by Ali Vali
“I almost believe you,” Kristen said.
“You can,” Dallas said, reaching across Remi for Kristen’s hand. “She’s as honest as she is cute.”
Remi’s phone rang, and while she hated to break away from them because they were making progress, the screen showed her brother’s name. He was still at his office in the casino, which was quiet compared to what was happening here, but she looked for that to change.
“Mano,” she said, standing when Dallas moved over.
“Two casino directors have phoned me since this afternoon. Three small-time dealers were killed in the parking lot of one place, and two others were taken out on the grounds at the other place,” Mano said.
“Anything coming from your contacts on the street?” She squeezed the back of her neck with her free hand.
“It surprised everyone I talked to. The changes we made caused problems because some of the clowns who worked for the Luca family tried to set up the same size operations in other locations. We can’t keep out all the scum selling this shit, but we can ignore them for now.”
“Sometimes you have to look the other way when a guest needs to self-medicate to forget their losses,” she said, looking back at Dallas, who had her head pressed to Kristen’s. “Nothing with anyone’s staff?”
“No, but five murders in one afternoon has the local police running. All the law enforcement is making people in the casino nervous. You want me to call Cain and tell her?”
“Go ahead in case she has any questions, then tell her to call me if she wants to meet again tonight.”
She was afraid a war was coming and they were going to be pulled in even though their business had nothing to do with drugs.
Emil was sitting at the kitchen counter and waved to her through the open door. He was eating a sandwich and pushed the plate away when she walked in.
“Everything been quiet around here?” she asked.
“The girls had a late lunch with your mom and Emma at the Casey place before we came back home.”
“You planning to pull out tonight?”
Emil spent his days with Dallas, then once she was home and the alarm was activated, he left. She’d wanted to post someone else for the night shift, but Dallas had asked for privacy so she could get reacquainted with Kristen without anyone watching.
“Yeah, unless Dallas says otherwise. If she’s spooked, I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
“Call one of the guys and tell them to watch the door from the street.” She glanced outside to make sure Dallas wasn’t coming in. “The manager at Pat O’s will give them a place to sit.”
“You’re not going to tell her?” Emil swiveled around and put his feet on the floor. The black alligator boots looked like they were made from an entire large gator. “Don’t be shocked if she gets pissed when she finds out. She’s cute but she’s got street smarts. If she goes out unexpectedly, she’s gonna make them.”
“She can get pissed with me in a little bit, then, when I tell her, and add that I’m not changing my mind.”
“About what?” Dallas asked, having made it to the kitchen in the moment Remi looked away.
“I’m adding security—”
“No,” Dallas said, not letting her finish. “I love Emil, but that’s enough.”
“Outside—they’re going to stay outside, and until I know what’s going on and who ordered all this, we’re all going to have to live with an overabundance of caution.” They’d never fought, and she didn’t want to make a habit of it, but she refused to back down.
“I’d like to think I’ve got some say when it concerns me,” Dallas said, obviously not backing down either.
The tone didn’t sit well with Remi, but then she’d given Dallas wings and expected her to use them so she wasn’t about to punish her. She opened the door and waved Dallas outside. “When it comes to security during times like this, I’ll be honest about what’s happening, but I will not waver from what works.”
“Even if it’s something I don’t want?” Dallas asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Yes, but I’m not going to force you to accept something you can’t live with.”
The angry pose dropped and just as quickly Dallas smiled. “I’m glad you can see it from my view, baby. Sometimes I feel like a caged exotic pet that needs to be watched.”
“If that’s how you really feel, then I’m really sorry for putting you in harm’s way to begin with.” She was sure Dallas didn’t see what the alternative was.
“Don’t be so quick to take the blame,” Dallas said, moving closer and resting her head on her chest. She peered up with a surprised expression when Remi’s arms didn’t automatically come around her. “What’s wrong?”
“I love you, but you have to understand something.” Remi found it almost painful but she stepped back. “If you don’t feel comfortable with the security that’s necessary at times, then I don’t have any choice but to remove the threat some other way.”
“What exactly does that mean?” Dallas asked, crossing her arms again, but she appeared to be trying to comfort herself rather than expressing any anger.
“In this case the threat is me, and I love you too much to let anything happen to you. But more important, I love you enough not to make you do something you’re not comfortable with.”
“You’d leave me?” Dallas asked incredulously.
“If it was the only way to keep you safe,” she said, pointing to the street. “Sometimes my world isn’t pretty, so what do you think it would do to me if, because of me, something happened to you?”
“Nothing’s going to—”
“Happen,” Remi said loudly. “Is that what you were going to say? What Juan did to Emma wasn’t that long ago, Dallas, so don’t make it sound like it would be easy for me to leave you. But I’ll be damned if I’d let something like that happen to you.”
“Do whatever you want, then,” Dallas said, turning away from her.
“What I want is to keep you safe,” she said softly. Dallas’s answer meant she didn’t understand the choice Emma Casey had accepted after she learned a very hard lesson. “But like I said, I won’t force you because I’m not Bob and whoever came before him. When I said you were free to make your own choices, I meant it. The biggest one you have is to accept that being with me comes with a price, and I’d totally understand if you don’t or can’t pay it.” She tipped her head back and stared at the dark violet sky as a way to keep her emotions in check.
“I’ll place the man outside until everyone understands we’re no longer together, so you’ll be removed from my radar. After that you can choose someone from studio security if you’re not happy with Emil.” Dallas still hadn’t turned around and was still silent, so that was answer enough.
It had been a while since Remi had cried, but her tears dropped as she headed for the gate. The noise of it unlatching evidently motivated Dallas toward her. Before she could swing it open, Dallas was there holding it closed.
“You promised me you’d stay,” Dallas said from behind her.
“Loving you will never be something I could stop doing.” Her voice cracked at the end. “But today was the first time I admitted to myself the cost of your feelings for me. You can find safer choices out there.”
“You’re right.” Dallas melted into Remi’s back and put her hands around to flatten them against her abdomen. “But none of them would be you.”
“Most people would believe that’s the best part of all this.” Remi was so relieved that Dallas had stopped her she wanted to sit before her knees gave out. “That none of them were me, I mean.”
“Do whatever you think is right, even if it means somebody hanging from every light fixture in the house,” Dallas said.
“It’s not that drastic, love,” she said, turning around and giving in to the craving to hold Dallas.
“Don’t scare me like that again,” Dallas said, clinging to her and sobbing. “You’re mine and I won’t lose you.”
&n
bsp; “Keeping you whole is my job, but I don’t want you to hate me for it.”
“Aside from my sister, you’re the only one who’s ever loved me and isn’t with me because of what’s in it for them.”
“Well, what’s in it for me is that you’re mine too, and I’m selfish enough to want to be happy because you are.” She bent and picked Dallas up. “Come on, I’m exhausted after all that.”
Dallas felt limp in her arms and Remi was glad to find the path all the way to the bedroom clear. What had happened to Cain and Emma was on her mind as she set Dallas down. No matter how many people Cain had lost in her life, the hardest had to have been losing Emma for those years. The loss had changed her, and the old Cain had resurfaced only since Emma’s return. It had to have been a raw wound that healed when her heart found what it had been missing. Only a small glimpse of that kind of pain was enough to motivate Remi into not repeating her friend’s mistakes.
Chapter Eleven
Two weeks after the surgery Anthony felt like he might wake up from the nightmare his life had become if he tried hard enough. Gracelia’s company was the one thing that had kept his mind off the subjects that were too hard to think about. Through his drugged haze her voice was his only tether to reality.
Gracelia had a way of putting things that made his life come into focus. At least the purpose of his life was clear now. When she touched him and told him how underappreciated he’d been at the Bureau, and how he’d let people like Cain disrespect him because he didn’t realize his strength, it all made sense. After his surgery Gracelia had stayed with him, sleeping next to him, always touching, always comforting. The attention she lavished made him crave her as much as Juan’s teak box.
“Today you become the man who has the power to do what no other has done in years,” Gracelia whispered through the gauze covering his ear. The exam room was dimly lit and they were alone waiting for the doctor to finish seeing his patients for the night. The surgeon had come to the house often to change the bandages, but Gracelia hadn’t let Anthony see his face.
“The power to do what?” he asked, shivering as she slid her hand into his shirt and ran her fingers around his nipple. She’d kept him in an almost constant state of arousal and if she’d do something about it, he’d do whatever she asked.
“To be the man in my bed,” she whispered again, only in the other ear. Her perfume seemed to envelop him even through the thin barrier of gauze that covered most of his nose.
His face really didn’t need the bandages anymore, but Gracelia had insisted on using some vitamin E cream mixed with herbs she’d gotten from an old medicine man. According to both of them, the old ways of healing would cure the cuts faster.
“You’ve been in my bed for days, but,” he thought of a way to finish without insulting the beautiful woman he’d started dreaming about, “you’re only willing to go so far.”
“You weren’t ready when you got here.” She pinched his nipple and he hissed out a short breath when his pants got tighter. “You still dreamed about your former life, Mr. FBI.” Her hand moved outside his shirt and slowly made its way down. “That badge and the people you worked for can’t and won’t ever give you what I can.” She grabbed his hard penis and pumped it a few times before she released the pressure but didn’t move her hand. “I’ll make you a man people respect, and I’ll give you the life you’ve only watched up till now.”
The blood in his body seemed to have pooled in his dick and he wanted to take Gracelia right there. “What do you want?” His voice sounded to him as tight as his pants felt. “You’re confusing me.”
“How can me telling you what I want confuse you?”
He turned so he could see her. “Because you’re a refined woman who acts like she wants to get fucked.”
“I want you, but,” she lowered his zipper and put her hand on his hot pulsing shaft, “only if you’re truly with me.”
The tips of her fingernails bit into the sensitive flesh, but the slight pain only increased his desire when she squeezed him again. “What makes you think I don’t want you?”
“If you aren’t honest with me, we can never be real partners.” Gracelia took her hand away and turned her back on him. She’d baited her hook weeks before and it was time to mount her catch where she could enjoy the sight of her cunning. She wanted what she wanted and was smart enough to know Juan wouldn’t have what it took to get it.
“You can tell me the truth, you know.” She tried to sound defeated. “If you don’t think you can work with me, I’ll let you go. I can’t make you accept my plans for us, but I don’t want to give myself to a man who only wants to use me for his own gain. I’ve done that already.”
“There’s nothing for me in my old life—you have to understand that.”
She shook her head, still facing the door that Lorenzo was guarding since she needed to finish what needed to be done. “No one strives hard to become an agent to just let it go because of a woman. Don’t insult me.”
“I could turn you, Juan, and the whole operation in, and I’d still end up in federal and state jails for all the shit I’ve done.” His feet hit the ground and she smiled. “You’re the only one who’s offering me a place and a purpose, Gracelia.” She could feel how excited he still was when he pressed himself to her back. “I’ll do whatever it takes to prove myself to you, but only if you meant what you said about partnership.”
“When we get home, you have to prove only one thing to me.” She turned in his arms and kissed the side of his neck. “The rest can wait until tomorrow.” And she meant it. Juan or Gustavo—she was still getting used to the name change—was busy doing the small jobs she’d asked of him. Her warnings about any deviation from the plan had obviously worked, and so far she’d had no problems.
She guided him back to the exam chair and opened the door. The doctor was talking to Lorenzo, but moved when she indicated they were ready. “Let’s see what we have,” she said to both men, and for the first time since Armando, she felt almost giddy.
*
“Why don’t you meet me for lunch today?” Shelby asked, dressing for work. “You haven’t left the house in days.”
“What exactly would I leave for?”
Muriel spoke in a flat tone that summed up her outlook since the massive changes in her life had occurred.
When Shelby had thought up the undercover assignment, she figured she’d be further ahead than this. She knew only a little more about the Casey operation now that Muriel’s sudden detachment had given her the run of the house. That alone wasn’t getting her any closer to her goals since Cain had circled the wagons, leaving not only her but Muriel outside.
Muriel’s loss of her longtime position as the family counselor had been Shelby’s fault, and as Muriel’s lover she felt horrible. It had been her job, though, to get inside to see some of Cain’s security set-up when the bodies outside Emma’s had been reported. The choice wasn’t easy but she’d made the right one, and any guilt she felt lay buried under her convictions.
So far the only development in the case was the dead bodies of the guys caught on the security cameras at Emma’s and at Remi’s building. The strange thing was that, according to Annabel Hicks, neither Cain nor the Jatibons were credited with the hits. The initial delivery of bodies was still a mystery to everyone because Cain and Remi had as many feelers on the street as they did.
“Honey.” She put her arms around Muriel from behind, trying to tear her attention away from the newspaper. Muriel read it compulsively, as if trying to find information about her family since no one related to her would discuss anything to do with the business. “Cain just needs to get used to the idea of us together and realize I’m not out to get her.”
“If you think she isn’t coping with the idea, then you don’t know her at all,” Muriel said, not putting her paper down. “She’s used to it and she acted accordingly.”
“Call her and ask her to lunch.”
“Sure, and afterward we can
have a sing-along.” The paper had obviously lost its appeal since Muriel crumpled it and threw it on the floor next to her chair. “Leave it alone, it’s done.”
She kissed Muriel’s cheek and didn’t say anything else until she said good-bye when she left for work. She would probably drive the wedge between the cousins deeper, but she had to try. Since Cain and Emma’s home was so close, she pulled up to the gate and asked for an audience.
“Park over there and wait for someone to escort you,” the guard said. The man was so muscular his neck appeared too short for the broad shoulders.
“I wonder where she finds these people,” Shelby said to herself as she followed the guy’s instructions.
She was about to get out of the car when the front door of the house opened. When she saw Cain escorting Hayden and Hannah out with the other big guy who was Hayden’s shadow, she waited. She had a hard time reconciling this side of Cain with what they knew she’d done but weren’t able to prove.
“They’re crazy about her.” She watched through her rearview mirror as Cain talked to her children and hugged them before she sent them to school. Cain’s attention stayed on the car until it left the property.
“Agent Phillips,” Cain said through the glass when she walked up.
“Thanks for seeing me.” Shelby opened her door and stepped out, expecting to follow Cain inside, but Cain headed for the walk along the side of the house.
“It would seem that you’re part of the family, so why wouldn’t I see you?” Cain asked, slipping her hands in her pockets as she walked. Before the brick wall had been built, Shelby had watched her take this walk, usually with a cigar, as if trying to figure something out. “What do you need?”
Information about your whole operation so I can move on with my life, she wanted to say, knowing Cain would probably find it funny, but this was about Muriel. “You fired Muriel.”