“Won’t the Fed watching you become suspicious of all your visitors?” Cain asked.
“Probably. Listen, I don’t care if they are suspicious or not. I’m getting Will.” Lindi didn’t even care if they arrested him for shooting Will’s kidnappers. Nothing would stop him.
“If you give me the coordinates, I can go scout out the location,” Cain offered.
Lindi gritted his teeth. “If they spot you, they might kill him.”
“I’ll be careful. I’ve never been sighted before I was ready.”
Lindi ran his fingers through his hair. Pacing back and forth, he tried not to think of how scared his sweet Will must be.
“Are you sure you don’t want coffee?” Lindi asked.
“It’s not very good, Da,” Brian warned.
Lindi snorted. “I did warn you.”
“That you did.” Brian nodded his agreement.
“I’ll take some. I’m not so picky,” Aengus said.
Lindi walked over to the kitchen to pour the coffee. Now he understood why Will needed to organize things when he became stressed. There was something soothing about serving others. Not enough he’d make it a pattern, but he could see Will’s side of things.
Aengus had followed Lindi and settled on a barstool. Lindi slid a cup of coffee over to him.
“Thank you.”
“I appreciate you coming all this way to help out Will, but you can’t take him home with you. I don’t care who you are; Will is mine.”
Aengus shrugged. “We’ll let Will make that decision when he’s rescued. Now why don’t you get your computer and show Cain where to find your boy.”
“I have the money collected. If I thought for a second they would give Will over, I’d give it to them,” Lindi confessed.
“You don’t want to be givin’ them your cash. I doubt they are men of their word,” Aengus proclaimed.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of.” Lindi took a sip of coffee, then jerked back at the taste. “That is awful.”
Brian laughed. “I told you.”
“It’s not so bad,” Aengus said, taking another sip.
Lindi sighed. “I’m almost wishing I’d let them get away with the forgeries. I never thought they’d go after Will. I didn’t think they’d have the chance. I rarely let him out of my sight.”
“Will has a way of getting into trouble.” Aengus’s knowing expression eased some of Lindi’s guilt.
“Yeah, he does.”
Aengus shook his head. “My poor boy went from my home to yours, never realizing you were going to get him in more trouble than ever I did.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
A silence filled the air between them. “I’d be willing to leave my boy with you if I’m certain you can protect him.”
Lindi set his jaw. “I know how to protect my man. I’ve kept him safe for years. This was an exception. Do I need to take him into hiding to keep him from you?”
If they had to abandon everything to keep Will safe, Lindi would drop everything in a second.
“You would do that?” Brian asked coming up to the bar. “You’d leave your life?”
“Yes.” Lindi didn’t hesitate. There was little he wouldn’t do for Will.
“I’ve warned the locals to stay away from my boy. You won’t be finding trouble from them,” Aengus said.
“Will can stop hiding from us.” The expression of pain in Brian’s eyes told Lindi his lover’s family had missed him.
“He might have been hiding from you, but he still kept your number for emergencies. You’re the first people he thought of to get him out of trouble.” Lindi wanted what was best for Will. If that was reconnecting with his mob family, then that was what they would do.
“I did some research on you, Mr. Samms,” Aengus said. “Everyone says Will is happy with you.”
“He is.” He might not have known Will’s true name, but he knew Will’s character.
The doorbell rang.
Brian waved Lindi off. “I’ll get it.”
“No, I’ll get it. This is still my place.” He brushed Brian aside.
Agent Calthers stood on the other side. “Good morning, Mr. Samms.”
“Hello, Agent Calthers. Can I help you with something?”
“Can I come in?”
“Sure.” It wasn’t like he could deny the agent without looking suspicious.
“Everyone, this is Agent Calthers; he’s helping with my forgery case. Agent, this is Aengus, Cain and Brian, Will’s father and brothers.”
The men exchanged nods but didn’t extend handshakes.
“Rather early for so many visitors.” Calthers looked around. “Where’s Will?”