Jake stares at me. “Have you killed a man before?”

“No,” I say abruptly.

He nods. “I have and let me tell you, when you kill a man you are forever linked to him. You can never wash away the taint of his soul on yours. You’ll never sleep the way you slept before you took another’s life.”

“I see no other way. I know Izzy and my son will never be safe while he is alive. I don’t want to live the rest of my life constantly watching my back. If Izzy is late back from the supermarket or the hairdresser, I don’t want to immediately start worrying that he has abducted her.”

He fixes his cold eyes on me. “Here’s some free advice for you, Tyson. Never go looking for ashes. Let the wind bring them to you.”

“What do you mean?”

I think of Phoenix. Of my mother’s words. “If I gave you another way out, would you take it?”

I don’t have to think. “I’ll do anything that would keep Izzy safe.”

He smiles slowly. “Good. I know the good Judge Jackson. Very well. Much better than he realizes, in fact.”

“I’m listening.”

“The judge as a few hair curling secrets he wouldn’t like made public. He’s a nasty little fucker when he wants to be.” He picks up the phone and dials without explaining what he’s doing.

“Hey, John. Yup. Sure. Need to ask you a favor. Judge Jackson.” Jake winks at me. “Mm-hmm. He comes to see one of your girls, doesn’t he? When’s he next in? Sure. I’ll wait.” He pauses. “Lunch break tomorrow. Who does he see? Evanna? What is she? A humiliatrix? Perfect. Right. Tell her to turn it on full blast. All the way, balls to the wall. Literally. I need that video.”

“What the hell was all that about?” I ask when he hangs up.

“Watch and see, little brother. Watch and see.”

“Okay. What next?”

“Next you meet the rest of your family.”

I rear back, surprised. “You want me to be part of your family?”

“Don’t you think it is time?”

“I don’t know. I hated you guys for such a long time.”

He shrugs dismissively. “You were a child. You didn’t know better. My home is the safest place for you.”

“I still have to go and see Izzy.”

He frowns. “No. I’ll send someone to look in on her. You do not leave my sight until this is sorted out. Tony is a fool and he doesn’t know his boundaries so he could be accidentally dangerous. Who have you left Izzy with?”

“Mariella.”

“Right.” He picks up the phone and tells someone to go and keep an eye on Mariella’s house. Then he calls someone else and tells him he has family with Mariella, can they round up the boys and make sure no one gets anywhere near Mariella’s house?

He stands and starts walking towards the door. “You can call Mariella’s house from here. I presume you have her number. I’ll be waiting outside.”

I pick up the phone and call Izzy.

‘Hey, how are you?”

“I’m fine, but I miss you so much, Tyson. So much.”

“Me too. It won’t be long. How’s the little tiger?”

“Let me put him on.”

I hear her go get the child and put the receiver to his ear.

“Hello,” I say, my heart in my mouth. I’m talking to my son.

“Da. Da,” he says, and I nearly sob for joy. It is the sweetest sound I’ve heard. My son recognizes me.

Izzy comes back on the phone. “That’s the only word he knows.”

“He’s beautiful, Izzy. You did an amazing job.”

Her voice drops to a whisper. “Do you know what I had for dinner last night?”

I laugh. “What?”

“Bacon and cabbage, but I have never tasted anything so vile in my life and Mom says neither has she. We ate it out of gratitude because she was so nice and so happy to have us we didn’t want to hurt her, but it gave Mom a bad stomach all night. Mom made breakfast, I’m cooking tonight.”

I grip the phone hard because I have to fight the urge not to get into my car and go see her. “How are your bruises?”

“They’re fine. I’ve had worse.”

“What if your ribs are broken?”

“Nah, I know what that feels like and this pain is not the same.”

I breathe out slowly. Jake is right. Let the wind bring the ashes to you. Don’t go looking for it. I won’t let anger direct me. Jake has a good plan. I’ll go with that. At least for now. “I love you, Izzy,” I say softly.

“I love you too, Ty. I love you so much it hurts.”

“Take good care of yourself and Christopher, okay?”

“You take care of yourself, okay.”

“I’m fine.”

“And the horses. How are they?”

I close my eyes, the pain like a physical thing in my body. Let the wind bring the ashes, Tyson. Let the wind do the job. “A foal was born yesterday,” I say softly.

“Oh my God, really? How cute. I can’t wait to start a new life with you, Tyson.”

“Me either.”

“Oh dear, your son smells like he needs a diaper change.”

“You got to go. All right. Some people will be coming around later. If you need to buy anything just tell them. I’ll call back tonight.”

“Okay, my darling. Take good care of yourself. Nothing is worth it when you’re not around.”

I say goodbye, put the receiver back into its cradle, and go out into the reception. Jake is propped up against the edge of his secretary’s desk and he is talking on his cellphone. When he senses my presence, he turns around. He straightens and ends his call.

“Come on. Looks like the first person you’ll be meeting is my mother.”

I hang back. “Is that a good idea?”

“Well, she wants to meet you.”

As we go down the elevator, I turn to him. “What’s your mother like?”

“She’s a true gypsy. Fiercely loyal and devoted to her family.”

“Did she sound hurt or mad when you told her about me?”

“Strangely, she was very calm about it. I was planning on telling her last. I wanted you to meet our brothers first. Shane was at her house when I called him and she absolutely insisted on meeting you.”

Jake unlocks the latest model Jaguar and I get into the passenger side.

“You said Tony butchered your horses. Do you work with horses?”

“Yes, I breed them.”

He frowns. “Ah, so you’re that famous horse breeder. A friend of mine bought a horse off you once for me. About three years ago. Her name is Millie.”

“You bought Millie?”

“Yeah, she’s in my stables right now.”

“But the paperwork said it was going to a guy called Tom Watson …”

He grins. “Yeah, the first rule of good business. Never seem to buy or own anything.”