Catriona nodded. “It will take time. Unfortunately, you’ll have to be patient.”
With a sigh, Liam nodded, but she was right. This was unfortunate. However logical it was, so much weighed in his theory about the fact that if he could find and cut off every single money source of Finch, it would force him to come out of hiding, and they could finally end this madness once and for all.
His phone buzzed, and he took a quick look to see a text message from Sasha Landry, Deva’s cousin and their unofficial family doctor. She wasn’t only a doctor, but she was currently keeping a watchful eye on Lazarus King, his brother who’d been severely wounded trying to stop Finch and was now in a coma. He read the text that was addressed to all the brothers.
Bad night. Fighting a pulmonary infection. Under medication. Will keep you posted.
Concise, the message made him lock his jaw. That meant that Oz was in danger from another front. He’d hoped to see him stabilized enough to be transported to a more secure location. Until then, he, Sam, and Kai were rotating shifts at his bedside with Sasha in a private room arranged by Archer. Aleksei took the night shift mostly, only being present during the day when there weren’t other options, as his link to the mafia was still too problematic for him to be there during the day. Even secluded as Oz was, there was still a risk that someone could find their way inside the room and kill him. With money, there was little Finch couldn’t do, and if money wasn’t an option, threats were his second-best tool.
“What’s going on?”
Liam looked up, having forgotten Catriona’s presence for the first time since he’d met her. “My brother at the hospital. He’s not doing well.”
Even if he hadn’t known Lazarus for long, Liam’s throat closed at the thought of losing him. He’d been the leader, the one who was supposed to be Finch’s heir, but instead, decided to fight him. He’d searched and reached out to all the children Finch had sired over the years, only sons, six of them, and his quest had become the brothers’ too.
He was trying to shake the bad feeling settling in his gut when he sensed Catriona moving about, shutting down her computer and putting the papers in a neat pile. “What are you doing?”
“We’re going to the hospital to see your brother.”
Liam shook his head. “No need. There’s nothing we can do for him for the time being. And the more we’re out and about, the more we risk an attack.”
The nun didn’t even slow down and went to grab her coat. Chewy bounced up, always ready for another outing. “Life is dangerous, but family is more important. I was an orphan so it may be different for you, but if I had a brother and he was in the hospital, I’d need to see him.”
Liam hesitated. “He’s in a coma. He won’t even know I’m there.”
Instead of replying to this remark, she handed him his coat. “You won’t admit it, but the look on your face tells me how much you want to go and see him. You’re worried and distracted, and that makes me worried and distracted.”
“He’s not your brother.”
As he was coming to learn, Catriona’s response wasn’t the one he was hoping to provoke. Instead of being irritated, an angelic smile blossomed. “I know. But he is yours, and even if I’ve only met one of your brothers so far, it’s obvious that you care for each other, although you express it like grumpy bears.”
At that, his eyebrows went up. “Bears?”
She caressed Chewy’s head, who was repeatedly bumping her knees, as if asking her to hurry along. “You know what I mean.”
Even if it was uncomfortable to acknowledge it, he couldn’t do anything else but agree and put his coat on. “I’m usually not this compliant. You’ve got me on a very good day.”
She mocked a surprised face. “Is that a joke? Goodness, please hide that smirk, or they might as well keep you in the hospital’s mental ward.”
Giving a treat to Chewy who would remain behind, Liam bit back a smile and told himself to keep his head in the game, as now the circle of people he had to protect had just become bigger.
