by Ali Vali
“What about your mother?”
“That day you came for dinner and met my family for the first time, she told me something that stuck with me.” Cain pulled the covers back and placed their hands over Emma’s heart. “She told me she wished my Da had lived longer so he could’ve met you. I’d dated plenty before you, and she’d never said that about any of them before, not that she’d met of any of them at Sunday lunch. No one was ever in the same category as you.”
“Why she’d say it about me?” Emma asked, turning on her side slightly.
“My mother wasn’t what most would call an educated woman, but she was smarter than most people I’ve known. She figured something out that day, and because of it she said you two had a lot in common.”
“You’ve never told me that.”
“With everything we’ve been through in the years we’ve been together, it slipped my mind,” Cain teased her. “She said you both had brains and a love for her child. You loved me and I’d never be able to live without what you brought to my life. She said you made me chase you until you caught me, like she’d done to one formidable Dalton Casey years before.”
“She thinks I trapped you?” Emma laughed.
“Traps are things most want to get out of, my love, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. No, I think she meant you showed me a life full of the possibilities that comes only when you accept that your other half has found you. She wanted me to embrace the chance you were giving me, and that way she could rest in peace.”
“You did, and your mom would be proud of the life you’ve built. I love you and I’m looking forward to years of late-night talks with you.”
Cain held Emma as she drifted off to sleep again and left her for a while in the morning as Lou returned with the news she’d asked for.
“They’ve disappeared like mist in a strong wind. The feds have warrants out on both Juan and Anthony, and Rodolfo asked for a sit-down at your earliest convenience. And to show you he’s working in good faith, he promised to deliver Juan to you if he finds him first. Juan acted without his permission, and he said if he can do anything for Emma, just call.”
Cain nodded and massaged the back of her neck. “And the rest?”
“In the excitement of yesterday, Remi and Ramon let Nunzio go, after a quick call to Hector Delarosa to tell him Nunzio didn’t have the capital to pull off whatever his father had talked to him about.” Lou pressed his back to the cinderblock wall and sighed. “The last they saw of Nunzio he was boarding a plane for New York, probably for his father’s funeral.”
“That’s where he is,” Remi said as she walked up. “I would’ve been here sooner, but I didn’t want to get in your way. How’s Emma?”
“We’ve been worried sick,” Dallas added.
Cain told her, “I’m sure she’s awake and wondering where I am, so go on in.”
Remi followed Cain to the waiting room down the hall next to the window where visitors could see the new babies. “We’ve got a lot of loose ends,” Remi said.
“We do, and I’m not going to stop until I find Juan Luis and rip his balls off with my bare hands, before I gut him and strangle him with his entrails. No matter what it takes or what it costs, I’m going to find him and kill him.”
“Remember we’re partners now, and you won’t be searching alone. I’m here to help you, as are my father and brother. The load’s not all on you anymore, Cain.”
“My priority right now is Emma, and the baby she’s carrying. The rest of it won’t mean shit if anything happens to her.”
“We’ll take care of business or anything else you need from us.”
“I’m only going to take the time I need to make sure Emma’s fine at home, then we’ll work together to make sure our problems aren’t so troublesome in the future.” Cain stood and walked her back to the room. When they opened the door, Emma was talking and laughing with Dallas.
Wherever Juan had run, Cain hoped he didn’t stay hidden for long, and he wouldn’t. Men like Juan were dangerous but they were predictable. They couldn’t help but try again, whether they were able to succeed or not, and that was always their downfall. She watched Emma and smiled when she winked at her but was just as engrossed in whatever Dallas was telling her.
Juan would try again, but this time when the snake poked his head from his hole, Cain would be waiting to cut it off. No matter how long it took, she’d be ready, but for now she intended to enjoy her friends, her children, and most importantly the woman whom she chased until she’d been caught. “Mum, you were right about that,” she whispered to the heavens. “Emma was my fate, but more importantly, she’s the whole of what’s good in my life.”
Emma held her hand up, motioning her to come closer. “I’ll let no one take from me what’s mine. That’s a lesson you and Da started teaching me, but Emma’s completed my education.” Happiness was something you accepted like a gift, and after Cain took Emma’s hand and sat on the edge of the bed, she leaned forward and kissed her.
“I love when you do that,” Emma said to her with a relaxed smile.
“Sometimes I need to show you what’s in here.” Cain tapped over her heart. “I’m just glad you’re inclined to see.”
Right at that moment it’s all that mattered. Cain would gladly face the rest when she had to, but right now the ones she loved were safe. She had a lot to celebrate, but she wouldn’t give in to the complete joy of it until the black cloud looming on the horizon was gone.
About the Author
Ali Vali - Ali lives right outside New Orleans with her partner of many years. As a writer, she couldn’t ask for a better, more beautiful place, so full of real-life characters to fuel the imagination. When she isn’t writing, working in the yard, cheering for the LSU Tigers, or riding her bicycle, Ali makes a living in the nonprofi t sector.
Ali has written The Devil Inside, Carly's Sound, The Devil Unleashed, Second Season, Deal with the Devil and the soon to be published, Calling the Dead, all from Bold Strokes Books.
