by Ali Vali
He handed them over, and Cain wondered if he was acting a little off kilter because he was tired.
“Just to be on the safe side, I’ll send them to you with one of my men.”
“Maddie and I hope you don’t mind, but we thought his name was the best way to repay a little of what you’ve given us.”
Cain unfolded the form Muriel had enclosed for them to fill out. “Jeremiah Cain Rath?”
“He deserves to be his own man, so he doesn’t need all of mine. But he also deserves to know that he carries the name of a person his mother and I respect. The name of our friend Cain.”
When Emma walked out holding the baby, she found them embracing. Maddie had just found out how far a kid could spit something out when he didn’t particularly care for it. “You might want to scratch beets off his list of favorite foods, Dad.” She handed him to Jerry and smiled when she saw him wipe his eyes before taking him.
“I don’t much care for beets myself, son, so don’t worry about it.”
What sounded like a giggle escaped Jerry’s mouth, and Emma knew he’d just realized that the word “son” was now part of his vocabulary.
“It’s a wonderful thing, isn’t it?” Emma touched his arm and laughed along with him.
“JC is the best thing we could’ve been blessed with.”
“Found a name you like, huh?” Emma shook her head and laughed. “You don’t have to tell me. Maddie’s already filled me in this morning, and if you ask me, I think you made a great choice.”
“Ready, lass?”
“Can I have a minute?” Emma inhaled deeply when she pressed her face to the softness of the sweater Cain was wearing, loving how quickly Cain’s arms rose to encircle her. When she felt the gentle kiss placed on the top of her head, she smiled.
“Take all the time you need, and tell your father I’m holding him to that visit.”
The wind was still carrying the cold air down from Canada, and Emma stopped at the top step and closed her eyes. As a child she’d loved walking in the big empty fields when the weather was like this and feeling the grass crunch beneath her feet. Even though everything looked dead and withered, in a few weeks the land would undergo another miraculous transformation, bringing with it the varying greens of spring and summer.
When she studied her father, she suddenly realized how much Ross had aged. The thick blond hair she remembered him combing back as he’d lift his cap when he was returning from the fields had thinned and gradually been replaced with more white. His smile, though, had remained the same.
“Thanks for not forgetting your ole dad before you flew off,” he joked. His arms opened, and he hugged her like he hadn’t in a while.
“I wanted to thank you for last night.”
Ross put his fingers over her lips to get her to stop talking before dropping his hands to his side and using the fence for support. “The fact you’re thanking me for that tells me how much I’ve failed you.” He put his hands up again when she began to protest. “No, don’t defend me when it comes to your mother. I shouldn’t have let her be so hard on you all those years and let her have her way with what happened when Cain first came back to you.”
“I had a little to do with that myself, Daddy.” She glanced back to the porch and watched as Cain swung Hannah around over her head. “If you look over there, you’ll see everything worked out just fine.”
“That’s what I wanted to tell you. I’ve spent time with your Cain, and even though I’m years late, you have my blessing when it comes to your marriage. It may not be legal in the eyes of the law, but she loves you and those children more than her own life.”
“Thank you for saying that, and it’s not too late.” She stood next to him at the fence and pointed to the field. “I’m glad we came here to start over, because in a way all this land reminds me of what my life has been for the last couple of years, and it was no one’s fault but mine. The winter’s over, though, and I’m ready to start again.”
“I’m glad, sweetheart, but just remember that if you ever need anything to give me a call.”
“What about you and Mom? Are you going to be all right?”
“Your mom’s going to spend some more time with her brother and his wife. I hope that doesn’t bother you too much, but I’d like to try some of that happiness you keep talking about, and I’m more apt to find it on my own.”
“In that case, give me a call if you need any pointers, and we’ll be waiting for you at the end of April.”
He put his arm around her and started them strolling back to the house. “You’re going to be fine. We both will.”
Before they made it too far, Cain came out to meet them.
“Ross, you want to take the kids out to the airfield for us?”
He nodded before kissing Emma’s forehead and kept on going without her.
“Up for a little walk before we go?”
“I thought you wanted to get going.”
“Oh, I do, but we have time for a little something first. I don’t want to miss getting back to the city before Muriel and her new group of friends, but taking my girl on a walk takes precedence over that.”
Without hesitation Emma took the offered hand, and they started off in silence. After a short distance, Emma guessed where they were going. When they stopped, they were back under the tree they’d sat under when Emma had introduced Cain to the lake between the properties.
“I told you once that life with me would never be boring.” Cain uttered the words softly since there was nothing to talk over but the wind. “And I told you that I was going to love you above all others.” Cain faced Emma and took her hands in her own. “Because I do, I’m going to do my best to keep you safe.”
“You’ve done a wonderful job, love.”
“We’re here not for you to thank me, but for me to start trying to give you as much as you’ve brought into my life.” Cain pointed to the area. “I didn’t forget what you told me about the wishes you made here when you were a little girl, so I made a little deal with your father and Jerry.”
“Tell me, devil, did you include any of your own brand of gentle persuasion in that conversation?”
Cain laughed and pulled gently on her hair. “I bought another farm adjacent to these so they could play with more cows if they deeded me this little bit of land in return.”
“You are interested in cow races, I knew it.”
“I can’t guarantee you won’t find a couple of bovines in your flowers in the morning, but I bought it to build a cabin here so we’d have a place to stay when we come to visit. A place with a bench under this tree so you can sit here and look at the water and make all the wishes you want.”
Emma stood in silent shock, then finally shook her head. “Thank you for doing that and for understanding me so well. There’s something special about this place that I’ve never been able to put into words, but you understood it anyway. I’ll love sitting out here, but I don’t have any wishes left to make.”
“Sure you do. I’m certain you want something.”
“I have two wonderful children and hopefully a third soon.” She put her hands on Cain’s chest and slid her left hand over her lover’s heart. “I have a family of my choosing that loves me.” With her right she cupped Cain’s chin. “All those things were part of my secondary wishes.”
“Secondary wishes?”
“Secondary, as in they came into play after I got what I wished for most of all.” They fell into the kiss Cain started and pulled apart only after they needed air. “I wished most of all for someone to love me, keep me safe, and care about the person I am.”
“Maybe the lake needs tuning, if all it could conjure up was me.”
“The lake knew that my fondest desire in a mate lay in a pair of blue eyes, a tall sturdy frame, and a devilish heart. You talk all the time about the devil inside, Cain, and while that might be true, you’re my salvation and my fondest wish.”
Cain kissed her again as Emma slid her hands
to the back of her neck.
“May you always think so, lass.”
Deal with the Devil
It’s business as usual for crime boss Cain Casey, as she maneuvers to form an alliance with the Jatibon organization and secure peace among the ruling families in New Orleans . Cain’s new associate Remington Jatibon is a lot like Cain used to be—a playgirl with a passion for bedding beautiful women and an even greater passion for expanding her father’s empire, on both sides of the law. When Remi meets Dallas Montgomery, a budding actress working for the studio Remi's father has just acquired, she finds that there’s more to Dallas than is included in her press pages.
Meanwhile, on the home front, life is anything but routine as Cain and Emma hope to conceive another child. Little do they know an old enemy is about to surface bent on revenge on Cain, and what better way that to take what she values above all else—her wife.
Third in The Casey Family Saga
Deal with the Devil
© 2008 by Ali Vali. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN10: 1-60282-012-0
ISBN13: 978-1-60282-012-8
This electronic book is published by:
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.,
New York, USA
First Edition: April 2008
This is a work of fiction. names, characters, places, and Incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Credits
Editors: Shelley Thrasher and J. B. Greystone
Production Design: J. B. Greystone
Cover design by Sheri ([email protected])
Acknowledgements
I’ve said before that no book comes together alone, so there are many people to thank for this one.
The first thank you goes to Radclyffe for your continuous belief in my writing, and for your encouragement to bring Deal to life. Thank you also for your vision and your tireless efforts to make it grow and prosper. Bold Strokes Books is a team I’m proud to be a part of.
Shelley Thrasher has been my editor from the first page of the very first book, and that has been one of the best things to happen to me as a writer. There is no better teacher, gentle critic, friend, and editor. Thank you Shelley for your invaluable help and for your patience as we make our way through these stories.
Thank you to my copyeditor Julia Greystone for making it so easy to cross the finish line on this one. It was a pleasure working with you. And thanks to Sheri who always puts the final touch on every book with an incredible cover.
To my gold team of beta readers Connie Ward, Kathi Isserman, Lenore and Beth, I can’t say thank you enough. You guys are the first people to see the stories in their infancy and you do a fabulous job of keeping me on track. I thank you for your time, effort, and dedication.
A big thank you to the readers. Without your acceptance of Cain, Emma, and the gang, they would be retired by now. It was your encouragement and your thirst for more that has been essential to their continued story.
And lastly, thank you to my partner. You believe in me enough to put up with me when I’m trying to fi nd the next sentence when I’m stuck, take care of me when I’m hurting, and love me enough to do all of it with a beautiful smile. You’ve taught me all I know about romance, friendship, fun, and what it is to love and be loved in return. Each day with you is a gift.
Dedication
For C
A lifetime is not enough
Chapter One
St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, Louisiana
“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.” Derby Cain Casey knelt in a confessional in St. Louis Cathedral. She was the last one for the early morning session and smiled as she uttered the lines her mother had patiently taught her. So much had happened to her, those lessons seemed like they had occurred in another lifetime.
She’d lost Emma, her partner, to a misunderstanding. But after a four-year separation she had not only gotten her back, but gained a daughter. This time around, they had understood each other completely when she had methodically killed every single male member of the Bracato family as revenge for the deaths of her parents, brother Billy, and sister Marie. Emma was no longer blind to who Cain was and what the family business was. This time around she’d gladly made a deal with the devil in exchange for a life with Cain and their children, Hayden and Hannah.
Even in the shadows of the confessional Cain could see her old friend Bishop Andrew Goodman press his fingers to his chin.
“Do you know it’s a sin to say things you don’t mean to a priest?”
“It’s a sin to ask for forgiveness?”
“Not at all. It’s just the sins yet to come that make me worry about you, especially if I believe everything I read in the papers.” He was referring to the series of articles about what had happened to Giovanni Bracato and his four sons. With no bodies for evidence, the police could only speculate.
“I’d argue with you, but what’d be the point?” Cain laughed when she saw him smile. “Since there’s a good chance I’m going to sin again, how about you let me up and we’ll go for a walk. We’ll save my laundry list of wrongdoings for next time.”
She genuflected more out of habit than deep faith before they left the confines of the safe zone the listeners in her life had ignored.
In the vestibule, Andrew went through the ritual of getting down to his unpretentious black pants and shirt and white collar. Though he’d been the bishop of St. Louis for over a decade, people who didn’t know him still mistook him for just a parish priest. Andrew had grown up without the trappings of wealth, making his vows easy to abide by.
From the day Cain had accepted his invitation to come by for a talk, they had met regularly. While they would never be friends like Andrew and Cain’s father Dalton had been, they were growing closer. Not having to hide any part of herself in Andrew’s office and in his company comforted Cain. That rare luxury had made her look forward to their talks, especially today.
“If you aren’t sinning then what have you been up to?”
Andrew dropped into his favorite chair. His hair had turned white and had thinned some, but he still moved like a man in his twenties.
“I’ve actually been building bridges.” Cain accepted the cup of tea he offered her.
“That was one of your father’s strongest traits. ‘Never give up what you believe, Andy, but it’s good to have friends when it counts,’” he said, trying to imitate Dalton’s deep, booming voice. “He’d tell me that all the time.”
“Da was right about that. Sometimes we seek alliances to help build our business, and sometimes to achieve our goals.”
“And others are for survival,” Andrew finished for her. “At the foot of what bridge do you find yourself, Derby?”
Cain liked Andrew to call her by her first name. He was the only one left who even remembered it, and it made her feel connected to the past and to her family.
“I’m beginning to think I’m a dinosaur in the modern world.” She laughed because, even if she did do things the old-fashioned way, she didn’t care. “Vices are a little different these days.”
“Sometimes evolution isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
Cain nodded once in agreement. “But if I don’t evolve, I’ll become obsolete, like the horse and buggy.”
“But if you were Amish, you wouldn’t need anything but a horse and buggy. You can expand into things that will make you untouchable, but my job is to save your soul.”
“Conquest doesn’t inspire my soul, you know that, but, for the safety of my family, it’s time to expand. With Ramon and his family I can achieve that goal without having to sacrifice who I am.”
Andrew put his cup down and bit into a peanut butter cookie his assistant had brought in. “So you do plan to sin again.”
“I plan to try a couple of new things, and if there’s sin involved I promise not to venture too much farther off the path than I have already.”
They both laughed at her version of confession.
“Why Ramon and not Vincent? Vincent is who your father picked.”
“My family is different than the family I grew up in. Da set an example that I like to think I’m living up to. Ramon is a better fit for what I want to leave Hayden and Hannah.”
“That goal’s appropriate for today. It’s good to celebrate his life by marking the day of his death. But to live the honorable life he taught you truly validates what Dalton stood for.” Andrew stood and waved her up. “Let’s go for that walk you promised me.”
Outside, Lou and two more men waited by Cain’s car, and he lifted his hand in greeting when he spotted Andrew. They headed uptown, and Cain glanced back once and laughed when she saw the new paneled van with the black-tinted windows two cars behind them.
“Your friends are being rather conspicuous these days. Isn’t that stressful?”
Cain ran her hand along her upper thigh before bringing it to her lips as a request for Andrew to stop talking. He was right, but with the stepped-up surveillance after she and Emma had returned from Wisconsin with their children, every conversation out in the open could potentially be used against her, no matter how many countermeasures she put in place. The suspicion that someone had destroyed Giovanni and his sons had swarmed the feds like someone stomping on a mound of fire ants.
The car stopped across the street from the famous Commander’s Palace restaurant, and Lou jumped from the front seat to grab the door for them. For years the Brennan family had served culinary masterpieces on one side of the street, while on the other a ten-foot brick fence stood sentry around the Lafitte Cemetery where the Casey family had been laid to rest.
