Chapter 26

“You look okay,” Jack said. He grabbed my chin with his free hand and raised my face up to the hall light. “No bruises.” He was slurring his words a bit. “But you’re white as chalk. Sit down.” He looked over my shoulder at Amadeo. “You must be the grandson. Amadeus, right?”

“Amadeo,” Amadeo corrected him a little uneasily. “Hi, Jack.”

I bent to Jack’s ear. “Are you drunk?”

Jack went to sit in the armchair, spilling his drink over his fingers as he fell back against the seat. “Sit down, you two.” He slammed his glass down and grabbed the Red Label bottle off the coffee table. “Grab some glasses, Sebastien. Let’s make a toast to you surviving a violent home intrusion.”

“Sorry about this,” I muttered, looking over at Amadeo. “I don’t know why he’s like this.”

“He’s obviously upset,” Amadeo whispered, under a breath so as to avoid Jack hearing. “I should go.”

“Sit down, you two,” Jack said, smiling wanly.

But I could see he was obviously fighting back wild and intense feelings.