and slightly tense about whatever it was he needed to tell her.
Jordan’s stomach twisted in a knot. She forced herself not to panic. Yet.
“Has he been hurt?” she asked. In the four months he’d been in prison, there already had been several altercations. Apparently, some of the other inmates at Metropolitan Correctional Center figured a millionaire computer geek would be an easy mark.
Kyle, being Kyle, assured her he could hold his own whenever Jordan asked about the fights during one of her visits. But every day since he’d begun serving his sentence, she’d worried about the moment when she got a phone call saying he’d been wrong. And if the FBI had come to her store on the night of a blizzard, whatever they had to tell her couldn’t be good.
The dark-haired man spoke for the first time. His voice was low, yet smoother than Jordan had expected given his rugged appearance.
“Your brother is fine. As far as we know, anyway.”
That was an odd thing to say. “As far as you know? You make it sound like he’s missing or something.” Jordan paused, then folded her arms across her chest. Oh . . . no. “Don’t tell me he’s escaped.”
Kyle wouldn’t be so stupid. Well, okay, once he’d been that stupid, actions that had landed him in prison in the first place, but he wouldn’t be that stupid again. That was why he’d pled guilty, after all, instead of going to trial. He’d wanted to own up to his mistakes and accept the consequences.
She knew her brother better than anyone. True, he was a genius, and assuming there was a computer anywhere within reach of the inmates, he could probably upload some code or virus or whatever that would spring open the cell doors and simultaneously release all the prisoners in a mad stampede. But Kyle wouldn’t do that. She hoped.
“Escaped? Is there something you’d like to share about your brother, Ms. Rhodes?” Agent McCall asked in an amused, perhaps mocking, tone.
Something about him rubbed her the wrong way. She felt as though she was facing off against an opponent holding a royal flush in a game of poker she didn’t realize she’d been playing. And she wasn’t in the mood to play games with the FBI right then. Or ever. They’d charged her brother to the fullest extent of the law, locked him up at MCC and treated him like a menace to society for what, in Jordan’s admittedly biased opinion, was simply a really bad mistake. (By someone with no criminal record, she noted.) It wasn’t like Kyle had killed anyone, for heaven’s sake, he’d just caused a bit of panic and mayhem. For about fifty million people.
“You said this is about my brother. How can I help you, Agent McCall?” she asked coolly.
He stepped farther into the store and leaned against the bar, seeming to make himself right at home. “Unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to fill you in on the details here. Agent Huxley and I would prefer to continue this conversation in private. At the FBI office.”
And she would prefer to say nothing at all to the FBI, if they weren’t dangling this bit about Kyle over her head. She gestured to the empty wine shop. “I’m sure whatever it is you have to say, the chardonnays will keep it confidential.”
“I never trust a chardonnay.”
“And I don’t trust the FBI.”
The words hung in the air between them. A standstill. Agent Huxley intervened. “I understand your hesitancy, Ms. Rhodes, but as Agent McCall indicated, this is a confidential matter. We have a car waiting out front and would very much appreciate it if you came with us to the FBI office. We’d be happy to explain everything there.”
She considered this. Agent Huxley at least seemed to be somewhat more amiable than his partner. “Fine. I’ll call my lawyer and have him meet us there.”
Agent McCall shook his head firmly. “No lawyers, Ms. Rhodes. Just you.”
Jordan kept her face impassive, but inwardly her frustration increased. Aside from her general dislike of the FBI because of the way they’d treated her brother, there was an element of pride here. They had come into her store, and this Nick McCall person seemed to think she should jump just because he said to.
So instead, she held her ground. “You’re going to have to do better than that, Agent McCall. You sought me out in the middle of a blizzard, which means you want something from me. Without giving me more, you’re not going to get it.”
He appeared to consider his options. Jordan got the distinct impression that one of those options involved throwing her over his shoulder and hauling her ass right out of the store. He seemed the type.
Instead, he pushed away from the bar and stepped closer to her, then closer again. He peered down at her, his brilliant green-eyed gaze unwavering. “How would you like to see your brother released from prison, Ms. Rhodes?”
Stunned by the offer, Jordan searched his eyes cautiously. She looked for any signs of deceit or trickery, although she suspected she wouldn’t see anything in Nick McCall’s eyes that he didn’t want her to.
A leap of faith. She debated whether to believe him.
“I’ll grab my coat.”