by Ali Vali
“Rocky, are we ready?” George asked his senior investigator.
“Yes, sir, we’re leaving now. Agent Daniels, please be advised we’ll be on the scene, so the four of you be sure and not take any shots at us,” he joked.
“We’ll keep that in mind, officer.” Shelby answered her ringing phone and was glad they had brought along their own gear so they could leave from the federal building to wherever Kyle needed them. “Daniels.”
“She’s headed to the club, so let’s see if she remembers you from the crowd, Daniels.” In his usual manner, Kyle abruptly disconnected from his end.
Shelby unzipped the bag and pulled out a black minidress as her fellow officers just smiled. George finally had the guts to ask, “Where, Shelby, do you hide a gun while wearing that?”
“Trade secrets, George. If I told you I’d have to kill you.”
*
“You know who we’re looking for, right?” Cain stopped at the front door of Emerald’s and talked to the guy in charge of letting people in.
“Yeah, boss. Merrick gave me the heads-up earlier today. Don’t worry if they show up. I’ll make sure they don’t wait in line.”
Cain turned to Merrick and leaned in a little. “Where are they?”
“The trucks are en route still and about three hours away. That gives us enough time to meet with Vinny and finalize the distribution once they arrive. His father’s monitoring the caravan and says we have plenty of company.”
“Good to know I’m still so popular.”
They entered the building and went directly to Cain’s private table.
“Are you sure you don’t want to let me in on what you’re doing?”
“Sweetheart, you worry about my son and keeping him safe. Let me and Vincent worry about everything else.”
Merrick tried to hide her hurt feelings of being cut out of Cain’s inner circle.
“Don’t pout, Merrick. I haven’t lost faith in you. Believe me, that’s not it. Vincent and I are the only ones on the front lines on this deal. I need you to be ready to move with Hayden, if it comes to that. Once my son is safe, you worry about me, understand?”
Merrick put her hands on Cain’s cheeks and gazed into her eyes for a long moment before kissing her. “I may understand, but that doesn’t mean I’ve got to like it. My place is with you.”
“For now, sweetheart, your place is where I send you. Granted, Lou isn’t as beautiful, but he’s got my back tonight.”
The big man of few words turned to the two women at the private table before he returned to observing at the crowd.
“At least there’ll be no tits to distract you,” said Merrick.
“Yes, that’s one advantage to taking Lou along tonight.”
In answer, or perhaps a curse, to what Merrick had said, two women entered the club, neither of them noticing the other, but both looking for the same person. When they spotted the object of their search in such an intimate embrace with Merrick, they had identical frowns. Anthony walked up and put one hand on Shelby’s elbow and pointed two fingers at her eyes to get her to focus on why they were there. The other woman’s eyes never left the couple as she stalked toward the table, appearing ready to mark her territory.
“Heads up, boss,” said Lou.
“Well, well, who do we have here?” asked Merrick.
“That, my dear, is what my mama would’ve called a devil in a blue dress.”
“Can I talk to you?” Emma seemed ready to drag Cain away by the hair, if that was what it took to get her to cooperate.
“Sure, I’m feeling generous tonight. Merrick, take off and call me when you get home.” Cain stood and kissed Merrick one more time before she left.
When she scanned the crowd, she noticed Emma wasn’t the only surprise guest in the building. Shelby and her shadows were making their way to the bar and keeping an eye on both her and Emma. “Lou, call me in the office when our buddy gets here, okay?”
“You got it, boss.”
For the first time in four years Cain wrapped her hand around Emma’s and pulled her toward the office. It was their first prolonged physical contact since Emma had walked out the front door of their home. She tried to ignore the pull of her heart, but like she had admitted to herself earlier, Emma would always hold a special place in that sealed vault.
From her bar stool, Shelby locked her eyes on the mirror next to the bar. If Cain didn’t know better, she would have sworn the agent could see into the quiet office where they had shared such an intense meeting not that long before. “Emma, you look like your old self tonight. What can I do for you?”
“I want you to listen to me and not interrupt until I’m done. Do you think you can do that?”
“I think I’m disciplined enough to pull it off.”
Emma looked suspicious. She wasn’t expecting Cain to be this accommodating. “Okay, I give. Why are you being so nice?”
“Because it’s the only way I can figure to get rid of you, and like I said before—
I’ve got things to do.”
“Whatever you’ve got planned tonight, Kyle knows all about it and is waiting for you.”
The admission took Cain by surprise. Emma had set her up to get Hayden back, and now she was willing to throw it all away by spoiling Kyle’s surprise. “How?”
“He showed up at the farm and bugged the hell out of the bunkhouse. He knew you wouldn’t let Hayden come alone, so he set a trap for you.”
A dark brow arched at the news, and Emma wanted to run from the look in Cain’s eyes.
“And you know this how?”
“Because he had to ask our permission before he was able to do that. I guess he could have gotten a court order or something, but he talked to me, and I listened again. You’ve got to understand that I thought this was the only way to get Hayden back. But then I learned the truth about Barney Kyle and what kind of help he had gotten from my mother. I can’t take back the past, Cain, but I can try and make up for it, starting now.”
Cain exhaled and leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees. “Are you blaming your mother and Kyle?”
“That would be the easy way out, wouldn’t it?” Emma sat on the opposite end of the couch and hoped Cain would listen to the rest without trying to kill her. “No, what I did, I did for my own reasons. I let someone else convince me of how evil you were, and even though I couldn’t reconcile that person with the one who held me at night and loved me so well, I trusted a stranger blindly.”
“You can never imagine just how deep you’ve cut me, Emma. I took Hayden out to dinner tonight so I could tell him how you were my safe haven, and I believed that at one time. What you’ve done, though, makes it impossible to go back and salvage any type of relationship. So if that’s why you’re here, then get out. I can handle Kyle, and I’ll be fine without your last-minute confessions.”
“There’s one more thing, and you promised you’d let me finish.”
“What? Let me guess. You’re wired for sound too?”
“Don’t you think I know what kind of chance I’m taking coming here tonight and telling you all of this? I have to live with what I did, and I have to live with the shame of what happened to Marie. I’m trying now to stop anything else from happening to my family. Kyle listened to everything you said while you were up visiting us, so whatever you planned, Cain, I’m begging you to think about backing away. I know you won’t believe me, and you’re nothing if not a fighter, but think of Hayden.”
“I am thinking of Hayden. Everything I do is because I’m thinking of Hayden.”
Emma moved closer and put a hand on the cold leather of the seat cushion between them. “There’s one more person to consider here as well.”
“Who would that be?” Cain wanted Emma to admit to the baby. She just wanted to hear it from the woman who should have shared it with her four years before that.
“Your daughter.” Emma’s voice was so soft she barely heard it. She had dropped her head and didn’t look her in the eye.
“Hannah.”
“How?” When she whipped her head up, a few of the blond locks fell from the knot Emma had pulled them into.
“Haywood, Wisconsin has a lot of cows and expanses of empty, beautiful land. But do you know what there isn’t a whole lot of?”
Emma looked at her and shook her head.
“Houses with dark-headed, blue-eyed children who live with two people so blond they’d sunburn in moonlight.”
“I was going to tell you.”
“Emma, don’t insult both of us by saying something so colossally stupid.”
“I just didn’t know how to tell you. Once I left, and went through all that alone, I didn’t know how. Every night, though, I tell her about you and Hayden and how we’ll be together one day. She knows you, Cain. Your little girl knows you even if you haven’t met. When you do, her mom is someone she won’t shy away from, because she belongs to you just like Hayden. Just like I do, but it isn’t for just a little while. I belong to you forever, even if you don’t want me.”
“Promise me something. You owe me that much, at least.”
“Anything.” Emma gathered what courage she had and put her hand over Cain’s. She would have traded her soul for Cain to take her in her arms.
“If something happens to me, you will keep my children safe, and you will stay away from me.”
Cain got up and walked out of the office. This was not the time to become an emotional wreck, but she was close to losing her grip. To have Emma betray her trust and believe Kyle without even asking her was one thing, but to rob her of knowing her daughter was a bigger crime than she could even fathom.
Three feet from the office door was as far as she got before Shelby stopped her in the secluded entryway leading to the private space.
When Emma opened the door to go after Cain, she found them in each other’s arms. Whoever the woman was, she was able to give her ex-lover something she no longer wanted from Emma. Shelby whispered things into Cain’s ear and finally pulled the dark head down and kissed her. The two agents at the bar and Emma all looked away, not wanting to witness something that seemed almost special.
The urge to run again was getting stronger, and she wanted nothing more than to bolt and go home to her daughter. She could call it a wash—she would get Hannah, and Cain would get their son. Not the best solution and fair to no one, but she didn’t want to end up alone, no matter how selfish that sounded. However, her father’s words of not giving up bolstered her courage and made her look at the woman Cain was now holding and talking to.
“I won’t go so easily, Cain, and I know you still care for me. If it takes a lifetime to knock down those walls you’ve built around your heart, then I’m willing to take the time.”
All of the players in the upcoming game eyed their opponents and readied themselves for the final showdown. Time was growing short, and all of them were resolved to win.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Vinny Carlotti had arrived and made himself comfortable at Cain’s private table.
His entry had prompted Kyle to send Lionel in to join the party and tell the other three to keep their eyes open, since the people they had taped all day had mentioned nothing but the weather.
“Boss, Merrick called a few minutes ago and said everything’s ready.” Lou stepped up and waited to see what Cain would decide. Interrupting her meeting with the pretty woman was the last thing he wanted to do, but he had no choice.
“I’m about ready to roll, Lou. Just give me a minute.”
“It’s not too late to pull out.” Shelby locked her arms around Cain’s neck and held her in place. The knowledge that Emma was looking on was, in a way, urging on her behavior, but the hurt look in the blue eyes she had come to dream about was hard to ignore.
“And do what instead, take you home so we can play cops and robbers?”
“Don’t trivialize what I’m trying to do here, Cain. I care about you, and I don’t want to come visit you where I’m forced to look at you through thick glass.”
Cain rubbed her back and kissed her nose. “I’m planning on that dinner you guys are going to owe me when this is all over. Don’t worry about a thing. You just keep your eyes peeled, and I promise I’ll be fine.”
“You’d better be.”
“Honey, trust me. I’ve got some people to see, once this is all over.”
*
Two semis were already parked on the dock when Cain’s car pulled up. Ten more were just getting off the interstate exit ramp, and Kyle held his team back until they arrived. He was feeling almost giddy. His day had finally come, and he would live to see Cain Casey brought down.
Cain opened the back door of the car herself and stepped out to talk to one of the drivers. The warehouse workers had been dismissed, and she motioned for Lou to go open the cargo doors so the guy could pull in to start unloading. The drivers had followed her orders to the letter, and the first truck that pulled into her place was full of cases of Jameson Irish Whiskey. It had been her father’s favorite, and hers as well, and she thought unloading it first would bring her luck.
Kyle spoke into the mike just in front of his mouth. “Sardines. Did she really think we would fall for that?” The headset kept him in contact with all his team as he looked through the night glasses. “If that’s little fish, she must have cornered the market.”
In a momentary lull between trucks pulling in, everyone heard the slamming of a car door, and all the federal agents stared as Emma walked directly over to Cain, who was standing alone, and grabbed her arm. None of them felt as stricken or as mortified as Kyle. He was so close to the biggest bust of his life, and some little blond bitch was about to mess it up.
“Kill the lights and move in,” Kyle ordered, as the floodlights illuminating the docks suddenly went dark for almost a mile stretch. The cloud cover Cain had worried about was now a huge factor in who would hold the advantage.
“What are you doing here?” demanded Cain, as she pulled Emma inside.
“I couldn’t let you do this alone. It’s my fault they’re out there now, and I’m not about to abandon you.”
“Jesus, Emma, did you think for one minute I didn’t plan for every factor, including Kyle? Just get out of here and wait for me to call you.” They had made it through the large cargo doors and were just inside, next to the first semi that had been parked for downloading.
“FBI! Drop your weapons and come out with your hands on your head.” The order came through a bullhorn, and for once Cain didn’t recognize the voice.
“Lou, drop your gun now and step outside where they can see you.”
Shelby heard Cain’s order as she moved to the warehouse entrance. The dress had hindered her speed, but she had her weapon drawn and was ready for anything. As much as she wanted to believe Cain wouldn’t hurt her, she couldn’t predict how a cornered Cain would lash out. Anthony and Joe were right behind her, and Kyle was already at the entrance.
It was hard to pinpoint everything going on around them in the almost-dark, noisy warehouse. Cain forgot her hate for her ex and pulled Emma close. Whoever had ordered them to drop their weapons was nearby when she heard the order again, only this time without the bullhorn. Suddenly she recognized the voice and the danger they were in.
“I said drop your weapon, scumbag,” Kyle ordered, as he looked at Cain and Emma standing together. His gun came up, and almost instantly the bullet left the chamber.
With a quick move, Cain turned around and pulled Emma with her to protect her from the gunfire. Her swing was so quick it propelled them to the floor, where she landed on top of Emma, her arms still wrapped around her in a protective embrace.
“I knew you still cared about me,” Emma whispered up to the ear so near her lips. She could hear only running feet before someone ordered a cease-fire. “Come on, I think the worst is over now. You can let me up.” She said it as a joke, but Cain didn’t respond. Only then did she feel it. The hot wet stain that was growing larger by th
e second on the front of the blue dress Cain had bought for her.
“Drop your weapon!” Shelby screamed from her defensive stance, gun aimed at Kyle.
“Daniels, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” The gun he had just fired was hanging loosely at his side, but he refused to let go of it.
“Sir, I’m asking you to drop your weapon and step forward. If you refuse we’ll have no other option than to take you down by force, and I think no one here really wants to do that.”
Anthony moved behind their boss and aimed his gun at Kyle’s back, in case he made any sudden move against Shelby.
“I’m beginning to think the stress has gotten to all of you, or is it the blueness of the bitch’s eyes that turned you, Daniels? I’m ordering you to drop your weapon. It seems clear to me that you’re working for Casey.”
George stepped up and stared at his old friend. “There’s corruption in the ranks in New Orleans all right, Barney, but it isn’t from these fine young agents. Do as the lady says, and put down your gun.” He was older than Kyle, but he’d used the agent in countless trials, always respecting his professionalism and expert opinions.
The lights came back on, and everyone quickly ripped off the night-vision equipment and blinked furiously, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness. It was then that they noticed the two women on the ground near the parked truck.
Emma was trying to roll Cain off of her, whispering and shaking her furiously to get her to respond. She would have screamed sooner, but she didn’t want to attract any more fire their way. “Cain, honey? Please wake up.”
For a moment Cain did open her eyes and focused on her face. “Take care of Hayden. Tell him I’m…” The voice died away before she finished, and Cain slumped lifelessly against her.
“No!” The frantic call made everyone locked in the battle of wills focus in their direction. Joe, who was backing Shelby up, called for an ambulance and more agents. Lying on the ground was Cain with a gunshot to the back. Emma had two fistfuls of her hair and was screaming at her to wake up.