No matter how much shit Stephano had in his system, he must have noticed the smell of burning hair and flesh. He screamed like a volcano erupting as his nipple disappeared, eaten off by the blue flame in Cain’s hand. “You bitch, you said you’d let me go if I told you.” He was crying when she moved to the other one.
“You’re right, asshole. I’m going to let you go, all right.” She pushed the plunger all the way down and stood back as Stephano started to convulse. Before long he started to shake from the seizure that had taken over, and he was choking on the foam spilling out of his mouth.
“Bon voyage, asshole, but don’t worry. You won’t be traveling alone. I’m sending your whole family on the same trip.”
Stephano’s chair started to shake from his jerking, but no one tried to stop him. At one final moment his body went completely taut, the ropes finally snapping under the pressure. Then he slumped, overwhelmed by the lethal dose of drugs.
“However we finish this, I want them all dead. None of the Bracatos will escape, but I want Gino and his father saved for last. Just like Danny, they’ll pray for death when I’m through with them.”
Katlin and a couple of the men stayed behind to remove any evidence. She put the syringe and needle back into her case, as well as the rubber tubing, then cut the ropes off without too much worry for his hands. He wouldn’t feel anything now.
Finally, she used with a disposable wipe doused in bleach to wipe down Cain’s chair. If anyone happened to discover Stephano, they wouldn’t be able to extract any DNA.
“Problem is, like Cain said, no one who matters will find you. The crackheads will come strip you of anything valuable, then leave the rest for the rats.” After making sure nothing could tie them to the scene, Katlin rifled the body for one more thing.
On Stephano’s right ring finger rested a signet ring bearing the Bracato family crest, a gift from their father, a duplicate of the one he wore proudly. Engraved inside each one was the name and birth date of the son to whom it belonged. It was one of a set of five Cain planned to collect before all this business was over. To see it again, off his son’s finger, would send Giovanni the same message as the dead fish announcing Blue’s demise. Still wearing her gloves, she jerked the ring off, walked to the car, and handed it to Cain.
“We’re good to go, boss.”
“Rest up, Katlin. We’re just beginning.”
Katlin knew Cain’s comment was fueled by rage about Marie and that if the Bracatos wanted quick and painless, the devil wasn’t in the mood to hear their pleas.
Chapter Thirty-One
For one brief moment Cain could hear the echo of laughter when Marie and Hayden had played together, enjoying each other’s company. Not a day went by that she didn’t miss her sister, but she realized that while Hayden hid his feelings on the subject well by not talking about it much, Marie’s vicious murder had left a hole in his heart. Compared to what Marie had endured, the syringe full of liquefied cocaine she had just given Stephano was a gift.
In a lot of ways, this night resembled the night four years earlier when Danny had tried to rape Emma, causing her to leave Cain because she believed Cain had killed Danny in revenge for an act that never took place. Only this time Cain really had taken a life, a life that had ended in a sputtering mess of twitching muscles and tense limbs. Stephano’s death had eased some of Cain’s guilt over her failure to protect the most innocent of her responsibilities, but now came another test.
A light under the door flashed every so often, and Cain guessed Emma was watching television, trying her best to wait up. She paused, her hand on the knob, wondering how Emma would react this time around. “The proof is as easy as opening the door,” Cain whispered before doing just that.
The television was on, but Emma sat in the middle of the bed staring at the door, willing it to open. When it did, she could see from Cain’s clenched jaw that she was upset. The sitting and waiting had been murder, but now she needed to help.
Without a word, she pulled Cain into the room and locked the door. When she finished, a pile of clothes lay on the floor and she was lying skin to skin with Cain as she held her.
“Tell me what happened.” Emma’s tone showed no trace of indecisiveness.
“Stephano came to the address. Alone, like Lou had asked him to on the phone.” Cain relaxed into Emma’s chest, enjoying the methodically moving fingers combing through her hair. “We treated him to some of the shit he sells, and it made him really talkative…”
As her voice died away, she expelled a big sigh. “Maybe some part of him knew I’d never let him walk, so he wanted to inflict the maximum amount of hurt before his time was up.”
“What could he possibly say to hurt you?”
Cain closed her eyes as if reliving the little speech Stephano had given about that night. When she opened them again they stung from unshed tears. “He was there the day Marie was killed. He tortured her too, and laughed about it.” The sheets wrinkled in her fists as she gripped them, trying to fight the urge to go out and find the rest of the Bracatos and inflict some pain immediately. “Thing is, Danny put on a little show for not just Stephano, but for his big brother Gino. That bastard took a turn with her.”
Emma held Cain as her tears fell, something that rarely happened. Cain had always had time to spend with her younger sister. She had taken such good care of Marie that Emma had been sure Cain would make a wonderful parent and therefore had loved her even more deeply.
*
Fourteen Years Earlier
“Why do you look so nervous, Emma?”
“Are you kidding? You haven’t done anything but talk about your sister and your family for weeks. What if they don’t like me?” Emma was enjoying their rare time alone as Cain drove them to the Casey home for a casual Sunday lunch.
“Lass, quit your worrying. Marie’s going to love you, and so will Billy and my mother.” She squeezed Emma’s thigh and smiled. “Just remember she gets confused at times, but just be patient with her.” Two of the guards opened the front gate, and Emma waved, recognizing them from the pub when they accompanied Cain.
“I remember.” She smoothed down her dress for the hundredth time since Cain had picked her up. “Do I look all right? I don’t want your mother thinking I’m not right for you.”
Cain’s blue eyes softened. “You look fabulous. At least I certainly think so.”
“I just want them to like me.”
Cain got out of the car and walked to Emma’s door. When she opened it she crouched down and pressed her palm to Emma’s cheek. “Do you think you’re right for me?”
“With all my heart.”
“That’s all that matters.”
Before Cain could say anything else, the front door opened and Marie pressed herself to her sister’s back. “Hi,” she shyly said to Emma. “We’re going to be great friends.”
The words proved that Cain was right. Life might have given Marie a mind that wouldn’t mature like most, but her heart had fared just fine. Emma smiled and gazed into eyes so like Cain’s that she felt an instant affection for the girl who was so important to the woman she was falling in love with, although Marie’s eyes were missing the mischief always shining in Cain’s.
*
“Do you remember the day you introduced me to Marie?” Emma brushed back a thick lock of Cain’s hair and held it in place when it kept falling forward.
“I remember how well you and she got along.”
“Do you know why we got along?” Cain shook her head, and Emma kissed Cain’s forehead before answering. “Because Marie told me something that I’ll always treasure.”
“What?”
“She said you’d found someone who would love you more than she did. Then she told me how lucky I was.”