Mark (Mallick Brothers 3)

Beating the shit out of him, more like.

"Charlie said no, but I started to throw a fit about it and then Eli stepped in and agreed to do it. So he did it. And after we learned that the cop wasn't really a cop. His loyalty was to his family. The Abruzzo family from out in Long Island."

"And?" I asked as Charlie just stayed silent, listening to whatever Lo had to say.

"And Janie went to the Grassis since this is their turf and no other mob is supposed to be stepping in. The Grassis seemed to take care of it."

"From what we can tell," Charlie said suddenly, "they did. And Lo is just warning us in the name of caution. It seems like that shit that went down with The Henchmen," he said, and I felt my stomach turn over, knowing that that shit was horrific beyond words, "might be linked back. She just wanted us to keep an eye out."

"Yeah, if only we could find the pain in the ass and fucking warn him."

That was Shane.

And it was such a Shane-thing to say that I found myself smiling despite a very serious situation.

"We're going to find him," Ryan said, tone firm. "Shane will go to his apartment. The women need to all be back at their places in case he shows up there. The rest of us will scour the town."

"I'll put calls out to all the local friendleys that can keep an eye out, Henchmen excluded since they got enough of their own shit to deal with," Charlie said, very much still in work-mode. "Scotti..."

"I'm calling now," I agreed, reaching into my back pocket to send out a massive text to all my brothers to keep an eye for him, that it was important, that he could be in danger.

"He can't go far," Hunter reasoned. "He has probation. He has to stay in town. And he will have to check in with the parole office between now and tomorrow morning. He might not want to see any of us right now, but he's not stupid. He's not a glutton for punishment. He doesn't want to go back to jail. He will check in. But we do need to find him to warn him."

"Baby," Mark said, moving toward me as I tucked the phone away so my hand was free, the other one supporting the bottom of the baby sling around my chest.

"It's fine," I said, giving him an encouraging smile. "Go. You have to go."

"I promise I will be home by bedtime, no matter what," he said, touching the top of Natalie's head.

"Mark, take as long as you..."

"I will be home to help you put the kids to bed," he cut me off, tone soft and firm at the same time. "You know finding Eli is important to me, honey. But this," he said, running a hand down my cheek, then over Nat's head, "is every bit as important. So I will see you in about four hours to help you get all of them bathed and in bed. No matter what. Okay?"

Six years and he could still make my heart do that swelling thing at times. "Okay," I agreed, leaning in when he pressed a kiss to my temple.

"Love you," he said, eyes meeting mine, showing me how much he meant it.

"I love you too. Now go. You're wasting time."

He gave me a smile and ran off toward Charlie's car, all of them piling in because they needed to leave the cars for us to get the kids home.

"Alright," Helen said as we all watched our men drive off, "how about we have a late lunch before you guys all head out?"

And that was Helen Mallick for you.

Maybe it came from over thirty years in that life. Actually, that wasn't even right. Her entire life, childhood included, was full of stress and criminal situations. But she had spent her early marriage waiting on a man who might come home bloodied and bruised or not at all while she had to keep it together for five young sons. So in this situation, she was as calm as ever as she smiled at her grandchildren and started herding them inside the house.

She would let them help too.

She was that kind of grandma.

She didn't care about all the counters, floors, and walls getting covered in food. She didn't care about having to scrub the kids off after.

She just wanted them to help, consequences be damned.

It was almost dinner time when we finally made it home. I ushered Elizabeth and Jules into their bedroom with a huge pile of toys, then put Natalie in her crib.

It was the first time all day that I could get away and breathe for a moment. So that was what I did. I walked out and fed Nugget and his coop-mate Chicka. I checked my phone, but had nothing from Mark or my brothers.