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Muriel opened the door of the truck for them and offered Emma a hand. “How’s the crabby patient?”

“She’s doing just great, so I wouldn’t be pushing my luck and calling her names. Give her a couple more days and she’s liable to take a swing at you.” Emma stood on her toes and gave Muriel a kiss.

“After I tell her all the stuff I got done, she wouldn’t dare.”

Muriel and Cain eyed each other with mock glares before wrapping their arms around each other. From childhood, they had acted more like siblings than cousins.

“Did you get to speak to Ramon again?” Cain asked once they were airborne, running her fingers gently over her chest, trying to stop the itching of the healing wound.

“A couple of times, and then he met with the people you asked him to. They were interested in a deal if you agree to meet with them too, once this is all over.”

“For what? They can’t seriously think I’d be interested.”

“Not interested, cousin. More like your willingness to let them deal with the other families.”

Cain nodded, but didn’t comment for a long time. “They can hope, but I’ll have to think about that.”

“They realize that, I think, so they told Ramon to convey their willingness to be patient until you’re ready. On another subject, my staff has moved into new office space.”

“Muriel, that’s great,” Emma said.

“Not when your dear spouse gets the bill. They figured you wouldn’t mind if we upgraded a bit.”

“Of course not, the mobster’s made of money,” Cain said.

“You’ll be giving them all raises when you see what else they got you.” Muriel dug through her briefcase for the right paperwork. “Your new deed, barkeep.”

The address at the top made Cain smile. When she was a kid, both her father and uncle had talked about this old warehouse by the river where their grandfather had worked as a young man fresh from Ireland. The property had been part of a furniture store chain for years, and they hadn’t been interested in selling off their holdings in pieces. Years and urban renewal in that part of the city had eventually changed their minds, but the warehouse Cain had been interested in for sentimental reasons had been the one thing the company had hung on to.

“What made them agree to sell?” Cain looked up from the document to her cousin, delighted.

“Not to sound like a canned movie, but you gave them an offer they found hard to refuse. The space downstairs is big enough for what you have in mind for the new club, and with a little insulation and work, the other five floors will do nicely for the new digs of the Casey Law Firm. Hell, they even threw in some furniture they didn’t feel like moving out.”

With Cain’s trust, Muriel had already negotiated, signed the act of sale, and cut the company a check. “If the crew working on renovations keeps up their pace, we should be in there in three or four months. That means you’ll have to stick to the pub for your drinking pleasure until they’re done.”

“What about our friend Blue?” Cain asked. “Has my lucky manager been behaving himself?”

“I’ve had a couple of our men sitting on him.” Another folder came out of the bag, and Muriel flipped through the paperwork and pulled out some photos. “The dumb bastard’s been busy.” The first picture she handed over showed Blue standing next to a new Porsche.

“Man, baby, I’m not sure how much you pay your people, but if you’re looking for a new club manager, I’m interested,” Emma said, peering at the car.

“I pay a good salary, and with some careful planning, he could afford this ride. Problem is, though, our boy Blue likes to spend his days at the track, and he’s got the luck of a two-legged dog in heavy traffic.” Cain examined the next picture taken at the horse track. The wad of bills in Blue’s hand didn’t compute. “Who’s he been talking to? Or should I ask, who’s he working for?”

Muriel handed over the last one taken at the same track, only now Blue was sitting in a box watching the race through some binoculars. It was the man standing next to him that made Cain crumple the picture and throw it to the floor. Stephano Bracato didn’t look too interested in the afternoon horse racing.

“He spent the afternoon with Stephano, losing steadily and drinking. Before they parted in the parking lot, Bracato handed him another thick envelope and they shook hands. You’ll have to talk to him, but I’m guessing his going out to his car had a lot more to do with knowing what was going to happen than sheer luck. The little son of a bitch even called to ask if you were still going to pay him even though the club was gone.”

“Where is he now?” Cain’s voice dropped to a dangerous tone, and not even Emma’s calming presence was enough to relax her.

“Little place off Airline Highway watching the ponies run at Belmont. I got Karl sitting in there having Cokes and placing a few bets to make sure he doesn’t disappear.”

They’d started to descend, causing Cain to look at her watch. It was still early afternoon, but the skies over New Orleans were gray and heavy with rain.

“Merrick.”

Merrick materialized at Cain’s side.

“I want you to take Emma to Uncle Jarvis’s. Don’t take any detours,” she warned, looking at Emma.

Before Emma could start to protest, Cain put her hand up. “Not this time, lass. For an envelope full of money, Blue traded the lives of people who were guilty of nothing more than trying to make a living. Our talk might be long and ugly, and I don’t want you exposed to that.”

“You’ll call and tell me if you’re all right when you’re done?”

“I sure will.”

“And you’ll have Katlin and Lou with you all the time, right?”

“I’ll have a couple more than that, as will you.” Cain stopped to place a kiss on the tip of Emma’s nose. “I plan to put a wall around you, with Merrick as the cornerstone.”

“Just don’t be gone long.” Emma rested her head on Cain’s shoulder and sighed. “I understand why you have to do all this, but after having you all to myself for these past weeks, and knowing this is dangerous, it’s going to be hard letting you go.”

“I’m thinking this bloke is going to start talking the minute I see him, so you’re not going to be by yourself very long.”

“I’d like to go by the house instead of Uncle Jarvis’s when we land to look at the damage and see what we can do about that situation. What do you think?”

Cain looked over Emma’s head at Merrick before answering.

When she nodded, Cain agreed with the plan. “Just remember to stick close to Merrick until all this is done. That house won’t mean shit to us if something happens to you.”

“I’ll keep my head down if you remember to do the same, Casey.”

The time had come for Emma to stand up for what she wanted and to keep her word.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Blue sat at a table in the back corner staring at the closest screen and screaming for a pony named Eagle’s Talon to get his ass moving. From the pile of ripped-up tickets on the floor around him, Cain could see his luck, or lack of it, was holding as steady as his losing.

The off-track betting bar Blue was sitting in reminded Cain of a cave. With the total lack of windows the patrons were bathed in the glare of television sets and neon. They all looked zombielike.

Without having to be told, Lou headed to the chair behind Blue, and Katlin stood behind Cain, who sat in the table’s other chair. The look of panic in Blue’s eyes was clear even in the dim lighting. He pulled his drink closer as if trying to find protection behind the glass of rum.

“Cain, what are you doing here?”

“It should be obvious. I’m here to see you.” Cain crossed her long legs and leaned back. “I hear we have a lot to talk about.”

Blue laughed and stood up, getting ready to deny whatever she was accusing him of. “I’m just placing a few bets, boss. What’s to talk about?”