“Harassing?” Jason asked, tongue darting out to lick over his lower lip. “What do you mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like,” Nico said around another mouthful. “Someone was bothering her. Trying to hook up with her. She wasn’t interested.”
Jason shook his head. “I didn’t hear anything about that.”
He was lying. His carefully calculated veneer was already starting to crack. He was trying to look relaxed, but he was sweating and shifting in his seat just a little too much.
“Really? They said it was your brother who was all over her,” Mal countered.
“They?” Jason asked.
His nonchalance was making Mal homicidal.
“Yeah, our informant,” Nico said.
“They said Frankie was hitting on her?” Jason asked, as if that was completely new information.
“Yeah,” Nico said, exasperation leaking into his tone.
Jason gave another lazy shrug. “Maybe. He does love women. But I guess you two wouldn’t know anything about that, huh?”
Mal snorted at what he was sure Jason thought was a witty dig at them.
The guy was a douchebag. If he was the sane brother, Frankie must be a fucking lunatic. Mal considered dragging Jason into the back and beating him senseless. It might not get them the answers they wanted but it would make Mal feel much better. Whoever said violence never solved anything had never experienced the happiness and fulfillment one could only achieve by beating the brakes off someone who absolutely deserved it.
“They also say your brother has a temper,” Mal said, trying to keep them on task.
Jason grinned. “Dothey?” he asked. “Theysure do talk a lot.Theymight want to find a new line of work before they lose their tongue.”
“Psychopath was the wordtheyused, actually,” Nico said, words dripping with sarcasm. “If that helps.”
“Frankie is just misunderstood. He…likes things done a certain way”—Jason waved a hand in the air—“and when they’re not, he can sometimes react poorly. Sometimes, even…violently,” Jason said.
The excuses rolled off Jason’s tongue so easily. It was clear he was used to covering for his brother. Mal understood thaton some level. While he’d never made excuses for Micah, Shiloh had. And while Mal hadn’t cleaned up Micah’s messes, he’d hidden more than one of Shiloh’s misdeeds. The circumstances were different, but Mal understood wanting to protect family.
But that only went so far.
“Does he have those same exacting standards for the women he dates?” Mal asked.
Jason’s smile was smug. “Perhaps. But none of them have ever complained.”
“Because they didn’t want to or because they were too afraid to?” Nico countered.
“Most women think my brother is a real catch, even with his nasty temper. He takes very good care of his girls.”
Nico rolled his eyes. “You mean hush money?”
Jason snorted. “Not at all. He just likes to spoil them. If my brother really was after Amy, she fumbled the bag.”
“Are you saying Amy never had an issue with Frankie?” Nico asked, his expression letting Jason know he already thought whatever he was about to say was a lie.
“Frankie doesn’t actually have to intimidate women into dating him. If Amy rejected him, there were a dozen other women waiting to take her place.”
Mal believed it. Money and power made people overlook many, many red flags, including violence. Including manipulation. Gaslighting. Narcissism. Money dulled people’s senses, anesthetizing them to the pain.
“Did you hear of anyone else being harassed at the market? Anyone who complained about someone other than Frankie?” Nico asked.
Jason snorted. “I don’t have time to listen to a bunch of gossip. Maybe you should talk to the two men who beat you up. They’re in the trenches far more than my brother and me. There’s really not much else to say.”
