Kane’s lips actually twitched a little. Yes, Ian could be a tremendous pain in the ass when he wanted to be. But there was also nothing he would not do for his wife. He loved her more than life itself. Kane understood that more now, better than he’d ever wanted to.
“Sean and Nicki officially purchased the shelter,” Jake said casually, taking a long pull from the bottle. “Shane got them some federal grants, even enough to hire a regular staff. Johnny’s helping them turn it into a state-of-the-art- place for teens.” Johnny Connelly was their cousin; he ran a highly successful construction business. If Johnny was in charge of the reno, it would be top-rate.
*
That got Kane’s attention, as Jake knew it would. Jake avoided looking directly into his eyes, taking a long pull from his beer instead. This was a game, a sport. Like fishing. Sometimes you had to ensure the fish took the bait fully before giving that first tug.
“Rebecca’s not there anymore?”
“No.” Tug. Wait.
“Moving on, is she?”
Jake shrugged. “I guess. Don’t see her much anymore. She moved out of Aidan’s. Got some place in town that she’s renting on a month-by-month basis.” Jake paused, letting that sink in. “Lex says things have been difficult for her since the break-in at the shelter and all...”
Every muscle in Kane’s body tensed. “Break-in?”
“Yeah. Burglary. Emptied the petty cash safe, got away with about eight hundred, give or take.”
The temperature in the cabin dropped. Kane’s entire body hardened; he pinned Jake with eyes of pure ice. Jake fought the shiver trying to take hold at the base of his spine.
“Rebecca was there?”
Gotcha. Time to start reeling in. Jake’s reply was to meet Kane’s eyes directly, telling him exactly what he didn’t want to hear.
“Jesus. It she okay?”
Jake broke eye contact, scraping the label from the bottle of beer with his thumbnail. It was, like his pause, a deliberately calculated move. “Says she is. Like I said, no one sees her much anymore.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
Jake shrugged.
“Jake,” Kane growled in warning.
Jake took his time, sitting back and taking another drink from his bottle. “You sure you want to know?” It was a gamble, a calculated risk. He was playing a dangerous game here and he knew it, but there was only one way to play it when so much was on the line. Kane and Rebecca were meant for each other, as perfect a match as him and Taryn. Everyone saw that. Everyone except Kane. And he apparently had been able to convince Rebecca that she was wrong, too.
“Tell me what the fuck happened.” Kane’s eyes flashed a final warning.
Jake blew out a breath. “It happened late at night. Rebecca was alone in the shelter, says she must have fallen asleep –“
“What the hell was she doing by herself in the shelter at night?” Kane interrupted.
Cool blue eyes met Kane’s. “From what I understand, she came home a day earlier than expected and walked in on Aidan and one of his female friends doing the nasty.” Kane’s left eye twitched. “She took off in the Benz. When she didn’t come back after a couple of hours he Lo-Jacked it to the shelter and found her unconscious.”
Kane’s icy eyes glowed. He shot to his feet and started pacing, running his hand through his hair. It was a trait all the Callaghan men shared when they were riled, but Jake had never seen Kane do it. As a matter of fact, he didn’t think he’d ever seen Kane let his impeccable control slip like that. Not even when Taryn shot him in the ass.
“Fuck.” Jake’s eyes followed Kane back and forth across the room until Kane stopped and pinned him with a stare. “But she’s alright?”
Jake wasn’t quite sure how to answer that. Physically, she seemed to be holding her own. But emotionally, she was a wreck, cutting herself off from everyone.
“Aidan called the cops when he found her. One of those guys called Nicki; she was the only one Rebecca would let near her.”
The implication was clear. “She was raped?” The words were barely more than whispers, but it had taken everything he had to get the words past his lips.
“Nicki says she doesn’t think so,” Jake said slowly. “But they tried.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Kane exploded. “What did the doctors say? They check for that kind of shit, don’t they?”
“Rebecca refused medical care. Nicki said she’d been roughed up pretty good, though. Aidan took her over to Mick’s. She wouldn’t let him check her out but she did allow Maggie to tend to her.”
“And what did Maggie say?” Kane said through clenched teeth. Jake sensed he had pushed Kane about as far as he could. The look in his older brother’s eyes told him that Kane was ready to reach his fist down his throat and extract the information himself if he wasn’t more forthcoming.
“She said it looked like a couple of hits to the face, consistent with pistol whipping. Bruises and swelling along the ribs and ankles as if she’d been kicked repeatedly.”