He shifted and lifted the bandage with his handcuffed hand, revealing four red – and pretty damn tiny – puncture wounds. Jordan squinted. “Is there something I’m supposed to be looking at there?”

Kyle made a face. “Very funny. It stung like a bitch. For at least … two or three minutes.” He saw her staring at him and cocked his head. “What?”

Jordan said nothing. Instead, she reached out and did something she hadn’t been able to do in four months. She hugged her brother hard and held on for as long as she wanted. “I’m just glad to see you’re okay.”

“Don’t be getting all mushy on me now. You know the rules,” Kyle growled. But he squeezed her back tightly with his free arm.

She felt tears of relief spring into her eyes. “Different setting, different rules.” She pulled back, and quickly brushed at her eyes. “Mr. Cranky the prison guard told me that.”

“Did he also happen to tell you why they brought me to this hospital?” Kyle asked. “Because I sure as hell can’t figure it out.”

There was a voice to their left.

“They brought you here because I asked them to.”

An attractive woman with long brown hair and wearing a gray pin-striped suit stood in the doorway. She walked over and shook hands with Jordan and Kyle.

“Cameron Lynde, U.S. attorney,” she said in introduction. She folded her arms across her chest and studied Kyle. “So what do we do with you now, Mr. Rhodes? I’ve been getting all sorts of reports that you’re having problems at MCC.”

Kyle brushed his hair off his face defensively. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

“Six fights in the last four months – and now this attack. You’re a PR disaster waiting to happen,” Cameron said.

Jordan threw Kyle a look. “You only told me about four fights.”

“It’s nothing,” Kyle said to both of them.

The U.S. attorney appeared to mull this over. “I don’t like it. With the media’s interest in your case, if something happened to you at MCC, my office would take a lot of heat.”

“Your office didn’t seem too concerned about my wellbeing four months ago,” Kyle said.

“I think it’s safe to say that the former U.S. attorney had a very different agenda than I do,” Cameron said. “You’ve served four months of hard time – harder than many others. Perhaps we can look into an alternate arrangement.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. I don’t want to be shipped off to another prison – the same thing will just happen there.” Kyle pointed begrudgingly to Jordan. “Plus, if you take me out of Chicago, I’d miss my annoying sister’s cheery visits.”

Jordan nearly got teary-eyed again. That may have been the nicest thing her pain-in-the-ass brother had ever said to her. She put her arm around him. “He’s the gum I can’t scrape off the bottom of my shoe,” she explained to the U.S. attorney.

Cameron laughed. “I have a friend like that.” She turned back to Kyle. “I wasn’t talking about moving you to a different prison. I was thinking more along the lines of home detention.”

The door opened again, and a tall and well-built man wearing jeans and a corduroy blazer walked into the room. He carried a backpack in one hand. Jordan recognized him as the FBI agent who’d “accidentally” bumped into her at Starbucks and slipped Nick’s keys into her coat pocket. But if the agent recognized her – and she was sure he did – he gave away nothing.

“Agent Pallas. Perfect timing,” Cameron said.

“Are we all set?” he asked.

“I was just about to explain to Mr. Rhodes how this will work.” She turned back to Kyle. “This is Special Agent Jack Pallas – he’s going to fit you with an electronic monitoring device that you’ll wear around your ankle twenty-four hours a day. Inside the device is a GPS transmitter that will tell the supervising probation officer in charge of your parole where you are at all times. You’ll be able to work, and will be permitted to leave your residence for preapproved purposes like doctor’s appointments, court appearances, things of that nature. Your probation officer will go over the specifics of the arrangement with you.”

Kyle held up his hand, confused. “Probation officer, parole – what are you talking about? I have twelve more months of incarceration to serve.”

“Not anymore. You’re going home, Mr. Rhodes.”

Agent Pallas moved to Kyle’s side. He took keys out of his pocket and unlocked the handcuff with a snap.

Kyle stared at his free hand for a moment, then peered up at Cameron with a confused expression. “I don’t understand. Why would you do this?”

Of course, three people in the room knew the true answer to that question. But Jordan maintained her poker face, as did the U.S. attorney.

“Because it’s the fair thing to do, Mr. Rhodes. That’s the best answer I can give you,” Cameron said. “One thing, however – for appearances’ sake, I think it would be best if you spent tonight at the hospital. And I’d appreciate it if you would keep a low profile over the next couple weeks.”

“Not a problem. It’s not like I have an active social calendar these days,” Kyle said.

“Sit back and put your left leg on the table,” Agent Pallas told him. He unzipped the backpack and pulled out a black ankle monitor.

Kyle lifted the leg of his jumpsuit. “I don’t know what to say,” he said to Cameron. “Thank you, I guess. It’s good to see they’ve replaced Silas Briggs with someone who’s a little more reasonable.” He grinned. “Not to mention, someone with a much prettier face.”

Agent Pallas snapped the ankle monitor on, and Kyle yelled out in pain.

“Son of a bitch, you got some skin there!” he said to Pallas.

Cameron threw the FBI agent a look. “Jack.”

He shrugged. “It slipped.” He turned back to Kyle with a look that could wilt plants.

“Easy there, Wolverine,” Kyle grumbled. “Put the claws back in – I meant no disrespect.”

There was a knock at the door. Mr. Cranky the prison guard stuck his head in. “Hey – we’ve got a package for Sawyer.”

“You’re getting deliveries at the hospital already?” Jordan asked her brother.

Agent Pallas went to the door. He took the package from Mr. Cranky, which turned out to be a blue garment bag, and brought it into the room. He hung the bag on the back of the door, unzipped it, and did a quick check of the contents.

“Clothes? Did you arrange for that?” Cameron asked Jack.

He shook his head. “Must’ve been one of the other agents.” He stole a glance at Jordan, and she knew.

Nick.

Cameron clapped her hands together. “Well. I’m sure you two don’t want us hanging around any longer.” She pulled a card out of her jacket pocket and handed it to Kyle. “This is the contact information for your probation officer. He’ll be expecting you to call him tomorrow when you get home. Remember, we’ll be watching.” She joined Agent Pallas at the door, and paused before the two of them left. “And stay away from Twitter, Mr. Rhodes. For all our sakes.” With an efficient turn of her heel, she was gone.

“Are they serious?” Kyle asked Jordan. “I can just walk out of here tomorrow?”

She shrugged innocently. “Looks that way.” She pointed to the garment bag. “Let’s see what’s inside.”

Kyle got up from the hospital bed and walked over to the bag. He unzipped it and pulled out jeans and a gray long-sleeved shirt. “Jeans.” He fingered the material, turning quiet. When he finally spoke, his voice was thick with emotion. “Never thought I’d be so glad to see denim in my life.”

He regrouped and threw Jordan a wry look. “Who’d have thought the FBI could be so thoughtful?”

She came over and rested her head against her brother’s shoulder. Or one agent in particular, at least. “I think there’s more to some of these FBI guys than meets the eye.”

The door flew open and Grey Rhodes rushed in, looking harried despite his tailored sport coat and dark pants. He saw Kyle, exhaled in relief, and rested his hands on his knees like he might pass out from running. “You’re here.”

“Not for long.” Kyle threw his arms out with a grin. “Starting tomorrow, I’m a free man.”

Grey looked over at Jordan. “They didn’t say he had a head injury.”

Jordan smiled. “No, it’s true, Dad. Kyle’s been released from prison. And he was stabbed with a fork.”

Her brother stared at the ceiling. “I’m going to be hearing about this for years, aren’t I?”

“Kyle, dear brother of mine, you have no idea.”


“EVERYTHING OKAY, XANDER?”

The question came from Will Parsons, who was once again on duty as general manager that night. Bordeaux was packed, as expected. Xander stood in the doorway between the main lounge and wine bar, a position from which he could see virtually the entire club. He wanted to watch for a few minutes. Soak it all in.

“I’m fine,” he told Will. Of course, that wasn’t true.

He was fucked. He should’ve been satisfied with being the top nightclub and restaurant owner in the city. But a year ago, he’d gotten greedy.

Sure, he could say that no one refused Roberto Martino. And this was true – at least, no one refused Roberto Martino without suffering some very serious consequences. But Xander hadn’t needed to be coerced; he’d been perfectly willing to have Martino invest in his businesses as a silent partner. And now, it seemed, he would pay the price for that.

“I’m heading down to my office. I don’t want to be disturbed,” he told Will.

Will nodded. “Of course.”

Xander cut through the VIP wine bar and entered the security code on the panel next to the door that led to the lower level. As he descended the staircase and walked along the hallway to his office, he ran over the events of his wine tasting two weeks ago – the evening that Nick Stanton, aka Special Agent Nick McCall, had infiltrated the heart of his empire.