After Jake’s bike is loaded up in the back of my truck, I hit the road in a hurry to get back home. I have too many things on my mind. I knew I wouldn’t accomplish anything by coming here, but I did at least get Jake’s bike. I feel like I’m working a cold case. In fact, the only useful piece of information I got by coming here was that I learned that there are traffic cameras in the area. I’m going to go home and hack into them, see if I can find anything that could help us out.

Jake being gone is eating at me. I can’t stand that we’ve been brought back into this shit. And at a time when Zoe needs Jake the most. She’s a good woman. She needs her soon-to-be husband, and that little girl she’s carrying is going to be needing her daddy. I missed L.J. being born, and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t regret it; I don’t want him to know that same regret.

On the drive home, my mind drifts on its own to all the time we’ve spent together over the years. I start thinking about the first time I met Zoe.

I closed the shop up a little late and went straight home. Brooklyn called earlier, talking my ear off about Jake and her new assistant hitting it off. I pulled into the driveway and walked inside to find Brooklyn in the kitchen.

I wrapped my arms around her. “Hey.”

She spun around and smacked a kiss against my lips. “Hi,” she said cheerfully when she pulled away. Her blue eyes were bloodshot and glassy and her cheeks were a burning pink color. I knew that look well. She’d been drinking.

I laughed. “What’s going on? Where are the kids?” I asked because we may have a glass of wine with dinner, but we didn’t ever really drink with them home.

She rushed around the kitchen, pouring two more glasses of wine and taking two beers out of the fridge, handing me one. “They are staying the night with my dad. My assistant and your brother are flirting like fireworks are going off out there.” She jumped up and down.

I laughed. “Are you sure? Jake’s usually shy and awkward. If he thinks he’s flirting, I’m sure he’s just making an ass out of himself.” I popped the top on my beer and took a long drink.

She nodded. “Oh, I’m sure. Zoe and I were working, and Jake stopped by. I noticed them checking one another out when they thought nobody was looking, and Jake kept giving her corny pickup lines, so I invited them both to stay for drinks and dinner. Get your brother’s beer and follow me out back. We have fondue and a fire.” She picked up both glasses of wine and rushed out the back door.

I grabbed Jake’s beer and followed her. The second I walked out, I heard a woman laughing followed by Jake’s deep chuckle. As I stepped closer, I watched as the woman latched onto Jake’s bicep, slightly squeezing and rubbing before pulling away.

I almost stopped dead in my tracks. Way to go, Jake! Now I see why Brook was so excited.

I walked up to them and handed Jake his beer.

“Thanks, brother. Have you met Zoe yet?”

He tilted his beer up and took a swig. “I haven’t had the pleasure yet.” I held out my hand. “I’m John.”

She placed her hand in mine. “Zoe.” Her eyes bounced back and forth between Jake and me. “Wow, you two are twins? Why didn’t you tell me that?” she asked Brooklyn.

Brook laughed; she’d had a little too much wine already. “I forgot! They are so different that it shows in their appearance to me. I don’t think they look anything alike.”

I looked up at her. “Yeah, you got the sexier brother,” I teased.

“I don’t know about that,” Zoe said, looking only at Jake.

I was damn near speechless. I turned to look at Jake to see his shit-eating grin. He was just as amazed with Zoe as she was with him.

“Brook, why don’t we go mix up a pitcher of margaritas?”

“Oh, that sounds good. Be right back, guys.”

We both walked into the kitchen. “Have you been out there with them all night?” I asked as I snagged the ice from the freezer.

“Yes, and it’s so fucking intense. I totally feel like the third wheel, but I can’t help it. Aren’t they adorable?” she gushed.

I chuckled. “You’re not setting up two teenagers. These are grown adults. You need to give them some space. Let them talk.”

She took down the tequila from the cabinet. “Oh, they haven’t been holding back on my account, let me tell ya…”

“No! Please don’t tell me anything that I can’t un-hear.”

I mixed up the drinks and Brooklyn placed the glasses and the pitcher on a tray for me to carry outside.

We each grabbed a glass and started drinking. Brooklyn’s eyes wouldn’t leave Jake and Zoe. It looked like she was watching a tennis match. They bounced back and forth depending on who was talking. I sat back, eating the fondue, completely uninterested in what they were even talking about. Brooklyn was far more entertaining to watch.

Many hours later, we’d made two more pitchers of margaritas. Brooklyn and I were up slowly dancing in front of the outdoor fireplace, and Jake and Zoe were sitting awfully close over in a darkened corner.

Brooklyn and I were hardly even moving. We were just holding on to one another, stealing kisses where we could.

I woke with my head pounding. I strained my eyes opened to bright light pouring into the room. I squinted against it and covered my eyes while reaching across the bed for Brook, but the bed was empty. I rolled over and fully opened my eyes. The bathroom door was ajar, giving me the perfect view of her lying on the floor, in front of the toilet, out cold.

“What the fuck is this?” someone yelled.

Who the fuck was that? It kind of sounded like Jake, but why was he here so early?

I sat up and flew out of bed toward the loud voice downstairs. I took the stairs two at a time and came to a complete stop when I saw Jake’s back. He was wearing his Minion boxers again, but based on the straps going around his back, he was also wearing a bra.

I busted out laughing, doubling over because of my pounding head.

Jake spun around, discovering I was in the room. “What the fuck happened? Why am I wearing this? Help me get it off! It’s cutting me in half!” He walked up to me and turned around so I could unfasten the bra.

I raised my hands, but they fell back down when another round of laughter racked my body.

“John, get this off of me before I fucking kill you,” he said in a serious tone.

“Okay, okay.”

I raised my hands again and wedged my fingers between his back and the tight strap. “I can’t believe I’m taking a bra off my own brother. I didn’t know you liked to play dress up, Jake.”

“Fuck off, John.”

I unsnapped the bra, and he tore his way out of the thing. It left a thick red mark around his middle.

I leaned against the wall, wiping my hand down my face because I haven’t been this hungover in years.

“What the hell happened last night? I don’t remember anything,” Jake said, pulling me away from my thoughts.

I opened my eyes and burst out laughing again.

“Ha, ha, ha,” he mocked.

I shook my head, pointing at his face while falling over to sit down on the bottom step.

“What are you laughing about now? This?” He held up the bra; it dangled off his finger at his side.

I kept shaking my head, holding my side that hurt from all the laughing. “Have you seen your face?”

“What? What’s wrong with my face?” He took a few steps over to a mirror that was hanging on the wall.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he yelled.

More laughter fell from my lips.

“Who did this to me?” He stepped back in front of me, and I got a clear view of his hooker-blue eyeshadow and red lips. He had some kind of fancy, winged eyeliner on, and bright pink blush.

“Man, that blush does not match your skin tone at all,” I said around laughs.

His brows drew together, and his jaw flexed with anger.

“What’s all the noise down here?” Brooklyn asked, walking down the stairs. She saw Jake and was consumed by her own laughter.

“What happened to you, Jake?”

He pointed at his face angrily. “You mean, you didn’t do this?”

She was laughing so hard she couldn’t talk, so she shook her head.

“Whose bra is that?” I asked.

Zoe walked into the room, and with my question, her cheeks flushed red, and she crossed her arms over her chest. We all looked at her to see she was wearing Jake’s T-shirt over her bare legs.

Brooklyn and I both gasped before we were laughing again.

“Zoe, did you do this to Jake?” Brooklyn asked.

Zoe walked deeper into the room while pushing her blonde hair away from her face. “I don’t remember anything.” She stopped at Jake’s side. “Did we…” She looked him up and down.

A knowing look crossed his face. “What? No, we couldn’t have…”

“Wait, wait, wait a minute here. Are you telling me that last night was the first time you’ve been laid in how long, and neither of you remember?” I asked, putting my arm around his neck. “Man, that’s never good.”

He brushed my arm off. “No. No, we didn’t. Right?” He squinted his eyes at Zoe.

“Mommy!” L.J. ran into the room, followed by Matthew who was carrying Jack.

“Daddy!” she screeched, reaching for me from Matthew’s arms.

I took her and turned back to the weird situation I always find myself in. Zoe had hightailed it out of the room, and Jake was standing there holding the bra behind his back with his head down so Matthew didn’t see his face.

“How were they, Dad?” Brooklyn asked, hugging L.J.

“Great, as always. We played a few games, ate a midnight snack, and slept on the couch. What the hell happened here last night?” he asked, looking at Jake.

Jake finally met his eyes. “That’s what we were just trying to figure out, sir.”

Matthew laughed as he got a full view of Jake’s face. “I don’t know if I should call you Jake or Jackie. You make one ugly woman. Do you know that?”

He tightened his lips into a straight line while nodding once.

Matthew looked at Brooklyn and pointed at Jake. “Did you do this?”

She shook her head. “I really didn’t! Why does everyone ask me that?”

He turned and looked at Jake. “Did you do this to yourself?” he whispered.

“What? No!”

Matthew held his hands up, palms facing outward. “I need to get back to my office. I’m expecting a call, and honestly, I feel a little weird standing next to you.”

I’m pulled from my thoughts when my tires hit the rumble strip on the side of the road. I laugh as I shake my head to clear it. That was one hell of a first impression. Zoe was so embarrassed that she almost didn’t come back to work. Brooklyn had to promise that we would never speak of it again. That and shit like that happens to us all of the time for some reason. She even made her feel a little better by telling her about the time that I ate beef-flavored pain pills and preceded to make an ass out of myself at a buffet. I haven’t gone to a buffet-style restaurant since.

I finally pull back up at the house and head straight to my office and sit down at the computer. I hack my way into the traffic cameras and notice, to my surprise, there is nothing. I expected to at least see the vehicle that pulled into the lot. Maybe some masked men or something. But the cameras only pick up the very corner of the lot, focusing more on the street than the surrounding areas.

“Fuck,” I mumble as I push away from the computer. I lean my head back against the chair. How in the hell am I going to get into this prison, get Knox, and get out with him without being caught?

A thought quickly crosses my mind. It’s damn near impossible, but it’s worth a shot. I pick up the phone and call Matthew.

“Hello?” he answers on the first ring.

“Good afternoon, sir. How are you doing?”

“Great. I’m in the middle of a golf tournament though, John. Is there something you need?”

“There is, I’m afraid. Shit has hit the fan again.”

I hear everything around him go quiet. “What do you mean? Are Brooklyn and the kids okay?”

“Yes, they’re fine. It’s my brother. He’s been abducted. It’s Knox, sir.”

“Knox? Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. He called us from a minimum-security prison. He’s been moved, and he wants out. He’s holding Jake for ransom. I have to break him out of prison, and Brooklyn has to find the cure to Alzheimer’s, or he’s going to kill him.”

“Shit! How do you get yourself into these messes?”

I let out a long breath. “I’m never going to escape my past completely, sir. I think we all knew it could come back to bite us in the ass.”

“What do you need from me?” he asks, trying his hardest to help.

“I’ve been doing a little research on the prison. There’s no way in. The only way I’m going to be able to pull this off is if I’m allowed inside. I need a job. I thought you could pull some strings.”

“Are you telling me you’re actually thinking about going through with this hair-brained idea?”

I shrug like he can actually see me. “It’s that or let my brother die. I’ve been out of the game so long now that I don’t know any of the current players. I have no idea who took Jake or how to find them. I hacked my way through the traffic cams, hoping to come up with something, but the trail ran cold. You know what Knox is capable of. Who’s to say he will stop at Jake? What if he gets impatient and the next person he takes is Brooklyn or one of the kids? I can’t let that happen.”

I hear his long breath. “All right, all right. I know you’re right. I’ll see what I can do. Send me all the info on the prison, and I’ll dig around and see if there is anyone in the area that owes me a favor.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“John, don’t let anything happen to my daughter or grandkids. Promise me.”

“I promise. I’d die before I let someone touch them.”