“Jesus. Do they know who did it?”
Jake frowned. “I think Rebecca knows, but she’s not saying. Refuses to press charges, so we figure it’s got to involve one or more of the kids that she’s been working with. Nicki’s been trying to talk some sense into her, but so far, no luck.”
And then came the million dollar question: “Why didn’t anyone fucking tell me this?”
Jake let the hardness take over his features. “Rebecca forbid it.”
“So?!?”
“So nothing. Taryn must have called you a dozen times. Ian fired off an email every hour for three days. God knows how many times the others tried. Ever think of checking your messages?”
He gave that some time to sink in, ignoring Kane’s growl before speaking again. “At least she’s got Angus now.”
“Angus?”
Jake nodded. “Yeah. The motherfucker’s huge. And totally devoted to her. Doesn’t leave her side for a moment.”
If Kane’s jaw clenched any harder he ran the danger of snapping a few molars. As it was, the glass bottle in his hand was probably perilously close to shattering beneath the pressure of his grip, given the whiteness of his knuckles.
“And where did this Angus come from?”
“The SPCA.”
Kane blinked, clearly not expecting that. “Angus is a dog?”
“Yep. Some kind of mongrel. Newfie and mastiff and Great Dane or something like that. He’s a monster, two hundred pounds at least. All shaggy black hair and sharp white teeth. Don’t know why she picked him.” Jake paused, letting a smirk grace his lips for a few seconds.
––––––––
The next morning, Kane walked Jake out to his truck. Once again, the lack of firearms involved proved that it had been a successful visit.
“You know they’re going to ask me when you’re coming down,” Jake said, stowing away the now-empty cooler in the back.
“Don’t know. May be awhile.”
Jake nodded, pretending to buy it. He knew that if he pulled off the road fifty miles down he’d see Kane flying by. Taryn had been right. Kane was so far gone over Rebecca he couldn’t see straight. Kane hadn’t actually admitted anything, but some things, a brother knew. Especially a brother who’d been through it himself.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Jake added as he slid behind the wheel, putting the safety of the steel-cage door between the two of them. He was brave; he wasn’t stupid. “Maggie said to be sure to tell you that she’s invited Rebecca for Thanksgiving, too.”
“You’re a rotten prick, you know that?” Kane muttered.
“Yeah,” Jake replied, starting the truck and shifting into reverse. “That makes two of us.”
Chapter Fourteen
A brief stop at Sean’s garage didn’t provide much information, but it did reinforce Kane’s belief that the break-in was executed by some of the punks who’d spent time at the shelter. According to what Nicki had been able to get from the cops assigned to the case, the perps knew their way around, including the location of the hidden safe with the petty cash. Unfortunately, there were no fingerprints or other helpful clues left behind, and the fact that Rebecca refused to cooperate left things at a standstill. Unless Rebecca had a change of heart, or one of the thieves turned himself in and confessed, there wasn’t much they could do.
“Why would she protect them like that?” Kane demanded. It made no sense to him whatsoever.
Nicki regarded him carefully before answering. “You want my theory?”
Kane nodded once. He and Nicki didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but she was a damn good agent, and she had risked her life often enough as the only non-blood Callaghan to be inducted into their Ghost Team (Nicki’s name for them) to earn his respect.
“She knew at least one of them, that’s a given. But beyond that, I think one of them might have helped her somehow.”
“Explain.”
“I’m not sure how much Jake told you, but there were signs of attempted rape. Her blouse was torn down the middle, her pants were half off. But her bra and panties were still intact when Aidan found her, and all of the blood seemed to be coming from the cuts on her face, nowhere else.”
Kane winced at Nicki’s explicit and brutally honest answer.
“I think that one of them stopped another from going through with it. That’s why Rebecca is keeping silent. One good deed deserves another, if you will.”