by Ali Vali
“He’s going to be disappointed.”
“Disappointment comes when you don’t have a chance,” Cain said, echoing her father. “That’s not what I’m saying. Once he’s got more experience, he’s got a shot.”
“The only one that’ll make happy is Lou’s brother.” Muriel walked with her down the hall. “He’s a fireman with no interest in the life. Lou told me it’s killing him that Nick chose to follow this path. He wanted better for his son.”
“I can understand that. Every parent wants the best for their children, but he doesn’t—”
Cain stopped talking and walking, and Muriel had to turn back. “Something wrong?”
Without saying anything else, Cain went back down and into the office. The list of passengers was in the top drawer. She’d been meaning to call Hector Delarosa in Columbia to pick his brain, but now she had only one question to ask him. After Muriel told her about Anthony’s collection of pictures, she wasn’t willing to wait for the answer.
With every counter-surveillance device turned on, Cain dialed the number. “Señor Delarosa, please.” She paused as whoever answered said something. “It’s Cain Casey from New Orleans.”
She sat and indicated to Muriel to do the same. “Sometimes things are so easy it makes you miss them,” she said as she waited.
“What’s so easy?” Muriel asked.
Cain put her finger up as she heard a muted exchange on the other end. “Hello.”
“Señor Delarosa, I’m sorry to call so late,” Cain said with the sheet from the airline in her hand.
“Cain, please call me Hector,” he said in refined English with a slight accent. “I’ve heard so much about you I feel as if we’re old friends. What can I do to help you?”
“From my contacts here I understand you and Rodolfo Luis were business partners at one time.” She picked up a pen and put a check mark next to every Juan on the page.
“Until Rodolfo became too important. Do you understand my meaning?”
“After meeting him a few times I understand perfectly.”
“It’s of no matter now. Rodolfo has chosen to do business with the Luca family, and we will deal with someone else. This person has a bigger network of friends, which means fewer enemies for me to deal with. In my business it’s a better position to be in.” Cain accepted the drink Muriel had poured her, as well as the fact that it was Remi and herself Hector was talking about, and rested her elbows on the edge of the desk. “But I’m sure you didn’t call about my history. What else can I answer for you?”
Drugs weren’t something Cain would ever involve herself in, but something about Hector made her like him. “My father always said that history was a good roadmap to the future.”
“Then it is history we will talk about tonight.”
“The story I’m interested in actually has to do more with Juan Luis than his uncle.”
“Rodolfo will learn soon enough what a rabid dog he’s raised, and unfortunately for him it will be a lesson he won’t live to learn from. He punished his sister Gracelia for soiling his family name by taking Juan away from her to raise himself. That selfishness on his part has made both Juan and his mother unstable enough to turn on him.”
That statement alone made Cain smile. Not over Rodolfo’s problems, but because Hector knew so much about them. “What I need from you is the name of the man who fathered Juan.”
She hoped the silence on the other end indicated Hector was thinking.
“He was a drifter, if I remember, since I only heard Rodolfo refer to him once when he told me what he’d done to him, but I believe his name was Ortega. Yes, that’s it, Armando Ortega.”
Cain moved her finger from check to check until she reached the eighth one on the list. Juan Armando Ortega had used his passport to enter the United States the day Rick had been killed. Gracelia and Juan might have been unstable, but that didn’t equal stupid. That Juan was able to get a passport with that name meant Gracelia Luis had kept her lover alive in her memory, no matter how hard Rodolfo had tried to erase it.
“One more thing, Hector. How did Armando die?”
“That is one story that makes me cross my legs whenever I tell it,” he said with a chuckle. He gave her the details Rodolfo had shared with him about how he’d tied Armando to a tree and coated his genitals in honey before agitating the large red-ant hill at the base. “Rodolfo told me the ants devoured his manhood before he died, but they didn’t leave him alive very long.”
“Thank you for answering my questions and for taking my call,” Cain said as she circled Juan’s given name.
“I’ll be in New Orleans soon. Perhaps while I’m there we can share a meal.”
“I’ll be happy to treat for all your help. Good night.”
“What’d he say?” Muriel asked as soon as Cain hung up.
“Our rat has another name and he’s here.” Cain handed over the page with Juan’s name on it. “Katlin’s back, right?”
“She’s in the pool house.”
“Get her up here first thing in the morning before you two head off to finish the Anthony business. If Juan’s returned, and he is according to this, I want him found.”
“Are you still planning to meet with Rodolfo?”
“As soon as I’m done with you all in the morning.” Cain put her papers in the desk and locked it, slipping the key into her pocket.
“Do you want me to do anything else with the casino deal?” Muriel asked. She stopped at the head of the hallway that led to the rear of the house. “With everything that’s happened we’ve almost forgotten it.”
“Postponed, Cousin, not forgotten. Nunzio’s a hard guy to put out of your head for long, so there’s no way I’ve forgotten him. He’ll have to wait until I’ve squared Juan away.” A door opened upstairs, the quiet house making it easy to hear, and Cain expected to see Emma at any minute. “After Nunzio hired someone to kill Remi, it’s best to let Ramon deal with him.”
“With no input from us?”
“Of course not. I’ve been considering how best to dispense with this problem.”
“You want me to handle our end of things?” Muriel asked.
Just then, Emma came downstairs, put her arms around Cain’s waist, and said, “You better take a night to think about asking something that important, Muriel.”
“You think I can’t handle it?” Muriel asked, not yet sounding insulted but at the cusp of her patience, from what Cain could tell.
“I’ve got no doubt about that,” Emma said as Cain kissed her cheek.
“Then what’s to think about?”
“She’s talking about points of no return,” Cain said. “Up to now you haven’t had to answer a challenge like the one Nunzio issued by hiring Jorge. He tried to draw first blood and we’ve got to answer him.”
“Blood demands blood, I understand that perfectly. Don’t forget I grew up in this family too, and I did it without blinders on.”
“Take the night Emma’s suggested, and before you ask me again, remember one thing. To deal with the devil is easy, but the debt you incur weighs heavily on your soul. Not everyone’s made to carry the load.”
“More wise advice from Uncle Dalton?”
“My father agreed with the words, but your father told me that. Jarvis served Da like you have me for as long as Da was alive, and he never asked to change his lot in life.”
Muriel’s nose flared as if Cain had finally lit her ire. “Why do you have such a problem with me doing it? I thought we were beyond that.”
“I’ve tried to give you what you asked for, haven’t I? But I have a problem with you trying to prove something, not to yourself, but to a woman who you tell me is of no consequence.” Cain knew her words were stern, but she needed to say them as much as Muriel needed to hear them. “You don’t have to prove to me you deserve your name, but you’ve got to start thinking like a Casey.”
“What do you think I’ve been doing?”
“If you want the truth, putt
ing yourself in situations to prove to Shelby you’re no one’s fool. It’s time to pick what your debt will be, but be damn sure you’re in shape to carry it. I can’t do that for you.”
Cain tensed when Muriel moved toward her, but just as quickly relaxed into the embrace Muriel initiated. “I don’t need time to think. Where you lead I’ll follow. It’s that simple, and thanks for always watching out for me.”
“That’s my privilege,” Cain said as she kissed her forehead.
“Just remember that I’ll follow, but like Emma, I don’t want to be left behind.”
“That’s a deal I can live with.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
The house was quiet when Remi got back, and she slowly walked up the stairs, telling Emil good night as he kept going toward the guest room Dallas had pointed out to him earlier. Dallas was in the other bedroom, and Remi hesitated in the hall. What she’d done that night had set Dallas free of everything and everyone that had been a part of her life. And standing there she realized that included herself.
“Are you all right?” Dallas asked as she put her hand around Remi’s elbow and led her into the master bedroom. “Do you need me to help you?”
“I’m fine, just thinking.”
“If you got a chance to talk to Bob, I’m sure he gave you plenty to think about.” In front of the bed she let Remi go and stepped back. “If you want me to go downstairs and sleep on the couch, that won’t be a problem for me.”
“What I want is to get in that bed and hold you. I’m not in great shape, but I can manage that if you’re up for it.”
They left the door to the balcony open to let the cool night air in and enjoyed the feel of each other with no barriers between them. Dallas had draped herself over Remi’s uninjured side with her head resting on her shoulder and ran her fingers softly over her skin, not wanting to press down on the bruise that dominated Remi’s chest.
They didn’t start talking right away, so Dallas was content to watch the rise and fall of Remi’s chest as she breathed. It was like a miracle.
“Where’d you run off to?” Remi asked as she scratched Dallas’s back.
“Just wishing silly things.”
“I find that hard to believe. Since we’ve met you’ve never asked me for anything, so tell me what you’re hoping for and I’ll do my best to give it to you.”
“I want you, Remington,” Dallas whispered so softly she figured Remi hadn’t heard her.
“You have me.”
“No, I want—” Remi pressed two of her fingers against her lips.
“You have me, Dallas, and not just here.” She fanned her arm around the bed. Remi sat up a bit to lean against the carved headboard of the bed, taking Dallas with her. She settled Dallas across her legs.
“I want you to understand something. I’ve never allowed anyone but my family and close friends to know me this well. No woman has ever come close to owning my heart, but you’re the difference I’ve been waiting for, and I want nothing more than to stand up for you.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You can’t force someone to do that, just like you can’t force someone to love you. You’re more than my bed-warmer. If you decide to stay with me, I’ll keep you safe and give you room to grow into the incredible woman I know you can be, and that doesn’t apply only to your career. I’ll hold you up so you can achieve your dreams and be there to catch you when you fail. I want nothing from you in return.”
“Is that all you want?” Dallas asked. She’d moved so she could see Remi’s face as she spoke.
“You’re free now, Dallas, maybe for the first time in your life. No one’s waiting in the wings to make you do something you don’t choose. If you want to explore that freedom, don’t feel you’re bound to me.”
Dallas moved so she straddled Remi’s legs and was close enough to see those unique eyes. She placed her hands on Remi’s cheeks and spoke from her heart. “If I am truly free, then nothing’s stopping me from loving you. Nothing’s stopping me from wanting to be the last woman in your life.”
“I love you,” Remi said softly but with meaning.
Dallas leaned her forehead against Remi’s. She didn’t want to say anything yet, so the echo of Remi’s declaration could resonate in her head until it sunk in.
She moved back enough to kiss Remi. “I love you and for once I’m feeling selfish. I don’t want to share you with anyone. I want to be free to take care of you and to expect certain things from you. I want you, Remi, but I won’t settle for anything but your all. Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?”
“That’s what you have,” Remi said as she moved to kiss Dallas’s palms.
“No more models?”
“No more women of any kind.”
The kiss that followed erased any reservations Dallas had. “Can I ask you one more thing? If you can’t answer, then don’t.”
“Just ask.”
“Remember, if you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to.”
“If you don’t ask me I’ll have a hard time answering.”
“Did you kill Bob?” Dallas’s good sense was telling her she shouldn’t ask the question, but she had to know.
“No, I didn’t, but I won’t lie and tell you I made it easy for him to survive. It’s a wait-and-see situation,” Remi answered truthfully.
“What do you mean?”
“I hurt him pretty badly. Let’s just say I broke him of his smug attitude, and then I dropped him somewhere. It’s up to him, with some divine intervention, to swim back without something eating him. Maybe that’s not what you wanted, but when he talked about you and showed no remorse, I snapped.”
“Can I confess a deep, dark secret and not have you think any less of me?”
“Nothing you tell me will change how I feel about you.”
“From the time Bob came into my life I’ve had a list of ways I’d like to see him die. The day you and I met I was well into five thousand, and all mine included lots of suffering.”
“That should be incentive for me to behave.”
“I’m sorry if I put you in a position you didn’t want to be in.”
“Bob is one of those people you’d like to kill more than once.” Remi ran her fingers along Dallas’s hips, obviously being careful because of the pain. “I’m glad I was the one who helped you get this idiot out of your life.”
Remi’s words made Dallas cry. “I know why you love those adventure books. You’re like a knight defending my honor—not that I have much left, if any at all.” Dallas wiped away her angry tears.
“Listen to me. Everyone makes mistakes, but sometimes it’s because of circumstance, not free will. You had a sister to care for, and you could’ve taken the easy way out, but you didn’t.”
“It’s good to know that if you keep praying, eventually someone hears you. I’m not sure what I finally did right to be this well rewarded, and at this point I don’t care. You’re here and you’re mine.” Dallas kissed Remi and massaged the skin behind her neck. “If we went slowly, do you think we could make love?”
Before Dallas could change her mind and take the question back, Remi put her right hand between her legs, keeping the other one on Dallas’s hip. She went slow, using tender, soft touches that made Dallas let her head fall back and close her eyes. Perhaps the world didn’t associate tenderness with Remi, but Dallas knew no other kind of touch from her.
Remi’s touch branded her heart with a totally new sense of love and permanence. As long as Dallas lived, Remi would be the only one to move her to such heights. Salvation sometimes had nothing to do with churches and religious faith, but rather someone willing to find what was left in you worth saving.
Any other thought had to wait as Dallas gave in to her orgasm. Tomorrow she’d tell Remi the rest of her secrets. For years she wouldn’t have readily shared them with anyone except Kristen, but her days of hiding were over. In Remi she’d found someone not only to love, but to help carr
y the weight of her past.
“When I took Kristen and ran, most nights before I went to sleep, I prayed to my mom to send me something to make things better,” Dallas said as soon as she caught her breath. “Maybe it wouldn’t have taken so long if I’d prayed for a someone instead. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Remi scooted down and kissed the top of Dallas’s head when she reclaimed her spot on her shoulder. “It’s a good thing you’re no stranger to prayer,” Remi said in a teasing voice. “Once you’ve met my mother, she’ll tell you that to love us is to learn to pray for patience.”
“I can’t wait to meet your mother, but right now I’d like to talk about something else.” Dallas touched her and smiled when she found the abundant wetness. “Let’s start right here.” She moved down so she could use her mouth and be mindful of Remi’s injuries. Dallas knew they should’ve waited, but for her this was more than just making love. It was a celebration of life and living it in the warmth of the sun out of the shadows.
*
“Is it time?” Kim Stegal asked Nunzio. They were back in New Orleans to attend Remi’s funeral.
“Not until Remi’s in the ground. I’m not completely heartless. Let Ramon and his family have their time to mourn, then we’ll move to close the deal.”
“Your father called again last night while you were on the casino floor.”
Nunzio put his menu down and his fists on the table. “Why’d he call you?”
The waiter arrived with the orange juice they’d ordered, and Kim took a sip before answering. “You’re either going to trust me or I’m walking. I’ve been with you too long for you to put me through this shit every time I talk to your father.”
“You aren’t about to walk away from me.”
Kim stared at his hand on her wrist in a test of will. “Let’s get something else straight. I work for you. A paycheck doesn’t constitute owning me. Try and remember that.”
“Last night when I was deep inside you, it sure felt like I owned you.” He laughed but let her go when Kim didn’t join him. “I’m playing with you, so relax. What did my father want?”