushed, there might be fines or probation involved in whatever plea deal got worked out. We’d handle that as it came. “I see.”

I reached for the documents and slid them back into their envelope. Then I stood. “I guess we’ll wait to hear from your attorneys.”

I started toward the door.

“Mr. Lee.”

I paused and turned.

“There might be other options.” He gestured for me to return to the table.

I stepped closer. The shop wasn’t crowded, but his raised voice when he called my name had a few heads turning. There was no need to entertain the masses. “I believe we’ll explore those with counsel.”

He sighed. “You’re sure about that?”

“I’m sure that the people who referred us to you wouldn’t have dreamed that you’d take this hard line given the circumstances.”

He winced.

I nodded. “So yes. You can have your attorneys contact me and I should have the name of our counsel by then. She won’t do time.”

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