Mal was already wearing her scent all over his body. He looked George over and didn’t see any weapons. “All right. You sure you don’t want to go wake the Prophet up?”
“Nope. Orders are orders.” George settled back down.
Wonderful. Mal’s gun was heavy in his boot, as was the knife in his other boot. If he had to take off his shoes, he was screwed. He memorized the layout as he jogged up the stairs and took a sharp left, knocking on the farthest door.
Nothing.
He knocked harder.
Bedclothes rustled. “Enter,” Isaac said.
Mal walked inside just as Isaac flipped on the bedside table lamp. He lay in a monstrous bed with two obviously naked women. One of them was Pippa’s mother.
Isaac’s eyes narrowed. Was that disappointment? Oh. The sick bastard had wanted Pippa to see her mother with him.
Mal stiffened. Deep inside him, in a place he rarely visited, he grew very still. “We have a problem.”
The other woman rolled over, and his gut clenched when he saw it was April. Bruises marred her neck and chest, and her vibrant eyes were downcast. God, he was going to kill Isaac. Mal turned away. “See you downstairs.” Without waiting for a response, he turned on his heel and jogged down the stairs to the office before he could rip Isaac apart piece by piece.
The leader joined him in about fifteen minutes wearing pressed white linen pants and a matching loose shirt. “I wasn’t sure if I’d see you again.”
Mal turned and crossed his arms. “Why not?”
“You kind of disappeared.” Isaac moved to the bar and poured two tumblers. “I thought maybe what you did to Orchid sent you over the edge or something.”
“I told you I’d track down your men. I did.” Mal accepted the offered drink.
Isaac cocked his head to the side, his eyes alert even though he’d just been awakened. “Yet they are not here with you.”
“No. They aren’t.” Mal swirled the liquid in the glass. “I tracked them through the Minuteville cops to DC, where I spent the entire day and most of the night calling in every favor I have with pretty much anybody I could connect with.”
“And . . . ?” Isaac took a deep drink, his attention absolute.
Malcolm didn’t have to pretend to be angry. The emotion boiled just beneath the surface of his control, threatening to detonate. But he was damn good at using genuine emotions while remaining in character. “The good old FBI has them. To be more specific, the Counterterrorism unit of the FBI has your two family members.”
Isaac stopped moving. Completely. He might have stopped breathing. “Why?”
“Well now.” Mal forced sarcasm into his tone. “Surprisingly enough, they wouldn’t tell an ex-detective from New York. I exhausted every friendship I might’ve had just finding those two guys.”
“Fuck.” Isaac strode to one of the two chairs flanking the fireplace and sat.
It was the first time Mal had heard the Prophet swear. Interesting. “Listen. I realize you don’t know me all that well, but what is going on?” He moved around the free chair and sat. “I can’t help if you don’t tell me, and I’ve proven to you that I can be trusted.”
Isaac leaned over, lit a long match, and set fire to the paper and logs already in place. “Do you believe in justice, Malcolm?”
Hopefully, the bug Mal had planted was buried in soot in the corner. “Sometimes,” he answered.
“What about sins? Can they be cleansed?” Isaac sat back, his gaze on the flames.
“Cleansed?” Mal tried to listen for any other noises in the house, but it was silent at this early morning hour. “Not really. Punished, sure.” He shrugged. “But I ain’t the expert on the Bible you seem to be.”
Isaac partially turned to study Mal. “You’re not a believer. In the Good Book or in me.”
Mal exhaled as if thinking it over. “Man, I don’t know. You have a nice place here, and the folks are kind. And you can get two women to sleep with you at once, so you must be doing something right.”
Isaac chuckled. “Yet you haven’t availed yourself of April or anybody else.”
“When?” Mal kicked back in the chair, his head jerking. “It’s not like I’ve had time to avail myself.” He shook his head. “I’ve been tying up loose ends in not only my life but yours.” Which was the absolute truth.
