Chapter Forty-Five

“Make sure you keep an eye on your sister. Hannah’s an angel with a streak of mischief.” Emma put her hand over Cain’s where it was resting on her abdomen. “She inherited that from your mother. She’s always been a little hard to control too.”

The soft laugh from behind her tickled her ear as Hayden replied to her from his end.

“When are you coming to get us? It’s fun up here, but I miss you.”

“I’m not sure what Cain’s timetable is, but it should be soon. We miss you just as much.”

That was true, but during the three weeks she’d spent with just Cain, the last of the doubts between them had faded and they’d reconnected so strongly Emma was still amazed.

“Nothing’s wrong, is it, Hayden?”

“We’re fine, Mama. Stop worrying. I just didn’t want you to forget about us.”

Months before, the statement would’ve sent Emma into tears, but now she heard the teasing in his voice.

“The Caseys are mischievous, son, but forgetful they’re not,” she said right back. “Stay warm, and I’ll see you soon. I love you, baby.”

“I love you too, Mama.”

That she had come so far in that relationship too choked Emma up, and she had to pass the handset to Cain, though she kept the speaker on.

“How’s it going, buddy?”

“Bet I can milk a cow better than you.”

The greeting made Cain laugh. “I bet you can too, so I think I’ll pass on losing any money to you.”

“Tonight’s the big night, huh?”

“Don’t worry. When you get back I’ll take you for a walk-through, and I’ll make sure one of the men takes some pictures tonight so you can see how beautiful your mama looks.”

“I wish I was old enough already.” He laughed, cutting off any advice from Cain. “I know, I know—don’t rush it.”

“Damn right. How about we make you a deal? When you turn twenty-one, we’ll open a new place and you can go with a pretty girl on your arm.” Emma laughed, and Cain kissed her forehead.

“I forgot to ask. How did Mama like her surprise?”

“He knew you’d named the club after me?” Emma asked, coming up from Cain’s side so she could look at her.

“I may have let it slip when you were in the shower last week, but he agreed that it was a good idea. What, you think you’re the only one sneaking in extra phone calls during the day?”

Trying to appear innocent, Cain ignored the laughter coming from their son. “Kiss your sister for me, and tell Mook to keep his eyes open.”

“How about you do the same?”

“Will do, buddy. I love you and we’ll see you soon.”

He said good-bye to both of them again before he put Hannah on for a minute, then let Maddie talk.

“That one’s going to be a heartbreaker, Emma.”

“You mean you think they both won’t be?” Emma sat up after taking the handset back and turning off the speaker so Cain could answer a call on her cell phone. She watched as Cain grabbed a pen to write something down. “Are you doing okay with a house full of people, Maddie?”

“The kids are great, and I have to remind myself every so often that the men Cain left behind aren’t field hands. Mook may carry a gun, but he’s wonderful with Hannah and Hayden, and he helps Jerry when he can. Just a minute, I hear something.”

“Is anything wrong?”

Cain stopped talking and glanced at her quizzically.

“It’s just a visitor, but I can’t make out who it is yet. Oh.” Maddie exhaled loudly. “It’s just your father.”

“What’s going on, Maddie? You don’t usually hold your breath when you hear someone up the road.”

“I didn’t want to worry you, but your mother’s started coming by and asking a lot of questions about you. Since I’d never tell her the kids are here, it makes for some scrambles at times.”

Emma shook her head at Cain and smiled. “They’re fine, love. My father just got there.”

“What kind of questions is she asking, Maddie?”

“Just stuff like how often I talk to you and when you’re coming home. Nothing real specific that raises any red flags, and you know I won’t put up with her talking bad about you or Cain.”

“Why the sudden interest, do you think?”

“I have no idea. Just finish what you’re doing and leave the rest to Jerry and me. The kids will be waiting just like you left them.”

“And I’m looking forward to seeing them and you, Maddie. Call if you need anything.”

“You and Cain will be my first call, you know that.”

“Problems?”

Emma stared at the nightstand a few moments longer before answering. “Problems?” she repeated. “I’m not really sure.” She told Cain what Maddie had said about her mother.

“Does she know what the sudden interest is?” Cain pulled her shirt off and draped it over the arm of the chair near the closet. When Emma finally shook off her daze, Cain was dressed in just her underwear.

“I don’t know what her sudden interest is, but can I tell you about mine?” For someone who’d been shot, Cain looked incredibly good.

The deep laugh chased a delicious shiver through Emma.

“What are you interested in, lass?”

“For one thing, I’m interested in expanding my wanton ways,” she said as she stood up and presented her back to Cain, who seemed to take a torturously long time opening her zipper. She just let the dress fall to the floor, waiting to see if Cain liked what she saw. “Then I’m interested in hearing you moan.”

“How, pray tell, do you plan to do that?”

Emma needed no further words as she guided Cain to sit, but not before her plain white boxers came off. Once Cain was sitting, Emma stood before her and released her bra. Cain’s eyes were riveted as Emma slowly peeled the straps down, exposing her chest a little at a time. The awkwardness of her inexperience had long vanished, and she now enjoyed seeing the raw hunger in Cain.

“How about these? This was my latest little gift from Kevin.” Emma put her fingers in the sides of her underwear and smiled.

“Nice, but take them off,” Cain replied, her voice husky. “I want to see all of you.”

The black panties came down her legs, and Emma stood naked, wanting the need in her partner to rise a bit more. The throbbing between her legs increased when Cain’s nipples grew hard just from looking at her. How easy it would be to rush and reach the pinnacle only Cain could bring her to, but tonight wasn’t about fast. Tonight was about giving Cain the pleasure she deserved and making it last as long as Emma could drag it out.

With that goal in mind she grasped Cain’s hands before she could derail her plans. She dropped to her knees and guided Cain’s hands to the arms of the chair. “Just remember one word before we begin.” Emma sat back on her feet and gazed up at Cain with desire.

“What’s that?”

“Patience, love.” Emma let Cain’s hands go, knowing they would stay where she’d put them. “I want you, and I want it to last.” She leaned over and bit down gently on an alert nipple. “Can you give me that?”

Cain put her feet flat on the floor. “I’ll give you anything you want.”

“Good.” Emma sat back again so she could watch her hands wander from Cain’s shoulders down her body. She smiled when she saw how tightly Cain was gripping the chair as Emma’s unrelenting fingers traced every muscle in Cain’s chest and abdomen. “Lean back and relax for me, baby.”

“Relax, she says. Good one.” Cain obeyed anyway, falling back farther into the chair.

Emma stopped roaming and rested her hands at the apex of Cain’s legs. Their eyes stayed locked as Emma slowly opened Cain’s sex and lowered her mouth. With a feather-light touch of her tongue she started at the base of the hard clitoris and worked her way up slowly.

“You’re killing me with all this teasing, darlin’.” Though Cain complained a bit, she never moved her hands, and Emma never stopped or changed her tactics.

The one thing she did do was moan as Cain grew wetter and disobeyed her by lacing her fingers through her hair. Wanting to take her to the next level, she stopped licking and started sucking before Cain could protest.

Emma inched her closer to the sheer definition of pleasure, but before that happened, she lifted her head.

“Lass, this is no time to be stopping.” Cain’s voice sounded almost strangled.

Emma pinched Cain’s clitoris between two fingers, feeling how hard it was. “Tell me what you want.” She pinched harder, liking the way Cain’s hips bucked in response. “Tell me or I’ll stop.”

“I want you to love me forever.” Her hips bucked again as Emma increased the pressure. “And I want only you in my bed till I die.”

This time Emma had no intention of stopping. She sucked until the hands in her hair tightened their hold and she heard Cain scream her name, awed that she could affect Cain so powerfully.

Cain recovered quickly, though, and before Emma could say anything, she found herself on her back on the bed, soaked and ready. Cain’s fingers slid in slowly as her thumb started its delicious stimulation. The kiss Cain had initiated swallowed each one of her moans.

Cain was so tender that a warmth went through Emma that formed tears in her eyes, and she held on to Cain until the walls of her sex clamped down around the loving fingers. As her orgasm washed over her like a Caribbean wave, Emma broke their kiss and arched her back, wanting to get closer, and as in all aspects of their life together, Cain held her and made her feel safe.

“I love you so much.” Emma put her hands on Cain’s cheeks and gave her a blissful smile.

“I love you too, lass, and I’m more than willing to do it again if I didn’t get it right.”

“Honey, if you want me to leave the room tonight, then you got it plenty right.”

“Don’t tempt me.” Cain placed her hand gently on Emma’s cheek. “You couldn’t be more wanted,” she whispered, and Emma’s tears finally fell.

The door that led to Cain’s heart was locked once again, but now Emma was sitting on the inside where no one could touch her.

They took their time showering and getting ready for their evening out. Cain stayed with Emma the entire time, watching as she put on makeup and fixed her hair, wearing a new set of underwear. Seeing so much skin on display, Cain was flooded with memories of Emma’s pregnancy with Hayden, and she couldn’t wait to see Emma like that again. At the moment she felt like a spoiled child who wanted the shiny new bike she’d admired forever, but needed to clean her plate before she was allowed to have it. Big Gino was now her only barrier to the future she wanted.

“Are you all right, honey?”

Cain looked up as Emma stood before her with a bow tie in her hand. “Sorry, you caught me daydreaming. Did you say something?”

“I asked if you needed some help.” She held up the tie and received a nod. “You can daydream all you want as long as I fit in somewhere.”

“You dominate my dreams, lass.” Finished putting everything on but her jacket, Cain stood to help Emma get ready. They had to attend a dinner before heading over to the club, but they weren’t in a hurry.

“Thank you for saying so, but now I need you to focus on tonight.” Emma stepped into the dress she’d picked up earlier and let Cain zip her up. “Are our friends still out there?”

Cain walked to the window before answering. Stepping out to the balcony, Cain could see two surveillance teams. She lit a cigar as she observed the observers, pulling out her cell phone with a wink for Emma, who was slipping into her shoes. Cain knew that the watchers almost always wanted to ignore these types of calls, since she never used something so easy to listen in on.

“Lou, give us about twenty minutes. Then pull the car around.”

“We’re on it, Cain. You want to go out the back?”

Before she could answer, Emma joined her. “When you’re married to someone like Emma Casey, you always escort the lady out the front door.”

“Truer words, boss.”

The camera captured the embrace followed by a kiss, and the powerful mikes recorded the words. “Think they’re going to dinner at Carlotti’s?” Claire asked.

“There’s no way they won’t be there,” Shelby answered.

After weeks of silence and inactivity, the opening of Emma’s signaled more than a new place to dance in the city. As trucks made deliveries to Carlotti’s Italian Restaurant, a wiretap on the office phone caught a conversation between the restaurant manager and his boss, Vincent Carlotti.

Vincent had told him to bump a major anniversary party scheduled in the private dining room. At first the agents assigned to him hadn’t given it much thought, until the agents assigned to Ramon Jatibon reported two new arrivals at the Lakefront Airport. Ramon’s twins Remington and Mano had flown in on their private plane, traveling very light.

“The families are circling the wagons, and they’re probably going to discuss whatever’s bought them all together in that private dining room tonight.” More agents than Shelby thought worked in New Orleans now surrounded the restaurant owned by Vincent, waiting to catch snippets of the conversation. “The only ones missing are Giovanni and his boys, but that’s another story they’ll probably cover tonight.”

Claire nodded and readjusted some of the gear for better reception. “Vincent’s kid, Vinny, I know from my prior assignment, but what’s the story on the Jatibons?”

“Street name Snake Eyes, the twins are the next generation of that family’s empire. The daughter Remi will be the next head of the family, while her brother Mano runs their Las Vegas holdings. In a lot of ways Remi reminds me of Cain, at least when it comes to the revolving door on her bedroom. Just like our friend up there, Remi has had her fair share of beautiful women. The old man, Ramon, much like Vincent in his organization, still calls the shots, but the young guns wield a tremendous amount of power and influence within their respective families.” Shelby tapped her finger to her chin, trying to remember what else was in the file she’d read earlier when they were informed of the twins’ arrival.

“From what I know,” said Claire, “part of the holdings of all three families is legitimate.”

“True, but we’re interested in the part that’s not,” Shelby said. She clicked the camera again, catching the Caseys across the street with their heads together. “And they’re all smart. Dalton, Vincent, and Ramon raised pit vipers, but they’re anything but stupid. All of the children are college graduates—Remi even went to law school—and all of them are master tacticians.”

“Then how do we bring them down?”

“My father loves to build models of famous naval ships,” Shelby said.

Claire laughed. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“He taught me that no matter how good the design of any ship, it always has flaws. Most are minor, but they’re flaws nonetheless.”

She concentrated on Claire, knowing Cain wouldn’t give up anything but soft whispers to Emma. “Find those flaws, and enough of them, and you can sink anything. These guys are smart, but no one’s perfect. Our job is to find the flaws.”

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14