“Your job now is to make sure those crates contain exactly what the manifests say they contain.”

“No unregistered cargo.”

“No payments under the table.”

“We are going to be the most scrutinized shipping company on the Great Lakes.”

I looked out at the churning gray water of the lake.

“Are you ready for that kind of scrutiny?” I asked.

“I welcome it,” Julian said, standing beside me at the window.

“The old life is a trap.”

“You spend every night waiting for the door to be kicked in.”

“I want to sleep at night, Claire.”

“I want Emma to grow up knowing her mother is a legitimate business owner.”

He looked down at me, his eyes searching my face.

“And I want to prove that we can build something clean out of the dirt.”

I looked at him, seeing the sincerity in his dark eyes.

The man who had once seemed so terrifying now seemed simply human, trying to find his own way out of the darkness.

“We will do it together,” I said.

The clerk returned, carrying a thick stack of folders.