The Family Jewels by Christine Bell Read Free Book Online

tugging his line and giving his pole a jiggle. They hadn’t gotten a single bite, but he'd scarfed down two hulking roast beef sandwiches from Gold’s Deli on Fourth Street and an ice-cold bottle of lager, so he was still feeling pretty all right about his accomplishments for the day.
    "I’ve got a lead on Hannigan. Me and my partner have been running it down, and so far, nothing, but we’re close. I can feel it.” His brother's sharp blue eyes locked with Jake’s, and sent a jolt through him that made the beer go sour in his belly.
    "Is that so?"
    "It is," he replied with a nod, looking off into the water. "And when it goes down, a lot of the people around him are going to go down too. In fact, I’d advise anyone in Hannigan’s circle doing anything shady who doesn’t want to get caught in the crossfire, to take a step back.”
    Jake kept his trap shut, letting his brother’s words sink in. No wonder Mike had made himself available on such short notice. He’d wanted to warn him off. But Jake was all too familiar with how the system worked. Even if Mike did everything right and nailed him, balls to the wall, guys like Hannigan never truly paid their debt to society. Best case, he’d get charged with forgery or trafficking and use his connections to ensure that he spent a comfy few years in some day spa they called a prison. Then, he’d be back out living the high life and not giving a shit about the lives he ruined doing it.
    Jake couldn’t live with that.
    Mike still eyed him, waiting to see if he’d bite, but he kept his face carefully blank. It reminded him of the night before when he and Sadie had danced both literally and figuratively. He and his brother did a similar dance now, only this time, there was no joy in it.
    “I hope it works out for you,” Jake said. “I’d love for this to finally come to an end.”
    “Me too,” Mike said, his jaw flexing. “Seeing him brought to justice will be a relief. But you know, there’s one big difference between justice and revenge. Justice is sweet. It’s right.” He scrubbed a hand over his stubbly chin. “Revenge is ugly, like a festering snake bite, and it damages the person inflicting it as much as the person receiving it. There’s no end to the pain it can bring. And you know what else? It’s never as sweet as we think it's going to be, brother."
    The stark words sent a chill over him in spite of the warmth of the day, and Jake stood. “Lovely speech. Now what say we switch bait, shut the fuck up and try to land a meal here, yeah?”
    He was being flip, but his brother had pissed him off. Not to mention, Mike was dead wrong. So far, revenge had been pretty satisfying, and once he took care of this one last thing, surely he’d feel whole again.
    For a long moment, the boat was cloaked in tense silence except for the sounds of the waves slapping the aluminum sides. Then, the gods intervened and Mike’s reel went whizzing.
    "Got a bite!" he shouted as he leaned back with his pole.
    Jake made to ready the net as his brother reeled in his catch. If he didn’t want to wind up on the end of Mike’s hook like that striper, he was going to have to shorten his timeline and force the issue with Alistair.
    Because festering snake bite or not, there was no way in hell he was giving him up now.

    * * *
    “ S he’s making progress , but with her weight still so low, we can’t release her. Not yet, I’m sorry.”
    Sadie closed her stinging eyes and leaned back against the nearest barstool, trying to keep it together. It was almost dinnertime at Roberto’s and she didn’t have the time for a meltdown.
    She’d been so sure after their outing the other day that Clarissa was on the upswing and would be able to come home later in the week. The next day, though, the low-level depression was back and her appetite was gone again. It was a vicious cycle. She needed to be home to feel better, but she needed to feel better before they would let her come home.
    At