He thought about it for a moment, then spilled everything he knew. Will had wanted Lindi to call Aengus. Now wasn’t the time to back out.
“So these forgers are after you and have taken my son.”
“Yes.”
“We’ll be on the next flight out. We’ll find you in the morning.” Aengus hung up before Lindi could comment.
Great.
“Aengus Finn is on his way.” It wasn’t until later that Lindi realized Aengus had said we. Who else was he bringing with him?
Lindi woke in pain, his hand cramped from clutching the phone in his sleep—the only possible lifeline to his beloved. Gone was the usual warm body and adoring eyes; instead, he had a cold, hard spot in the middle of his stomach and an ache in his chest. His friends had left late last night, promising to return in the morning or sooner if he needed. While he had the support of Carlyle and Victor, Will was out there alone and scared.
Agreeing to testify against the forger had turned out to be the biggest mistake in Lindi’s life. Now some idiots had his beloved. Apparently, they didn’t care about Harkinson because the forger wasn’t part of their deal. Maybe they figured after they got their money they could disappear.
The doorbell rang.
Since no one had been cleared to come up to his condo, Lindi climbed out of bed quickly. Carlyle and Victor were probably back. The doorman knew them well enough to just let them up.
He pulled on the pair of pants he’d tossed on the floor the night before. Will would’ve been appalled at the disarray of their bedroom. The thought made him smile. Lindi grabbed a fresh T-shirt from the dresser and jerked it over his head.
His visitor rang the bell again.
Lindi rushed over to open the door.
A large man with miles of muscle and a hard expression in his eyes stood on the other side. He looked vaguely familiar, but Lindi knew they’d never met. “Can I help you?”
“Are you Lindi Samms?”
“Yes.” Lindi arched an eyebrow at his visitor. “And you are?”
“Will’s brother, Brian.”
Lindi scowled at his visitor. “Where’s your father? I thought he was coming.”
“May I come in?”
Lindi growled in frustration. Stepping back, he waved Brian forward. “Make yourself at home.”
“Thank you.” He scanned the large condo, taking in the water view. “Nice place.”
“We like it. Would you like some coffee? Mine isn’t very good, Will usually makes it.” Lindi blinked back the sudden onslaught of tears. He wasn’t the crying type. He wouldn’t start now when Will might be in danger.
“Sure, I’ll take some.” Brian settled on the other side of the bar. “Da says some guys snatched Will. Why?”
“For money.” Lindi repeated the situation with the art forger.
Brian narrowed his eyes. “So you have Feds watching your place?”
“Yes. Is that a problem?” Lindi did some research last night after he talked to Will’s father. He had a good idea why Will tried to hide his past. When he got Will back, they would be having a long conversation about keeping secrets. There were apparently too many between them. Will wouldn’t be able to sit down for a week when Lindi was finished with him.
Brian hesitated before answering. “No, but it might make it difficult to retrieve Will.”
“How many of you are coming?”
“Three. Me, Da and my other brother Cain. Will is the youngest of us.”
Lindi held back the urge to pounce on Brian’s words. He yearned to hear more about Will’s childhood and what led to him hide from his past, but Lindi wanted to hear about it from Will, not from his brother.
“I don’t know how many people are in the counterfeiting ring. I can find Will, but I don’t know if I can extract him on my own.”
“How can you find him?” Brian asked.
Lindi poured two cups of coffee from the brewing carafe and slid one over to Brian. He wasn’t ready to confess how to find Will quite yet. He had to make sure they were both on Will’s side before he told them anything.
“Tell me about your father. Why isn’t he here?” Aengus had said they were all going to be there in the morning.
“Da had to let some of his associates know he was going to be in town. He’s thrilled to know Will is alive.” Brian rubbed his cheek. Lindi hadn’t noticed the bruise on it before. “I’d convinced him Will had died so he’s a bit put out with me.”
“Why would you do that? I can’t imagine anything worse than a parent thinking his child was dead.”
Brian sighed. “You have to understand. Will has never been like the rest of us. He doesn’t enjoy violence. Shaking someone down doesn’t make him happy. He’s always worried about someone being hurt. He’s more delicate. No one was really surprised when he told us he was gay.”