The Devil's Due

by Ali Vali

  “My head hurts sometimes, but I’m getting used to it so it doesn’t bother me as much as it used to because the headaches aren’t as bad. Hopefully the doctor’s right and eventually they’ll disappear altogether.”

  Merrick did seem to be regaining the appearance of health she’d had before all this happened. The physical therapist still came three days a week to work with her, so her movements looked smoother and not as stiffly concentrated as they were when she finally started walking again. Overall, from both the doctor’s opinion and the physical therapist, Merrick’s recovery had been miraculous up to then.

  “Whenever it’s too much, don’t be afraid to say something.”

  “I will, so drop it, Boss.” Merrick patted her hand like she would’ve done for a small child in need of reassurance. “I fought too hard to get back here to slow down now. So you want me to go out to the warehouse and see what’s going on?”

  “Tonight isn’t the time,” Cain said, not having the patience for this. “Like I told Katlin, let me talk to Finley and we’ll take it from there.”

  “If I know Katlin, she’s freaking about all that booze the police might be carting off if we wait and don’t control the situation.”

  “Let me worry about that while you worry about something else for me.” She’d been thinking about something since before Emma had gone into labor and just hadn’t had time to do anything about it. “I need you to find what you can about the parents of Hannah’s friend Lucy. Something’s strange about this whole thing, and it’s making my head buzz a little. I’d rather be sure it’s simply a bad divorce and nothing else.”

  “You got some names for me?”

  “From what Emma tells me, it’s Drew and Taylor Kennison. He’s in the oil industry, and I’m not sure about her.”

  “You want to share what’s making you curious?” Merrick asked, but not in a joking way.

  “I’m not sure. Something just feels off.” The sound of Katlin and Finley’s conversation made her stand and open the door. “I might be getting paranoid from the lack of sleep lately, but check it out.”

  Finley hugged her as she came in and then went to shake hands and introduce herself to Merrick. Once the niceties were out of the way, Katlin asked for a few minutes before she sat with Finley.

  “You want me to set anything up with Delarosa?” Katlin asked. “You know he’s got to have someone on the payroll at NOPD by now with the kind of cash he’s putting on the street.”

  “Did our payroll contacts tell you if they found any idea of who was inside, aside from Santino? If he was coming out the day Muriel saw him, you know it’s got to be from there, but I doubt even Santino’s that into his work.”

  “Not yet, and I doubt we’ll know who it is now if he sees all those cops crawling over every inch of the place.” Katlin opened the door and let the others back in. “I’ll keep checking and make some calls tomorrow.”

  Katlin and Merrick headed out, and Finley got right to the point. “Did you think about what we talked about before?”

  “Are you sure? The love of what you do doesn’t change overnight, no matter what happened.” What Finley wanted would be the equivalent of her leaving her family’s business and becoming an FBI agent. Not impossible but highly improbable. “If you come to work for me and the feds find out, it’s going to put you in a tight spot and lock a lot of doors for you. The kind of doors you worked damn hard to open. No matter what, I don’t want you to be sorry for something because you didn’t think it through.”

  “I caught perverts, Cain, and that’ll continue with or without me. This case with Abigail and the family she married into changed something in me, but it’s not what my old workmates are going to think if they find out about you.”

  “I’m listening.” This would have to be the toughest job interview she’d ever conduct because of the long-lasting ramifications.

  “From a young age I wanted to pursue something that went against that Casey stream that runs strong through both of us, but you and the rest of the family never tried to change my mind. I only thought about one thing in all those years, and that’s what I wanted.” Finley sat with her hands pressed together between her legs. “I never thought about anything else until I was the only thing between men with guns in a hotel room in New York and a group of innocent people. The choices Nicola Eaton made cost Abigail and her children everything. I’m tired of doing that to my family. You can deny it to make me feel better, but we both know that’s the cold truth.”

  “Did you talk to your parents about all this? Working for me won’t be what you think, and I want you to apply what you just said about Nicola. Don’t go from a job that stripped away family relationships from necessity, to another job that could put Abigail and those kids in the same place for a slew of other reasons.”

  Finley’s hands were becoming whiter from the strain of how hard she was holding them together.

  “I can’t go back, and I don’t want to transfer here, so you’d turn me down?” Finley asked tightly. “And yes, I talked to my parents. My father worked for yours, and my mother’s the best person in the world to talk to about this because, like you, she grew up here. She knew precisely what I was asking and, more important, why I was asking it.”

  “I already knew that because I talked to Aunt Siobhan,” she said and smiled to loosen Finley up. “You need to stop thinking your family sacrificed everything. Sometimes everything in your life is about making your children smile, and you’re getting ready to find out what you’re willing to do for your family’s happiness.”

  “So I have a job?”

  “I lost a kid special to me for a stupid reason, and I’ve never replaced him. Now fate has told me why. Bryce was my IT specialist, and he died at the hands of someone trying to prove to me only that he could be killed even with my protection.” She thought about Bryce and his enthusiasm for a job that would’ve driven her nuts because it required sitting in a room all day. She’d taken care of his family but still was furious with herself for not taking better care of him. “Not the best endorsement for a job, but I think that’s the best place for you to start.”

  “I can do more than that. Come on. I’m a trained agent.”

  “Let’s start with you setting up a business, legit and away from me. Feel free to take on other work like Muriel does, but working for me means that you have to change sides. I’ve got my own little team out there that wants nothing more than to find the one conversation, move, or screw-up that they can use to lock me up.”

  “Don’t worry, cousin. I’ll have to work hard to keep up with all the new technology they’ll be using once I resign, but I’ve got an idea of what they’ve got set up to keep eyes and ears on you.”

  “Then equip that office, and I’ll have the bank call you about an account for it. We’ll agree that you’re going to be our intel and security specialist. That’ll bring you back into the fold and will make me feel better that you have my back.”

  “Anything important you want me to start on, aside from the guys outside?”

  “The place we met with the Antakovs was broken into, so I want you to check it out and see what you find. Don’t go alone. In fact, take your brother with you, and I’ll get a few more guys to tag along. If it’s anything at all to do with that meeting, call me immediately so I can put a wall between your new family and the idiots that might be looking for payback.”

  “You got it, but the cops didn’t show up?”

  “Not exactly, and whoever was stupid enough to break in didn’t exactly find what they were looking for either, but I’d like to know who it is.”

  “Can I take a bottle of wine?”

  “If you can find one, then go ahead,” she said, and laughed.

  *

  The sky outside was violet, and Cain noticed the van under the streetlamp. She was walking the floor with the baby even though the little boy was sleeping, as was Emma. “What do you think they’re doing in there, huh?” she asked the baby sof
tly and smiled when he opened his eyes. The shade of green was a perfect match to Emma’s. “I guess they think I must sneak out at night and suck people’s blood around town, but all I’m doing is keeping you company.”

  Billy blinked a few times and grasped her finger when she touched his hand. “Are you looking at this kid from heaven, Billy?” she said to the brother she still missed. Billy had always been there to get into trouble with and to watch her back, and she’d loved seeing him live life like he knew his days were limited.

  “If this one is anything like you, I’ll be gray way before I’m fifty.” The baby yawned, and she sat with him to see if he’d go back to sleep.

  “If you hold him like that all night, he’s going to think that bassinet has ants in it,” Emma said, not lifting her head.

  “How is he ever going to learn the family history if he’s cooped up in there?” she asked, and sighed from total contentment as he yawned again. “It’ll be a much more riveting tale than anything they’ll teach him in school.”

  “True, but we’ve got a lifetime for him to get all the facts. For tonight, put him down and come over here and tell me some tales.”

  She held Emma as soon as she knew he wasn’t going to fuss and caught her up on everything that was going on. “They haven’t found her yet?” Emma asked about her mother. “She’s a housewife from Wisconsin, not exactly the clandestine type, so I’m shocked she’s eluded you and the police.”

  “She probably ran to Newsome and he’s got her stashed somewhere. He’ll keep her under wraps until he finds a way to get out of the shit hole he landed himself in.” She kissed the top of Emma’s head and tried not to think about how long it would be before they got back to being intimate. She missed that part of their relationship. “We’ll find her, don’t worry, and for once I’m going to enjoy calling the cops.”

  “What about the rest?”

  “I’m not at all a friend of Hector’s, but I’m going to give him a call tomorrow and invite him to the office for coffee. What the cops confiscated tonight was his, and I’m positive Nunzio stole it from him.”

  “What does that have to do with having coffee with him?” Emma asked and, like the baby, yawned in her arms.

  “When you have too many fronts to fight on, it’s best to take out what you can using someone else. Nunzio could be a problem for us, so I’m going to tell Hector exactly who stole his drugs.” She could feel Emma’s steady breathing against her shoulder so she closed her eyes and concentrated on the sound. “I figure if Nunzio ends up dead, it’s a win-win situation. I don’t care who does it.”

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Muriel grabbed for the phone, not coordinated enough to not knock it to the floor, waking Kristen. They’d come back to her house the night before and watched an old Audrey Hepburn movie Kristen had found, then gone up to bed. The playfulness they’d shared before they went out and ran into Shelby had vanished, but Kristen had gone into the bathroom and come out wearing her shirt with no intention of going home. They’d spent the rest of the night talking and finally falling asleep holding each other like in some romance novel, which made her roll her eyes, knowing how crushing it was to her reputation.

  “Hello,” she said, squinting to see the time.

  “Muriel, did I wake you?” The man’s voice was loud, and she had to think a minute before she figured out who it was. “I thought Cain said you never slept.”

  “Colin, if it’s five thirty here it’s damn early where you are. Can’t get to sleep?”

  “I’m in town, and I need to see you and Cain.”

  She sat up and rubbed her face, knowing if he couldn’t wait until a decent hour, whatever he needed wasn’t good. “You don’t mean now, do you?”

  “No. I got some stuff to do until like two, but then you gotta get me in to see her, okay? After the shit before her wedding, I didn’t want to do anything before I talk to her.”

  His explanation was as foggy as her head at the moment. “Give me your number, and I’ll call you as soon as I get to Cain’s.” She wrote down the information and sighed. “You sure you’re okay?”

  “I got some shit going on, but really, it’s fixable. Sorry I woke you,” he said, and the line went dead.

  “What the hell was that?” she said as she lay back and could’ve cared less what the problem was when Kristen put her head on her shoulder and pinned her down with her leg.

  “Tonight let’s try this again, without the phone and clothes, okay?”

  “I’m sorry about all that last night. We should’ve stayed home and ordered pizza.”

  Kristen put her hand on her abdomen and rubbed it in small circles. “There’s things you should be worried about, and all that crap isn’t one of them. Maybe, though, I should be worried that she’s still got the hots for you.”

  “Shelby knows as well as I do that there’s no going back.” She smiled when Kristen moved on top of her. “So when do you graduate?” The question should’ve made her cringe, but that was hard to do when Kristen bit her chin.

  “Two more semesters, and then I’m done. Why?”

  “Seeing how much time I have to shop for a gift. How about breakfast?” She rolled them over and put her hands on Kristen’s hips. She kissed her, and getting up really dropped down the stack of her priorities.

  “I guess the phone call means you can’t take the day off,” Kristen said, tracing the outside of her ears with her fingertips. “Tonight, though, don’t make any plans.” Kristen kissed her again and slapped her on the ass. “Come on. I’ll cook for you.”

  “You know, this can wait,” she said, pointing to the bed when they got up. “I’m not going anywhere if we do.”

  “If you ask my sister, she still believes I’m like twelve, so don’t ask her, all right,” Kristen said, and laughed. “But I’m okay with this and who I’m with. I’m not sure if you know what happened to us, well, mostly to Dallas, but I’ve waited a long time to find someone I feel this comfortable with. I’m sure I have, so I’m not interested in waiting any more. Does that make sense?”

  “Perfect sense, but I’m patient, so don’t be afraid that I’m only here because I expect something like that.”

  “You’re here because you live here, but I get you.”

  She dropped Kristen at her door and drove to Cain’s, seeing Fiona O’Brannigan outside in her car talking on her phone. That someone Cain really didn’t care for that much was camped outside the gate made her want to go out and see what she wanted.

  “The world’s gone a little nuts, hasn’t it?” Cain asked from the garden Ross had planted. She was dressed and had a coffee cup in her hand, but Muriel doubted she was trying her hand at farming.

  “Did you see who’s out there?” Muriel left her briefcase on the hood of her car and joined Cain, holding her cup when she stopped at the last crop of sunflowers Ross had planted and pointed out to her a few days before. Cain cut a bouquet of them and headed back inside. “Are you ever going to tell me what bothers you so much about her, aside from what happened? I know there’s got to be more to the story than her ganging up with that FBI asshole over something you didn’t do.”

  “Eventually, but can you give me some more time? I’m still working through it.” Cain stopped at the stairs and put her hand against Muriel’s neck. “If I forgot we had something this morning, forgive me, but I’ll just be a minute.”

  “We didn’t, but I got a call earlier this morning you need to know about. Take your time.”

  The sound of Hannah running around and Hayden getting ready for school made her say a quick prayer of thanks since whatever had happened with Hannah hadn’t left any permanent scars. Muriel was surprised Cain was letting her go back so soon, but then both their fathers had been firm believers in getting back in the saddle before you developed a fear of the horse.

  She rode with them to school at Cain’s invitation and waited in the car as Cain walked Hannah to the door and the teacher waiting there. No one seemed to have a p
roblem that Sabana was going in with her, so Hannah hugged Cain good-bye and ran inside like she had nothing in the world to fear.

  “Who called?” Cain asked as they headed back.

  “Colin, and he’s in town. I’d tell you what he wants, but he wasn’t in a talkative mood for once.”

  Cain nodded and drummed her fingers on her knee for a few minutes. “If he gave you a number, let him know that this afternoon will be good whenever he’s ready, and if you’re not swamped this morning, can you stop by and see Merrick? I have her working on something, and my gut tells me the answer is more important than I give it credit for.”

  “Sure, but do you need anything else?”

  “To see a man about a revenge plot, but that should be easy.”

  *

  “Yes, sir, it happened last night,” Mike Walker, one of Nunzio’s men, said over the phone from the house in New York.

  “What did the little fucker say exactly?” Nunzio asked, punching a hole in the wall of his bedroom at the resort.

  “He just said he’d needed a breather and left for like thirty minutes, and when he got back, the place was crawling with cops. He doesn’t know if they were in your place, but he didn’t want to go in and find out.”

  “Get on a plane and meet me in New Orleans. Do whatever you have to to find him and what the hell happened to my shit, or if anything happened to it at all.” He punched the wall again, even though his hand hurt like hell. “And Mike, don’t fuck this up.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. What about Freddie? You want me to take care of that too?”

  “When you find him, drop him in the river. He’ll be more useful to the fish than to us. I gave that fucker the last chance he’s ever going to get.” He hung up and screamed one more time.

  “What now?” Santino said as he rushed in.

  The last thing he needed was a lecture on how’d he screwed up trusting Freddie, but they had to get it out of the way so they could plan their next step. He told Santino what Mike had reported and was surprised when he didn’t immediately light into him.