by HELEN HARDT
“That’s for sure,” Talon agreed.
My phone beeped. “Excuse me.” I took a look. “Damn.”
“What is it?” Melanie asked.
“I got another text from my stalker. Have we ruled out Brooke for sure?”
Talon nodded. “Jade searched her room. She only has the one phone, and she couldn’t have hidden it anywhere else, since she can hardly move. Someone is usually here with her. Either Marj or Felicia, since she came back to work.”
“I guess I’ll just put up with it for now.”
“Why don’t you have Mills and Johnson find out who the number belongs to?” Talon said.
“I don’t want to take them off your case. It’s way more important that we track down Tom Simpson and Nico Kostas. Or rather, Theodore Mathias.”
Talon shook his head. “Tom fucking Simpson. I can hardly believe it.”
“Believe it,” I said. “He’s way worse than Larry Wade. He’s an iceman, Tal. Nothing fazes him. He’s been hiding his true nature all these years. From his wife. From his son. It was freaking me out every time I thought of little Henry in that house with his pedophile grandfather.”
“You don’t think he would hurt an innocent baby, do you?”
“He hurt an innocent ten-year-old boy,” I said and then winced. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s old news now.” Talon shook his head. “Everyone knows. I’ve had to make my peace with that. It’s embarrassing. Humiliating. But it happened.”
“There’s no reason for either of those emotions,” Melanie said. “What happened wasn’t your fault.”
“I know that. It’s just…”
Melanie smiled. “I understand. But believe me, no one thinks any less of you. We all admire your strength.”
“She speaks the truth, Tal,” I said. “And no, I don’t think Tom hurt the baby. Evelyn was always home, and Bryce was usually there as well. So I figured that Henry was okay.”
“Oh my God,” Talon said. “Does Bryce know any of this?”
I nodded. “I told him my suspicions before I knew for sure. He wasn’t happy with me.”
“He wasn’t happy with you? What the hell would he have against you?”
“It’s his father, Tal. As far as he’s concerned, Tom was a good father. And I was very happy to hear that, because now I know he never touched Bryce and probably not Henry either.”
“True. But he had no reason to get pissed off at you.”
I took a drink of coffee. “He’ll come around. I have faith in our friendship. Especially now that we have proof. We just need to find the bastards.”
My phone buzzed again, this time with a call. I frowned. “I don’t recognize the number. Do you mind?”
“Of course not,” Talon said.
Melanie shook her head.
“Jonah Steel,” I said into the phone.
“Mr. Steel, this is Officer Jones in Murphy. We need you to come back in for questioning and a blood test.”
“A blood test? What the hell for?”
“To check your DNA.”
“And again, what the hell for?”
“Well…” Jones cleared his throat. “The man you brought in, Colin Morse? He…uh…he says you’re the one who raped him.”
I dropped the phone.
That asshole.
“What is it?” Melanie asked, stroking my arm.
I pulled away from her. My mind raged in an angry red haze. I had saved that shithead’s life, and this was how he repaid me?
I picked up the phone and power walked into the foyer. “What? That’s a fucking lie,” I yelled into the phone.
“We have to explore all evidence, Mr. Steel. We’re just doing our jobs.”
I clenched the phone in my hand. “I can’t believe this. You can all go to hell.”
“Mr. Steel, if you don’t cooperate, we’ll get a warrant and force you to take the test. Do you want that?”
“You want my blood, motherfucker? You come and get it.” I ended the call and threw the phone onto the floor.
Melanie rushed toward me, her green eyes wide. “Jonah?”
“Leave me alone.” I nudged away from her.
“Hey, Joe,” Talon said. “That’s not like you. What the hell is wrong?”
“Nothing.” How could I say this to the brother and woman that I loved?
My phone beeped again. I picked it up. It was still working, thanks to the case I used. Jesus Christ. Another text from the stalker.
If I can’t have you, no one will.
Chapter Thirteen
Melanie
Jonah was walled off all of a sudden. I couldn’t get near him. Physically, I was standing two feet away from him, but emotionally, he was miles away.
“Did you get another text?” I asked.
He didn’t answer. He shoved his phone into his back pocket and then raked his fingers through his disheveled hair.
“Joe, man, what’s going on?” Talon approached him.
“Back off, Talon.” Jonah’s eyes were dark and angry.
“Please.” I edged toward him. “Who was that? What did you mean by telling him to take your blood?”
“I have to get out of here.” He turned to Talon. “Can you see that she gets home safely?”
“Of course, but Joe, you have to tell us what’s going on.”
“I’ve got nothing else to say.” He stomped out, his cowboy boots thudding out of the kitchen, across the marble-tiled foyer, and out the door of Talon’s ranch house.
My heart thumped wildly. Something wasn’t right. Who had made that phone call?
“You all right, Doc?” Talon asked.
And then I realized I was shaking. I forced myself to calm down. “Yes. I think so. I’m just…worried about him. What made him act like that?”
“I don’t know. But Joe gets that way sometimes. He gets stuck in his own head and won’t let anyone in. We used to call it his ‘dark mood’ when we were kids.”
Dark?
I knew he had a darkness locked within him, but I always thought it had more to do with his sexual preferences. This wasn’t sexual at all. This was him retreating inside himself. And why? That’s what I needed to find out.
“Tell me more about his ‘dark mood’ when you were younger,” I said to Talon.
“I don’t know if I should. I mean, he never swore me to confidence or anything, but it’s not something Ry and I ever talk about. Then, after I got taken, I was the one who was always in a blackish mood, so I didn’t notice Joe’s as much, but Ry always said it was still there.”
“Look,” I said. “I love your brother. More than I’ve ever loved anyone. I want to help him. So please. Tell me.”
Talon sighed. “I hope my brother knows how lucky he is to have you.”
Normally a comment like that would have made me smile, but right now I was too worried about Jonah. “I don’t know what he’s thinking. That’s why I need you to tell me what you know.”
Talon cleared his throat. “It was actually our mother who coined the term ‘dark mood.’ There were times when Joe would go off by himself. We never knew why, and he would eventually return. And while I’m speaking somewhat metaphorically, he also physically left. Sometimes he would camp out in the pastures for a few days, only coming in for meals. He still did his duty. He was responsible to a T. But he wouldn’t talk.”
“It almost sounds like he was suffering from depression, although the fact that he still did his duty around the ranch wouldn’t seem to indicate that.”
“Oh?”
I nodded. “Depression can be very debilitating. In its severe form, a person can hardly get out of bed in the morning. They find no joy in anything, even things they normally enjoy.”
“That sounds kind of like Joe. But yeah, he never shirked his duties. And as an adult, he’s never avoided them either.”
“Tell me what you remember.”
“Well, I don’t really remember. But Ryan told me that he got really
bad after I got taken. According to Ryan, Joe didn’t talk for over a week and a half at one point. It was summer, so there was no school. He did all his work around the ranch, but he had completely isolated himself.”
The guilt. The guilt was eating him up, but had he had these “dark moods” before Talon had been taken?
“You think Ryan would talk to me about that time?”
“You’d have to ask him, but I don’t see why not. He loves his brother, just like I do, and if you can help him, I’m sure he’d be up for it.”
“What about before you were taken?”
“Yeah. It would happen every now and then, for no reason.”
“Did your mother explain anything else about these moods?”
Talon shook his head. “We were kids, Doc. We just accepted what she told us.”
“I understand. So what happened in the days before you were taken?”
“Like I said, he would just go inside himself for a day or two. Usually no longer than that. He wouldn’t talk. He spent his time alone in his room, doing God knows what. My mother told us not to bother him.”
“Yet he never shirked his duties.”
“Nope. Never. Joe was about as responsible as they came.”
“Tell me, did your mother ever have these same kind of moods?”
“Not that I remember, but Wendy Madigan did tell Joe and me that our mother was mentally ill. I look back, and I realize that must have been the case. Mentally fit people don’t normally commit suicide.”
“Do you think your mother had mental problems before your abduction?”
“The three of us always thought she killed herself because she couldn’t deal with what had happened to me and almost losing Marj as a result. But Wendy Madigan insists that she had been having mental issues long before then, and she’s a respected newswoman. Though I know Joe has his doubts about that.”
My ears perked up. “What do you mean he has doubts?”
“When we went to see Wendy Madigan a few weeks ago, she told us some stuff that was in direct conflict with what Larry Wade had said. Now personally, I think a newswoman’s word trumps a criminal psychopath’s word. But Joe’s not buying it.”
“I know Jonah wants to look into the Wendy Madigan situation further,” I said. “But the point I was getting at is that depression is often hereditary. If your mother suffered, that could explain why Jonah suffers from depression.”
“So you think it is depression?”
“He would need a full psychological work-up for me to make that assessment. The good news is, even if it is depression, I don’t think it’s severe. Otherwise he wouldn’t be able to keep working.”
“Please, Doc. Can you help him? I don’t want him suffering. I’m so tired of everyone suffering because of me.”
“Talon, if Jonah is suffering from depression, it’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault. It’s his body chemistry, nothing more. He probably inherited it from your mother. Be thankful you and Ryan didn’t.”
“I’m not so sure I didn’t. Remember, there was a time when I wanted to get my ass shot off.”
“Your depression was situational, due to what happened to you. I’m assuming you didn’t have a history of dark moods before that?”
He shook his head. “No. I was a pretty happy kid.”
“Exactly. Now that you’re working through what happened to you and the consequences of it, you no longer feel that way.”
“No, I sure don’t.”
I succumbed to a small smile. Knowing Talon was healing made me so happy, but knowing Jonah was suffering nearly negated all of it.
“Talon,” I said, my voice serious, “you don’t think he would harm himself, do you?”
“No. He never has. And whatever that phone call was about, you know I will always have his back.”
Whatever was going on with Jonah, the phone call had been the catalyst. Something about his blood. I ached to call him, to help him, but I wasn’t sure if that was the direction to go. Still, he needed to know I was here for him.
“I’m going to call him. He may not answer, but I want him to know we’re worried about him. Then, would you drive me home?”
“Sure.”
I retrieved my phone and made the call. As I suspected, I got his voice mail.
“Jonah, it’s me. I don’t know what’s going on, but Talon and I are worried about you. Please call me. I love you.”
Chapter Fourteen
Jonah
I skidded into a parking spot at the hospital where that shithead Colin Morse was. I should have fucking left him in that basement to rot. This was my thanks for being a good Samaritan?
No more.
From now on, I’d let the darkness that I kept at bay take center stage. I was tired of this shit. At times, I held on by only a single thread. A line so thin that it was imperceptible. But I held on. I didn’t let the darkness take me.
Until now.
I swiped my hand over the Glock I had hidden in my ankle holster. I possessed a concealed carry permit, but I hardly ever used it. I hadn’t even stopped to arm myself before I went after Tom Simpson yesterday. No, I’d been too focused on my ultimate goal.
Right now, though, I was ready to snap.
How much was I supposed to take?
My phone buzzed.
Goddamnit! Probably another text from my psycho stalker. I threw the phone on the passenger seat. Screw it.
I opened the door but then looked at the phone again. What if something was wrong?
A voice mail. I keyed in my code and listened.
“Jonah, it’s me. I don’t know what’s going on, but Talon and I are worried about you. Please call me. I love you.”
Melanie.
Melanie loved me.
I sighed as I unclasped my ankle holster and locked the gun in the glove compartment. What had I been thinking? I’d gone dark. I’d told her to leave me alone. The most wonderful woman in the world loved me, and I’d told her to leave me alone.
This wasn’t me. I couldn’t let it be me.
Had I really thought I was going to walk into a hospital and shoot a patient? Thank God for Melanie. What if she hadn’t called me?
I’d been ready to kill before, and something always happened to talk me out of it.
Or maybe I was talking myself out of it.
Who the fuck knew?
I took a deep breath and counted to ten. Then I got out of the car and walked into the hospital. Officer Jones had told me to meet him in the ICU waiting area.
Jones approached me. “Mr. Steel.”
“Here I am.” I patted my arm. “And here’s a good vein. I assure you that you won’t find any trace of me anywhere near Colin. At least not where you’re looking for it.”
Another man approached, wearing a suit and tie. “Mr. Steel,” he said.
“Yeah? Who are you?”
“I’m Ted Morse. Colin’s father. Might I have a word?”
“I have nothing to say to you.” I turned back to Officer Jones.
“Please. I think you’ll be interested in what I have to say.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Please excuse me,” I said to Jones.
I followed him out of the waiting area and into a hallway. “What is it?”
“I have a proposition for you. One I think you’ll find intriguing.”
“I doubt it.”
“My son is willing to drop his allegations against you.”
“Great. I didn’t do a damned thing except save his life, so let’s get moving, then.”
“He says otherwise. However, I think he could be persuaded to change his story for a price.”
“Of course. A price. I’m innocent here. You and he both know that.”
“I know nothing of the sort. I wasn’t there.”
“He was. And I know the guys who tortured him. Their names are Tom Simpson and Theodore Mathias. That’s who you should be after.”
“Nonetheless, he swears it was you.”
“He’s lying.”
“Perhaps. It doesn’t really matter. What matters is that he is the victim here, and he swears you are the perpetrator. But I guarantee you he’ll recant for five million dollars.”
“Are you out of your fucking mind?”
“That’s chump change to you.”
“So what? I didn’t do anything to him. I saved him!”
“Consider it a payment for his suffering. He says both you and your brothers threatened him the day before he was taken. In fact, your brother Talon beat him bloody.”
“Talon went to court for that. He’s paid his debt.”
“My son wanted to be in court that day, to tell his side of the story. But he wasn’t. And who would have the most to gain by him not being there? Your brother. And you.”
Oh my God. Was this truly happening?
“Look, we had nothing to do with that.”
“As I understand it, only Talon has an alibi. Jade. And that’s sketchy, given her history with Colin. But you and your brother Ryan have no alibi for your whereabouts after you left Colin that night. For the five mil, this all goes away.”
“This is all ridiculous. All I need to do is have the stupid DNA test and you’ll find out I’m innocent.”
“Are you sure about that?” His eyes glinted with slime.
What the fuck? Was he trying to frame me? There was no way any trace of my DNA could be found anywhere near Colin’s private parts.
Would it be easier to just pay him off? I could afford it.
Then—
“Wait a goddamned minute. I want to talk to your son.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible. Only family can see him.”
“This isn’t his idea at all, is it? He never told anyone that I raped him. You made that up to extort money from me. He knows I saved him.”
“Mr. Steel—”
“You are a goddamned piece of work, Morse. I’ll tell you the same thing I told Jones when he called me. You want my blood? Come here and take it.” I glared at him.
He backed away slowly.
“You know what my brother did to your son, and that was only because Talon saw Colin kissing his woman. Let me tell you something. I’m way meaner than my brother could ever hope to be. What do you think I could do to a guy who’s trying to frame me for kidnapping and rape?”