Page 118 of Absinthe Minded

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Gabe

Wayne came through the front door without knocking. “They found her. She’s alive—only minor injuries.”

My father let his head fall to his chest. “Thank God.”

For the first time in my life, I watched my father cry. He had always been the rock of the family, the man that had held us together after my brother died. Perhaps the guilt of his decisions wore on him more than we imagined.

Zach sat beside his grandfather and draped his arm across the older man’s shoulders—a kindness none of the grown men in the room seemed inclined to do.

I swallowed my emotions. “Where is she?”

“Baton Rouge General. She escaped.” Wayne smiled.

“Who took her? Who was it?”

The detective glanced down at his phone. “Justin and Denise Trudeau. We don’t know why they targeted her.”

“Maggie dated him a few times. She didn’t know he was married.” I looked away. “He threatened to sue me after an altercation. I should have paid the son of a bitch.”

“You’re not in the state of mind to hear reason, but this wasn’t your fault.”

“You’re right. I don’t want to hear it.”

Jessie and Evelyn came through the door next. Evelyn went straight to Joe, and Jessie surprised everyone by throwing her arms around Wayne. Right there in front of God and everyone, she kissed him on the mouth.

“Huh.” For months, I’d thought Wayne hung around the bar to flirt with Maggie. Seemed I was wrong about a lot of things.

“I’ll drive. There’s something I need to talk to you about.” Wayne jangled his keys.

Against my better judgement, I agreed and climbed into the detective’s car.

Keeping his eyes on the road, Wayne cleared his throat. “I got a tip on your brother’s accident.”

As if I don’t have enough on my mind?“From who?”

“A guy looking down the barrel of a life sentence. He claims his cellmate told him about a paid hit. He seems credible. He knows details about the accident that we never released to the public.”

I hadn’t realized I was tensing up until my teeth hurt.

“We’re in the process of questioning the suspect.” He sighed and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “I’m sorry to lay all this on you now, but I thought you’d want to know.”

A paid hit. A paid hit.The words ricocheted in my skull like a low caliber bullet. “Did he mention any names?”

“Pietro Lazio.” Wayne studied my reaction, but I gave him nothing.

“Keep me posted.” I motioned to the speedometer. “You think you could risk a few traffic violations? I have somewhere to be.”

He nodded and turned his attention to the road.

Pietro fucking Lazio. The head of another Sicilian mob family, my father’s closest associate, and if my mother had her way, Enzo’s future father-in-law. Why in Christ’s name would Pietro order a hit on Joe Jr.?

An hour later, I burst through the doors of Baton Rouge General and went straight to the information desk. “I’m looking for Mary Margaret Guthrie.”

The old woman behind the computer nodded, seemingly unfazed by my urgency. Her fingers couldn’t have moved slower over the keyboard if she’d dropped dead.

I ran my hand over the back of my neck and tried counting backward from fifty to calm my nerves. About the time I reached twenty-two, she smiled.

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