“This is very nice. Thanks for asking me.”
“My pleasure. Maybe after your big promotion you’ll be the one to treat me to dinner.”
“And why am I going to be getting a big promotion?” Shelby tapped her glass against the one Cain held over the center of the table and smiled at her before taking a sip.
In lieu of an answer Cain passed her a large file and sat back to enjoy her appetizer.
Twenty minutes later a waiter appeared with the next course, noticeably upset when he found Shelby’s plate untouched and papers spread out around her chair.
“Leave it, Julian. I’ll cut it up and feed it to her in small pieces so she won’t choke while she’s reading.”
“Another twenty minutes or so before the soup, Ms. Casey?”
“That sounds about right. Why don’t you bring that with a straw?” Cain teased.
Shelby finally looked up, an expression of total shock marring her features. “I’m sorry for zoning out like that, but there’s no way this is true.”
“Why wouldn’t it be? Just because I gathered the information, it’s bogus because it suits my interests?”
“No, Cain, because of what it implies. This is a serious allegation against someone who up to now has been beyond reproach.”
Cain lifted a shrimp off Shelby’s plate and held it up for her to take a bite. “I’m a Casey, Shelby, which makes me a bad guy in the eyes of the law. What you just finished reading doesn’t make him any different from me because of who he works for. I asked you for a favor—for you to do your job. You have the rest of tonight and most of tomorrow to do it. Verify the information and then make your decision. That’s all I ask. Forget now that you owe me your life. Your being here tonight has paid your debt. As your friend I’m asking you to do this. If you refuse, I still have options, but I wanted to give you first shot.”
“Can I get some help from some of the other agents?”
“If you trust someone else, then knock yourself out.”
“Cain, would you be terribly offended if I skipped the rest of dinner?”
“Eat one more shrimp to make Julian happy. Then get out of here.”
Shelby ate the shrimp, gathered all the paperwork, and jumped up. She kissed Cain good-bye and was almost to the door before her benefactor stopped her.
“Is there room in your sensibilities for me to ask one more favor?”
“I’ll owe you more than one favor if this checks out. What else do you want?”
“Tomorrow night is the one night your boss has been waiting for.”
“Cain, it’s not too late to call off whatever you’ve got planned.”
“I don’t want to call it off. I want this to finally come to a head, and I want you to be there. I’d like to live out the night, and with you there, I’ll feel better that’ll happen.”
Shelby put her hand on Cain’s cheek and nodded. “I’ll be there. I promise no one will harm you.”
“Thanks. Just one more thing. Do you want the video and audio tapes that go along with that file?”
“You have film to go along with all these pictures?”
Cain pointed to the box near the door.
“If you were a man, I’d have your baby, gangster or no.”
Shelby kissed her and jumped a little when the door opened again and an acne-faced teenager from the office supply place waited to carry her box out for her. Cain had even thought to put it in a box from the place to make it look like a purchase.
“I’ll keep that baby thing in mind, but it’ll have to wait. You have work to do.”
Merrick walked in, pulled the plate of salad in front of her, and accepted a glass of wine from Cain. “All done?”
“That should keep her and her friends busy for the next twenty-two hours or so. Anything more and it’s just overkill, since we did most of the work.”
“Are you sure about all this, Cain? I have the worst feeling.”
“Merrick, nothing in life is a guarantee, but I promise you I’ve worked out all the angles. I’m through with playing by someone else’s rules. I’m ready to take control of the game again.” Cain lifted her glass and pressed her lips to the rim. The next question wouldn’t come easy. “There’s something I want to ask you. Actually it’s something I want you to promise me.”
“You know you don’t ever have to ask me. Just tell me and I’ll see it gets done.”
She shook her head and reached across the table for Merrick’s hand. “No, sweetheart, I want to hear you say it.”
“What do you want?”
“If something should happen to me, I want you to take Hayden to Emma, and I want you to walk away. He’ll have more than enough money, and I don’t think anyone will go after him in Wisconsin.”
“Honey, he’s never going to agree to that. Maybe with your uncle Jarvis?”
“No, Merrick. Promise me you’ll take him to Emma. I love Jarvis, but Emma’s his mother. No one will fight harder to keep him whole than she will. He’s young and maybe doesn’t understand completely what’s best for him, but if I’m no longer around, she’s what’s best for him. I’m counting on you to tell him that if I can’t.”
For one of the only times she could remember, Merrick’s eyes filled with tears, which fell silently down her face.
“Please don’t talk like that. I’ve never known you to plan something that didn’t include survival ahead of everything else.”
“I don’t want to repeat the mistakes of my father and go without planning for all the possibilities. I loved Dalton with everything I was, and I’ve thought of all the ‘what ifs’ because he was taken from me so soon. I want better than that for Hayden. He needs a sense of himself other than what he is with me, and I think his mother is the best person to give him that. Trust me, sweetling. I don’t ask this without biting back a whole bunch of feelings, but I have to do what’s right for my son.”
“I may have to tie him to the wing of the plane to get him there, but if that’s what you want, that’s what I’ll do. Will you promise me something now, boss?”
“Anything.”
“Promise me this is just one more cog in the wheel you’re putting together and not a real possibility. Because if you’re thinking like this, I’ll tie you to a chair all day tomorrow and be damned with the consequences.”
“There’s no one you’ll meet who adores life more than I do, Merrick. I put tomorrow together because I want to enjoy the years to come as much as possible. When this is all over, there’s a girl I want you to meet.”
Merrick lifted her brows in surprise. Having Cain mention anyone was cause for celebration. “The one who left just now?”
“No, I don’t want to chance prison time every time I exchange pillow talk. This girl, she’s special, and when you lay eyes on her you’ll understand why.”
Merrick lifted her glass and waited for Cain to do the same before she made her toast. “To life.”
“And its infinite possibilities,” Cain added, before she tapped her glass to Merrick’s and took a sip.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The old chair creaked when Cain stared out the windows behind her desk at home. The branches of the bare trees in the yard swayed gently in the cold breeze. The sun hadn’t shone all day, and the visibility on the docks that night would be extremely low. While she usually welcomed such a gift from Mother Nature, tonight it made her think of all the things that could go wrong because of all the people who would be watching.
“Cain?”
“Come in, Merrick.” Her hand appeared from behind the chair and waved the trusted guard in.
“In a minute, boss. Your uncle’s on line one for you.”
She hesitated before she picked up the phone. She had honestly forgotten about Jarvis. Their last meeting had left her with enough bad feelings to make her ignore him, but he was family, which brought its own obligations, so she had to put her feelings aside. “Uncle Jarvis, I’m sorry about last night. I couldn’t help it, though.”