“You want to take the list down?” Adair gave her a skeptical look, and then his face cleared. “Ah, no, you’re not that altruistic. You want to use it to blackmail black market players so that they stop hunting you. The list is just a side note to help Kovit out.”

She winced at how easily she’d been seen through. “There’s no reason I can’t want to do both.”

“Won’t work. Trading information for taking down the list, I mean.” Adair sighed softly. “You think I haven’t thought of something like that before? I can tell you secrets that would crush dynasties.”

“But all of Tácunan Law?”

Adair leaned back. “They’re even less likely to take that deal.”

“Why?”

“Because to make a deal so big it would take down the Dangerous Unnaturals List . . . Do you know how high up in INHUP you’d need to be to make that deal?”

“And?”

“And the people that high in INHUP all use Tácunan Law.” Adair leaned forward. “Rather than dealing with you, they’d be more likely to murder you so word of their crimes doesn’t get out.”

Nita stared, her mind blanking for a moment.

Of course. Of course they wouldn’t want to make that deal.

Nita had known that forces in INHUP were corrupt. She’d been paying for Adair’s protection with the names of corrupt INHUP agents. Someone in INHUP had tagged her phone and sold her GPS location on the black market.

When Fabricio had fled Nita’s mother, he’d gone to INHUP, but he’d known how corrupt they were and had tried to ensure that he’d be able to escape by having new documents made before he got there. He, of all people, would have had intimate knowledge of how many INHUP agents used his father’s company, and he was more mistrustful than Nita had ever been of INHUP.

Adair was right. There was no bargain she could make that would convince INHUP to take that list down.

“I’m sorry about Kovit, Nita,” Adair said, interrupting her thoughts.

Nita blinked. “How did you know?”

“Why else would you suddenly be looking to take the list down?” His smile was ironic. “It’s not for you, and I’m pretty sure Kovit’s the only thing besides yourself you care about.”

“Oh.” She looked away. “Yeah.” She took a deep breath. “Can you get rid of his information? Prevent him from going on the list? I know you have a lot of contacts in INHUP, especially in the Dangerous Unnaturals List section.”

He was already shaking his head. “It’s not possible.”

“I can pay.” Nita’s voice was tight. “I’ll have all of Tácunan Law’s information at my disposal soon.”