“I need information from you,” I said quietly, changing the subject to avoid any unpleasantness. I glanced at Fiona and she was giving me an odd look I couldn’t read.
Juan nodded and glanced around. “What sort of information?”
“The Lionettis have a kid hostage right now. I need to know where they’re holding him.”
If Juan could turn pale, he’d be sheet white. He shifted from side to side like a kid in church caught breaking the rules. “Man, I don’t know, I mean, I, uh, I don’t, oh, shit.”
“Juan, what do you know?”
“This is high-level stuff, Mack. How do you even know about—” Then Juan looked at Fiona and groaned. “You’re that fucking girl, aren’t you?”
“Keep your eyes on me,” I said. “What do you know?”
Juan looked back at him and rubbed his face with both his hands. “Nothing officially. I’ve overheard some shit, that’s all.”
“Overheard how?”
“You know how it goes.” He looked down at the muffin and poked it. “They don’t pay attention when I’m around, just point to whatever needs doing and then forget I’m in the room.”
“Where were you when you overheard this?”
He stopped fiddling with the muffin. “Man, Mack, you’re really killing me here.”
“If I wanted you dead, I would’ve left you with that hole in your leg and let you bleed out. You owe me.”
Juan’s face tightened like I’d elbowed him in the throat. “It’s a safe house up in Northern Liberties. Nice neighborhood, actually.”
“Is that where they’re keeping him?”
Juan nodded once. “Tied up in the basement. I think they move him around, but I’m not sure. They brought me in to clean up some blood and give the kid some food.” He glanced over at Fiona. “Sorry.”
Her face was pale white and her hands shook. She tried to smile, but it faltered and fell away. “How much blood?” she whispered.
“Not a lot. They didn’t hurt him too bad. I mean, a little bit, but you know.”
Fiona let out a strangled sob and looked away. Juan’s face fell then he looked at me and held up his hands like he was trying to apologize, and I only shook my head and put a hand on Fiona’s thigh.
She brushed it away and suddenly stopped crying. She sucked in a breath and let it out between a pair of puckered lips. It was almost creepy, the way she went from upset—to nothing.
Dead stare, no feelings.
The girl knew how to shut herself down.
Very interesting. A skill like that would come in handy in a family like the Doyles.
I learned something similar a long time ago, back before I was taken in by Evgeni, right around the time my mother died.
Right around the day I walked into her bedroom and found a belt wrapped around her neck—
I learned fast how to quiet the screaming in my head.
“Is he going to live?” she asked. “Are they going to kill him?”
“I don’t know,” Juan said. “They didn’t talk about that, only that they’re keeping the kid until he’s not useful anymore. They were complaining that he’s a pain in the ass to feed and, you know, to clean and stuff.”
“Thank you for telling me.” Fiona’s tone was flat.
“What’s the address of the house?”
Juan gave it to me and I typed it into my phone. “They’re not fucking around with this kid though, Mack. They’ve got lots of guards around the place all day and night.”
“I figured. He’s important.”
“Not just that. They’re planning something, but I don’t know what.”
“You think the kid’s involved?”
He only shrugged. “I don’t know, man. Only it sounded like they got some shit cooking but they wouldn’t tell me what.”
I tapped my fingers on the table, trying to think. I didn’t know what the Lionettis were playing at, stealing this Doyle kid and using Fiona to spy on her people. They were busy trying to kill each other, it didn’t make any sense that they’d want to go after another family.
Unless Park saw something that I didn’t.
That bastard could be crafty. I only knew him by reputation, but if what everyone said was true, the man was formidable.
Or maybe I was overthinking. Could be that the Lionettis simply wanted to extract as much blood and treasure from the Doyles while they had an advantage.
Blackmail was their specialty, after all.
I stood up and nodded down at Juan. “I appreciate the help.”
“Just don’t bring my name into this shit, all right? Whatever you’re doing with the Lionettis, just leave me out of it.”
“Far as I’m concerned, we never met.” I walked from the table with Fiona on my heels.
Outside, she paused as we walked back to my car and leaned up against a tree. I watched several emotions bounce across her face: anger, sadness, devastation.
“They’re never going to send him home.” The words came out like a strangled whisper.
“Probably not.”
She winced like I’d slapped her in the face.