Forty minutes later, Cain and Emma made their way through the crowd to the back of the room and disappeared behind a door that Merrick opened for them.
“Joe?” Shelby whispered into her mike.
Claire ran to keep up as Shelby rushed toward the exit.
“What’s wrong?” Joe responded.
“Does Cain’s new real estate have a helipad?”
Lionel hacked into the city’s building permits department and started scanning. “Yep. Nothing to accommodate anything big, but it does have one.”
“Scramble something. Anthony was right. She’s got something planned. Probably something remote.” When Shelby got to the front door she could see the bird coming from the direction of the heliport next to the New Orleans Superdome. “Move it, Joe.”
Instead of heading to the car, Shelby and Claire ran toward the building next door, which was one floor higher than the one they’d just left. Their badges got them in and worked again when they knocked on the door of a young physician just getting home from a double shift. When they reached the large windows facing Cain’s building, they saw Cain leading Emma to the helicopter. Again Cain had her arm around Emma’s waist, and Emma was pressed up to her side.
Relief flooded Shelby when she saw another helicopter coming from the west. Unlike the night Cain had lost the agents in Wisconsin with the same trick, tonight they would know exactly where she was going and what she’d be doing once she got there.
“Make sure they stay five hundred yards away. We wouldn’t want to break a court order,” Shelby said.
“Stop making jokes and get your ass on the roof,” Joe ordered. He was driving as Lionel was busy looking at the fueling records for all the private planes in the vicinity, along with any flight plans they might have filed. “We need you airborne before we lose them again.”
“Not going to happen again.”
“Got something,” Lionel said as he tried to keep his seat and ignore the fact that Joe was driving and watching the helicopter more than the road. “Carlotti fueled his plane this afternoon, but the pilot said they wouldn’t have the flight plans until they were ready for takeoff.”
“Hear that?” Joe asked Shelby as he directed them to the nearest interstate entrance ramp. “I’ll call ahead and arrange something, and we’ll meet you there in less than ten.”
Shelby listened, and from their direction, Joe was right. Wherever Cain was headed, she would have to take a plane. Shelby couldn’t understand why she’d pulled such a stunt, but at the moment all the speculation in the world wasn’t as important as keeping up with Cain and, no matter how much she liked her, finally catching her at something so they could shut her down.
The blackness of Lake Pontchartrain came into view, as did the runways of the airport located on the south shore. “What’s your ETA, Joe?”
“If we’re lucky, in about five.” He never let off the accelerator as they arrived at their exit. “Even if they’re twenty minutes ahead of us, we won’t have a problem. A Coast Guard plane’s waiting for us, and she’s fully fueled. Wherever they go, we’ll be five hundred yards behind them.”
Lionel was calling Hicks and giving her an update. They’d need help from the State Department if Cain was traveling someplace they didn’t have jurisdiction. They pulled up as Cain and Emma were landing close to their ride. Again the couple stayed close together as they boarded and never looked back, even though they had to know they were being followed.
“What are you up to, Cain?” Shelby whispered into the noise of the rotor blades as she and Claire landed.
Chapter Forty-Eight
The blinds in Muriel’s private office were down, assuring Cain she was the only one enjoying the vision in the strapless black bra and thong. The extremely revealing undergarments had been necessary for the dress Emma had just taken off.
“What’s all that leering for?”
Cain’s deep chuckle hardened Emma’s nipples noticeably.
“You stand there looking like that, and you wonder why I’m leering? I’m only human, darlin’.”
“Think you’ll still be leering when I’m as big as a house?”
Cain laughed again, but this time she stood up so she could inspect more closely. “I remember a bit of my leering and what happened after it sent you into labor with Hayden.”
She traced a path from the presently flat stomach up to cup Emma’s breast. “You’re in my blood, lass, so I’ll always desire you, no matter what.”
“Are you planning to finish what you’re starting now?” The starch of Cain’s shirt felt good against Emma’s back as she leaned farther into the strong body.
“We have a flight to catch,” Cain said, but didn’t let go.
“Then stop making me crazy or we’ll be late.” She pressed her hand into Cain’s crotch. “Very late.”
“Cruel, sweetling.” Cain didn’t want to, but she stepped back and unbuttoned her shirt. They did have a plane to catch, and she wanted to get business out of the way so she could leisurely finish what they’d started. “Now, please put something on before I forget what my name is.”
“Did the men sweep tonight?” Emma stepped into an old pair of jeans and zipped them up before changing the bra and putting on a sweater.
“Thoroughly, why?” Cain settled for a pair of chinos, a fresh white shirt, and a dark sweater. The couple looked more like models for a Gap ad than a part of an organized crime family.
“Just curious as to what’s going to happen next.”
In the interest of time Cain gave her the quick version before escorting her to the elevator. When they reached the first floor of the club, their bodyguards were waiting, dressed very much like Emma.
“How did our fishing expedition go?” Cain asked.
“I believe the term is ‘they fell for it hook, line, and sinker,’ so I hope they dressed appropriately,” Lou joked. He blushed when Emma walked up and pressed her hand to the side of his face that wasn’t burned. “I’m all right, Mrs. Casey, really.”
“Then take a stroll outside and see if we still have company,” Cain said with a wink.
The back alley appeared empty except for the vehicle parked close to the door.
Though Vincent’s plane was in the air heading south, Remi Jatibon’s was sitting in the family hangar waiting for a trip north. Ten minutes after the Coast Guard jet had hit twenty thousand feet, the fuel truck pulled up at Jatibon’s hangar.
The Caseys drove straight in and took their time boarding, since the hangar doors were closed and the building was windowless. Ramon had never cared for prying eyes, even when what he was doing was innocent.
“Welcome aboard, folks,” the pilot said. “Ms. Casey, according to Mr. Jatibon and Remi, the extra cargo is in the small private office waiting for you.” He pointed in the appropriate direction. “And the other cargo you sent ahead is in the bedroom.”
Cain nodded and took a seat on the sofa.
“Cargo?” Emma asked, sitting next to her. They had to kill about thirty minutes before takeoff.
“Tonight is about repaying favors and settling debts. To accomplish that, you always need a little baggage, so to speak.”
“Then I look forward to the morning.”
Everything Emma had prayed for in the past four years was just beyond her reach, and that was what worried her the most—wanting too much always resulted in huge disappointment when it didn’t pan out.
Chapter Forty-Nine
The deserted airstrip was lit only by the headlights of the vehicles below, but the pilot still made a smooth landing. Once on the ground, as Emma kissed Cain one last time before following Merrick to one of the waiting vehicles, Lou carried a large bag from the plane and threw it into the back of another vehicle.