"His house is a block from the place. He should see the signs coming down," Mano said.

"If he doesn't, I want you to call him," Ramon said.

"I agree. It's only right that it comes from you, so you can tell him we're willing to see him here," Cain said. "From what I hear he's still in town, and it shouldn't be too hard to arrange a meeting since he dropped the ball with Richard."

"Then what?"Remi asked.

"That's up to you," Cain said. "None of us has a bruise on their chest from a bullet impact, but I've got a suggestion."

"Let's hear it."

"I brought you a get-well present, but before you let your anger overrule your emotions, consider how we can best use it." Cain would accept whatever Remi wanted because of what had happened to her, but if she listened, Cain's plan could be the beginning of the end for most of their problems.

"What happened to me wasn't personal, I know that. Nunzio just saw it as the quickest way to get us to come back to the table. I may not understand that logic, but that's all it was and I have to accept it." Remi stood with her hand on her chest. She was moving better, Cain noticed, but from the way her mouth pulled when she had to sit or stand, she still felt pain.

"Lou," Cain said into the intercom to the second floor, "could you come back in with our new friend." It didn't take long for Lou to walk in with a much shorter man at his side. The guy was almost delicate looking, from the slim nose down to his long willowy fingers. "It was a b.i.t.c.h trying to find this guy, but I thought you'd like to meet him."

"Should I know who this is?" Remi asked.

"You may not know him, but you're familiar with his work. Jorge is the one who gave you that bruise and broke your rib."

Remi grunted as she got out of the chair, but she moved quickly to Jorge and punched him in the face hard enough to knock him off his feet. "You're not going to live long enough to regret that shot."

"I hit you," Jorge said, rubbing his jaw. "There's no way you walked away from that."

The complaint made Remi hit him again. "I walked away, and that doesn't make your future worth investing in."

"Remi, if you want to kill him I wouldn't blame you," Cain said.

"What else do you think I should do with him?"

"Jorge, what's your price?" Cain asked him.

"Five hundred thousand a job.It sounds like a lot, but I guarantee success, and until now that's what everyone's got for their money."

"For this job you'll get a much better payoff," Cain said as she pointed him to a chair.

"You want to hire me?"

"I more than anyone here understand business, Mr. Cristo. What you did was your job and nothing personal against Remi." Cain cut her eyes to Remi, who looked like she wanted to squeeze the life out of Jorge."But you got caught with your hand in the cookie jar, and it's time to make things right."

"What's the job?"

"I want you to take out Junior Luca, and I want you to vary from your usual style and shoot him through the eyes. I don't give a s.h.i.t what his body looks like after you're done, but I do want to know he's dead." Cain watched him as she spoke and noticed he petted the beard on the left side of his mouth, as if he were trying to get something out of it.

Everyone hada tell when it came to their fear, and she had a feeling this was his. Tells were the body's way of letting out fear and nerves, but they were also a good way to pick up on what a person wanted to keep hidden from the world. In poker they cost you the big pots, and right now Jorge's fear was driving the movements, cluing Cain in to how easy it would be to get what she wanted.

"My price is no different for that."

"You're going to do it and you're going to get only one thing in return, and my offer's only good while you're in this room."

"What's your price?" Jorge said. He pulled his hand away from his face and stared at it as if it had betrayed him by moving to his beard.

"Your life, Mr. Cristo," Cain said with an air of finality.

"You call that fair?" Jorge's hand returned to his face.

"You have the right to turn me down, that's up to you. Turn me down, though, and I'm through with you andit's Remi's turn."

"If you wantJunior dead, then he's dead," he told Cain, and turned to Remi. "She's right, this was only business. I have nothing against you or your family, but if you let me go you have my word you and your family have nothing to fear from me."

"Do you swear it on your mother's head?"

"I swear it."

"Cain had her price and her reasons, but I won't forgive what you did that easily, so I want one more thing from you."

"You've got the right to ask me anything."

"Are youright- or left-handed when it comes to your toys?" Remi asked.

"Right-handed."

"Junior Luca'spart of the deal, but you have to carry a reminder for you not to come near us again. Maybe with enough time you'll learn to be as accurate with your left hand as the people who hire you expect you to be." When Remi got close to him he wrapped his hands around the arms of the chair. "Your right hand."

Jorge held out his right index finger, his trigger finger. He made no sound as it hit the floor and accepted the handkerchief that she offered him to stop the bleeding.

"You have until tomorrow to do this, and you won't be going alone," Cain said as she waved one of her men over. "Once you finish, you're free to go. Renege, and the guy I'm sending with you will pull his own trigger, and I promise he'll be close enough there's no chance in h.e.l.l he'll miss."

Chapter Fifty-One.

Anthony opened his eyes and shut them just as quickly when the brightness of the room felt like it was burning holes in his retinas.

He'd spent another late night with Juan's men sitting outside the Casey place watching, but trying to stay out of sight of the other watchers. It was like his old job, only the pay was better. Then there was the new bonus Juan was sharing with him.

The blankets had tangled around his legs, and he glanced down to study the heap of material. His senses were heightened, like the way the sheets felt rough against his naked skin. As he concentrated on that feeling, someone banged on his door.

He took his time, finding it humorous when the banging got louder.

With a flick of his wrist he wrenched the door open, making Joe lose his balance and stumble a step forward. "Are you here to make sure I don't oversleep?"

"We need to talk to you so go put on some pants," Joe said. Shelby walked in behind him and studied the front room.

"Should I remind you that I'm not working after Annabel threw me out?" He took a seat on the sofa and put his feet on the coffee table.

The position made his white briefs pull tautly against his groin.

"Besides, maybe Shelby wants to see what she's missing by sniffing around the Casey's."

Joe advanced on him with his fists clenched, but Shelby stopped him before he got too close. "Agent Hicks asked us to drop by and invite you in for questioning."

"If Annabel wants to talk to me then tell her to get her fat a.s.s down here. I'm through with her and her fumblings. Once my suspension's over, I'm putting in for a transfer, but not before I report her for incompetence."

"Why don't you get your head out of your a.s.s and accept why Agent Hicks suspended you? It had nothing to do with your warped view of the world," Joe said. With the tip of his shoe he pushed a stack of magazines to the floor so he could sit.

Anthony looked from the mess on the floor to Joe and smiled. "I'd love to come in and chat, but my dance card's so full that I simply don't have time."

"You can do it voluntarily or we can come back in a more official capacity," Shelby added. She took a seat at the desk. "If you want to go that route, it'll haunt you at work for a long time."

"You think I care about that?" Anthony wanted to scream but his head was starting to pound. "When I'm done I won't have to worry about any performance reviews, but people like you will."

"I don't know, Joe," Shelby said, her head turned more toward the top of the desk than to her friend. "When you go in for your next review do you think you'll have to explain why you were seen leaving the airport with a known drug dealer?"

"Not to mention that dead guy in the bathroom. It would take quite a story to convince people you were nowhere near." Joe took up where she left off.

"I don't know what the h.e.l.l you're talking about." Anthony sat up, trying to see what Shelby was so interested in. He'd heeded Annabel's warning about money, and the cash Juan had paid him was stashed in a strongbox in the bedroom closet. "Who got killed at the airport?"

"Shelby and I both know you're a complete a.s.s, but don't compound it by trying to act stupider than you are," Joe said. "You know d.a.m.n well what we're talking about, and it's time to tell us what you know on the record, so get dressed."

"I'm not coming in without a subpoena, so f.u.c.k off."

"That should take about twenty minutes. Why not take a shower and be waiting on us when we get back, because I can promise you, if you're still in your tighty whities, that's how I'm taking you in,"

Joe said as he got up and brushed off his pants.

The two agents left and Anthony immediately got off the couch and stripped to shower. If Joe and Shelby mentioned the airport, the questioning Annabel wanted to engage in wouldn't be friendly.

There was most likely a collage of pictures of him and Juan leaving the airport and essentially the scene of a crime that'd play well to a jury.

He was dripping on the carpet in the bedroom a few minutes later, not caring if the phone was bugged. "Get ready to move," he told Juan. "Thenet's in place and the feds are getting ready to close it."

Shelby snapped her fingers in the van and rearranged their surveillance to make sure Anthony didn't spot them. "Are you calling Agent Hicks?" Joe asked.

"Eventually, but right now we're going to stick to Anthony and see where he leads us. Make sure the guys know he's one of ours and, though he's been out of his mind lately, he's been trained to spot us."

"You think he'll trip up enough to give you something?" Joe asked.

They were halfway to his car, but Shelby stopped at the corner where their second team was parked.

"Call it a hunch, but yeah. Cain and her crew are still important, but Anthony's playing a dangerous game with an unstable partner."

She leaned against the panel van and crossed her arms over her chest.

Staying here would also keep her from having to stare at Muriel all day, but she wasn't about to admit that to Joe or anyone. "You stay with the Casey's and we'll meet up later."

"I'll send Lionel back to help you," Joe said, "and don't take any chances. Like you said, Juan's not stable, and unlike our friend Cain across town, he's not going to respect that you're an agent."

"Don't worry. I'll keep my head down. Call me when your shift's done and we'll touch base."

Joe started walking but turned before Shelby could open the door to the van. "Remember to be careful, Shelby. Juan's one part of this, but something's really off about Anthony. Getting the bad guys is important, but it's not worth getting hurt over."

"That goes for you too, Joe. Now get out of here before our boy starts his day." Shelby was getting comfortable in her seat when Anthony strode out and headed for his car. The van parked close to his car was Shelby's decoy, and she laughed when he flipped them off. He peeled out of his parking spot, obviously in a hurry to get to wherever Juan was.

Shelby sat back and closed her eyes as they started at a much slower pace, confident that the three cars she had following Anthony wouldn't lose him. He was up to something that could only help their investigation, but she figured Anthony wasn't aware it would trigger his downfall. You didn't cross a certain line unless it was the FBI's idea, and he'd done it. Now there was no going back.

Cain sat at one end of the table with her family stretched out between her and Ross. When he got back, they'd picked Vincent Carlotti's place to celebrate and were waiting for the main courses.

"Daddy, I think the tyc.o.o.n persona looks good on you," Emma said of his suit and tie. "The cows won't recognize you."

"I'm having so much fun I might leave the cows to Jerry and his guys."

"Then our brilliant plan worked," Cain said, lifting her gla.s.s of iced tea in his direction. "I'm sure if we give these guys a vote, they'd tell you they want their grandpa to stay," Cain said about the kids. "Then there's the other reason."

"The first one's pretty good, Cain," Muriel said. "I'm not sure there's a better reason than grandkids. At least that's what Da keeps telling me."

"Two grandchildren are a great reason," Emma said, "but three might be the clincher."

"You're having a baby?" Hayden asked. "You are, aren't you?" He slid his chair back and sprang to his feet and wrapped his arms around Emma before she could do the same. When he turned to Cain he slapped hands with her before giving her a bear hug.

"Hannah, we're getting a brother or a sister."

"I want both," Hannah said as she stood on Muriel's legs.

The doors to the private room opened and Vincent carried in a bottle of champagne and the right number of flutes. "Are you going to tell me now why I've had this on ice all day?" he asked Cain.

Cain popped the cork and poured while Vincent did the same with a bottle of sparkling grape juice. "To my beautiful wife," Cain raised her gla.s.s to Emma, "to our children and our family. Those who've come before us, those here withus, and those yet to come."

"Cheers," the group said before they drank. The rest of the night was filled with laughter that Nunzio didn't ruin when he arrived and tried to muscle his way in to see her. The celebration started again when Lou and the others drove them home. Ross had worked hard with a handful of Cain's men and repaired the damage to the walls.

The place was spotless and contained only a fraction of their personal belongings, but Cain had wanted it to be a surprise. They'd worry about their clothes and other things in the morning. All Cain wanted was to make love to Emma in their bed.

"Do you want a boy or a girl?" Emma asked as she lay in Cain's arms trying to catch her breath.

"We've got one of each now, so this one, whatever it is, is lagniappe. What matters is that it'll belong to us, a part of our little clan."

"Was it the clan chieftain who Nunzio Luca wanted to do business with tonight? He was pretty adamant about wanting to talk to you."

"Nunzio's a s.h.i.t who needs to learn some manners, and tomorrow's going to be his first lesson." Cain yawned and Emma rubbed her hand in a circle on Cain's stomach, trying to get her to fall asleep.