"You all were hot for this a couple of days ago, so cut the s.h.i.t."

Richard was on the edge of his seat, wiping his brow with his handker-chief. "I know the business, and nothing but my place is for sale. I don't know what kind of scam you're trying to pull, but it won't work."

Ramon laughed as he twirled his lighter between his fingers. "Your sales pitch needs work. You of all people should realize everything's for sale if the price is right."

"If I walk out now, the deal's off. I don't care what you offer me after that, I'll sell to someone else," Richard said, trying to control the slight waver in his voice. "I'm not kidding."

"Then unless my partners disagree with me," Cain said, the springs in her chaircreaking a little as she slowly rocked, "we're out." When Richard sprang out of his chair she put her hand over her letter opener.

"You'll be sorry, Cain. I can promise you that."

"I'm already sorry I've wasted this kind of time on you." Cain stood up and leaned on the handle of the letter opener. "If there's nothing else, get out of here, Richard, and take your empty threats with you."

When he turned to leave, Cain noticed the sweat marks under the arms of his suit. Considering the weather was still coolish, the reaction had to come from nerves.

"I figure Guido's about to p.i.s.s his pants," Remi said, laughing. "If he's smart he'll point his car any direction but east and find a nice dark hole to slither into."

"If he's smart he'll give Nunzio a heads-up as soon as he hits the door. Once that happens and Nunzio knows we're not willing to deal on his terms, he'll contact us." Cain was still holding the letter opener that was sharp enough to cut through leather. "He needs us more than we need him, so he's not in a good position."

"That's the position of a desperate man, and we both know how smart that makes some people," Ramon said.

"You think he's there now?" Mano asked. "Desperate, I mean."

"That depends on who's supplying him," Cain said. "Your father and I both believe that the Luca family plans to move a lot of product soon. All that white powder makes money, but you have to pay up front," Cain said. "If Junior somehow talked his way around that, he might be in a crack now."

Muriel snapped her fingers. "Remi,Cain, that reminds me. Vinny asked for a sit-down with the two of you whenever it was convenient. After our recent reshuffle he's in position to start, but there's no way Vinny has the capital to compete with Luca."

"I'll be there whenever you can make it, Remi," Cain said. "Also, Muriel found out that Rodolfo and Juan are back in town, so let me know if he contacts you, Ramon. I want to keep an eye on the p.i.s.sant, and that means every move he makes. I don't need to remind you what kind of problems he gave Emma the last time he was in town."

"We saw the headlines this morning," Mano said to Cain.

"Someone took out Barney Kyle last night, and Remi tells us Agent Philips visited you right after it went down. Are you at the top of her list for a reason?"

"Whoever did this thing," Ramon said, holding his hand up to Mano, "they did us all a great service. You work for trash and sometimes bad things...they happen to you."

"I saw the paper too," Cain stabbed the morning addition of theTimes Picayune and slid it forward, "and yes, Shelby Philips asked me some questions last night. She'll ask quite a few more before all this plays out, but I have a hunch the investigation will head in a direction she isn't planning. Kyle worked for Big Gino, and he has the most to gain from taking him out, not me."

"With what he did to your family, the feds will think otherwise,"

Mano said.

"If you have a problem with continuing our business together, now would be the time to tell me," Cain said. "You either trust me or you don't. I don't plan to consult you when I need to do something for the sake of my business or family, just like I don't expect you to consult me. I didn't think that needed to be said."

"I don't have a problem with you, and neither does my brother,"

Remi said as she cut her eyes to Mano. "I mean it."

"No hard feelings then." Cain stood and pointed them toward the conference room where she'd had breakfast delivered.

Emma put her hand on Cain's pillow and sighed at how cold it was.

Lately Cain had been forced to get up early too often. Emma was worried, since it really hadn't been that long since Kyle had tried to kill her. The wound had healed, but the memory of Cain's possible death remained vivid. She tried not to think about it, but the scar on Cain's chest represented all that she could lose.

"Don't dwell, Emma," she told herself, forcing herself out of bed and into the shower."Time to move on."

The early spring weather was still cool enough for the sweater and skirt she'd picked up on her last shopping spree. Merrick was waiting downstairs, drinking a cup of coffee. The front page of the paper featured a large shot of the outside of the jail and more than one vehicle with the letters FBI stenciled on the side. At the bottom of the page was Kyle's picture from his days with the Bureau.

"Are they reporting on the hero killed last night?" Emma asked, tapping her finger on the photo.

Merrick folded the paper. "The op-ed piece was more like a laundry list of Barney's sins. For once the media got it right, so with a bit more digging our Dudley Do-Rights will surely pick up the correct scent and leave Cain alone." Emma sat down across from Merrick as she drained her cup. "What's on our agenda today?"

"We need to stop by the house first." She picked up a piece of toast and was about to b.u.t.ter it when she decided plain would be more palatable. "Then I need to make a few stops for Hayden's birthday party."

"Let's get to it then," Merrick said after Emma took one bite of the bread and threw it down with disgust. Per Cain's instructions, the car was waiting for them out back.

A few minutes later they reached the house and drove through the new security gate Cain had installed, along with a new brick fence that now completely surrounded the grounds instead of three-fourths of it as before. Inside, all the rooms had been painted, and the back of the house appeared as if nothing had happened. Cain's study had been restored to as close as Emma could get it to the original; even most of the leather from Dalton's office chair had been retained. The bulletproof gla.s.s was the one major change she'd made, so she could sleep better. Its cost had made even Cain's eyebrows rise, but she didn't care about anything but keeping Cain whole.

Jimmy Pitre the contractor said, "Just a few more touch-ups and you're ready to roll, Mrs. Casey. They're so minor, though, if you want to move in, go ahead, and we'll work around you."

Emma stood at the large window in Cain's office. The backyard hadn't changed much except for some playground equipment Cain had ordered installed for Hannah, but Emma could see those killers breaching the walls, intent on destroying her family. She shivered at the macabre memory and dwelt on the major difference between Giovanni and their other enemies.

Giovanni was a s.a.d.i.s.t with a penchant for ambush, but at least when he did come after you he approached in the open and you knew how to respond. Their home was repaired and safer, but now they needed to contend with the enemy who hid in dark places trying to catch s.n.a.t.c.hes of their secrets. As Cain had said from the beginningthe feds operated without honor.

"Just one more thing, Mr. Pitre."Emma turned and faced him.

He glanced at Merrick before answering. "More changes?" He kept his smile, but Emma could tell he was close to cringing.

"Not on my part, no."A wave of dizziness made her sit at Cain's desk.

"I don't follow." He moved aside when Merrick b.u.mped into him on her way to Emma's side.

"Are you okay?" Merrick asked.

"Just missing my morning coffee, I guess...I'm fine." She smiled up at Merrick, wrapping her fingers briefly around her wrist to keep her from moving away. "What I mean is," she said to Jimmy, trying to get back on track, "when you took this job we made a deal about who you'd allow to work here. You agreed you'd only use guys you could vouch for."

"I did."

"I'm not saying you didn't, but I'm having the house swept today.

If I find the kind of devices that require the walls to be ripped up, I'm going to deduct five thousand for every one I find."

He took a step forward but stopped when Merrick put her hand in her jacket. "You can't do that," Jimmy said in transparent panic.

"I'm not," Emma said calmly, almost laughing at how he puffed out his chest, thinking she'd backed down. "I'll let my partner Caincollect however she sees fit. I love my privacy, but Cain is rather fanatical about hers. Once I'm done with the sweep I'll have Cain call you so we can settle our bill." She stared at him until he broke first and lowered his head."Any problems with that?" Jimmy shook his head. "Anything you'd like to tell me?" He hesitated but shook his head again, only not as enthusiastically. "Thanks for stopping by, then. If there's a problem, like the fact you might owe us some money, I suggest you secure a line of credit before you meet with Cain. She's not only a stickler for her privacy, but she won't tolerate you owing us money."

As soon as Jimmy was out of earshot, Merrick started laughing.

"It's going to take a week for his b.a.l.l.s to fall back into place.

Whatever happened to that farm girl I met not that long ago?"

"She found out the world is full of wolves, and they all wear gray suits. Thanks for putting that picture in my head."

Merrick sat across from her and leaned closer. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. Could you call in the guys and let's see what we're up against?" She whispered, figuring from Jimmy's subdued demeanor the bugs were not only there, but were operational.

"How'd you guess Jimmy would've taken the chance?"

Emma let out a short, sarcastic laugh. "He was in here working one day when I came by with the decorator. It was the Confederate-flag tattoo with the words 'live free or we'll take you out' that made me think he'd fall for the hype the feebies are always selling."

"He didn't look all that brave when he left," Merrick said.

"I grew up with guys like that and they never are, unless they're dealing with women or someone weaker. Confront them and they crumble like stale cookies, but for the most part they like to beat their chests and show the world how macho they are. Lucky for me I married the cure for jerks like that."

The guy standing at the door waited until she finished before interrupting. "You have a visitor, ma'am." He stepped aside so Dallas was visible.

"You said I could stop by if I wanted," Dallas said.

"I'm glad you did." Emma stood and smoothed her skirt.

Dallas appeared almost shy and unsure of herself, and she reminded Emma of the girl she was when she'd first arrived from Wisconsin. Back then she'd never had Dallas's sense of style or level of success, but looking at Dallas, Emma could tell she had started something that excited and terrorized her.

Remi, like Cain, could devastate anyone with her looks and win anyone over with her charm, but she still had that dark side that couldn't be ignored. That side of both Remi and Cain could stop you cold if you thought too long about what they were capable of, but loving them meant accepting all of who they were. For her it was easy. Cain was ferociously protective, but she'd never felt that Cain committed the atrocities, as the government tried to define what she'd done, for pleasure.

Now, with Dallas, she had the chance to give someone the insight she'd had to gain for herself, after getting over her own mistakes. It would be nice to have a friend on a journey similar to hers.

"How about an early lunch?"Emma asked.

"That sounds great because I wanted to take you up on your offer to talk."

"Then how about an early lunch at our current address? If we're going to talk, I'd rather it stay between friends."

Chapter Nineteen.

"My uncle's stuck in the past," Juan said to Anthony Curtis. "He doesn't understand that the world has changed even though he refuses to." He shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth, some of it falling and staining the napkin he had tucked into his shirt collar.

"He said no, didn't he?"

Anthony crossed his legs and ran his finger along the top of his coffee cup. He couldn't appear too eager, because after reading the morning's paper he wanted in more than ever. If he played this idiot just right, he could use him to find his way in and eventually to Cain.

"Mr. Luis is ent.i.tled to his opinion and to whom he has working for him." He took a sip of coffee and shrugged. "His opinion of me isn't good, and yes, he turned me down. That's okay, though. I'm looking into other options."

"Why not work for me?" Juan dropped his silverware so quickly his plate almost shattered. "I'll take over for my uncle soon, and I could use you."

"I don't want to come between you and Mr. Luis."

Another mouthful of eggs wrapped in bread disappeared but were still visible when Juan laughed. "I'm sure that's your main concern, but don't worry about it."

"Then I'll be happy to help you out." Anthony nodded to the waitress when she removed his plate.

"Just one thing, Mr. FBI," Juan said, the others with him laughing as he carefully enunciated the three letters."You in the big leagues now. If you're thinking of f.u.c.king me over, I'll feed your nuts to my dog with a bowl of salsa."

"I'll keep that in mind," Anthony said, pushing away from the table. When he stepped out of the restaurant, he took a page out of Cain's playbook and smiled wide enough to show teeth for the cameras as he put his sungla.s.ses on. For once he felt in control instead of trapped being a watcher."Twenty bucks dear Annabel calls before the day's out."

"He's withwho ?" Annabel screamed into the phone as Shelby placed the ballistics report on the rifle they'd found at Kyle's crime scene on her desk. "Just stick with your a.s.signment and I'll take care of it from my end."

"Problems?"Shelby asked.

"Not for long, but this couldn't have come at a worst time. We're stretched thin now, and I don't need another rogue agent on my hands."

"What?" Shelby sat down.

"We're splitting the investigation into the Luis family business with the DEA, and Mark Pearlman, the agent heading up their part, just called and said Anthony had breakfast with Juan Luis this morning and met with Rodolfo Luis last night."

Shelby fell back against the wood of the chair, feeling as if someone had hit her. "What's he up to?"

Annabel laughed as if Shelby had made a joke. "What's he up to?

He's asking Rodolfo Luis for a job, of course, and since the old man was smart enough not to hire him, he accepted Juan's offer."

"What's he trying to prove?"

"I don't give a c.r.a.p what he's trying to prove. He's about to compromise an ongoing investigation." Annabel picked up her phone, dialed her a.s.sistant, and demanded he find Anthony and bring him in. "What's the word on our gun?"

"The bullet we dug out of the back of the van was mutilated, but it does match the caliber of the rifle we found, so in all probability we have the murder weapon. The rifle itself had the serial number filed down, but the field agent shipped it to the lab at Quantico and they're working on it. Since this morning they've raised the first three numbers," Shelby said, reading from her notes.

"And?"Annabel glanced up at her from the top of her gla.s.ses.

"I ran that little information and got a list of possibles about a mile long. I took into consideration who the players were and narrowed the scope to one person."

Annabel put the folder down and smiled. "If you tell me you can trace it to Casey I'll nominate you for agent of the year."

"It's never that easy, ma'am. Giovanni Bracato, Sr. has a rifle of that caliber registered to him. He also has a license to hunt deer, which is what the rifle is most commonly used for. I won't know for sure it's his until they give me the entire serial number."

She thought of Cain's face as she confronted her the night before.