by Ali Vali
“Take the check, Levi. What you told me today makes us even. You know how to sell that, right?”
“Yes, and Hannah will be okay. I give you my word.”
“That I’ll hold you to.”
*
The table at the center of the condo on the Mississippi River might as well have been covered in gold, so Nunzio Luca rubbed his hands together as he stared at it. Five hundred and some kilos of pure Colombian white was actually worth more on the street than gold, and turning it out on the street was exactly what he was planning to do with it. No more middlemen—he was selling this himself. Once he did, and only then, would he come out of his self-imposed hiding.
“Can you fucking believe it?” Freddie held up one of the bags with the red dragon stamped on it. It was Hector Delarosa’s implied guarantee that it was the best on the market. “We should do it again before they get their shit together.”
“Let the dust settle and get busy repacking. Hector and his crew don’t have that much inventory left, so it’s time to move on to something else.” Freddie and two other guys were one of the crews he’d sent to bulk up their inventory just as soon as they’d landed the night before.
Freddie slammed the bag down and glared at him. “You got people for shit like that. That’s a fucking flunky job.”
Nunzio took his gun from his waistband and aimed it at Freddie’s head. “I thought we already had this conversation. I’m not having it again.”
“I ain’t complaining, man,” Freddie said with his hands up. “You want me to do it, I’m on it, but I did everything you asked. All I want is some of that respect you keep talking about.”
“I’ll respect you as soon as I don’t have to repeat myself more than once every fucking single time I ask you to do something. Get to it.” He dropped his arm but didn’t put the gun away. “Try to think about who we just stole from and what’ll happen if he figures out exactly who was responsible. The fewer people who know about this, the better.”
“You still want me to go to Mexico, right?”
“We’ll get to that eventually, but I’m making the first trip alone. I’m leaving you to set up our street operation here and in New York.” His best bet was to totally forget this kid or put a bullet in his head, but he was starting to like him. Freddie was a fuck-up with a bad attitude, but until recently that’s how the world had seen him. “I want to be impenetrable before we crush our competition.”
“You sure you want me around, right?”
“You need to learn a few things, but if you want out—get out. It won’t be me putting you out.”
“Then why make me do shit like this?”
“Because you need to learn patience and learn your place here. You brought me part of what we need to get back on top, but now we need the rest. To pull that off you need more experience, so prove yourself to me.” Nunzio pulled out a chair for him. “You staying or what?”
“Yeah, but I get to pick my street crew, right?”
“I’ll be back before we start that, so you can line them up then. I need to make sure everyone working for us is working only for us.” The condo actually had a nice view of the river, but he’d personally closed the blinds. He needed Freddie to focus. “You got everything you need here, so stay put. You don’t want the street talk to lead back to you and Hector’s stuff.”
“Okay, whatever.”
“Freddie, I’ll be gone for a few days. Take that time to decide what you want your future to be, because I’m fucking tired of you acting like a little kid who’s not getting his way. The next time you shoot that mouth off like that again to disrespect me, I’m going to put a bullet through your teeth.” He hit the side of his leg with his gun. Freddie wouldn’t look him in the eye. “When I said this is the last time, that’s exactly what it is. From now on, if I ask you to fucking wipe my ass, and you question me, you won’t live to regret it.”
“Don’t worry about me letting you down, if that’s what all this is about. You gave me a chance, so I’ll do whatever it takes to earn your trust.”
“Right now I need you to stay here and get this done. I want to get it ready for the street here and for transport up north. The rest that we’ll need to feed the pipeline is the next step, so don’t fucking leave this place. You’ve got everything necessary to get this done before I get back.” He holstered his gun and waited to see if Freddie had any other complaints. This was a start, but not all their product could come from sheer luck and force. He was hoping Roth Pombo would help him with that part of the equation.
Freddie started working, and Nunzio left him to his penance. He’d changed his mind about taking Freddie with him because he needed someone with more finesse. This time, he decided to listen to his grandfather’s constant advice of who to trust with what, so he took the service elevator all the way down to the garage. The solitude let him think about traveling without his real passport.
“You think he’ll be okay?” Santino asked when Nunzio joined him in the back of the large SUV. His grandfather was hard to win over when it came to someone from the outside, so he’d waited in the car.
“Freddie just needs a strong hand,” he said, flipping through the passport Santino had handed over. The picture of him with his newly colored blond hair showed it slightly longer than he usually wore it, but it did change his appearance. He hoped it would be enough to not only get into Mexico, but the maximum-security prison they would be visiting as guests.
“Good. I think the two of us can handle this.” Santino put his hand behind his neck and squeezed. “My son was wrong in how he treated you, but he deserves to be avenged.”
“We’ll avenge him and so much more.”
Chapter Nine
“You know, it’s not like I don’t have stuff to do,” Detective Sept Savoie said when she met Cain the next day in front of the Casey family mausoleum. Some of the trees in the old walled graveyard had lost limbs to Katrina, but the Caseys’ final resting spot seemed to be intact. Cain appeared to be alone as she sat smiling on the bench across from the mausoleum, but Sept doubted that.
Before she sat down she glanced back at the gate and to Blanchard’s restaurant beyond it. The old New Orleans eatery was a beloved institution and the site of a murder she’d been tasked to solve. She’d met and gotten to know a little about Keegan, the restaurant’s head chef during her investigation, so she knew they were preparing for the crowd that’d be arriving soon for Sunday brunch. But she didn’t know yet whether Keegan worked Sundays.
“Maybe I want your autograph since you’ve been in the papers so often lately. You’re so famous now, I didn’t think you’d show,” Cain said with a fake smile.
The known mob boss was a nightmare to law enforcement, but they’d been friends so long that Sept couldn’t help but like her. “Are the kids around?” Cain shook her head, and her smile became genuine. “Good. I can tell you to fuck off without it biting me in the ass.”
“Unlike the paper and our esteemed crime reports on every channel, I have every confidence you’ll catch this animal.” Cain stood and hugged her. “I almost hate to ask you for a favor now, but you know I will.”
Cain sat down again, and Sept still hadn’t seen Lou or any of the others. “You can call me to have a drink and not just for favors, you know.” She reached inside her jacket when she saw movement by the gate but sat back and laughed when she realized it was a waiter from Blanchard’s.
“I called you for drinks, but bars are so clichéd sometimes that I like to mix it up.” The guy stopped next to the bench and delivered two whiskies, neat. “It’s early, but I enjoy a drink here whenever I can. Make sure you keep that tradition if I meet our maker before you do.” Cain lifted her glass and tapped it against Sept’s before raising it toward the tomb. “To family and good friends.”
“Definitely, and you’ll cheat death like you have everything else for years to come.” She took a sip and smiled. Cain had really good taste in liquor. “Are you sure you should be out
here alone? You know how popular you are.”
“Big Lou’s right outside so we’re okay.”
Sept glanced at the marble with the Casey name and imagined what the world would be like one day, hopefully far into the future, when she’d visit Cain here if her friend was right. “So what’s on your mind?”
“Do you know Elton Newsome?”
The name sounded familiar, and Cain’s tone was so sharp and pointed she could almost touch the contempt in it.
“As in Detective Elton Newsome? That’s the only one I know.”
Cain glanced at her briefly, then took a sip from her drink. The story that followed seemed farfetched and impossible, but Cain wasn’t much on flights into fiction land. “You know what’ll happen if someone targets my children? Hypothetically, of course.”
“I can poke around, but if you’ve found another undercover sting against you, my hands will be tied.” She swallowed the rest of the drink and coughed a little. “You know I won’t cross that line despite our friendship.”
“I wouldn’t want you to, but if he’s reporting to someone who’s not your father, I’d like to know.” Lou stepped inside the yard when the first of the tourists showed up. “And I realize you’re slammed, but there’s something else.”
The story of Hector’s recent theft problems was equally troubling. Granted, the city was fairly empty, but they wouldn’t have the manpower to stop a drug war, much less handle it well. “Can you give me a minute?” She walked a little away and made a call to her father. He promised he’d follow up, and thankfully he didn’t ask where she’d gotten the information.
“You have any plans for this morning?” Cain asked when she finished her call.
“This is the first Sunday I’ve had in a while, so no. You have more favors to ask? I have to be at my parents’ place by early this afternoon.”
Cain buttoned her jacket and shook her head. “I was going to invite you to brunch, but I’m reconsidering my lapse in judgment.”
The gate filled with what looked like well-armed guards, but she smiled when she saw Emma and the kids. The Caseys were a good-looking group, and if she didn’t know everything she did she’d guess that they weren’t any different than the rest of the bluebloods lining up to eat at Blanchard’s. Cain wasn’t your regular banker or accountant, though, and she was training the next generation to continue her traditions. You could see it in the way Hayden walked protectively next to his mother and little sister.
“She isn’t giving you a hard time, is she?” Emma said as she handed Hannah a small bouquet of flowers and the little girl skipped over to Cain with it. Together Cain and Hannah put the flowers in the marble vase outside the tomb.
“No more than usual, so you deserve a medal, my friend, since you volunteered for a lifetime with this one.” She kissed Emma’s cheek and accepted a hug from Hayden. Emma’s father Ross brought up the rear. He seemed to have shaken the hay from his clothes and hair, since he didn’t look like a farmer anymore. “Ross, you doing okay? I don’t think you ever had to survive too many hurricanes back home, huh?”
“I feel bad for everyone who suffered because of Katrina, but it’ll be one of my most treasured memories.”
She didn’t begrudge him the happiness of Emma and Cain’s ceremony, but instead of attending the event she’d been invited to, she’d been consoling her parents and family because of her sister and niece’s deaths. They’d been two of the many Katrina took, but losing them had almost kneecapped her and her brothers. Her parents, while they tried to act strong, would never fully recover from the tragedy.
The mention of something that was for the Casey family a happy occasion, though, reminded her of all the joyful memories of which her family had been robbed. She tried to cage her grief, but at times like this it slithered like a snake out of a swamp and sunk its fangs into her heart that the cage sprung open. Her vision blurred with unexpected tears.
Emma put her arms around her as much as she could. “I’m so sorry for your loss. The death of a sister and niece is a wound that’ll heal only with time. And while all those days pass, you know you have us to lean on. Cain has had more than her share of loss, so talk to her.” Emma put her hand flat over her heart. “Don’t let it fester in here.”
“Thank you and sorry.” Sept wiped her face and took a deep breath.
“Tears mean you’ve lived and loved,” Cain said. “And Emma’s right. Your pain will subside.”
Sept nodded, but she didn’t believe time would help.
“The anger, though, that’ll eat you alive if you let it,” Cain added.
“I think you did something about your pain, and, putting my badge aside, I never blamed you for that. Even if I’d been able to prove it, you’d still be free.” She spoke softly, pausing while Emma took the children and moved away to give the two of them some privacy. “I have no one to stab in the heart to bury my anger.”
“I’m not that much of a savage, old friend, but I did find a way to satisfy my sense of justice.” Cain smiled and gripped the back of Sept’s neck. “You can’t blame a storm, so try something that calms even the beast in me.” Cain turned so she could see Emma and Hayden sitting on the bench with Hannah running around in front of them.
“I doubt she’s interested in me.” She laughed when Cain squeezed harder.
“Perhaps your answer lies in there.” Cain pointed to the restaurant and hugged her again. “I hear someone put you in your place rather nicely recently, so maybe that’s what you need in your life. A woman who can actually break through that tough façade of yours and force you not to run away like you usually do.”
“How’d you—”
“Easy. Whenever I want to know something about you, I call your mother. I heard you were chasing clues on two murders really close together, so I called to see if you were okay.”
She laughed, forgetting her grief for a moment. “That I believe, and thank you. I’ll dig into Newsome and see if I find anything. Promise me something though.”
“He’ll be all yours. I’ve got better things to do.”
“You do, so try to remember that. My peers have always thought you were the devil incarnate. Well, the devil’s due all the happiness this baby will bring, and you don’t want anything to keep you from it.”
*
“You have everything you need?” Remi asked Dallas as they started for the new house. Their time together had been nonexistent since Dallas had gotten home, and Remi was aggravated that she didn’t have anyone to blame. When she’d returned from the meeting with Finley, Dallas and Kristen were talking and she joined in, not wanting to cut their time short. That morning had been much of the same, and now they were discussing house stuff.
“Babe, I promise tonight, no matter what, it’ll be me and you, and everything we need will be in the bedroom.” Dallas whispered close to her ear so Simon wouldn’t overhear her. “Emma told me about this painter, though, and I want to pin him down before someone else hires him. Some of those rooms are a little bright for me, which means you’d be nuts two days after we move in.”
“It’s okay, querida.” She chuckled at the fact that Dallas was the only person other than her parents who was willing to call her out when she was acting like a child. “I promised I wanted to help you put our house together, so forget my pouting.”
Even though it was the weekend and late in the afternoon, workmen were scattered both inside and out when they pulled in. Remi quickly scanned the faces to see if anyone stood out. Emma’s father, Ross, was there keeping an eye on the contractor Emma had originally hired, and she’d swear the guy had developed a nervous twitch whenever someone mentioned Cain’s name. After hearing the story of how Cain had gotten rid of the bugs the FBI had placed during the remodel of the house, she couldn’t blame this guy for being a little twitchy around her old friend.
“Ross,” she said as she helped Dallas out of the car. “Thank you again for all the time you’ve put into this for us.”
Ross had his phone in hand and appeared a bit off from his usual relaxed self. He reminded her of her own father in that it took something major to rile him, but obviously something had him on edge now. “No problem. You two are family.”
“Are you okay?”
“Fine. Just an unexpected call.”
Dallas grabbed his arm. “It’s not Emma, is it?”
“No. She should be at home with Cain and the kids relaxing after brunch. I left a little early to meet the painter.” He seemed to shake off whatever was bothering him and dropped his phone into his pocket. “A few more months and you should be able to move in.”
“Are you really okay?” Dallas moved her hand to his shoulder and didn’t seem to want to let go. “You were right in that we’re family. If something’s bothering you, we can help, or at least try to.”
“It’s my wife, Carol,” he said and sighed as if the weight of the entire house was about to drop on his shoulders. “This divorce is taking forever, and I’m not sure why she’s dragging it out. It’s not like she wants me, much less Emma.”
“How about your grandchildren? I remember Cain mentioning how close she was to Hannah.” Remi stood right behind Dallas. “I’m sure you don’t want to worry Cain or Emma, but I’ve found that Cain lives her life preparing for everything. We have that in common, so fill her in if you think there’s even a chance your ex has something like that in mind.”
“I’d like to think Carol isn’t that stupid,” he said, exhaling loudly. “And because of Cain, I was able to offer her much more than she deserved in a settlement since she wasn’t entitled to the land. I hate to drop anything else on Cain or you now. Carol has been my problem for years, so I’ll think of something to handle this. I’m sure you don’t want to be bored with all that.”
