Kyle the gift she’d brought him. “You’re all alone, Barney, and that’s not a good position to be in when you’re in jail.”
“What the fuck is this?” He held up the gold-embossed prayer card Bishop Andrew had gotten for her after she’d asked for it. On one side was a novena written in scrolling letters and on the other was St. Michael in the pose most people were familiar with—his foot on Satan’s head and his sword raised in his right hand ready to strike.
“Just a reminder.”
Kyle held the card to the glass as if she’d forgotten what it was. “Of what? A reminder to pray for good things to happen to me?”
“I’m not that presumptuous, and I could give a fuck about your soul, so no.” She tapped her finger to the picture he still had pressed to the glass. “This is to remind you that before you go hunting the devil, you should know your own demons.”
“Getting religious on me, Casey? If you think that’ll get these assholes off your ass, you’re crazy.”
“I don’t waste my time on wishful thinking, and I’ve finished what I came for today.”
“So you’re not here to gloat and only come bearing gifts?” He put the St. Michael card in the pocket of his gray jumpsuit. “This doesn’t make us even, and it sure as hell doesn’t make us friends.”
“For once, Barney, you’re right on both counts. After meeting you, I can honestly say I’m rooting for the feds this one time. You don’t deserve anything more than a small cell and time for everything you’ve done.” She stood and buttoned her jacket. “Take care, and perhaps with everything you’re facing, prayer wouldn’t be such a bad thing. My priest tells me confession is good for the soul, and if you’re contrite enough, the folks who control your future might just show compassion.”
“After tomorrow you should just worry about yourself and that pretty bitch who shares your bed. As a matter of fact, Emma might be one of the first people I visit when I get out of here. I gave her a way out and away from you, and she spit in my face.”
“Best of luck to you then. I’ll have a whiskey waiting.” Cain chuckled at his baffled expression, but she didn’t add anymore. She’d gotten what she came for, which was to meet the man who’d brought her such misery in both his time with the FBI and in Giovanni’s employ. She knew her demons, so now she could bring her sword down on this snake with no remorse.
With one last wave she stepped out and headed toward the waning sunlight. She gazed back at the building, wondering if, when your time came to an end, it would be better to know or more peaceful to never see the bullet coming? Whatever the answer, she would ask Kyle when she eventually met him in hell.
*
“Can I call you back?” Shelby asked as soon as she answered her cell phone, not bothering to see who it was. Her eyes were glued to Cain’s retreating back as she quickly navigated the steps of the Federal Building on the way to her car.
Muriel answered her. “I’ll be in the office until seven, then I have an engagement tonight for work. Try me before then or wait until tomorrow.”
“Wait,” she said, but was too late. The call had dropped from Muriel’s end. “Shit.”
“If you have to get going, I’ll brief the next shift,” Joe said, waving her toward the door. Since they were essentially back at the office, their cars were only a few blocks away and Shelby could get to Muriel’s quickly.
“I’ll take the morning briefing then.” As she drove to Muriel’s office, she tried to phone three more times, but the assistant said she was on a conference call. She stepped out of the elevator on the second floor over Emma’s, Cain’s newest nightclub, and was escorted into Muriel’s office right away. She was still talking and pointed Shelby into one of the chairs facing her desk.
“A few more days is what I’m guessing, so sit tight and keep your eyes open. Call me if you get anything new and I’ll let Cain know what you said,” Muriel finished and hung up. “Don’t,” she said when Shelby stood and started toward her.
“So much changed since last night that I can’t touch you?”
“Things haven’t changed, Shelby, but they’re clearer than they were last night. I pride myself on not going out of my way to make mistakes, but I didn’t do that well this time,” Muriel kept eye contact with her. “I made a mistake and it’s time to rectify it, because no matter what promises we make, our lives aren’t going to change, and our priorities sure as hell aren’t. It’s time to end this before we get any more involved.”
“You think it’s that easy to walk away?”
Muriel took a deep breath and shook her head. “It’s far from easy, but neither of us has much choice. It was my mistake to think we could make this work, but our worlds are too far apart, and there’s a fence dividing them that neither of us is willing to cross. To do that, we have to betray something that means more to us than what we have now.”
“You’re making a mistake, Muriel,” Shelby said, her fingers wrapped so tight around the arms of her chair her chest was aching. “No one expects you to sacrifice so much for family honor. This isn’t the Stone Age, for God’s sake.”
“I’m saving us both from facing now what’s going to be inevitable eventually.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Shelby asked, her swelling anger making her want to hit something.
“Tell me that Annabel or someone else in the Bureau hasn’t made an issue out of who you’re seeing, and I’ll back down.”
“No one of import—”
Muriel slammed her hand down on her desk. “You lie to me now and you can get out, we’re done.”
“It doesn’t matter to me who said what about you, baby. I don’t owe my life to the Bureau, just like Cain doesn’t own you. Don’t throw this away for things that won’t matter to us in the long run.”
Muriel’s phone rang four times before she reached over and picked it up. All Shelby did was watch as she held it to her ear and said nothing. Muriel wouldn’t utter a word as long as Shelby was sitting in the room, so she put aside any notions of begging. It would do no good unless she was willing to toss aside everything she’d believed in up to then. Clearly Muriel wouldn’t, no matter how much she cared for her. The realization hit her like a hurricane in
