“But it’s worth so much more,” Richard said as he glanced at the amount again.
“Do you remember how well your negotiations went the last time you tried?” Cain shot back.
“You have the papers ready?”
Cain and Ramon nodded.
“And you’ll help me get out of here?”
“I’ll have our plane take you wherever you want to go after the transaction is done,” Ramon said.
“Let me know when and I’ll be there,” Richard said, putting the paper in his coat pocket.
“Steve, Dwayne, and Ross will escort you to the Mississippi Gaming Board Office today,” Cain said. “The application’s complete and waiting for you to sign.” Richard stood after Cain did and shook her hand, then Ramon’s. “Only your signature, Richard, nothing more that’ll delay this.”
“When did you set up the meeting with the gaming board?”
“Yesterday afternoon,” Cain said, smiling when he appeared surprised. “I’m buying a casino, but I never gamble unless it’s a sure bet. You struck me as a sure bet.”
“I’d tell you to kiss my ass, but with all that money I don’t care what you think of me.”
Simon and Muriel left with Dwayne and Steve, but Cain stopped Ross. “Are you sure about this? It’s not too late to change your mind if you don’t want the added scrutiny in your life.”
“You’re my family, and I don’t mind helping you out when I can. Besides, you don’t have to ever question your trust in me. What happened with Richard today will never cross my mind, and it’s got nothing to do with Emma or the kids.”
“Then we’ll have plenty to celebrate when you get back.”
Once the group had left, the guards did too, so Cain and the Jatibons were alone. They needed to discuss the rest of their plans, and after considering all the options Cain thought it best to strike back fast.
“Our people are in place at the casino’s hotel waiting for our call,” Mano said as he handed everyone a folder. “Muriel and I worked up a list of immediate firings. She has the pink slips with her so she can distribute them when she hears from our new owners.”
“When are we telling Nunzio?” Remi asked. Her time with Dallas had been productive as far as their relationship, but Cain and her father had given her some time off from her responsibilities to heal.
“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 bitch 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?”
