ISBN10: 1-60282-012-0
ISBN13: 978-1-60282-012-8
This electronic book is published by:
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.,
New York, USA
First Edition: April 2008
This is a work of fiction. names, characters, places, and Incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Credits
Editors: Shelley Thrasher and J. B. Greystone
Production Design: J. B. Greystone
Cover design by Sheri (graphicartist2020@hotmail.com)
Acknowledgements
I’ve said before that no book comes together alone, so there are many people to thank for this one.
The first thank you goes to Radclyffe for your continuous belief in my writing, and for your encouragement to bring Deal to life. Thank you also for your vision and your tireless efforts to make it grow and prosper. Bold Strokes Books is a team I’m proud to be a part of.
Shelley Thrasher has been my editor from the first page of the very first book, and that has been one of the best things to happen to me as a writer. There is no better teacher, gentle critic, friend, and editor. Thank you Shelley for your invaluable help and for your patience as we make our way through these stories.
Thank you to my copyeditor Julia Greystone for making it so easy to cross the finish line on this one. It was a pleasure working with you. And thanks to Sheri who always puts the final touch on every book with an incredible cover.
To my gold team of beta readers Connie Ward, Kathi Isserman, Lenore and Beth, I can’t say thank you enough. You guys are the first people to see the stories in their infancy and you do a fabulous job of keeping me on track. I thank you for your time, effort, and dedication.
A big thank you to the readers. Without your acceptance of Cain, Emma, and the gang, they would be retired by now. It was your encouragement and your thirst for more that has been essential to their continued story.
And lastly, thank you to my partner. You believe in me enough to put up with me when I’m trying to fi nd the next sentence when I’m stuck, take care of me when I’m hurting, and love me enough to do all of it with a beautiful smile. You’ve taught me all I know about romance, friendship, fun, and what it is to love and be loved in return. Each day with you is a gift.
Dedication
For C
A lifetime is not enough
Chapter One
St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, Louisiana
“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.” Derby Cain Casey knelt in a confessional in St. Louis Cathedral. She was the last one for the early morning session and smiled as she uttered the lines her mother had patiently taught her. So much had happened to her, those lessons seemed like they had occurred in another lifetime.
She’d lost Emma, her partner, to a misunderstanding. But after a four-year separation she had not only gotten her back, but gained a daughter. This time around, they had understood each other completely when she had methodically killed every single male member of the Bracato family as revenge for the deaths of her parents, brother Billy, and sister Marie. Emma was no longer blind to who Cain was and what the family business was. This time around she’d gladly made a deal with the devil in exchange for a life with Cain and their children, Hayden and Hannah.
Even in the shadows of the confessional Cain could see her old friend Bishop Andrew Goodman press his fingers to his chin.
“Do you know it’s a sin to say things you don’t mean to a priest?”
“It’s a sin to ask for forgiveness?”
“Not at all. It’s just the sins yet to come that make me worry about you, especially if I believe everything I read in the papers.” He was referring to the series of articles about what had happened to Giovanni Bracato and his four sons. With no bodies for evidence, the police could only speculate.
“I’d argue with you, but what’d be the point?” Cain laughed when she saw him smile. “Since there’s a good chance I’m going to sin again, how about you let me up and we’ll go for a walk. We’ll save my laundry list of wrongdoings for next time.”
She genuflected more out of habit than deep faith before they left the confines of the safe zone the listeners in her life had ignored.
In the vestibule, Andrew went through the ritual of getting down to his unpretentious black pants and shirt and white collar. Though he’d been the bishop of St. Louis for over a decade, people who didn’t know him still mistook him for just a parish priest. Andrew had grown up without the trappings of wealth, making his vows easy to abide by.
From the day Cain had accepted his invitation to come by for a talk, they had met regularly. While they would never be friends like Andrew and Cain’s father Dalton had been, they were growing closer. Not having to hide any part of herself in Andrew’s office and in his company comforted Cain. That rare luxury had made her look forward to their talks, especially today.
“If you aren’t sinning then what have you been up to?”
Andrew dropped into his favorite chair. His hair had turned white and had thinned some, but he still moved like a man in his twenties.
“I’ve actually been building bridges.” Cain accepted the cup of tea he offered her.
“That was one of your father’s strongest traits. ‘Never give up what you believe, Andy, but it’s good to have friends when it counts,’” he said, trying to imitate Dalton’s deep, booming voice. “He’d tell me that all the time.”
“Da was right about that. Sometimes we seek alliances to help build our business, and sometimes to achieve our goals.”
“And others are for survival,” Andrew finished for her. “At the foot of what bridge do you find yourself, Derby?”
Cain liked Andrew to call her by her first name. He was the only one left who even remembered it, and it made her feel connected to the past and to her family.
“I’m beginning to think I’m a dinosaur in the modern world.” She laughed because, even if she did do things the old-fashioned way, she didn’t care. “Vices are a little different these days.”
“Sometimes evolution isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
Cain nodded once in agreement. “But if I don’t evolve, I’ll become obsolete, like the horse and buggy.”
“But if you were Amish, you wouldn’t need anything but a horse and buggy. You can expand into things that will make you untouchable, but my job is to save your soul.”
“Conquest doesn’t inspire my soul, you know that, but, for the safety of my family, it’s time to expand. With Ramon and his family I can achieve that goal without having to sacrifice who I am.”
Andrew put his cup down and bit into a peanut butter cookie his assistant had brought in. “So you do plan to sin again.”
“I plan to try a couple of new things, and if there’s sin involved I promise not to venture too much farther off the path than I have already.”
They both laughed at her version of confession.
“Why Ramon and not Vincent? Vincent is who your father picked.”
“My family is different than the family I grew up in. Da set an example that I like to think I’m living up to. Ramon is a better fit for what I want to leave Hayden and Hannah.”
“That goal’s appropriate for today. It’s good to celebrate his life by marking the day of his death. But to live the honorable life he taught you truly validates what Dalton stood for.” Andrew stood and waved her up. “Let’s go for that walk you promised me.”