“I want you to listen to me and not interrupt until I’m done. Do you think you can do that?”
“I think I’m disciplined enough to pull it off.”
Emma looked suspicious. She wasn’t expecting Cain to be this accommodating. “Okay, I give. Why are you being so nice?”
“Because it’s the only way I can figure to get rid of you, and like I said before—
I’ve got things to do.”
“Whatever you’ve got planned tonight, Kyle knows all about it and is waiting for you.”
The admission took Cain by surprise. Emma had set her up to get Hayden back, and now she was willing to throw it all away by spoiling Kyle’s surprise. “How?”
“He showed up at the farm and bugged the hell out of the bunkhouse. He knew you wouldn’t let Hayden come alone, so he set a trap for you.”
A dark brow arched at the news, and Emma wanted to run from the look in Cain’s eyes.
“And you know this how?”
“Because he had to ask our permission before he was able to do that. I guess he could have gotten a court order or something, but he talked to me, and I listened again. You’ve got to understand that I thought this was the only way to get Hayden back. But then I learned the truth about Barney Kyle and what kind of help he had gotten from my mother. I can’t take back the past, Cain, but I can try and make up for it, starting now.”
Cain exhaled and leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees. “Are you blaming your mother and Kyle?”
“That would be the easy way out, wouldn’t it?” Emma sat on the opposite end of the couch and hoped Cain would listen to the rest without trying to kill her. “No, what I did, I did for my own reasons. I let someone else convince me of how evil you were, and even though I couldn’t reconcile that person with the one who held me at night and loved me so well, I trusted a stranger blindly.”
“You can never imagine just how deep you’ve cut me, Emma. I took Hayden out to dinner tonight so I could tell him how you were my safe haven, and I believed that at one time. What you’ve done, though, makes it impossible to go back and salvage any type of relationship. So if that’s why you’re here, then get out. I can handle Kyle, and I’ll be fine without your last-minute confessions.”
“There’s one more thing, and you promised you’d let me finish.”
“What? Let me guess. You’re wired for sound too?”
“Don’t you think I know what kind of chance I’m taking coming here tonight and telling you all of this? I have to live with what I did, and I have to live with the shame of what happened to Marie. I’m trying now to stop anything else from happening to my family. Kyle listened to everything you said while you were up visiting us, so whatever you planned, Cain, I’m begging you to think about backing away. I know you won’t believe me, and you’re nothing if not a fighter, but think of Hayden.”
“I am thinking of Hayden. Everything I do is because I’m thinking of Hayden.”
Emma moved closer and put a hand on the cold leather of the seat cushion between them. “There’s one more person to consider here as well.”
“Who would that be?” Cain wanted Emma to admit to the baby. She just wanted to hear it from the woman who should have shared it with her four years before that.
“Your daughter.” Emma’s voice was so soft she barely heard it. She had dropped her head and didn’t look her in the eye.
“Hannah.”
“How?” When she whipped her head up, a few of the blond locks fell from the knot Emma had pulled them into.
“Haywood, Wisconsin has a lot of cows and expanses of empty, beautiful land. But do you know what there isn’t a whole lot of?”
Emma looked at her and shook her head.
“Houses with dark-headed, blue-eyed children who live with two people so blond they’d sunburn in moonlight.”
“I was going to tell you.”
“Emma, don’t insult both of us by saying something so colossally stupid.”
“I just didn’t know how to tell you. Once I left, and went through all that alone, I didn’t know how. Every night, though, I tell her about you and Hayden and how we’ll be together one day. She knows you, Cain. Your little girl knows you even if you haven’t met. When you do, her mom is someone she won’t shy away from, because she belongs to you just like Hayden. Just like I do, but it isn’t for just a little while. I belong to you forever, even if you don’t want me.”
“Promise me something. You owe me that much, at least.”
“Anything.” Emma gathered what courage she had and put her hand over Cain’s. She would have traded her soul for Cain to take her in her arms.
“If something happens to me, you will keep my children safe, and you will stay away from me.”
Cain got up and walked out of the office. This was not the time to become an emotional wreck, but she was close to losing her grip. To have Emma betray her trust and believe Kyle without even asking her was one thing, but to rob her of knowing her daughter was a bigger crime than she could even fathom.
Three feet from the office door was as far as she got before Shelby stopped her in the secluded entryway leading to the private space.
When Emma opened the door to go after Cain, she found them in each other’s arms. Whoever the woman was, she was able to give her ex-lover something she no longer wanted from Emma. Shelby whispered things into Cain’s ear and finally pulled the dark head down and kissed her. The two agents at the bar and Emma all looked away, not wanting to witness something that seemed almost special.
The urge to run again was getting stronger, and she wanted nothing more than to bolt and go home to her daughter. She could call it a wash—she would get Hannah, and Cain would get their son. Not the best solution and fair to no one, but she didn’t want to end up alone, no matter how selfish that sounded. However, her father’s words of not giving up bolstered her courage and made her look at the woman Cain was now holding and talking to.
“I won’t go so easily, Cain, and I know you still care for me. If it takes a lifetime to knock down those walls you’ve built around your heart, then I’m willing to take the time.”
All of the players in the upcoming game eyed their opponents and readied themselves for the final showdown. Time was growing short, and all of them were resolved to win.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Vinny Carlotti had arrived and made himself comfortable at Cain’s private table.
His entry had prompted Kyle to send Lionel in to join the party and tell the other three to keep their eyes open, since the people they had taped all day had mentioned nothing but the weather.
“Boss, Merrick called a few minutes ago and said everything’s ready.” Lou stepped up and waited to see what Cain would decide. Interrupting her meeting with the pretty woman was the last thing he wanted to do, but he had no choice.
“I’m about ready to roll, Lou. Just give me a minute.”
“It’s not too late to pull out.” Shelby locked her arms around Cain’s neck and held her in place. The knowledge that Emma was looking on was, in a way, urging on her behavior, but the hurt look in the blue eyes she had come to dream about was hard to ignore.
“And do what instead, take you home so we can play cops and robbers?”
“Don’t trivialize what I’m trying to do here, Cain. I care about you, and I don’t want to come visit you where I’m forced to look at you through thick glass.”
Cain rubbed her back and kissed her nose. “I’m planning on that dinner you guys are going to owe me when this is all over. Don’t worry about a thing. You just keep your eyes peeled, and I promise I’ll be fine.”