The Cain Casey Series

Chapter Thirty-One

When Emma arrived at the warehouse office, Muriel immediately stood, hugged her close, and didn’t let go right away. “Emma, darling, you look fabulous. Cousin Cain won’t be able to hold out too long when she wakes up. I spoke to the doctor, and he told me she’s going to be fine.” Muriel had put aside any anger she had left for Emma when Merrick explained the plan Cain’s ex had come up with.

“Thanks, Muriel. She looks a lot better today, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her about Hayden. Have we heard anything?”

“There’ve been no calls, but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s not time to start worrying yet.”

From behind Cain’s desk, Emma snorted. “That’s easy for you to say, Muriel. He isn’t your son.”

“Come on, I love the little guy. Of course I’m worried about him, but I realize what all this is about, and you’re doing the right thing. You’ve changed, Emma, and that’s good. I talked to Cain a lot when you left, and you know me. I had to drop my twenty-five dollars into the conversation.”

“Isn’t that supposed to be two cents?”

“Not with what I charge Cain. You probably wouldn’t have left all those years ago if she’d made you more of a true partner. Once this is done, don’t let her be the one to run away this time.”

“I’m trying, Muriel. That’s all I can do.” Emma waited until the man sweeping the room was done before she moved on to more important topics.

When he finished the last section of the room he gave them a thumbs-up and spoke to Muriel. “The room’s clean, Ms. Casey.”

“Thanks, Frank. Why don’t you clean the rest of the place? Those guys were in here for a while. God only knows what they left behind.”

“Did the guys pick up my four packages?” Emma asked Merrick and Mook, not concerned Cain’s attorney was still in the room.

Muriel Casey and her infamous cousin had a lot in common. Both had learned the ins and outs of the family business from their fathers, but Muriel hadn’t lied to Shelby. Jarvis and Dalton had wanted her to pursue a law career because of the family business. Her sexual tastes were also similar to Cain’s. Their parents hadn’t been disappointed in their sexual preferences, but to have them be so open about their lifestyle made both Jarvis’s and Dalton’s dreams of grandchildren dim. Had Dalton only lived to see Hayden, he would have been delighted.

Muriel was two years younger than Cain, but unlike her cousin, she still wanted the pleasure of meeting a lot more women in the city, so settling down was out of the question. Even if she had considered it, watching Cain work through the pain of Emma leaving her put it right out of her mind.

Merrick leaned against the desk near Emma, like she did when Cain was in the chair. “Your packages are under some very watchful eyes at the club,” she assured Emma. “Don’t worry, I put our best guys on the job. With Cain out of commission, the feds are backing off. It’s weird, really. Do they think business doesn’t go on without her here?”

“Your boss just played them like a bunch of pimple-faced rookies, and they’re reeling from what happened,” Muriel interjected so they could move to the subject at hand. “The shipment sitting out there is legit.”

“All of it?” asked Mook.

“Down to the no-name cigarettes in the last truck. My uncle Dalton always said be careful of jumping to a conclusion about anyone or anything. Even though someone’s always done something a certain way, he may take another route every so often. Kyle learned that the hard way, and according to my connections at the federal building, he’s in custody for shooting Cain.”

Emma leaned forward in her chair and put her hands on the desk. “What are you talking about?”

“The story on the street is Kyle was working for Giovanni Bracato and shot Cain on his order. Mr. Bracato was using this as the culminating act to finish the turf war he’s fought with Cain and the other families to take over all the neighborhoods and rackets in the city. With Cain still alive and Kyle in custody, it stands to reason he seized Hayden walking this morning unprotected.

“Nothing will happen to him, Emma. Not yet anyway. Big Gino needs him as an insurance policy for whatever talking Kyle’s doing against him. My guess is he wants us to use our relationships and political connections to take care of that loose end.” Muriel crossed her legs and tried to look relaxed before she asked a question. “But what happens if he doesn’t take the bait you’re going fishing with, Emma?”

“If something happens to Hayden, I’ll trade Bracato’s entire family, with his dead body at the top of the pile, for our son. I’ll pull the trigger myself, if that’s what’s necessary for Mr. Bracato to see I’m serious. There’s no way I go back to Cain and tell her I failed and let harm come to Hayden.”

Everyone in the room nodded in agreement. If Giovanni put one bruise on Hayden, the streets would run red from the war that would erupt. Going against someone’s child was just not done.

Merrick put her hand on Emma’s back as a sign of encouragement and peered over her head at Muriel. “You want us to call you tonight?”

“I feel like a drink and some dancing, so you won’t have far to look for me.”

“Is that a smart thing for you, Muriel?” asked Emma. “You are, after all, an officer of the court.”

“I’m also Cain’s advisor on everything concerning the business. There’s very little I don’t know, Emma. I just don’t share that knowledge with too many people. If that makes me a criminal as well, so be it, but this is my family too. To me that’s all that’s important.”

“Good to know.”

“Emma, we’re ready when you are,” Mook said when he got off his cell.

“Then let’s go.”

The car waiting outside had completely tinted windows in the back. Once Merrick had seated her new boss, and she and Mook climbed in, they all turned to the small brown-eyed passenger with his legs curled into his middle, crying.

“It’s all right, honey,” Emma cooed, as she took the crying child from one of Cain’s men. The little boy looked up, and his crying slowed to just sniffles.

The driver glanced at Emma. “Christ. Glad you’re here. The kid hasn’t quit bawling since we snatched him in the park. Dumb nanny wasn’t watching the stroller. Cain would’ve had her head for pulling a stunt like that.”

Emma dried the baby’s tears. “You sure are a cute one, aren’t you? You don’t have to be afraid. We’re on our way to see your grandfather. No one is going to hurt you, little guy, so just relax.” The little boy put his index finger in his mouth and leaned against her, closing his eyes as her soothing voice continued.

The car moved in the direction of Gino Bracato’s warehouse. Muriel had called ahead and used her usual verbal persuasion to get them past the front door or, in this case, to the front door to pick up a lone Gino, shifting from one foot to the other as he watched for the car to arrive. He was obviously worried about the safety of the small passenger.

The FBI team assigned to Bracato, back on live surveillance, was surprised to see the man come out of his offices and get into the limo. The agents, shocked that none of Bracato’s men got in after him and that the car pulled away quickly, called for backup to follow the mystery visitors and see what they were up to with Big Gino.

“Mr. Bracato, thank you for joining us on such short notice.” Emma pulled the child resting against her shoulder tighter against her body and smiled. “I was enjoying the trip over here with your grandson.”

“Listen to me, bitch. You hurt him, and I’ll spend the rest of my days hunting you down.”

“Merrick, if he curses in front of the baby again, please knock out some of those teeth. Good manners are so hard to instill in the young, Mr. Bracato. No sense in giving him a head start on how not to act.”

After both Mook and Merrick eased their jackets open to show Bracato what would happen, he didn’t move to get closer to her and the boy. Instead, he smiled and tried to turn on the charm, though Emma noticed a piece of spinach in his yellowed teeth.

“Maybe you should be the one who needs a lesson in good manners, Mrs. Casey. Stealing my grandson is just not done in this business. We are, after all, men of honor. Cain should have taught you that.”

“Does that mean my son will be waiting for me at home when I get there?”

“What makes you think I have your son? He could’ve run off, for all I know, since he’s the bastard son of that bitch Cain. Maybe he couldn’t live with the shame of it all?”

Emma closed her eyes and tilted her head upward to take a deep breath. After her short encounter with the idiot sitting across from her, she realized why Cain took so many cleansing breaths throughout the day. “Merrick, please tell the driver to stop the car.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

After another short tap to the window from Mook, Emma’s order was obeyed.

“Get out.”

“What about my—” Gino swallowed his smug smile when the man next to him pulled out his gun and just pointed it at the floor of the car. He didn’t doubt that one word from Emma would change its position to the vicinity of his head.

“I had come today with every intention of giving you back your grandson as a token of my goodwill, but your behavior tells me that what Cain has said all along about you is true. Get out of the car, Mr. Bracato, and be careful how you treat my son. Take a walk back to your office and call your sons, all of them, and ask what move you should make next. Once they give you an answer, call me back and we’ll talk again. Don’t take too long, though. My patience is running thin, and I miss Hayden.” Emma tightened her grip on the boy she held on her shoulder and motioned her head to the side to get the fat man moving.

Mook took the opportunity to press his gun at the base of Bracato’s head. “I believe the lady asked you to leave.”

“You’re going to pay for this, starting with your kid, lady. My son Giovanni isn’t quite as forgiving as his old man, and when he finds out you have his boy, he’ll rip that little son of a bitch of yours to shreds.”

“I’ll look forward to your call, Mr. Bracato. Mook, I did promise our guest something if he cursed again, I believe.”

Emma didn’t even wince when she heard the blow to Bracato’s head outside the car.

“You ucking astard, you knocked out my two n teeth,” the man yelled.

“It was a good way to get rid of the spinach, anyway,” she said with a straight face. “Let’s go home, guys, and introduce this little one to Carmen.”

The kind old woman took charge of the baby from the minute they arrived. When Emma handed him over, he reached for her one last time, but went quietly with Carmen into the kitchen for a bottle.

After they disappeared, Emma asked Merrick to step into Cain’s office. “I’m going to tell you something, and I want you to let me finish before you go off on me.” She sat in one of the guest chairs, not feeling as comfortable in this office as the one in the warehouse.

“How can you be so sure what you say is what it’s going to take to send me off the deep end?”

Merrick’s arched dark brow reminded her so much of Cain she had to take a deep breath before she responded. “Because it’s the same thing I shared with Hayden last night, and it sent him running into the waiting arms of Giovanni Bracato, so call it a hunch on my part.”

Merrick pinched the bridge of her nose and nodded. “Okay, I wasn’t going to ask, but since you brought it up, what was it?”

With no detail left out, she told the guard about Hannah, the secret she had kept for so long.

Merrick kept her word and didn’t say anything until Emma finished. “Does Cain know?”

“It’s why she threw up that day you went running with her. I made a mistake, Merrick, but I called my friends who are keeping Hannah, and they agreed to bring her to meet Cain and Hayden. I intend to stay in the city, even if Cain doesn’t want us.”

Merrick leaned forward and did something totally out of character. She put her hand on Emma’s knee and looked up at her with a touch of sadness. “You don’t know her at all, even after all this time, do you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Emma, she’s never stopped wanting the things you took away. The closest I’ve seen a woman get to her since you left was, surprisingly, that FBI agent Shelby. You had a baby and kept it from her, though, and I’m not sure where she begins to forgive you for that. Turning you away, I’m fairly sure, isn’t her style. Cain will always put her family first, but I don’t know if she’ll let you back in the way she did before. I have a feeling, though, little Hannah might just be your ticket.”

“From your mouth to God’s ear,” Emma said softly, as she gazed out the windows behind Cain’s desk. She and Cain had spent an afternoon in heated debate about the placement of the old family heirloom. She thought it left Cain vulnerable if someone wanted to take a shot at her, but living in fear wasn’t Cain’s style either.

“Come on, Emma. We have some idiots to move, and I have to figure out to where. Why don’t you go up and take a nap? After this afternoon’s meeting with Bracato, I’m thinking we should wait until at least tomorrow to make any moves.”

Emma laughed, and some of Cain’s expressions made sense to her now. “Make them sweat, right?”

“It’s good to see you weren’t just paying attention to her ass in those leather pants you liked so much. You’re right. We make Bracato sweat and wait for him to panic.” Merrick stopped at the door and turned around to look at her with a serious expression. “You aren’t going to panic on me, are you, Emma?”

She shook her head and fought against her alarm. She had come too far to let nerves get in the way of getting her son back. “What about Hayden?”

“The boy got himself into this, so now he knows there’s no quick fixes without Cain being here. He’ll know to sit and wait, but he also knows we won’t leave him behind.”

“What would Cain do if she were here?”

The green eyes Cain had fallen in love with pinned Merrick with their open expression. It was easy now to see why Cain had such a hard time in the past telling this woman no. “Depends.”

“On what?” asked Emma.

“If there’s one scratch on her son. He comes back without a scratch on him, maybe Bracato gets lucky. That stupid fat ass hurts him, though, and she’ll kill him even if she has to do it in the mayor’s office in front of a million witnesses.”

Emma steepled her fingers in front of her lips and thought about what Merrick had just said, knowing it was true. Finally she made her request. “Wherever you put them, Merrick, make sure it’s private.”

The answer gave Merrick another surprise for the day. In her wildest dreams she wouldn’t have guessed Emma would last this long. “You got it, boss.”