“I’ve been busy.” He raised one eyebrow and smiled.
It took her a moment to register what he was implying, but when she finally did, she clapped a hand over her mouth and squeaked. His father and brothers came trampling through the door at the same moment.
“Jack did it,” Kathy blurted out. “He mated with Zoe.”
Jack tried to look casual, but he couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear. His father met his eyes, and returned the same grin.
“Good thing I brought this,” Josh said, holding up a bottle of scotch. He clapped Jack on the back when he walked by. “I knew you could do it.”
Jack huffed and took the snifter Josh handed him.
“You hoping for a boy or a girl?” Jase asked, grinning.
Josh slapped the younger of the Fialko brothers on the back of the head.
“What?” Jase asked, rubbing his hand over the spot.
“Doesn’t matter,” Jack whispered, glancing quickly at the doorway. “Don’t mention that part to Zoe.”
Josh’s eyes widened. “What? She doesn’t know? How is that even possible?”
“We didn’t get the chance to talk about it.”
Jase snorted and Josh whistled low.
“Anyways, let’s not spook her just yet. It’s been a rough few days for both of us. I’ve hardly had a chance to get to know her. ”
“Where is she?” Kathy asked, cradling the baby against her shoulder. Yolanda gave a tiny sigh and closed her eyes.
“Upstairs.”
“You need to tell her,” Kathy said, her lips pursed.
“Stop with the looks. I’ll tell her. Right after we take care of Kyle and his newfriend.”
Chapter 15
“Remember, we’re going to take Kyle someplace and get him cleaned up. Try not to hurt him.” Jack met the eyes of each member of his clan. “Leave the foreigner to me. Everyone understand?”
They all nodded except for Stan who was distracted, texting. He hastily put the phone in his pocket when Jack walked over. “Sorry. You were saying?”
“We need to go get Kyle now. We’ll get him into rehab. You okay with this?”
Stan frowned but didn’t put up a protest. “He’s probably at O’Malley’s.”
“Figures. South Philly.” Jack fingered his service revolver. “You guys hang back a little. I’m not quite sure what Zoe’s vortex will do for me in a real fight, and I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
It took about an hour to get to the bar. They parked outside in the desolate corner parking lot. Abandoned construction walls of plywood hid the area from the view of nearby businesses. A few men hanging out in front of a check cashing station ducked inside, as did a few in front of a bodega. Within seconds, the place was deserted.
When he got out of his car, Stan strode over and held a cell phone out to him. “I think you’ll want to see this.”
“That’s my phone,” Jack frowned, an uneasy feeling gripping his gut.
Stan winced and looked away.
Jack took the phone and his blood went cold. It was a snapshot of Zoe, blindfolded, sitting in a small room with a gun to her head. Behind her, assorted boxes of alcohol were stacked high to the ceiling. His heart went into his throat and he saw nothing but red. He grabbed Stan by the neck. In his other hand, he lit a vortex two inches from the weasel’s face.
“Where is she?” he gritted out through clenched teeth.
