by Ali Vali
“Nothing still?” Johnny asked, suddenly beside her. This guy was seriously creepy, and she didn’t know what he wanted with the chick behind that door, but it was real important to him. The only up side was the obsession had nothing to do with her.
“Just that woman and her friend I keep telling you about, but I haven’t seen the one you showed me a picture of.” She accepted the cup of coffee he brought, needing it to fight off the monotony of sitting for hours. “Maybe she moved,” she said, not afraid he’d lose it since he tried not to attract attention in public.
“This the big bitch you been seeing?” he asked, shoving another picture in her face. The black-and-white photo wasn’t great, but the smile was the same one she’d seen earlier.
“That’s her,” she said, reading the caption under it. Remi Jatibon’s making changes at Gemini Studios and it’s paying off.
“According to the rags around here she’s sleeping with Dallas, so you still thinking she moved, stupid?” The way he balled his fist made her not want to bring up any more alternatives. “We should’ve seen her by now since that goddamn door is the only way in or out.”
“Maybe she goes through the back.”
The coffee spilled all over the front of her shirt when he seemed to forget himself and slapped her hard across the head. A few people on the street slowed, but no one looked like they wanted to get involved.
“Why the fuck didn’t you say something sooner?” he hissed as he hauled her to her feet by her arm. “What the fuck do I keep you around for?”
“I’m sorry.”
“I can make you sorry, girl, so shut up.”
They walked a block over and started down a street that looked like an alley. The doors had business names until they reached one that had a small door alongside a garage door. It appeared more residential than the rest.
Johnny stopped and ran his hand over it. “You can’t hide forever,” he said, like he was talking to it. He tried the knob gently and Deidi screamed when it swung in suddenly and the biggest man she’d ever seen was standing there.
“Find someplace else to turn tricks,” the guy said, putting his hand on Johnny’s chest and pushing him back. He hadn’t made a sound but he looked as shocked as she did since his hand was still up as if he had it on the knob. “You two deaf? Get lost.”
The yell snapped Johnny out of his trance, and he grabbed her by the arm again. They started walking fast in the direction they’d come from, and when she glanced back, the man was still standing there. If the place belonged to the woman Johnny was looking for, he’d just announced their arrival, and she’d be the one paying for the mistake.
*
Cain felt sick and her head hurt. Sanders sat across from her with his briefcase on his lap, staying quiet after she had requested silence.
“Are you all right?” he asked after a long stretch.
“I will be,” she said, putting her hand on her stomach. Breakfast was long gone but she felt like she would throw up. The nausea was getting worse with every breath. This had happened to her only once before, when a kid in school had swung a bat without realizing she was standing right behind her. She didn’t get the full brunt of the backward swing, but it’d been enough to cause a concussion.
They had talked only about who Emma was meeting with. Emma’s clear thinking was the only bright spot in a crappy day. A loud knock made her close her eyes and take another deep breath, her headache flaring. The door opened and she was in Emma’s arms before she could open her eyes. It pained her to push Emma away, but she had no choice.
After she bent away from Emma and threw up on the floor, she almost passed out again. The pain in her head made her see spots when her stomach clenched once more and she gagged until she got rid of what little she had. Behind her Emma held her head and pressed herself to Cain’s back, the heat of her body making Cain focus on her breathing.
“Open your eyes, love,” Emma said softly. One more deep breath and she struggled to open them as Emma wiped her mouth with a tissue, careful with the cut on her bottom lip. “You need a doctor,” Emma said as she studied her eyes.
“One pupil bigger than the other?” she asked.
“Yes, and how did you get this?” Emma touched the side of her temple. “You have a huge bruise.”
“Depends on who you ask, but according to these guys I tripped and fell into this guy’s fist.”
“You stupid bastards,” Emma shouted toward the glass pane. “She has a concussion and you have her chained to the table? You’ve been chasing her so long you’re willing to cut corners and kill her on a hunch?”
The door crashed open, making her shut her eyes again because of the noise. All the abuse of the day felt like it had coalesced to drag her down.
“Agent Hicks,” Emma said, her arm around Cain’s shoulder. “I will use every contact we have to make sure this costs you your job if something happens to her.”
The threat made someone unlock the cuffs. After the pounding in Cain’s head subsided, she opened her eyes and found Annabel back in the room with a guy who looked like a medic.
“Ms. Casey,” the guy said, placing his bag on the table. “Could I take a look at you?”
“We have a doctor, thank you, and I want to know why we aren’t free to go see him?” Emma asked.
“Ms. Casey, we should stabilize her before you move her anywhere,” Annabel said.
“Your people caused this condition, so you’re crazy if I believe you suddenly want to make it better. Either cut her loose or get us before a judge and give us bail.” Emma was squeezing her shoulder as she spoke. “What’s it going to be?”
“We have a legitimate case,” Annabel said, her eyes were closed to slits and her lips white. “This office doesn’t respond well to threats.”
“You’re full of shit,” Emma said, making Cain put her arm around her hips and pat her side. “And you’re an idiot for not taking my offer.”
“You better quit before you join Cain as a guest of the government downstairs.”
“Actually, the people won’t be pressing any charges,” Sanders said, looking at his phone. “Someone from our firm is in Mr. Talbot’s office, so please check in with his staff.”
Emma was still staring Annabel down as Sanders was talking when she felt the first twitches go through Cain’s body. Before she could look down, Cain started to convulse.
“What’s wrong?” Emma asked the medic, tasting bile in the back of her throat. “Cain?” She tried to hold on to Cain but her size and strength was too much and the medic helped Cain to the floor.
“Ma’am, call for an ambulance,” he said to Annabel. “Now,” he yelled, when she didn’t move fast enough for him. “Ms. Casey,” he said close to Cain’s head, “don’t fight it. Just try to relax. You’ll be fine.” He knelt next to her and made sure she didn’t hit her head on anything else. When Cain stopped moving she was semiconscious and didn’t fight him when he opened her eyelids to start his examination. “She needs to go to the emergency room. This is beyond my scope.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Emma asked, wiping away the tears that had started when Cain hit the floor.
“We’ll know more after they run a few tests, but it’s probably a severe concussion.”
The room got crowded when the EMTs arrived with a stretcher being led by the huge man with the gaudy belt buckle, so Annabel and Sanders stepped out. Once Cain was loaded up, Emma walked beside the stretcher and held her hand. As they passed Annabel and the big man, she wanted to slap the smile off the man’s face, but that was for another time. If she had to beg Cain, she would to see to it that this guy paid for what he’d done.
*
“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Muriel asked. She was driving Shelby to the airport alone, but a car full of agents was following them. “You were there for me when Dad died. I’d like to return the favor.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’d rather you didn’t,” Shelby
said, her head turned away. “I need a few days alone to sort through this and make some sense of it.”
“Shelby, you know in your heart Cain didn’t order this.” She reached for Shelby’s hand, but Shelby lurched away from her.
“No, I don’t know that. And you’d better be all right with me doing whatever needs to be done to put a needle in her arm for this one.”
The departures section of the airport was crowded so she had to wait for the line of taxis ahead of her to unload their fares. “I’m not sure how to respond.”
“Easy. For once in your life think for yourself and do the right thing,” Shelby said, turning to face her for the first time since she’d gotten in the car. “You can do that by telling me what you know so we can hold her.”
“You know that won’t happen.”
“Then this is really pointless, isn’t it?” Shelby said, sighing.
Muriel kept her hands on the steering wheel to ground herself somehow. “Why are you with me?” Choosing Shelby had left her in a strange no-man’s-land. “And tell me the truth, since you have set beliefs about my family that make you think you’re right. If you don’t open yourself to reexamine them, our being together is pointless.”
“I’m with you because I care about you, and because I thought you were different.”
Shelby seemed to say what she thought Muriel needed to hear, and truth seldom played a role in such an answer. “Do you mean I’m no butcher?”
“Let me tell you something,” Shelby said, telling her the story Cain had already told her about the night she met Shelby and how it ended. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared.”
“But Cain protected you. That should prove something.”
Shelby put her hand on the door handle and shook her head. “What stayed with me more than anything was how much she knew about me and my family. She threatened my father that night in her own indirect way, but I ignored her because I fell for her smooth style.” She opened the door and looked back at her. “She really is someone who keeps her word, and she’ll keep tearing families apart because people like you think she’s a crusader.”
“I’m not that idealistic.”
“You can’t have it both ways, Muriel. I won’t give myself to someone who allows a murderer to keep on killing.”
“Have a safe trip,” Muriel said, cutting off the conversation. She started moving as soon as Shelby slammed the door since the agents in the car behind her had Shelby’s bags.
On the way to Cain’s she thought about her next step. Betrayal wasn’t in her makeup, but this time that loyalty would cost her the possibility of happiness.
*
“Baby, please,” Emma said as she and Dr. Mark Summers walked alongside the gurney the EMTs were pushing into the emergency room. “Cain, I need you to open your eyes.”
The seizure had frightened her so badly that Annabel had her sit down and drink some water as they loaded Cain up. Cain’s vitals were fine but she was lethargic and she seemed to struggle to open her eyes. Emma’s plea, though, made Cain look up and smile at her. “Try and keep them open, okay?”
“I’m fine,” Can said, but she glanced around as if she was confused.
“Do you remember what happened?” Mark asked as he helped slide Cain to the bed in the trauma room.
Cain turned her head and winced. “Nothing that would land me here…Emma.”
“I’m here, but try and stay still until he finishes your exam.”
Mark did a thorough job then motioned Emma outside. “She definitely has a concussion, but I need to run a CT scan.”
“Why?” This couldn’t be happening again. Cain was always so careful. That, combined with Cain’s strength, had erased the images of the night Kyle had pulled that trigger. “What’s wrong?”
“I need to rule out any bleeding in her brain, Ms. Casey, but you have to think positively. She doesn’t need to see you panic.” He put his hand on her shoulder briefly. “We’ll talk again after I get the results, but no matter what, I’m admitting her for a couple of days for observation. She doesn’t have a history of seizures, right?”
“Cain has a history of never getting sick, Doctor.”
“We need to be sure, so try not to think worst-case scenario. I want to be sure, though, because head injuries aren’t something to ignore.”
“Emma?” Dr. Sam Casey, Emma’s OB/GYN, walked quickly to her side. “The office didn’t mention you’d be here.”
“It’s Cain,” she said, her vision blurring through fresh tears.
“What’s going on, Mark?” Sam asked as he closed Cain’s file. “Emma’s my patient, and a lot of stress isn’t good for her.”
“Just tell her,” Emma said, glad to see a friend.
“You don’t need me to preach,” Sam said when Mark finished, “but you need to make an appointment when you can. It’s only to be sure, like Mark’s doing with Cain.” The door to Cain’s room was open so Sam led her back in. “Hard head, don’t you know it’s not a good thing to worry your wife while she’s pregnant?” Sam told Cain.
“It’s too hard for any real damage, so you better be ready to run if you tell any jokes at my expense,” Cain said, holding her hand up for Emma to take. She stayed quiet while Sam went through the same exam Mark had just finished. “I’ll live, right?”
“Longer than the rest of us, but try and behave. You both have my numbers, so use them if you have to.”
“I knew that last name of yours was good for something,” Cain said, smiling. “Promise me you’ll stay close and take care of my girl while I finish being poked.”
“You two sit tight and let me call my backup, and I’ll be happy to sit with the good-looking one in this group while you have your head examined.” Sam lifted Cain’s other hand and held it between hers. “God knows I’ve been recommending it for years.”
The joke made Cain groan, but this was the first time in hours she’d felt like laughing. “You’re a good friend, Sam.”
“You both worry about relaxing and I’ll be right back.” Sam looked Cain in the eye and said, “Emma will be fine with me no matter how long it takes for you to finish your tests.”
“Lass,” Cain said when Sam left, “tell me what happened.”
“Not now. The doctor said you have to rest.”
“I heard the part about staying here, and I don’t plan to fight it.” Cain blinked a few times, trying to clear her vision. Whatever was wrong with her was draining her and making it hard to think. “I want to know why I woke up here.”
Emma didn’t appear comfortable telling her the story, but she did. “That big son of a bitch—”
“I know, and we’ll deal with it,” Cain said, not wanting Emma to talk about Cehan. “What I need is for you to sit.”
The orderlies arrived to take her, and then Sam showed up. “Take it easy,” Sam said. “Emma and I will be sitting right outside the test room having some orange juice and telling funny stories about you.”
“I love you,” Emma said before kissing her.
“I love you.”
“No wonder you two get pregnant so fast,” Sam said. She put her arm around Emma and mouthed to her that Emma would be fine.
On her way out Cain placed her hand on Emma’s midsection. “Remember, I’ll be fine, so don’t lose sight of the things we want.”
“The top of my wish list has always been you.”
“That you already have,” she said, and she meant it. The life they both wanted would come even if she had to kill to get it.
Chapter Sixteen
In the silence of the main section of the suite, Carlos sat looking out over a nice view of the city. The afternoon had been quiet so far, and Rodolfo had taken a nap after they finished meeting with Santos Esvillar, Rodolfo’s manager in Mississippi. Now Carlos was waiting for Rodolfo to come out and have the talk he’d promised days before.
Whatever was on the old man’s mind was something Carlos figured he’d never hear from Rodolfo
himself. He was the son of a cook in Rodolfo’s kitchen in Cozumel. Boys like him grew up poor and hungry, so it was easy to lead them into the first step of the drug business—harvesting coca leaves and making the drug so many craved. Though it was a way to survive, no one at the bottom ever got rich. He, however, had only seen that part of the business at Rodolfo’s side the very few times he went to visit the fields to give a small bonus to his best producers.
His mother had worked in the kitchen, but he’d been sent to private school with Juan and started working with Rodolfo as soon as he graduated. He’d paid in blood for the chance he’d been given or, more accurately, the life he and his mother had been saved from. To keep Rodolfo in power he’d done things his mother would never find out about and that sometimes visited him in his dreams. But he’d killed as many times as ordered so he wouldn’t lose Rodolfo’s respect and affection. That was his greatest treasure, and he knew the one thing that had caused it.
“He’s still sleeping?” Fausto Valdez, one of Rodolfo’s men from Mexico, asked. He was there on Carlos’s recommendation because he wanted people he trusted around Rodolfo. Until Juan, Gracelia, and the others who’d abandoned their jobs were found, he lived in a constant state of tension.
“Santos had nothing but bad news when he came today,” Carlos said, looking at the closed bedroom door. “We lost another group of guys, so now the only place we’re making money is from the production end. Until we find who’s doing this, it’ll be hard to get people to work for us here.”
“Sounds like you want to go home.”
“It’s the safest place for him.” He pointed to the bedroom. “People still remember what he’s done for them and that they owe him their livelihood. We’d be begging tourists for pennies if he hadn’t given us a chance.”
“Sometimes people only see money, and obviously an asshole is shelling it out because even some of our most loyal old guys are gone, and I don’t think it’s because something happened to them.”
