Heart of the Devil

by Ali Vali

  “The drinks are on me when you’re done, but don’t move until you hear from Billy.” She patted Bryce on the back before going to the office where Billy was waiting. “Anything?”

  “You’d think they’d be as vigilant about checking their surroundings as we are,” he said as he cued up the recording of the inside of the FBI surveillance van. Lou had left a few gifts no one but she, Billy, and Lou knew about. From what she heard, once Billy had turned the jammer on when he called Merrick to the point where he outran them, their watchers had no clue as to the conversation and where they were.

  “Give Muriel a call and tell her to send someone good for Charlie White. We need to keep his brother Bryce happy.” She poured them both a drink and tapped her glass against Billy’s. “That’s one less thing we have to worry about and gives us some room to work.”

  She finished her drink and kissed Billy’s cheek. “Have fun and be good.”

  “You’re leaving already?”

  “I promised a drink and I had one, but I have some early stuff tomorrow, and I’m headed home. Don’t pout. I feel more relaxed already, so you did a good job on that too.”

  She left Merrick with Billy and took the car. She’d planned to go home, but everything Billy had said went through her mind, so she made a last-minute decision and headed to Emma’s. Maybe she’d been too quick to dismiss Emma, and seeing her again would give her an idea on how to start over.

  The street, as always, was quiet, so she parked and sat for a bit. Like clockwork, Lou drove up and walked Emma upstairs. A few minutes later Lou took off, and the light in Emma’s apartment was still on. As she put her hand on the door handle, another car pulled up, and the man immediately got out.

  The guy stopped and glanced up before going in, so Cain sat and tried to think if she’d ever seen him before, since he seemed so familiar. She waited, and it finally came to her. He was the young agent at the pub who’d left the van long enough for her guys to have it towed. He’d been with Hicks and Kyle the day at the hospital as well.

  “What are you doing here?” She glanced at her watch and sat. No fast visit where Emma told this guy to buzz off lasted twenty-five minutes.

  That’s how long it took for the guy to get back outside, and he didn’t linger. But Cain couldn’t determine his facial expression because of the darkness.

  “What are you up to, Ms. Verde? You can’t have made such crappy friends in two weeks.”

  Now she wanted to see Emma, but romance was the last thing on her agenda. “Why does the story of the Trojan horse come to mind?”

  Chapter Eighteen

  The next day Cain got away from the office early and had dinner with Marie, Billy, and Therese. She helped Marie get ready for bed and left her mum to read to her so she and Billy could go out. She still had plenty of time to make it to the pub before the witching hour of ten o’clock.

  “I’m glad you finally came to your senses,” Billy said as they arrived and saw Muriel by the door. “Lou told me you called to make sure Emma was working.”

  “I want to talk to her about a couple of things, so I did need to make sure she was here.”

  Josh had saved them a table and delivered the first set of drinks himself. Cain sipped the dark beer he’d given her and stared at Emma as Billy and Muriel teased each other about little things. It seemed Emma was trying to build her confidence to come over, and after a deep breath she made her way to their table.

  “Hey,” Emma said, holding refills for them. “It’s good to see you.”

  She wanted to lash out, but as always, Emma seemed so earnest and shy. All she could do was look at Emma and not say anything, so Billy jumped in to try to save her. “Good to see you too, Emma,” he said, and introduced her to Muriel.

  “I’m glad you’re doing okay,” Emma said, keeping Cain’s beer on her tray. “Are you seriously not going to say anything to me?” Emma asked like she was speaking to a petulant child.

  “Why should I? Does your boyfriend need me to confess to something?” Her back came off her chair, and she spoke with as much accusation as she meant.

  “What are you talking about?” Emma seemed mortified at her outburst, and her trembling lip made Cain think she might start crying.

  “Don’t deny it. I saw that guy last night.”

  “What guy?” Billy asked instantly, getting angry on her behalf, she guessed.

  “He was there for one of two reasons.” She was glad she remembered the control in her pocket that engaged the jammers around the building that Bryce had installed. Being played was humiliating enough. She didn’t need to make it worse by broadcasting it. “So either he was recruiting you…” she said, and Emma shook her head.

  “Don’t say it,” Emma pleaded.

  “Or he was there to get—”

  Before she could finish, Emma poured the beer on her tray over Cain’s head and ran toward the office. She came close to running into Josh, who was headed to the table when Emma soaked her. Cain slowly stood and pointed at Billy, who was now laughing.

  “Cain,” Josh said, pressing his hands together.

  “Zip it,” she said, going after Emma. When she reached the back, Emma was coming out of the employee bathroom dabbing her eyes with some tissue.

  “That guy came to my place and asked me to help him spy on you,” Emma said, her tears still falling. “I told him I would never do that to a friend, so he told me some stuff about you and your family. I guess it was supposed to change my mind, but it didn’t. He threatened me, so I returned the favor and told him I’d call the cops if he didn’t leave.”

  “Why should I believe you?”

  “Because I called you and left a message,” Emma said loudly. “But for some reason you won’t talk to me, so I figured that’s why you came tonight. I’m not hiding anything from you.”

  She didn’t think Emma was lying, but she glanced at her phone, and Emma had called her and left a message. “I got this all wrong,” she said, combing her wet, sticky hair back. “You have every right not to forgive me, but I’m sorry.”

  “Why did you shut me out?” Emma said, crying harder. “If you say it was to protect me, or because I’m better off, I’m going to pour something else on you before Josh fires me.”

  “No one’s firing you.” She took a step forward, hoping Emma didn’t bolt. “All this is my fault, and I’m really sorry.”

  Billy said, “You should take that, Emma, since she’s seldom wrong about anything. If you two are going to kiss and make up, I’ll head back to my beer, but if you need me to knock her around, I will.”

  “I think I can handle it from here,” Cain said and laughed.

  “I was talking to Emma,” he said and winked before he left.

  “Why didn’t you let me go with you the day he got in the accident? I could tell you were upset, and I wanted to be there for you.”

  “You have to understand who I am…who I was raised to be,” she said, wanting to do anything but have this conversation.

  Emma took her hand and led her to a row of crates and sat down, not letting her go. “I don’t understand what that means, but you’re going to explain as soon as I finish saying a few things.”

  “We can’t leave it at ‘I’m sorry’ and move on?” She got up, but only to grab a bar towel to wipe her face and hands.

  “I’m sorry I did that.”

  “I doubt it,” she said and smiled. “I probably deserved it.”

  “You came in here that first night and answered every question I never thought to ask because I’d never considered the subject. I’d finally found the reason I never fit in back home and why I’m such a disappointment to my mother.” Emma held her hand sandwiched between hers. “It’s like she knew all along and rejected me for being an abomination, which is what she’ll see me as.”

  “You’re no abomination, darling girl.” She put her arm around Emma and kissed her temple. “You’re no such thing.”

  “I don’t want to change to please my
mother, and I want you to stop running away from me.” Emma turned and faced her. “Do you think you could do that?”

  “I meant that I never show weakness, but Merrick telling me Billy was in the hospital brought back the day my da was killed.” She closed her eyes to center herself and felt better when Emma pressed her hand to her cheek. “It almost paralyzed me, and I didn’t want you to see me like that.”

  “I want all of you. Don’t you know that?” Emma leaned in and kissed her. “I don’t need to know your business, and I’ll never betray you, but I need to know you. Do you think you can let me in just enough to prove I’m not out to hurt you?”

  “I think we’ll take your plan of going slow and see where that leads us.”

  Emma kissed her again. The way she laced her fingers through her hair gave Cain the impression she wanted to keep her in place. “I missed you.”

  She smiled and nodded when Emma whispered that in her ear. “I missed you too, but maybe we can do something about that.”

  “Something like what?” Emma tugged on her hair and squinted, as if daring her to say the wrong thing.

  “Starting over means starting over, so how about a first date some place you like?” The noise of the pub grew louder, so she glanced back to see who’d opened the door. “It’s okay, Josh. I promise not to keep her too much longer if you need her back.”

  “Can I do anything for you?” Josh asked.

  “Not a thing, but if we have such a thing as employee of the month, don’t give it to Emma,” she said and laughed when Emma pinched her ear. “Think about what I said, and I’ll see you later,” she told Emma.

  “You’re leaving? I just now got to see you again.”

  “Let me go home and change, and then I’ll come back and take you home.” She stood and kept Emma from hugging her, earning her another pout. “It’s bad enough that I smell like someone bathed me in beer. Get back to work before Josh has a nervous breakdown.”

  “You’re coming back though, right?”

  “I doubt you’ll have time to miss me again.”

  Emma laughed and kissed the back of her hand. “That was pretty sappy, mobster.”

  “Mobster?” she asked, laughing with Emma.

  “That’s what the world keeps wanting me to see, but I’m happy with the view. Besides, who else is going to call you that to your face?”

  “Certainly no one I know, so it’s a good thing I like you so much.”

  “Do you?” Emma took hold of her other hand.

  “I do, and I look forward to showing you.”

  * * *

  “Do you want to go to the pub again?” Bea asked her new boyfriend. They’d been together less than two weeks, but the big guy was terrific in bed and took her out whenever she wanted. “Emma’s working again tonight, so maybe we’ll score some free drinks. Not that you can’t afford it,” she said, slapping his ass.

  Boone rolled over, and Bea noticed he was hard as stone again. The guy couldn’t get enough of her, so she was loving it. “You want to talk me into it?” He put his hands behind his back and slightly spread his legs.

  She tapped her chin with her index finger a couple of times like she was thinking about it before she moved down and put her mouth on him. He held the back of her head and hummed as she went down on him. After he pulled her hair, she got on top of him, and as he thrust up while holding her hips, she came with him.

  Once Boone was done he jumped up and hurried into Bea’s shower, closing the door like he was suddenly shy, but that had been his habit from the first time he’d come over. She put on her robe to wait for him, since she knew he’d come out clean and dressed.

  “How’s your friend doing with Casey?” Boone asked as he sat next to her to put his shoes on.

  “Sounds like whatever they had going on ended. I talked to her at lunch, but little Emma finally has shown she’s interested in someone, so that might change.” When she got up to take her shower he grabbed her by the back of the belt.

  “That’s it?” he asked, sounding like her answer hadn’t satisfied him.

  “Babe,” she said, massaging his neck. “Why are you so interested in Emma’s love life? She’s from some farm in the middle of nowhere, so believe me, it’s boring as shit.”

  “I might want to do some business with Casey. What I asked you to do isn’t all that hard. You didn’t tell her you were asking for me, did you?” The way he asked scared her because he’d never been anything but nice. “Did you?”

  “No. I just told her I cared about her, and we could all go out together if she was serious about her. Like I said, she’s inexperienced, so I thought she needed a push. Hell, I had to tell her who Cain Casey is, and I still don’t think she believes me.”

  “Get ready, and maybe you can talk to her again.” Boone let Bea go and started putting his socks on. She moved away slowly, glancing back at him, so he smiled.

  When the bathroom door closed, Boone reached for his phone and called his sister. He was getting tired of fucking this little know-it-all, but Callie wanted to use Emma to get close to Casey. How Big Gino had gotten the information on these two college bitches was still a mystery, but Callie had agreed it was their best move.

  “Hey, where are you?” Callie asked.

  “At Bea’s, and I’m ready to move on to something better than this,” he said, trying to keep his voice down even though the shower was still running. “Has that fat prick told you how he knew about this girl, and the other one, Emma?”

  “He said Bea’s family does some work for him, but they don’t like to advertise it. As far as your coed knows, her daddy’s family makes money delivering bread.”

  “She said she tried to tell Emma about Casey, so she might not be so stupid on the subject as her daddy might think.” He grabbed his wallet and keys, feeling naked without any type of weapon. “Let’s just hope this shit works. If you ask me, all I need is a day of following Casey, and I’ll find a way to finish this crap.”

  “That’s the best way to get either arrested or killed, since the word on the street is that Casey’s got the feds up her ass. If she gets killed in some place like the bar she owns, the crowd will give you cover, so calm down. Once you eliminate Bea and Emma, there’ll be no one to identify you.”

  “Next time you get to do this shit.”

  Callie laughed, and he came close to hanging up. “Come on. Enjoy your little fuck buddy and wait this out. Keep remembering what’s at stake.”

  “Okay, but after tonight, I might try it my way.”

  “You need to tell me before you try anything,” Callie said, her humor gone.

  “What the fuck do you think I just did?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Cain showed up the next morning wearing khakis and a golf shirt, wanting to make Emma comfortable. After taking over the family business, she’d adhered to her father’s unwritten rule of always looking the part. No matter what was happening in his life, her da had always dressed impeccably.

  “I really want to play hooky today,” Emma said when she stepped out of her building.

  “You might want to, but I’m not that much of a bad influence. You’re going to school, but I’m going to walk you over there and wait.” She kissed Emma and reached for her bag.

  “You’re taking the day off?” Emma slid their hands together and still dragged her feet, as if wanting to make their time last as long as possible.

  “I promised last night and I’m sticking to that. You go to class, and I’ll sit outside and do a little homework.” Tulane was only a couple of streets over, and she almost laughed at all the slow-moving vehicles behind them. “So you’ll have a chance to think of where you want to go for lunch.”

  “We’re going on another picnic, but this time I’m requesting some place a bit more secluded. Think you can manage that?” They were close to the building where Emma’s class was, so she stopped at her bench. “Are you sure you want to work out here because of…you know?” Emma pointed to the rig
ht as discreetly as she could.

  “I’m positive, so go ahead and leave me to our lunch planning.”

  She watched Emma walk away, sitting when Emma went inside. The jammer was in her pocket, so she reached for it but didn’t turn it on, even when Lou and two of her other men were in place with the equipment that would make it work. Instead she took out her phone, as Merrick sat two benches down from her.

  “Jake,” she said, recognizing his voice.

  “Cain, you finally ready?”

  “Have you cleared your schedule since we talked last?” She kept putting him off but thought it was time to move on.

  “That’s why I’ve been calling. I’ve got some stuff going on, but I’m ready to sit and show you what we can do.”

  “That’s why I’m reaching out.” She turned her face to the sun, now facing the guys following her. “I need you to understand that we’re moving on, so feel free to deal with whoever you want.”

  “What can I do to change your mind?”

  “Nothing, and just so you understand—our organization isn’t interested in anything you’re selling, so good luck.”

  He stayed silent for a long few minutes, but she didn’t feel the need to say anything. She could almost hear his mind working overtime to grasp for something to reel her back in. “You really don’t want to cut a better deal than what you have right now?”

  “You should remember what Billy said about guessing about things you don’t know anything about, so like I said, good luck. Hopefully you’ll get what you’re looking for, but leave me and my family out of it.” She hung up, not needing to add anything else.

  She didn’t open her eyes when her phone rang again, knowing Muriel was always punctual. “You’re not at the office,” Muriel said as a greeting.

  “I’m playing hooky because I’ve got a date,” she said, stretching her legs out in front of her. “Are you at the office?”

  “I’m trying to get unpacked, and no one asked me out, so yes, I’m at the office. There’s that and our donation to our decided charity for the year, and I wanted to make sure before I cut the check.”