by Ali Vali
“You can try and remove her, lady, but make sure you bring enough people to take Freddie and me with her,” said Lou, who stood just inside Cain’s room.
A man at the counter surrounding the nurses’ station chuckled. Cain’s surgeon had arrived and was glancing over the paper readouts her monitors had produced as he listened to the fighting going on in the room.
Emma glanced toward the door as Dr. Elton opened it. With Cain’s chart under his arm, he motioned all the healthcare workers out. “It’s no wonder you’re awake, with all the noise,” he joked as he began his examination. He explained to Emma that Cain was a medical enigma to him. Her condition was something he expected to see in a couple of weeks, if she survived at all, but the alert blue eyes and reflex response were almost normal.
“Take this out. Now.” Cain’s tone belonged to someone not used to being denied.
“Cain, I want you to understand something, so hear me out, okay?”
His patient swallowed rapidly and with difficulty because of the tube she was complaining about, but she nodded.
“Someone tried to kill you with a very large gun that shot even bigger bullets. I’m thrilled you’re awake, but now I’m the boss, not you. The staff and I will try our best to make you comfortable, but you have a ways to go before we’re done.”
Cain motioned him closer and said, “I’ve got enough shit hooked up to me, and it’s scaring my kid, so take it out. It’s the first time she’s seen me, and I don’t want this to be what she remembers about the day.”
“Mrs. Casey, could you and your daughter give us about twenty minutes? I promise it’s just to clean Cain up and get her comfortable. If it’s possible, we’ll move her to a private room so you’ll be more comfortable as well.”
“No more drugs?” Emma asked with conviction.
“Unless she asks me, no more drugs.”
As Emma and Hannah waited, the clock seemed mired in quicksand. Emma was about to go back into the room after forty minutes had passed, but then the doctor met her at the door.
“I don’t understand how, but she’ll be home in about a week.”
She laughed at the thought of Cain flat on her back for a week. “If you can keep her that long. Cain isn’t the best patient. Add to that her lack of patience, and a week might be tough.”
“You don’t understand. I thought she’d have to stay a month or two.”
“No, Dr. Elton. You don’t understand. Cain’s an extraordinary person, used to doing extraordinary things. Right now she doesn’t have time for this, so she’ll will herself to mend.”
“May your children take after her, then, Mrs. Casey. You go on in. She’s asking for you.” Dr. Elton patted her hand and left.
Go on in, she’s asking for you. The doctor’s comment echoed in Emma’s head, making her dizzy. Memories of Cain dressing her down also echoed in her mind, but she had been lucky up to now. She had never been on the receiving end of the Casey temper at full throttle.
The time the staff had taken made a difference. Cain looked almost healthy with only the oxygen tube in her nose. The one she’d found offensive was gone, and Emma could only hope it was the staff that had removed it.
“I hurt too much to bite, so come here.” Cain’s voice was still raspy from the medical equipment, but it sounded glorious. The teasing comment was the first thing Cain had uttered to her that didn’t carry with it a dose of anger.
“Cain, I’m so sorry for everything. I didn’t come here to see you get hurt, but I’m grateful to you for saving my life.”
She quit apologizing when, with a great deal of effort, Cain put up her hand and said, “She’s a beautiful child, Emma.”
“She’s a Casey, Cain. What choice did she have but to be beautiful? I know it won’t make things right between us, but I taught her to love you and Hayden.” Emma sat on the chair next to the bed and rested her hands close to Cain’s body. “She’s talked about you for so long. I’m glad you found out.”
Cain’s side hurt like hell, and she wasn’t up for a fight. “Your plan was to send me to jail so you could get Hayden back, so I’m sorry if I find your words more than a little hollow.” The saddest thing that had occurred to Cain about everything that had happened was that she’d missed out on Emma’s second pregnancy. She vividly recalled her first one.
Twelve Years Earlier in the Casey Bedroom in New Orleans
“Don’t strain yourself today. I mean it.” Cain was sitting on the bed putting on her socks as she lectured the woman lying behind her. Her seventh month of pregnancy was starting to wear Emma down and swell her up in unimaginable places.
“When are you coming home?”
The irritated tone directed at her didn’t faze Cain. It was hormonal, and she figured the real Emma would return sometime after the birth. “Tonight early. I already talked to Vinny and told him I wasn’t staying long, but the Gulf Coast property’s being cleared today, and we’re meeting with some of the county commissioners. If I could skip it I would, baby, but this is one meeting I can’t miss.”
Emma watched as Cain slipped on her belt, then her watch. The passion was gone. Now she knew what every pregnant woman meant—she really did feel like a beached whale and couldn’t blame Cain for not finding her attractive.
“Maybe later you could go for a walk with Carmen? It’s nice outside today.”
“I’m not a pet, Cain, so stop being so condescending. Just go. I’m sure you’re late by now.”
If Emma expected the blue eyes to harden and give her the fight she was picking for, the exact opposite happened. Cain sat beside her and put her hands on Emma’s cheeks. “I know you’re tired, sweetling, and this big bruiser isn’t helping any, but I love you. You rest, and I promise I’ll be home early.”
Emma nodded, then lowered her head so Cain wouldn’t see the tears. It wasn’t fair to keep taking out her bad moods on the person who loved her more than life. Cain pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. Then she felt the bed shift again and Cain was gone. Never had she wanted to beg her to stay more than in that one moment, but it was just a mood swing. Something so tragic would seem silly in an hour, so Emma kept quiet.
Trying to relax, Emma undressed and stepped into the shower. Reviewing her actions, she leaned her head against the shower wall and sobbed. She wanted to start the morning over so she could retract the harsh words, but now Cain was gone. “Emma, you idiot, it’s not like she doesn’t have her pick. Keep this up, and she’ll go looking for someone who doesn’t talk back so often.” She laughed when no one disagreed with her. Talking out loud to herself had become another side effect of pregnancy.
And then, suddenly, she wasn’t alone. She cried harder when she heard the soft voice so close to her ear. “Ah, but she likes them feisty, lass. I want a partner, not a lapdog.”
Cain’s tall, nude body pressed against her back felt solid and wonderful, and Emma turned and pressed her cheek to Cain’s shoulder.
“No tears now, sweetling. They’ll ruin our morning.” Cain ran her fingers through the wet blond hair. After seeing the sadness on Emma’s face, she hadn’t been able to get very far once she’d walked out of the bedroom.
“What are you doing here?” Emma turned her head up and kissed Cain’s collarbone as she gazed up at her greatest wish.
“I live here, love. I’m the one you use as a foot warmer at night.” Cain ran her fingers down Emma’s neck, her lips following closely behind. She stopped just behind her ear and bit down gently, loving how it made Emma shiver.
“I know that, you sweet idiot. What I meant was, I thought you had a meeting?”
“I had a choice of bribing some old fat white guys into cutting us in on some gambling action, or bribing you into spending the day with me. It wasn’t a close contest so here I am. I want to spend hours showing you how much I love you and just how beautiful I think you are.”
“Do you have any idea how much I love you?” Emma put her hand behind Cain’s neck and pulled her down to clai
m a kiss. Any insecurities she had of Cain not finding her attractive disappeared when her partner’s tongue pushed gently against hers and Cain’s hands covered her backside, pulling her closer.
“How about we answer that question in the bedroom, Mrs. Casey?” asked Cain, when they pulled apart.
“That’s me, and I always will be.”
They had spent so many mornings like that, so many days when Emma had rushed down to Cain’s office so she could feel Hayden moving around. Had Hannah been so active? Had the picture of Emma feeding her been as sweet and beautiful? Cain could never live those stories again, and her own Mrs. Casey had stolen them from her.
“I’ve learned something about myself in the last month, Cain. In the end I couldn’t betray you just to regain my son. For the longest time I thought it was a fair trade. You got Hayden and I’d have Hannah, but it doesn’t work. We have two children, and each of them needs us for different reasons. I’d love nothing more than for you to forgive me, but if that doesn’t happen we need to learn to share them.”
“If you were in my shoes, Emma, would you forgive?”
Emma admitted to herself that when she had come back and wanted to see Hayden, Cain had granted access. It wasn’t Cain’s fault she had left and her son hated her for it, which was her own burden to carry. So she answered truthfully. “No.”
“Sweetling, that might be the first honest thing you’ve said to me in forever.”
The endearment and the rest of what she had to confess started her tears. “There’s more.” Through the hiccups and sobs, she got out the rest. Hayden was gone, Cain was shot, and it was all her fault.
“Who has him?”
“Giovanni Bracato.”
Cain forgot the pain for a moment and closed her hand into a fist. “That fat bastard’s going to wish he’d stayed a gleam in his father’s eye.”
“I’ve already met with him.” Emma leaned back in the chair and wiped her face. She didn’t think Cain would coldcock her, but she wasn’t taking any chances. The medication Cain was on could prove her wrong.
“You? I’m sure he found that highly amusing. What’d you do, ask him pretty please with sugar on top?”
Merrick’s arrival was enough to defuse Cain’s rampage and allay the nurses. “No, she had Mook knock out his front teeth and the rest of the boys kidnap all Bracato’s kids, including his grandson, Little Gino.”
Cain turned to Emma, who nodded in confirmation. “I wanted him ready to deal, and I thought his whole family would be worth Hayden.”
“Listen to me carefully, the both of you. If you get him killed, start running before his body hits the floor. Run like the devil himself is chasing you, because you’ll find you might prefer him to me.” Cain glared at both of them in turn, and her voice was pure menace. “Nothing fancy whenever this goes down. You get my son and leave. Understand?”
“Yes,” both Emma and Merrick answered.
“But, Cain,” Emma said.
“Get out.”
Cain was done, but neither of her visitors moved. She leveled a murderous glare at both of them, and her voice dropped to its chilliest register.
“Get the fuck out.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Shelby stirred her coffee, hoping two pink packets of sweetener and three creamers would make it taste better. “Why is it you hardly ever blip on the radar Cain’s constantly under, Muriel?”
“I’m around, Shelby, so you tell me.”
“Cain’s your only client?” Shelby watched as Muriel took a healthy swig from the Styrofoam cup and shivered. This one must have the makeup of a killer too if she can drink this shit black.
“Is this a coffee date or an interrogation? If your answer’s ‘date,’ you must not do too much of it.”
“This is not a date.”
“So we’ll go with the interrogation, then.” Muriel had on her courtroom smile, which was making Shelby nervous.
“Can’t a girl be just curious?”
“Most women are, Agent Daniels, but then again most of them don’t have the ability to arrest you if their curiosity hits a nerve.” With one more gulp, Muriel drained the cup. “What was the question again?”
“I forget.”
“Somehow that seems highly unlikely to me.” The smile got wider. “My cousin Derby is my only active client, yes, but I take care of the business as well as her. She’s two years older than me, but I hear tell I’m better in bed.”
“I doubt it.” It slipped out before Shelby could censor it.
“See there, we’ve come to our first nerve, and unfortunately it’s a strike against me. Derby has always had a little better luck with the pretty ones. Must be that gangster thing. Attorneys are more of an acquired taste.”
Shelby laughed at Muriel’s easy charm. “More like a pain in the ass. I spend my life trying to catch criminals, and people like you spend it trying to let them loose. And I thought I told you to call me Shelby.”
“Since your next question was most probably if I’ve ever been involved in the family business, I thought I should address you accordingly. I wouldn’t want it said in court I was disrespectful.” Muriel pointed to Shelby’s cup. “Another?”
“Just hanging around your family is death wish enough, thank you. Can I ask just one more question? I promise it has nothing to do with business.”
“My phone number?”
Shelby shook her head and laughed again. “Maybe later, much later. What I want to know is Emma’s story. I wasn’t on Kyle’s detail when Cain went up north, and she was history before I came to the city.”
“I’m sure it’s in Derby’s file. Why not just read about it?”
“Because I want to hear it from you. Why’d she leave?”
There was no harm in telling the story, but Muriel was so good at her job because she was suspicious of everything. The world didn’t revolve around money. It revolved around information. Something said innocently now could later be the final nail in the Casey family coffin, and she wasn’t about to be the one to bury Cain.
“The truth is, this is Derby’s story to tell, Shelby.”
“This is off the record, Muriel. I came today because I owe Cain something. I’m sure I’ll get my transfer now, and I didn’t want to leave without knowing. Maybe there’s something I can do to make her feel better. You know, pay her back in some way.”
The confession sounded sincere enough to Muriel. “It doesn’t change the fact that it’s Cain you need to ask. Cain’s not just my client, Shelby, she’s my family. A cousin who’s gone through more than her share of tragedy, all the while knowing she was being watched like a butterfly pinned to a board. The truth is, she trusts me more than most, and she hasn’t told me everything about Emma.”
“I can respect that.”
“Thank you,” said Muriel. She watched Emma rush by the cafeteria headed toward the front entrance, followed closely by Merrick. “Would you excuse me a moment. Better yet, why not go back up and visit Cain while I tend to something. I promise I won’t be long.”
“Trying to ditch me?”
“Of course not, Shelby. Call it comparison shopping. I’m sure you’ll go for the younger model, given a chance.”
“I’ll wait for you upstairs. Don’t stand me up.”
“And let my cousin win out? Never.”
Emma was racing down the sidewalk with a nervous Merrick chasing her down. The family counselor took off in a slow jog, calling out to Merrick so she wouldn’t be shot as she got closer.
“Emma, stop or I swear I’ll put you over my knee when I catch up to you.” Muriel gripped Emma’s elbow anything but gently when she did catch her and dragged her back into the hospital and the most secluded place she could think of, the chapel. “Jesus Christ, did you learn nothing from what happened to Hayden?”
“She hates me, Muriel. I lost Hayden and kept Hannah from her, and now she hates me.”
With two fingers under Emma’s chin, Muriel forced her to look up. �
��I’d have guessed with all the time you spent up on that farm, you’d have spent some of it thinking.”
“What do you mean?” Emma asked in a defeated tone.
“It’s simple, Emma. You ran before, and what did it get you? Did you find happiness in anything but Hannah all those years you were gone?”
“No.”
“Did you find the woman your mother wants you to be?” Muriel persisted.
“I can’t be that person. Even if I could, she said I can’t go back there.”
“You don’t have to go back, Emma, but you’ve got to stop running away. Derby Cain understands one thing, and that’s strength. Show some and start running toward something, instead of away from her. If you don’t, you’re going to be lonely without her.”
“She doesn’t want me, Muriel. The sooner I come to grips with that, the sooner I can decide what I’m going to do with the rest of my life.”
“One more talk with her is all I’m asking, only this time go in there and act like you belong at her side. You accepted the role Derby gave you as someone to be sheltered and taken care of, and look where it’s gotten you. She won’t give in unless you give her a reason to.” Muriel stood and buttoned her jacket. Advice on legal matters was much easier to give.
“Why?”
“Why do I care?”
Emma nodded.
“Because she loves you more than she hates you. You fucked up, Emma, but so does everyone. Granted, yours was a fuckup of a magnitude you don’t often see, but—”
“Okay, I get it. Any more trying to make me feel better and I may start crying again.”
Laughter was coming out of the private room the nurse in ICU directed Muriel and Emma to, enough laughter for Emma to shed her doubt and find her anger. She was used to women flirting with Cain, but Cain usually rebuffed them. This sounded like Cain was responding accordingly.
The biggest shock was that it was Agent Daniels her ex-lover was playing with. “Agent Daniel, would you please excuse us,” said Emma in way of a greeting.
“Sure, I was just waiting for my coffee date.” The tension in the room was thick enough to make Shelby want to leave. The last thing she needed was for her superiors to read about her getting into a catfight over Cain Casey.