The Devil Be Damned

by Ali Vali

  “William Cain won’t sound too good if it’s a girl, so you’ll have to trust me, mobster. It’s a boy.”

  “You didn’t peek at the doctor’s office, did you?”

  “When it comes to carrying your baby, I know the difference. It’s a boy.”

  Emma’s comment stoked the embers of Cain’s ego and her libido. The means for them to conceive might’ve come from Cain’s brother, Billy, but in her heart, Cain felt the children belonged to her alone.

  “Mrs. Casey, you do have a way of putting things that makes me want to prove myself to you,” she said, and placed her hand inside Emma’s robe.

  “I’d love nothing better, but don’t feel bad if you want to pass because of everything that’s going on. You must be tired.” Emma ran her fingers along Cain’s cheeks and around her lips.

  “Do you know what I want?” The silky material of Emma’s nightgown made it easier for Cain to move her hand down to the hem.

  “I’m getting the general idea,” Emma said, and laughed softly.

  “The day I get that predictable, lass, is the day I check into a retirement home.” She took her time stroking up Emma’s legs to the apex of her thighs. The pretty pink panties she’d helped Emma on with after their shower were gone so it was easy to feel how wet Emma was. “After we have Hayden’s party I want to have one of our own.”

  “What’s the occasion?” The timbre of Emma’s voice hadn’t changed but she did open her legs wider.

  “A wedding, or at least a ceremony so I can tell everyone we love how much I love you,” she said, spreading Emma open and wetting her fingers enough that they glided over the stone-hard clitoris with ease.

  “Baby,” Emma stopped and leaned farther into her, “we need to go upstairs.”

  “Not yet.” She circled the opening of Emma’s sex but didn’t push inside. When she laughed at the way Emma’s hips tried to chase her hand up, she got a swift pinch to her nipple.

  “I thought you weren’t interested in a ceremony,” Emma said, returning to the topic as punishment, Cain was sure.

  “This isn’t all about me, and I don’t want you to miss out on anything you want. But don’t think I’m doing something I’d feel uncomfortable with. I plan to enjoy it as much as you.”

  “We don’t have to plan it right now, do we?” Emma sounded close to desperate.

  She didn’t want to move, but staying meant Emma would have to keep her clothes on. “I want you so bad I can almost taste you.”

  And that’s what she wanted too—to put her mouth on Emma until she’d drained every bit of want out of her for the night. Years of knowing Emma intimately, though, made her realize her release wouldn’t wait that long, so Cain inched her fingers in, letting her wife set their pace.

  “Later, I promise,” Emma said, raking her hand up into Cain’s hair and bringing her head forward, “but right now I need you.”

  It was fast and she swallowed every one of Emma’s moans when Emma pressed her lips to hers.

  “If my father had walked in here I’d have died of embarrassment, you know that, right?” Emma asked as she lazily ran the tip of her tongue along Cain’s lips.

  “He closed the doors and dimmed the lights on his way out,” she said, her fingers still inside Emma. “I’d be willing to bet he locked them too. He must be on to the fact that I’m a beast when it comes to you.”

  “How lucky am I, then?” Emma laughed then kissed her.

  “Come on. The next part of our evening requires fewer clothes, and the bed.” When she stood up Emma wrapped her hands around her neck and, with a little help, her legs around her waist.

  This was Cain’s salvation, because while the problems and sadness were always still waiting, with Emma she could bury them at least for the night. That was true even if all they did was hold each other so Cain could feel Emma’s breath against her skin.

  *

  “What do you think Hector wants?” Emma asked a few hours later.

  “Leverage is my best guess. I don’t follow the drug trade as closely as I should, but I understand there’s a power grab going on in Mexico. That means bloodshed there, in Colombia, and here.” Emma’s skin felt hot against hers, which made her want to drop the conversation, but Emma wanted to know. “New York, Miami, and LA are much bigger markets, but he needs to make inroads here if he wants to outmaneuver any competition.”

  When Emma rolled over and landed on top of her it was hard to ignore just how rigid her nipples were as they pressed into her chest. “Why do you think that?” Emma asked, her knee landing between Cain’s legs.

  “Is this really something you want to cover now?” Carefully she rolled them over again so Emma was under her, but she kept her weight off her as much as possible. She wanted to fix her lips around a hard pink nub and not release it until Emma came. “I’ve got a better bedtime story than that.”

  Before Emma could turn her down, she worked her hand between them and squeezed Emma’s clit between her fingers, then sucked a nipple into her mouth. Later in the pregnancy she wouldn’t dare give Emma’s breasts this kind of treatment, but now her wife’s desire demanded that she be able to feel her teeth scrape along her nipple as she sucked hard enough to almost bruise her skin.

  Emma was wet and uttered a keening moan as she pulled Cain’s hair to keep her in place. Her green eyes were closed, and when Cain glanced up at her she came close to opening her mouth and letting go. They were married in her eyes and their relationship was so much more than sex, but with her skin flushed and her head thrown back like this, Emma was hers. This part of her belonged to only Cain and she reveled in the fact as she slid her fingers inside Emma.

  “Harder, baby,” Emma said as the pad of Cain’s thumb hit her clitoris every time her hips rose off the bed. “Harder,” she repeated as she pulled her hair again.

  It was a gift to watch as Emma became lost in the passion she herself had initiated hours before, and Cain wanted to make it last. But Emma’s orgasm started the moment Cain felt the walls of her sex clamp down on her fingers and was over way too fast.

  “Oh, God, that felt good,” Emma said when she was able to slow her breathing some.

  “Have I neglected lately to tell you how beautiful you are?”

  “My romantic devil,” Emma said, and ran her fingers down Cain’s cheek to her neck. “You could never tell me again and I’d still know from the way you look at me.” Cain’s fingers were still buried deep inside, but Emma ignored the wonderful sensation when she saw the tendrils of sadness in and around Cain’s eyes, even though she was smiling. “Are you okay?”

  “Uncle Jarvis took me by surprise and I’m still trying to adjust. Nothing to worry about.”

  “That’s my job, love, and even if you’d known how sick he was, would you have done anything differently?”

  As if to give her question its due, Cain closed her eyes for a moment, then shook her head. “Not too much, but I wish I could say the same for Muriel.”

  “Muriel’s in for a hard lesson about ambition, and not even you can save her from it.” She gasped a little when Cain pulled out, but was able then to snuggle up to her side when Cain lay down. “Shelby seems pleasant enough, but something’s off about their relationship.”

  “Muriel was raised with only a toe in the business, though she understands the big picture of our operation from every aspect no matter if she has the specifics or not. Whatever happens with Shelby, she’ll be okay and she’d never betray me.” As Cain ran her fingers in a circle on Emma’s back, her breathing deepened as if sleep wasn’t too far off. “She’ll be okay because we’ll be here for her no matter what. Everyone lives life differently when they know there’ll always be a safety net.”

  “I understand that, baby,” Emma said, but kept the rest of what she thought to herself. Her experiences with Cain had given her the greatest joy of her life, but when betrayed, Cain was sometimes blinded to who you were and what you meant to her. If Muriel somehow helped Shelby try to bri
ng Cain down, Emma wasn’t sure how quick the fog of rage would clear so Cain would remember what she’d promised Jarvis.

  “Or if I’d beat you to it,” she whispered with her cheek pressed to Cain’s chest, enjoying the steady, slow heartbeat under her ear. Keeping Cain and her family whole was the only thing Emma would be capable of killing for, and that notion didn’t surprise her any more than her acceptance of who and what her lover was. Cain was worth everything to her, and if pressed, she’d prove it to anyone who stood between them.

  Chapter Six

  “Try and get some sleep,” Shelby said to Muriel when they were finally alone in Muriel’s room. “Tomorrow’ll be hard enough, so don’t make it worse by being exhausted.”

  “Go to bed if you want. I’m not sleepy.”

  Muriel sounded as if she wanted to pick a fight and Shelby was the nearest target. “It won’t work, so why don’t you just relax and lie here with me,” she said, patting the space next to her.

  “What?” Muriel stared at her in confusion.

  “You aren’t going to push me away,” she said, standing and moving to Muriel. The only thing Muriel had removed was her jacket, but when Shelby reached for the buttons of her shirt Muriel stopped her.

  “I’m not trying to push you away, but I’m not in the mood for company either,” Muriel said, letting go of her wrists. “Why don’t you go home and come back tomorrow? If you’re worried about security, don’t be. I’ll leave word to let you in.”

  “You seem to have forgotten who I am to you in the span of a night.” Shelby turned and faced the bed. “I thought we’d worked through the bullshit.”

  The intercom sounded loud in the suddenly quiet room. “Who?” Muriel asked whoever had interrupted them. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

  “It’s late, sweetheart. Can’t it wait?”

  “Go home, Shelby, and I’ll see you tomorrow.” Muriel waved her through the open door and walked her down to the front door. The woman sitting in the den was young but beautiful, and Shelby almost tripped over her feet trying to place her. “Have one of the guys drive Ms. Phillips home,” Muriel told the guard outside. It wasn’t until Shelby was halfway home that she realized who the young woman was, but the visit didn’t make any sense.

  Muriel was having similar thoughts as she walked toward Sabana Greco. Cain had sent the sister of her late guard Rick away since his murder and every couple of weeks denied her request to return.

  “Sabana.” Muriel accepted her hand before sitting across from her. “What are you doing here?”

  “Returning the favor you and your cousin gave my mom and me after Rick.” Sabana was short, but she looked good in her slacks and sleeveless tight shirt. Her brown hair was pulled into a ponytail at her neck and Muriel guessed it would reach slightly past her shoulders if she released it. “I’m sorry to get here so late, but my condolences about your father.”

  “Thank you, and considering how little time it’s been since Rick was killed, you probably understand more than most.” During that funeral Muriel had been so consumed by everything else going on that she never really took note of the grieving sister. Sabana might’ve been short but her body seemed strong, and her face was beautiful even though untouched by makeup.

  “The shock’s the hardest to forget.” Sabana crossed her legs and laced her fingers around her knee. “No matter what you went through with them when they were alive that made you expect that they wouldn’t be here for you, you never suspect that your last conversation will really be your last. You know what I mean. I have talks with Rick all the time now about the stuff I should’ve said when he was only a phone call away.”

  “Cain told me that, and that time dulls the pain though it never really leaves you.” Regardless of Sabana’s motives for being there, Muriel was glad for the company. “Can I get you something?”

  “A glass of water, thanks.”

  Sabana followed her to the kitchen and they ended up sitting to share some of Vincent’s carrot cake.

  “Is it all right if I come tomorrow?” Sabana asked. “It’s cool to say no if you want.”

  “It’s fine with me, but I won’t be able to keep Cain from voicing an opinion.”

  “Tonight and tomorrow I’m here for you, Muriel. We might not know each other well, but I do understand all this.” Sabana reached across the granite island and placed her hands over Muriel’s. “My father and my brother worked for your family, so I understand what your dad meant to you. If you ever need anything, I’ll be around.”

  The gesture was sweet and probably not something Sabana did often, which made it comforting. “I’ll remember that.”

  “That woman who just left,” Sabana said, pointing. “She was the one who came to our house from the FBI after Rick, isn’t she?”

  “Yes, is that a problem?”

  “She tried to get me to talk about Cain.”

  Muriel nodded; despite her protests to Shelby, she was tired. “That’s part of her job.”

  “Her job was to find who killed Rick, and it wasn’t Cain.” Sabana seemed to be stating a fact rather than disagreeing with her.

  “It’s Cain’s theory of small and big fish. I don’t agree with how Shelby does her job, but she’s important to me.” Muriel guessed Sabana to be twenty-four, at most, but she showed very little emotion for someone so young. Her face had stayed neutral throughout their conversation. “You want to tell me why you’re really here? And no bullshit about my feelings. I’m not in the mood for games.” Her initial feeling for Sabana was bleeding away as if someone had cut a major artery.

  Sabana’s confident veneer slipped a bit when Sabana lost eye contact with her, and she waited to see if Sabana would tell her the truth. At least what she surmised the truth to be.

  “I do feel for you because of your father, but that’s not the only reason I’m here.”

  “That I know. But I don’t know if you’ll be honest about the real reason.”

  “There’s no mystery in what happened to your father, and while it’s harsh, no one’s really at fault.” Sabana looked up at her again but the way she spoke made Muriel feel her vulnerability. “That’s not true with Rick, and I want my pound.”

  “I never asked about your brother, and I’m sorry about that, but I’m sure Cain’s collected all there was on that score. What else is there for you to prove?”

  Sabana stood, took a deep breath, and held it as if that was her technique of trying to calm a sudden rage. “I’ll see you tomorrow, and I’m sorry I bothered you tonight.”

  “No answer for me?”

  “If you don’t understand by now that it’s more than just the guy who pulled the trigger, then I sure as hell don’t have a shot at educating you because I’m sure better people have explained it already.” Sabana’s fists beat a constant rhythm against her thigh as she spoke, her words clipped. “Cain’s successful because people like my family are willing to stay loyal to her, but that works both ways.”

  “Is that a threat?”

  “I’m not an idiot, Muriel, so don’t insult me.” Sabana pointed at her, then dropped her hand quickly. “I’m sorry about your dad, but the rest is between Cain and me.”

  Muriel watched her go, and once the door slammed a silence she’d never experienced closed in on her and fear grabbed her so hard her chest hurt. She had always known who she was, and that constant had helped fuel her confidence. A lot of that self-assurance had been tied up with her father, and he was gone.

  “Da, I wasn’t ready. What do I do now?”

  *

  The mild weather broke the next morning, with the north wind bringing the temperature down significantly. The cool made the morning feel even more somber as the limos pulled up to Muriel’s house.

  “Why does life seem like we’re in limbo?” Emma asked Cain when the car stopped but Cain made no move to get out. “Or am I crazy for thinking that way?”

  The front door opened and Muriel walked out holding Shelby’s hand, but she a
ppeared angry instead of sad. Cain fanned the fingers of her left hand out and her nostrils flared slightly. That Muriel and her partner weren’t getting along, or at least weren’t as close as they should be, would make the day grueling.

  “When we get home tonight, I promise we’ll have a long talk about what happens now,” Cain said, her eyes never leaving the window as she stared at Muriel. “And you aren’t crazy, lass. You feel the same way I do, and mine is because my world has narrowed.”

  “That sounds like a bad thing.”

  “No, it’s only reality, love.” Cain squeezed her fingers gently.

  They were alone, having left the kids at home over Hayden’s objections, and Emma was enjoying having Cain to herself if only for the drive to the cathedral.

  “My world has narrowed to only you when it comes to total trust.”

  “Baby, Muriel would no more betray you than she would take her own life. Don’t torture yourself.”

  The limo door closed, and with the dark-tinted windows, Muriel and Shelby disappeared inside. Only then did Cain look at her. “Do you really want me to take that chance?” Cain’s words were as straightforward as they were simple.

  Emma knew Cain wasn’t disappointed in her but was concealing her feelings so Emma could make up her own mind. She sensed Muriel wouldn’t throw away or trade her honor for love, but she wasn’t absolutely sure. Love made you view the world differently sometimes in order to keep what was yours. Would Muriel cave on something that would hurt Cain in order to keep what was precious to her?

  “No,” Emma said without hesitation. “I promise your view might be narrow, as you put it, but it’s yours alone.”

  “Then between you and me, I’m sad. Losing Uncle Jarvis was bad, but he’s beyond my reach now. Muriel, though, is here, but because of a simple choice on her part, she’s just as out of my grasp.”

  Emma knew the admission was hard, and she hurt for Cain’s dual mourning.