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“About time you showed up, McAlister.”
“How’s my sister?”
Xavier’s first instinct was to bark out a furious, scathing response, lambasting him for abandoning his sister. He couldn’t do that because from what Kate had told them, Brody had been abducted, tortured, and held against his will for years without ever revealing his sister’s location. He had protected her the only way he could.
Xavier wasn’t willing to give him a total pass, though. The man had known Jazz’s location for years and knew how much it would mean to her if he’d come back into her life. He hadn’t done that, and that pissed Xavier off.
“From your silence,” McAlister said, “I can only surmise that you can’t decide whether you want to kill me or answer my question.”
“Hurting you would hurt Jazz, so you’re safe.”
“So how is she?”
“She’s recovering.”
“Good.”
“Is that why you’re here? To ask about your sister?”
“That and to give you some advice.”
“What’s that?”
“Keep looking at the Doyle family.”
“We’ve dug into them as deep as we can go. There’s nothing there.”
“What about Sullivan?”
“Doyle’s brother-in-law? He came through as a wannabe gangster without any real substance. He’s got no known ties to anything illegal. He seems harmless.”
“Look again.”
“All right, thanks for the tip. Can I ask you a question?”
“You can. I don’t promise to answer.”
It was worth a try. “Why’d you kill Bass?”
“You know as well as anyone that you sometimes have to do things you’d rather not. He was going to die by someone’s hand. Might as well have been mine.”
And whether Brody had intended it or not, he had confirmed what Xavier had been thinking all along. Brody was working an angle.
“All right. One more?”
“You can try.”
“Do you know who killed Jazz’s mother and your dad?”
“That’s for me to take care of. You just concentrate on taking care of my sister.”
Though Xavier still couldn’t see him, and could barely hear his movements, he knew the other man was now standing.
Xavier went to his feet, not willing to let him go before he got more answers. Brody McAlister had other ideas. He was out the door before Xavier could get to him. Flipping the light switch, Xavier managed to see the hulking guy slip out his front door as quietly as a ghost.
Turning, he noted that Brody had left Xavier’s gun on the chair he’d been sitting in, along with a piece of paper. Grabbing it, he read the cryptic one-line message. Tell the brilliant spitfire in Wisconsin that she’s on the right track but to watch her back.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR