“I’m around. Should I come to the lake house? You never even brought that fiancée there. Or ex-fiancée, I should say. You have me to thank for dodging that bullet.”
“I’m not thanking you for that or anything. And no, not the lake house. Come to this address.” He gave Asa the address of a nearby roadhouse bar. “How long?”
“I could be there in forty minutes,” Asa said.
“OK. See you there.” He hung up.
Sisko’s eyes were wide. “Holy shit,” he breathed. “Is that who I think it was?”
Noah let out a careful breath before he could trust his voice. “Only one person I know has the cred to pull off a con like that.”
Sisko cleared his throat. “Uh . . . I wasn’t serious when I proposed it,” he said. “You said you didn’t even know the guy anymore. You sure it’s a good idea?”
“No,” Noah snapped. “It’s what happens when you’re driven into a corner. You do dumb things, because you have no alternative.”
“Can someone fucking fill me in?” Caro snapped. “What dumb thing are you about to do?”
“Get your shoes on,” he said. “You’re about to meet my long lost brother.”
Chapter 27
Caro warmed her chilly hands with a cup of reheated coffee. Not worth drinking, but it served its purpose. The roadhouse restaurant was dim, and a live band played in the next room. The twangy music not improved by a muddy, blatting sound system.
She tried at intervals to speak to Noah, but he had retreated behind a wall of ice.
Sisko kept at him, though, too stubborn to quit. “You should have talked to me before you called,” he said heatedly. “You don’t know if you can trust him.”
“I know that I can’t trust him at all,” Noah said, his voice remote and cold. “But we need specialized help. From a crook.” He hesitated. “He’s a crook I can control.”
“What makes you think so?” Sisko snapped. “You haven’t so far.”
“He reached out to me,” Noah said. “He wants something from me. Whatever it is, I’ll bargain with that.”
Sisko made a disgusted sound. “And what could that be? Your kidneys? Your firstborn? Jesus, Noah. What are you going to tell Hannah?”
“Nothing.” Noah gave them both a hard look. “She has no reason to know.”
“She’s going to find out. You can’t protect her forever.”
“All the more reason to protect her for as long as I can,” Noah said.
Silence descended between the three of them, but the clatter and hum of the bar got louder. Out-of-tune rockabilly music floated through the greasy smoke that hung in the air. They’d been waiting a half hour when Noah’s gaze flicked to the door.
Sisko and Caro craned their necks to look at who had walked in.
Asa Carr was big and tall, muscular and built, which was no surprise. He wasn’t similar to his brother in any obvious way, aside from his height and size. Asa’s long body was somewhat narrower than Noah’s, and his long-lashed eyes were a clear silver gray beneath a thick slash of dark brows. He had the same strong chin and stern mouth, and his dark hair was buzzed off short. The battered brown leather coat, jeans and heavy boots amped up the intense, brooding vibe. In fact, the subtle vibration of danger was the biggest similarity he shared with Noah.
That, and the way every woman’s head turned as he walked by.
Unsmiling, he walked toward them, his eyes locked on his brother’s. Caro sensed violent emotion beneath their blank expressions. The disconnect was eerie and unsettling.
Noah slid out of the booth and stood up. “Hey, Asa.”
Asa nodded. “Noah. Been a while.”
“Yes,” Noah agreed. “Thanks for coming.”
Asa nodded, and his gaze flicked to Caro and Sisko. “Thought you’d be alone.”
“This concerns them too,” Noah said.
Asa made no comment, just studied Sisko. “I’ve seen you on surveillance photos. Edward Sisko?”
Sisko inclined his head in cautious assent.
Asa turned his eyes on Caro. “Not you, though. You’re not, ah . . .” He slanted a questioning glance at Noah.
“She’s not a Midlander,” Noah said, answering both the spoken and the unspoken question. “But she knows everything.”
“I see,” Asa said. “That’s a first.”
“How do you know about Midlands?” Sisko demanded.
“Don’t want to get into that right now.” Asa looked at Noah. “So. You got a new girlfriend so soon?”
The question had a strange edge, which Noah ignored. But he answered it.
“This is Caro Bishop,” he said. “Caro, Asa Stone. My brother.”
“I’m glad to meet you.” Caro held out her hand.
Asa took it, and pulled her subtly closer to his towering body, as if he meant to somehow let her know who was boss. Caro pulled her hand away, taken aback.
Noah took a menacing step forward. “Never touch her again,” he said.
“Sorry,” Asa said.
The single word conveyed bored contempt. Noah locked eyes with him.
“Guess you’re serious about this one,” Asa commented, after a moment.