“I want to see him. Where is he?”
“In my office. I talked him into eating. I brought him back some eggs and pancakes from the fast-food place down the block.”
“Dana, let me talk to him,” Jason said.
“No. Sammy’s my brother. It’s my problem.”
“You made it mine the minute you called me. Now let me see if I can find out why he’s hiding out. It may be something he doesn’t want to involve you in.”
Even as the words came out of his mouth, Jason knew that he’d hit on the answer. But what could possibly be so bad that Sammy would fear telling Dana? Like his sister, the boy tended to think he was invincible, that he could handle anything.
Dana looked reluctant, but she finally nodded. “Jason, please don’t yell at him.”
Yelling at the kid was the least of what he had in mind, but he nodded. “Get Johnny to teach you a few punches. It’ll work off the frustration,” he suggested, squeezing her hand before he went inside.
The door to Johnny’s office was wide open and for an instant Jason panicked. What if he’d been wrong? What if Sammy had spotted them and gone out the back while they were outside? Dana would never forgive him for letting him get away. He crossed the gym in a dozen strides, then quietly stepped into the office.
Sammy was still there, the empty breakfast container shoved aside, his head on Johnny’s desk. He’d fallen asleep again. He was snoring softly. In sleep, with that crazy hank of blond hair falling over his eyes, he had the look of an innocent kid. Jason found it almost possible to believe that it really wasn’t too late to turn his life around.
He shut the door softly, then pulled up a chair and sat down between Sammy and the only escape route. He reached over and shook his shoulder. “Wake up, son.”
Sammy mumbled something, then lifted his head and stared at Jason through groggy, sleep-filled eyes. Instantly alarm filled those blue depths. He slid his chair back, glancing around frantically for a way out.
“You might as well sit back down. You’re not going anywhere.”
“That no-good, lyin’ so…” The words were tough, but the tone was halfhearted.
“Cut the crap,” Jason said. “You knew Johnny would call me. That’s why you came here, isn’t it?”
Sammy’s mouth clamped shut and his defiant expression faltered.
“What kind of trouble are you in?”
“I can handle it,” he said with one last bit of bravado.
Jason nodded and softened his tone. What was it with these Roberts siblings? Both of them had to do everything on their own. “Maybe so,” he said to Sammy. “But why not let me help if I can.”
“I don’t need help,” he insisted, then amended, “Not for me, anyway. It’s Dana.”
Jason felt his heartbeat slow. “What about Dana?” he questioned very quietly, his hands slowly clenching into fists.
“The guys who attacked her in that alley, they threatened to come after her again. They wanted to know where we lived. I got away, but I think they wanted me to. They thought I’d go home, but I saw them followin’ me. That’s why I came here. I couldn’t go back to the apartment. I was afraid they’d hurt her and I wouldn’t be able to stop them.”
Suddenly Sammy’s expression grew even more worried. “She’s okay, isn’t she? They didn’t find her?”
“She’s okay,” Jason reassured him, keeping a tight leash on his fury. This was the last straw. “She’s right outside with Johnny.”
“What are we gonna do?”
Jason had to give him credit. He sounded genuinely distressed. Maybe Sammy had grown up a little tonight, realized that there were consequences to his actions not just for him, but for his sister.
“We’re going to convince your sister that it’s time to move. With any luck we’ll have the two of you out of that apartment by the end of the day and neither of you will have to worry about those thugs again.”
Sammy looked skeptical. “I don’t think Dana’s gonna go for it. Moving costs money.”
“Money’s the least of our problem.”
Sammy managed a little half smile. “Maybe for you. But Dana worries about it a lot.”
“She won’t have to, not anymore.”
“What are you gonna do? Give her a loan? I don’t think she’ll take it.”
Jason nodded. “You’re probably right. She’s turned me down before. Think we can talk her into moving the two of you into my place?”
Sammy’s mouth dropped open. “You want us to move in with you?” His gaze narrowed speculatively. “Both of us?”
Jason chuckled. “You don’t think she’s likely to come without you, do you?”
“No, but I just can’t imagine you and me in the same house. We don’t exactly see eye to eye.”
“We both care about your sister, don’t we? Maybe we should concentrate on that. It would make your sister happy if we got along.”
“What’s your real scam?” Sammy suddenly looked very grown up. In a sober tone he demanded, “You plannin’ to marry her or somethin’?”
“The thought has crossed my mind,” Jason admitted, as much to his own astonishment as Sammy’s. “Think she’d go for it?”
Sammy seemed to consider the idea, then shook his head. “Not a chance. It doesn’t make much sense to me, but she’s got this crazy idea that she has to do everything the hard way. I don’t think marriage is in her plans.”
“Then I guess I’ll just have to change her mind,” he said, knowing that Sammy was right on target with his analysis. “First things first, though. We’ve got to convince her that this move is for your good. It’s the only way she’ll go for it.”
“Isn’t that like lyin’ or something?” Sammy asked, his expression too knowing, in Jason’s opinion.
The kid had certainly picked a fine time to develop scruples, Jason thought. “It’s not entirely a lie,” he informed Sammy. “After all it won’t hurt you to find some new friends.”
“Right,” Sammy said skeptically,
