Chapter 3 - Emma

“Cass, you’re home!” Olivia watched as a younger almost twin image of Cassandra, Cass, ran downstairs and into Cass’s arms. “I’ve been waiting for hours! Vance said you had a surprise for me. What is it?” Oliva could swear the girl was in her twenties but the delight was that of a child.

“Calm yourself. And stop acting. This is Olivia. She’s going to stay with us for a while.” She was smiling as she spoke and the other woman scoffed.

“You are absolutely no fun.” She turned to Olivia. “Don’t mind her, she’s grumpy when she’s had a long day. I’m Emma.” She winked at Olivia. “The fun one.”

“Hello.” Olivia found herself liking the younger Panagio. “I don’t want to be rude, but you owe me a phone call.” She fixed her gaze on Cassandra who nodded.

“What’s for dinner?” She asked Emma.

“Fried chicken and fries.” Emma grinned. “Vance is joining us.”

“He is?” That right eyebrow lifted again. Olivia almost pitied whoever this Vance was. “I want to settle our guest in, then we’ll have drinks. I promise we won’t be long.”

“Okay, no worries. Maybe you and I could go shopping tomorrow?” She looked at Olivia expectantly. “Cass hates shopping and I haven’t been in too long.”

“I don’t think that will be…”

“Let me know where you want to go, and I’ll see what I can organize.” Cass interrupted and ignored the raised eyebrow from Emma that mirrored her own. “Come.” She gestured for Olivia to follow her.

“It was nice meeting you.” The emphasis on you wasn’t lost on Cass. “How are you going to keep me prisoner, but also allow me the freedom to shop with your sister? She’s nice, are you sure you two are related?” She ducked her head. “I’m sorry, I keep speaking what comes to my mind. It’s a curse.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Cassandra said. “I don’t kill people for speaking their minds.”

“But you do kill them if they threaten your sister?” Olivia walked past Cassandra who held her office door open. “He was just a kid.”

“I won’t explain myself to you. But, I will say, I would rather kill one now, than burn a whole city to the ground later.” She gestured to the phone. “There, make your call.” Cassandra walked to the window her back to the room, she watched the ocean. How she longed to be adrift, far from her responsibilities and land. Maybe one day. She nearly laughed. Her curse was to be bound to land. And her oath to her mother would always keep her grounded. She listened as Olivia spoke to her mother. She told her she needed a break, and that she was sorry to drop her with no warning. Her mother obviously worried that her father had something to do with her sudden disappearance must have questioned her.

“Mom, I met someone. It’s new and we clicked so quickly, I’m simply staying with her for a while, to see if we are compatible or not.” She glared at Cassandra who turned and stared at her. “Yes, she’s nice to me, and yes, she takes care of me. I just want to spend some time with her, before father intrudes and interferes.” She listened and then smiled. “I love you too. And I will.” She set the phone down and again glared at Cassandra. “There, thank you.”

“So, you think we clicked?”

“Shut up,” Olivia growled and walked past her to the door. “Where’s my room? I would like to freshen up before drinks and dinner. It’s been a long few hours.”

“Of course.” Cassandra led her up the stairs and opened a door. “Here.”

Olivia looked around the room. Something was off. She walked to the window, then to the drawers, and pulled them open. Clothes were packed in them. “Someone already stays in this room.”

“Yes,” Cassandra said. “I do.”

“Oh no, hell no! I’m not sharing a room or bed with you!”

“It’s either me or Pedro.” At Olivia’s shocked look, she smiled. “Look, let’s be honest here, I don’t trust you not to run. And if you’re going to be staying in my home, I’d rather have you where I can keep an eye on you after everyone goes to bed.” Cass held up both hands. “That couch is very comfortable, and I don’t mind sleeping on it. But I’m not leaving you alone when my defenses are down.”

“What if I promise not to say anything? Just let me go and we’ll pretend this never happened.”

“I’m sorry,” Cassandra said. “But I need to stop this war before it escalates. And you are my key. I can’t let this chance slip away.”

Olivia believed that Cassandra was sorry. But that didn’t change the fact that she’d gone from one prison, to land up in another one. “I want to shower.”

“Of course.” Cassandra pointed to a door and made herself comfortable on the bed. “I’ll wait.”

“It’s not like I could go anywhere.”

“I’ll wait,” Cassandra repeated and closed her eyes.

“She’s not as bad as she seems,” Emma said.

“What?”

“I see the way you watch her.” Emma grinned. And Olivia wondered what it must feel like to be that free of worry.

“It’s not what you think,” Olivia said and sipped her drink as she watched Cassandra speak to Pedro and another man.

“Okay, here’s the deal. I’m not stupid. I know who you are too. And I know who your father is. Obviously, you’ve been pulled into this idiotic war for Maine. Your father is behind the trouble my sister has been trying to fight for the past six months. The missing girls are bothering her the most. She’s been able to stop the guns and drugs because she knows where to go to find the bastards bringing them in. But the girls, they’re just gone.”

“What girls?” Olivia frowned. “There’s nothing in the news about missing girls.”

“Of course not, panic would just make things worse. She’s been paying to keep it quiet. But she’s working with a few agencies to find the girls.” Emma pointed to where Cassandra stood with Vance and Pedro. “Vance thinks he will be able to save her soul. Cass keeps telling him she has no soul.”

“What do you think?”

“I think our father’s death and the promise she made to our mother are going to kill her,” Emma said sadly. “She’s alone. After Margo, I think that was four years ago, she never brings anyone home. And from what Vance says, she won’t pay for it either. Not that she’d have to, I mean look at her, she could snap her fingers and she’d have someone willing to have sex…”

“Okay, I get the point.” Olivia choked on her drink.

“I’m just saying. She’s tough because she has to be. She’s the glue that holds everything in Maine together. If the glue fails, everything falls apart.” She dropped her gaze. “I’m her only weakness. And I know what happened today.” Olivia cocked her head. “Yes, I know about Brody and what he said.” Emma sipped her drink and smiled. “Look, I know you’re here against your will. Cas wouldn’t do it if she didn’t think it was necessary. And that sounds like I’m defending her, I’m not. She won’t hurt you, or have you hurt.”

“The whole, I don’t hurt women' line.”

“Yes. She has standards.”

“A mafia boss with standards. That’s a first.” Olivia scoffed. “She’s your sister and I get that you want to see the best in her. But she kills, she runs drugs and guns, and she has a brothel. Don’t even start thinking that the fact that she runs that place with an iron hand makes it better. They are women, and men, being used for someone else’s pleasure.”

“Have you ever been out of Maine?”

“No.”

“I went to Blanco once with a few friends. It was supposed to be a holiday. We ended up in this place we thought was a club. Women were dancing on the stages, men sat watching them. And I thought it was like my sister’s place. Until I went to the bathroom and saw that behind the red draping men did what they wanted to the women, they’d beat them, force themselves on the women. I was grabbed, and pulled into one of the rooms.” She shook her head. “Anyway, somehow Cas knew where I was, I think my guards let her know. She burst in, kicked some ass, and dragged me out of there. That night I saw what she is trying to prevent here. And I saw a side to her I never want to see again. This…” She waved her hand toward Cas. “This is tame.”

“Okay. I can see what you think she’s preventing. But would it not be better if none of this was available here?”

“Do you really think that if she closed the brothel, and stopped the gun and drug trade to Maine, it would stay out?”

“If she wanted it to.”

“She’s powerful, respected, and has a hand on everything because she allows some bad things. She controls where, when, and how. If she took it away, there’d be no control. Our world is fucked up, and no amount of hope will change that.. I’d rather live in a city she runs than one overcome by crime.” Emma stood. “Come, it’s time for dinner.” She held out her hand to Olivia.

“Emma.” Olivia set her drink down. “I’m sorry for what happened to you.”

“Thank you. Same to you.” Emma smiled when Olivia stared at her. “I see the way you flinch when the guys get too close. I guess it takes one to see one.” She squeezed Olivia’s hand before leading the way to the dining room.