“It’s Casey,” she informed him as she ran a finger over the leather of the wallet that held his credentials. It was a rich calf leather and extremely expensive, if she had to guess. Interesting taste the agent had, and she wondered if it was government issue.
“Excuse me?”
“My last name, it’s Casey. Would you like to see my driver’s license?”
Kyle laughed and accepted his wallet back. “I see you’ve learned a few things from Casey about how to deal with the authorities.”
“Agent Kyle, is it?”
He nodded at her question.
“If you want to talk to Cain, then I suggest you call her at the office. If you don’t have the number, I’ll be happy to give it to you.”
“I don’t want to talk to Casey. I want to talk to you. Would you
“Do I have a choice?”
“You can drive away now, Ms. Casey, and I promise never to bother you again. But if you’d like to know the true nature of the monster you live with, I suggest you accept my offer.”
She followed him to the location he suggested and hoped no one from the house would come searching for her if this took too long. In less than an hour Kyle painted a picture of Cain she had never considered. She couldn’t conceive of the drugs Cain peddled and the number of prostitutes she owned. They went far beyond the image Cain had always painted of herself as a saintly bootlegger.
It was his last detailed account of Danny’s murder that finally made the tears roll down her cheeks. If what Kyle said was true, Cain had looked her in the eye as she washed his blood off her hands and lied. The last lie in a long list of them.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Ms. Casey, what could I possibly have to gain by deceiving you? I’m not here to try and talk you into testifying against Casey. I just think you deserve to know so you and your son have a fighting chance at a normal life, if that’s what you want.”
He sounded so sincere as he described the makeup of Cain’s business and the people she dealt with. However, when he asked what she would do when the ugliness Cain was involved in invaded their home again, but with more devastating results, she winced. What if next time the enemy went after Hayden? Could she live with that?
A few days later Emma had packed her bags and left. She sacrificed one child to save another, and when Hannah was born she had tried to make peace with her decision.
How strange it had been when they laid the baby in her arms and she had not seen Cain’s blue eyes smiling down on her in pure joy. Her friend Maddie and her father had been the only ones at the hospital to make sure mother and child had made it okay, but they were outside in the waiting room, not standing by her side as Cain would have been.
“One more big push, Emma, and we’re done,” the doctor coached as one of the nurses mopped her forehead.
It was a relief to finally be in labor after what seemed like more than nine months of misery. This time around she had no Cain to rub her tired back or to grimace in sympathy through the worst of the morning sickness. This time she saw only her mother’s disgusted face, which grew worse in proportion to her waistline.
She screamed as a powerful contraction hit her, and she half sat up and pushed. She felt the baby slip out and heard the lusty cry a few moments later. Then she sobbed from the happiness of hearing the baby roar and the doctor say, “It’s a girl.”
Hannah Marie Casey was placed in her arms just long enough for Emma to know any chance of forgetting Cain was futile. Her first clue was a full head of black hair matted down from the mess that still covered the baby. Later, when she breast-fed for the first time, the innocent blue eyes that opened served to complete the picture. She had given birth to another Casey, and she had to keep it from the one person who would have rejoiced in the knowledge of her existence. Billy Casey might have provided the means for her conception, but Hannah was Cain all over again. Not only in looks but in spirit.
“It’s just you and me, baby girl. Let me tell you about your family.” Emma started talking to Hannah about her rich heritage, just like Cain had done for Hayden after his birth.
Rousing herself from her reverie about Hannah’s birth, Emma murmured, “I’m sorry, Cain. I’m so sorry.” She watched the dust settle after the departing vehicle roared away. Kyle had lied, and she couldn’t begin to understand why.
Chapter Twenty
“You want to talk about it?” Cain sat in the backseat with Hayden in the Tahoe Mook had rented, and the others followed close behind.
Hayden watched the scenery they drove past in silence, much like he had done on the day they had arrived. Being strong now meant keeping his mouth shut. He knew that was what Cain would have done, so he shook his head. His questions could wait.
“It’s all right, Hayden. Go on and ask if you want to.”
“I can wait, Mom.”
“Maybe this time I don’t want to wait.”
