“His men will fall in line with the right incentive, but Juan’s a whole other animal, and he’s permanently off his leash.”
“What makes you think so?”
It took the tail car a while to catch up, but it was about a half a block behind them. Cain was sure they thought Lou was purposely trying to lose them, but he was playing a game. False conditioning, he called it. Make the feds think they were trying to lose them so they learned the evasion tactics Lou taught them to look for. Then when they were really trying to get away, the feds never saw it coming.
“Because the name on his passport tells me that Gracelia Luis might’ve accepted Rodolfo’s help, but she’s held a grudge for a very long time, and she shared it with her son. Rodolfo might’ve given Juan his name and groomed him to be his heir, but Juan knows he’s also the man who painted his father’s dick in honey and gifted him to the ants.” Cain lost interest in trying to see who was driving the car behind them and put her hand on Lou’s forearm. “Think about what you’d feel like if someone had done that to Lou Sr. Would that desire for revenge ever cool?”
“You’re right, Rodolfo should be scared. If his sister is as good a talker as my mama, I see a big vat of honey in Rodolfo’s future.”
“I’ll be in with Emma for the rest of the day, Lou,” Cain said when he stopped by the front door.
She made it inside in time to visit with the kids during breakfast before they headed out to school. Usually Emma was with them, but only Carmen and Mook were sitting there.
“Miss Emma still sleeping,” Carmen said. “I left her after you say she don’t feel well.”
“Be good, guys.” Cain kissed the kids and headed upstairs. When she opened the door she saw the empty bed and heard the sound of retching coming from the bathroom. Before Emma could heave again, Cain was on her knees next to her holding her and keeping her hair out of the way.
“Sorry, honey,” Emma said, her head falling against Cain’s chest. “This isn’t a sexy way to spend the morning.”
“We’re actually going to spend a sexy day at the doctor’s office.” Cain brought her closer and grunted as she made it off the floor with Emma in her arms. “If this is a bug, it should’ve passed by now.”
“I already called.” Emma sat still as Cain stripped her pajamas off. “We have an appointment in an hour.”
As soon as Emma was naked, Cain made quick work of her clothes and carried Emma back to the bathroom and into the shower. Cain knew a warm shower was a good way to make Emma feel better.
“Want me to have Carmen bring you something up to eat?” Cain asked as she washed Emma’s hair. She had no choice but to laugh when Emma threw up on her chest at the suggestion. “I’ll take that as a no.”
Emma laughed along with her, and the sound made Rodolfo and his family disappear from her thoughts. Instead, she concentrated on what was causing Emma’s sudden stomach discomfort.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this, mobster?” Emma asked after she’d rinsed her mouth in the spray. “We’re not in our twenties anymore.”
“My Da always said that babies keep you young.”
“Babies?” Emma asked, then bit down on Cain’s nipple. “I’ve always known you’re an over-achiever, but one at a time, please.”
Cain lifted her off her feet and kissed her, trying to put every bit of how she felt about Emma into it. When they parted, Emma smiled and wiped Cain’s tears away. “It could be a bug, so don’t be too disappointed if that’s all it is.”
“If it’s not, we just try again,” Cain said and kissed her again.
When they parted, it was Emma who was crying.
“However long it takes, lass. We’ll try together until we get everything we want.”
Chapter Fifty
“Papi,” Mano called Ramon from the foyer.
“Something wrong?” Ramon asked, holding on to the doorjamb that led outside to the large patio.
“Somebody tried to firebomb the club, and two of the day crew are at the hospital with burns.”
“
“You want me to handle it?”
“Not before we talk to Cain and your sister, but this bastard gets no more free shots.”
Mano held the door of the study for him, then sat in his usual spot. “I talked with Cain already, and she asked for us to wait until this afternoon. She also asked for one thing.”
“What?”
“She wants Richard Bowen at the meeting.”
Ramon was about to reach for a cigar but stopped halfway to the humidor. “Richard, for what?”
“She said she didn’t feel comfortable discussing it on the phone because she was on a cell, but that’s what she wants.”
“Take the plane and get him here.” Ramon retrieved his cigar and cocked his chair back. “I’ll stay and see how the search for that bastard Jorge is going. Until we find him, I don’t feel comfortable having Remi or you
