Chapter Twenty-Seven. The mansion off the road in Long Island had been in the same family for three generations

The mansion off the road in Long Island had been in the same family for three generations. Guards carrying machine guns and large dogs roaming the grounds dissuaded unwelcome guests from impromptu visits. The beautiful gardens and buildings were purchased with blood, drugs, and no conscience.

Junior Luca sat on a bench that overlooked the water, the one place on the property where he felt comfortable to talk freely because of his staff’s constant sweeps for listening devices. “Nunzio, you in New Orleans yet?”

“I just got back from dinner with Rodolfo and Juan. I thought I’d call before I take a shower. After spending the night listening to that idiot Juan, I can use one.”

“Yeah, well, while Rodolfo’s making nice with you, he’s breathing down my neck about money. We’re tapped out, and I can’t bleed any more cash out of the East Coast operations. What kind of timetable are you looking at down there?”

“I ran into Remi and Cain at dinner tonight, and they said they’d sit down with me Tuesday. They acted pretty chummy, and they’re both holding the line that they’re negotiating some other deal.” He stood at the window peering out at the night sky. “I talked it over with Kim, and she’s ready to go when it comes to what we talked about before.”

“Boy, the last fucking thing we need is to get into a pissing contest with Cain Casey. Tell Kim to rework her plan and get back to me, but I can tell you right now, Tuesday’s too late.”

“I think you’re wrong there, Papa. Tuesday will give me all the time I need to put things into motion not only for this deal, but for our future dealings in the South.” The glass felt cold against his hand, but he’d flipped the air conditioner on. He couldn’t sleep unless it was cold.

“What’s on your mind? Or should I say who?” Junior Luca asked.

“If I move, it’ll be with the help of the Colombians.”

“I don’t want to owe anyone any favors after this plays out.”

“Look at it this way, if they help us they’re going to be doing us a favor. But if I let them take care of business when they’re here, then what they’ll owe us in return is going to be so much more. We have a lot of enemies in common, and letting them get involved on our terms will drive our price down in the end.”

“Don’t forget to keep me in the loop, and if not Cain, then who?”

“Remi. That’ll make Cain and Ramon see it’s in their best interest to talk to me,” Nunzio said.

“We’ll see.”

Nunzio threw his phone on the bed and took one last look at the view before he closed the curtains. The phone landed near Kim, and she placed it on the nightstand as she turned up the volume on the television. “He doesn’t agree with you,” she said.

“He doesn’t trust me. That’s different than disagreeing with me.” He sat down so hard the mattress bounced.

“Give him a few days to fully appreciate how this plays out. When Junior gets everything he wants and is making more money than he ever dreamed, he won’t take you for granted again.”

Nunzio laughed and scrubbed his face with his hands. “This is Junior Luca we’re talking about, right? He’s not about to give in that easily, no matter how successful I am.”

Kim pointed the remote at the TV and turned it off. “Then how about if I take your mind off it some other way?” She rolled toward him, put her hand on his crotch, and squeezed.

The blatant come-on made him forget his father, Remi, Cain, and, most importantly, his wife.

“Am I too early?” Remi asked when she was led back to the dining room to find Emma and the children having breakfast. “Or is Cain just sleeping in?”

“Cain’s meeting with our contractor this morning, but she said she wouldn’t be long, so please join us.” Emma was cutting up a waffle for Hannah, who was doing a good job of shoving bacon in her mouth. “Hannah, slow down before you choke and Remi thinks we’re not teaching you any table manners.”

“Cain tells me you’ve got a birthday coming up, Hayden,” Remi said. “What’s on your wish list?”

“A Corvette, but Mama says I have to wait a few years,” he joked. “Think Emil would consider helping me out with some boots?”

Remi crossed her feet at the ankles and gave him a good view of her black alligator boots, polished to perfection. They’d been a gift from her father’s personal guard Emil, who knew as much about trapping gators as he did about keeping Ramon safe. “I’m sure if we ask him real nice, he’ll put you in some new footwear.” Remi opened her arms when he came around the table and hugged her.

“Thanks, Remi, and if you’re not busy, come to the barbeque Mama’s putting together. You can meet my Grandpa Ross. He’s making the trip down from Wisconsin.”

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

Hayden kissed Emma next and waved to Hannah before he walked out.

“He’s getting tall.” Remi smiled at Hannah, who’d moved on to filling her cheeks with waffle. “And this one just gets cuter. I can see why Cain talks about them all the time.”

“They’re beautiful, but they’re a handful since they don’t just look like Cain. She keeps telling me it’s the strands of bad Casey grass running through them.”

When Hannah lost interest in her plate, Emma wiped her mouth and put her on the floor. Hannah stopped and gave Remi a hug as well before she followed Carmen out.

“If you’re good enough for Hayden,” Emma explained. “That’s her litmus test.” She stood and poured them a cup of coffee. “It gets a little more complicated once we get older, doesn’t it?”

“That’s because the older we get, the better we get at hiding who we are.”

“Can I be honest with you?” Emma sat down across from her and added cream to her coffee. “This is decaffeinated,” she said when Remi nodded. “I hope you’ve had a real cup already.” Her attempt at humor worked and Remi laughed. “I had lunch with Dallas, and I noticed something about her.”

Emma sounded so serious Remi hesitated before answering. “If she made you feel uncomfortable—”

“Remi, she didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. I felt sorry for her. Dallas is running from something, and the last thing she needs is for you to disappear.”

“What makes you think I’ll do that?” Her coffee sat forgotten, but Remi did run her finger along the cup handle to have something to do while she lay under Emma’s microscope.

“How do I know? Are you kidding?” She laughed, and some of the hair in her ponytail pulled loose. “I might have graduated from Tulane with a degree in English, but I have a doctorate in life when it comes to understanding Derby Cain Casey. You two are at different points in your lives, but in here,” Emma stood up and placed her hand over Remi’s heart, “you’re the same. It’s this,” she tapped the side of her head, “that gets in the way when it comes to situations like this.”

“You sound like you do know about it.” Remi stood and followed Emma to the sunroom. Outside Hannah was running around chasing the last of the falling leaves.

“If you just change where we’re from, Dallas and I aren’t that different either. In the end we’re all running from something. If you care even a little about her, you need to find out what it is and make her want to run toward something.”

Remi smiled as she gave Emma a quick hug. From the time Cain had introduced them, Remi had liked the little firecracker. Suddenly she saw the allure of having only one woman in her life. “My mother could take lessons from you.”

The teasing comment made Emma chuckle. “How do you know I haven’t taken some from her? I’m just practicing. With a true-bred Casey upstairs and another one coming up right behind him,” she pointed to Hannah, “I can use all the experience I can get. Once all those hormones kick in, our house is going to be a zoo.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine.” Remi opened the door to the yard and waved her through. “How about if I get some practice with a four-year-old until Cain gets back?”

“If everything works out you could use that.”

Emma was kidding, but is that what she wanted? She had a home, but she had never considered filling it with a wife and children, like Cain had. And if she did consider it, was Dallas the one who, like Emma, could make the perfect partner?”

The answers were like a fortune cookie, wrapped in secrecy. She just had to crack through what Dallas was hiding.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-31