Page 46 of Kane

She paused. “It really can’t wait. Dad, I need to talk to you about the money—”

“I’ll wire it to your account before close of business,” he said sharply. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m really not feeling well.”

He disconnected before she could say another word.

If he was sending the money, it was one less thing to worry about, but she still needed to tell Kane what she’d heard. And she needed to do it fast.

***

Kane

Brick held up the closet door with hinges hovering over the holes in the frame while Kane knelt down and screwed them in place. Work on the house was moving much faster with a five-man crew. Brick’s strength and construction know-how helped him do the work of two guys, and Cy’s Army buddy was slowly getting up to speed.

He was glad to have the distraction of work. He was plagued by memories of holding Mandy’s hand at the restaurant, the need in her eyes. He’d shake his thoughts away only to replace them with questions about how he could fix the club and save his brothers from disaster. No answers had presented themselves.

He grunted as he leaned into the drill. “Any word when Will’s coming back to work?” If anyone would have the skinny, it would be Brick. His fiancé was Will’s sister, after all.

Brick’s deep voice carried over the electronic whir in his ears. “Probably the first of the new year. The doctors say he’s on track, but the bullet collapsed his lung. He was a lot worse off than I was.” Brick seemed to be no worse for wear after the shot he took to the shoulder. Meanwhile, the guy who pulled the trigger—one of Sucre’s thugs—was resting permanently, six feet under.

It was no loss. From what he understood, Tre Lowry had been every bit the stain on humanity his boss had been. With the bottom hinge secure, he stood to screw in the top. “Have you spent any time with the new guy?”

“Evan?” Brick shook his head. “Poor dude is really fucked up. Cy says an IED caused all those burns. Fucking brutal.”

Brutal barely scratched the surface. Cy’s friend had thick, ropey scars along the left side of his body. They covered his jawline and his neck as well as the top of his left hand. It was hard to tell where else the burns extended beneath his clothes.

He had never heard Evan speak. It wasn’t clear if the guycouldn’ttalk or if he just chose not to. Neither would surprise him. Though to be fair, he hadn’t worked with the man very much. Cy and Matt were showing him the ropes, which had to be interesting since none of the men were what anyone would call talkers.

“How’s it coming, you guys?”

Speaking of talkers.

Robby grinned as he hugged his ever-present clipboard to his chest.

Brick gave his arm a gentle tap over the long-sleeved Oxford. “Almost finished with the doors. We only have one left. Master closet.” He gestured at the remaining door, leaning against the wall.

Robby canted his head, his brown bangs falling into his eyes. “Xander says we need to be done here before the end of the month so we can get started on the new development. You think we’re gonna make it?”

“No sweat.” Brick lifted one shoulder. “All the bones are in place. Cabinet guys are coming tomorrow. Electricians and plumbers are putting in their fixtures at the beginning of next week. We’ll be done by Christmas.”

Robby bounced on the balls of his feet. “You’ll be in your new house by then, right?”

“Yep. We close next week. Which reminds me, Olivia wanted me to invite all of you to the new place to have Christmas dinner with us. She—we—want—” He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, then shook his head ruefully. “We want to celebrate with our family.”

Kane warmed at Brick’s reluctant admission. Celebrating Christmas with family would be a first for him too.

Robby was out-and-out beaming. “Of course, we’ll be there, right Kane?”

“Sure, kid.” He chuckled.

Brick shot Robby a sly look. “Why don’t you go extend the invitation to Matt and the other guys?”

Robby’s cheeks pinked, but he wasted no time bounding out the door in search of the object of his affection.

“You know Matt’s going to figure it out someday, and when he rejects your boy, it’s going to break his heart.” Robby was really growing on him, and he found the idea of his heartbreak…unsettling.

Brick shrugged. “We can’t help who we fall for, man. You know as well as I do.”

“You can shove your fortune cookie wisdom right up your ass.” He grimaced at the knowing expression on Brick’s face.

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