“I’m fine, really,” Emma said a few hours later. “I’m not going to crack up. I just needed closure. My mother never did disappoint when it came to that.”
“If I could stay home I would, you know that, but I can’t skip this,” Cain said after getting a call from Remi.
“Cain, can I talk to you both before you go?” Ross said, coming into the sunroom without knocking. “Emma, I’m sorry for being such a lousy father and not getting you away from her long before you left. Of the two of us, you had way more courage than I ever possessed, but in a way, you set us both free.” Emma stood up and hugged him so they could cry together.
“Right now all I care about is that you’re here with us and you’re staying. No matter what, Daddy, I knew you loved me, and believe me, it was enough,” Emma said, causing Ross to wipe more tears from his eyes.
“You two are going to be okay. And Emma’s right. You’ve got a place with us until we’re all old and gray.” Cain put an arm around both of them. “The best revenge, my da always said, was to live well so you could rub it in the other guy’s face. Carol was a necessity so I’m glad you married her so Emma could be possible, but now it’s time to get on with the living well.”
“There’s one more thing,” Ross said, laughing and slapping his hands together as if just remembering something.
“As long as you don’t tell me Carol’s pregnant so you can’t leave her,” Cain said and Emma groaned, “I’ll be okay with whatever you’ve got to say.”
“I love you both for giving me a place and never making me feel like I’m a burden, but being here helping take care of the kids has—”
“Please don’t tell me you’re leaving,” Emma said, gripping his biceps.
“No, lass, I think he’s going to tell you he’s dating Carmen.” Cain laughed when Ross’s ears turned scarlet, followed by the rest of his face.
“How’d you know?” Emma said, a delighted smile lighting her face.
“I thought you’d figured it out yourself when you started calling her abuela. But to answer your question, I thought it had to either be that or Ross had developed a serious coffee addiction since he’s in the kitchen so much. No matter how I figured it out, I’m happy for both of you.”
“So you’re not upset?”
“Carmen’s been part of our household for years, and somewhere along the way she became family because of how well she takes care of Emma and the kids. That she might eventually be family makes me happy.”
Emma nodded and hugged him again. “See, I told you she was something all those years ago when you met her at my graduation.”
“That you did, sweetheart,” Ross said, embracing Cain next.
“Let me get to work so we can celebrate later.” Cain left them to find Lou and Muriel in the kitchen.
“Where are we meeting everyone?” Lou asked.
“According to Shaun, Santino’s here but alone. So let’s go see Jasper’s new compound.” She put on a suede jacket and sat in the back with Muriel. “Nunzio didn’t learn anything last time, so this might get his attention, and once he pops his head out of whatever hole he’s hiding in, I’m going to blow it off.”
*
“I put my guys over at the Hilton like you asked, Cain, and it got them to move,” Jasper Luke said once they’d driven through his newly built security entrance at the end of his private street. Jasper and his family had been friends for years, and no matter how successful he became, he’d never had the desire to move out of the lower ninth ward.
Twenty-five feet of water had destroyed the old place he had and shared with his Aunt Maude, but Jasper had wasted no time rebuilding. The main house was almost finished, and the rest were in various stages of construction. Cain laughed when the first place he’d shown off was the kitchen he’d built for Maude, who’d raised him from the time he was three.
“That’s what we needed so I could see who was with him. From what your guys and mine have said, Nunzio is so far a no-show.” Cain glanced at Remi and her brother Mano. “I had other plans for Nunzio, but I think the time has come to eliminate the threat. What I need from you and you, Vinny,” she said to Vincent’s son, “is for you to be ready to pick up the slack. Hector’s got problems, from where I’m not sure, but we can’t let him move in on this action.”
“You say when and where and we’re there,” Vinny said.
“Wait,” Remi said, holding her hand up. “What was your original plan?”
“I wanted to be sure of all his holdings and dealings so Jasper and Vinny wouldn’t have to go looking. That would’ve been easier, but now he’s sending people to Hector to say I stole from him and that you must be a part of it because the stuff was found in your building. I think between all of us, we’re smart enough to figure it out.”
“I can be patient if you want to do that.” Remi seemed relaxed, but Cain knew how deep her hatred for Nunzio went. “Like I told you before, as long as he ends up dead, I’m not interested in how long it takes if it helps us.”
“We can’t kill what we can’t find, and he’s not here or in New York. I’m guessing Santino has become his mentor since Junior’s death.” She thought of the old man she’d met in her early twenties with her father. “Junior and Nunzio didn’t learn much from him, but they should’ve paid attention. Santino is no dummy, so that’s where we’ll start, and the rest should take care of itself.”
“When?” Remi said, smiling like she’d just been given the winning lottery numbers.
“As soon as we hear from Shaun that he’s headed out, we’ll be waiting. I need him in a secluded-enough spot that we can take him without too many witnesses.” As if conjuring him up by mentioning his name, Lou’s phone rang. It was Shaun.
“He’s leaving now, Boss.”
Cain smiled. “See, and my mother-in-law thinks God doesn’t love me.”
*
“Are you sure?” Nicolette asked, skeptical of the information Freddie had given her. “Why would someone call you with that?”
“When I worked with Emray we picked up a few of the shipments, and it was my job to be there to meet them with girls. For some reason, those guys loved hookers from Airline Highway, and I’d pick up a few so they could party while I unloaded. Then they’d turn around and head back.”
“Don’t you think that’s a big mistake on the part of whoever’s in charge?”
“Look, if they’re running again, this is how they started. Eventually the shipments came directly to the bar once they figured out the guys at customs only ever looked at the boxes. Once in a while, they’d open a few, and since all the stamps and shit were there, it was like brushing your teeth every month after that,” Freddie said in a flat tone. “You said you wanted in. If that’s true, tonight’s the night.”
“What do I need?”
“The way it worked before, four guys were on the boat, and me and Mitch would come and unload. We did that for like six months, and then all we did was go pick up the finished product from this guy on the west bank that knew how to turn it back.”
“There was no more security than that?”
“The place they come into is deep in the woods south of here. You don’t need security if no one’s around for miles.”
“So how much in each shipment?” Nicolette started plotting as Freddie answered each question.
“Each shipment was the same since it was all they could fit on the boat. It’s enough to get you started, if that’s what you’re interested in.” He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her. “I’ll go and show you, but you have to keep me on. If Nunzio and his grandfather find me, I’m a dead man.”
“You have no idea who it’s coming for?”
“The guy just said they’d be here around eleven tonight. He didn’t say who the delivery was for because he guesses I’m going to be there to pick it up.”
“Get dressed and be ready to go in an hour. I’ll get enough people to wipe out whoever’s there and take the shipment. If what you’re telling me is for real, then I’ll set you up here to deal with this from now on.”
“That’s what Nunzio Luca told me, and then he fucked me.”
She winked at him and stood, her hand gliding from the side of her breast to her hip. “As you can see, I’m not Nunzio Luca, so you’re going to have to trust me. Either take my offer, or after tonight, you can go back to him and beg for scraps. If you live long enough, I doubt you’ll be your own man ever again.”
“An hour then, and make sure you bring enough people to get us both out of there alive.”
“Don’t worry. You can hide behind me,” she said and laughed.