“He told me today all the stuff he talks to you about was none of my business, so why should it be any different for me?” Emma was hurting and tried to lash out at the person she blamed for her misery.
Cain just nodded again and turned around, headed back to the bunkhouse. “Please, don’t go. I’m sorry. This isn’t your fault.”
“What do you want from me? I raised him to be strong, Emma. Not to be like me but to choose his own path and be whatever he wants. Hayden’s his own person, and I happen to love the hell out of who he is. He’s better than me and you put together. Whatever happened today, you’re right. That’s between the two of you, but don’t expect me to get in the middle. Nor am I going to champion your side. So what is it you want? For me to shake him until he agrees to stay?” Cain took her hands out of her coat pockets and spread them out, obviously frustrated.
“I want to talk to you and not have you sound like you hate me. I want for our son to look at me like I’m a member of his family, like I’m his mother and not some woman he has to spend time with because that’s what you expect. I want him to want to please me as much as he lives to please you.” Her voice started to sound ragged even to her own ears by the time Emma was done.
The stream of air that left Cain’s mouth smoked the air at least two feet in front of her. “You could’ve had all that and more, and you know it. You left for your own reasons, none of which were me asking you to go. In fact, if memory serves me correctly it was me who asked you to stay. You want him to look at you and treat you like you’re his mother. You should’ve sent him a letter now and then. What I did four years ago was a mistake, but I’m not making any more where you’re concerned. I’ll give you the morning to convince him to stay, if you can. After that I’m taking him home, if that’s what he wants.”
“What do you mean you made a mistake?” Emma wondered if Cain really regretted killing the man for what he’d tried to do.
“I listened to you, and I let him live. It’s a mistake that has cost me dearly.”
Just as quickly Emma realized Cain was still a heartless liar. What she had put into motion didn’t seem so horrible now.
Chapter Nine
Merrick was sitting on Cain’s bunk when her boss stepped back into the room and watched as she stripped off her hat, gloves, and coat. She enjoyed looking at the long, denim-wrapped legs since she rarely saw Cain in anything other than a business suit. They shared a close relationship, but she had never been able to convince Cain to cross the line and add being lovers to their list of accomplishments. She knew what Cain needed was a woman like Emma, but one who thought like her when it came to business and family. Merrick loved and accepted all of Cain, whereas Emma obviously could only stomach the soft and gentle parts. Emma had never sat back and learned, like Merrick, that it was Cain’s strength for all things that made her incredibly attractive.
“How’s the ex?”
“A little miffed. It would seem her son doesn’t love her as much as he loves us. It always amazes me the things people can do to convince themselves how the world around them should work and respond to their decisions.”
“Baby, what have I told you about women?”
“I believe your advice was along the lines of staying away from them. Maybe only after Special Agent Barney Kyle finally snares me in the trap he’s been laying for years and convinces a judge to send me to the men’s prison do I see that happening.”
When Cain mentioned the man who led the task force formed to bring down the Casey organization, Merrick stood up from the bed and prowled toward her. If any of the others were awake, they knew better than to watch them or comment. She pressed her body to Cain’s and slid her hands up to the back of Cain’s neck.
“I don’t see that happening either.” She smiled through the statement before she pressed her lips to Cain’s and coaxed her boss into kissing her back. The kiss was long and convincing, and Merrick pulled away first. With Cain’s head still hovering close, she moved around to kiss her neck and trace Cain’s ear with her tongue. “The camera’s set up in the overhead light fixture, and so far I’ve found four bugs dispersed throughout the room.
“Sorry, baby, but I think Emma’s visit had more to do with getting Hayden comfortable with the idea of being here, so when the time came and he’d be here permanently, he’d be easier to handle. Little Miss Muffet’s plan involved more than getting together with her long-lost son and feeding him curds and whey. Kyle’s goons have been in here. I’m sure of it.”
If Cain was angry, she never showed her feelings when she pulled back a little to look at Merrick’s face. She kissed her again and smiled. “That sounds like a wonderful idea, but it’ll have to wait until we have a bit more privacy. Maybe we’ll stick around here for a couple of days to build up the suspense before we can take care of our problem. A little ache can sharpen the sense of relief when it comes. Don’t you agree, sexy?”
Cain leaned closer and traced Merrick’s ear with her index finger. “Remember what happened to the girl in that rhyme, sweetling. Along came a spider. Only this time Emma might just have found a black widow, and I do believe they kill and eat their mates when they’re done playing with them.”
She laughed and moved out of Cain’s embrace, but not before slapping her in the stomach. Her boss had given no clue as to who would be hurting by the end of the trip, but if Emma and Kyle knew what was good for them, they would start praying to whatever entity they believed in now. Because “relief” as defined by Cain Casey could leave a person praying for death instead of salvation.
*
Before the sun came up the next morning, Cain was sitting on the bed assigned to her, waiting for her son’s eyes to open. Experience let her appreciate the quiet, knowing it wouldn’t be long before Hayden would wake up and join her for a run. They enjoyed this time together every morning—first with her pushing him in a running stroller, then with him riding his bike to keep up, and now with him keeping pace on legs almost as long as hers.
If she was grateful for one thing, it was that her brother Billy had lived to meet Emma. When Billy saw the way his older sister looked at the small blonde, he’d gone to a local clinic a few times and left them a gift for the future. She could still remember the shock she’d felt when he’d told her about it, joking it was his way to keep the Casey legacy alive for the next generation.
Billy’s gift had given them their son and his name, which Billy had picked out before he died, three months before the child’s birth. Cain liked to think her brother was watching over them from heaven and that was why Hayden resembled their family so much and had turned out to be so terrific. If she had to have a guardian angel, Billy Dalton Casey wasn’t a bad guy to have sitting on her shoulder and whispering in her ear.
“Get ready, kid. I want to go running in the boonies.” Cain spoke in a hush so she wouldn’t wake everyone else.
