by HELEN HARDT
“It’s pretty simple. The club was exactly what it says it was. For future lawmakers. People who wanted to go into law, whether as an attorney, or legislator, or lobbyist. Politicians.”
“Doesn’t it seem a little strange that three of these people are criminals? We already have Larry Wade in custody.”
“Larry Wade is a creep.”
“I can’t fault your observation. Why were you in the club?”
“None of your damned business.”
“I think it is. You’re a linguistics professor. You didn’t go into lawmaking of any kind.”
“I don’t have to tell you anything.”
Ruby looked at her chunky black watch. “I suppose you don’t. But I’m not leaving here without what I came for, and I don’t have anywhere to be. Do you, Melanie?”
“No.” I gathered my courage and looked Rodney Cates in his eyes. “I don’t have anywhere to be. You made sure of that.”
“Look, you let my daughter die. I was well within my rights to file a grievance and a lawsuit against you.”
“We’re actually not here to talk about that,” Ruby said. “We’re here to find out the link between Larry Wade, Tom Simpson, and Theodore Mathias. They have obviously known each other for a long time, and they got into some really bad shit. You’re going to tell me why.”
Rodney started to tremble. “I can’t.”
“Why the hell not?”
“They’ll kill me.”
Now we were getting somewhere. It was time for me to bring in my psychological expertise.
“Look, Dr. Cates,” I said. “I know what you think of me. You’re wrong, but I understand why you think it. Right now Jonah Steel is missing. We’re pretty sure that some members of this club are responsible.”
“I don’t have anything against the Steels, except for the fact that one of them barged in here recently with you in tow, Doctor.”
“Jonah had his reasons.”
“I’m sure he thought he did. Didn’t stop me from having to replace the door.”
“He paid for that door and then some. Right now he is missing, and we’re worried about him.”
“He’s getting what he deserves.”
“I thought you just said you didn’t have anything against the Steels.”
“I don’t. Except for that one.”
“Rodney,” Ruby said, pulling her bad cop routine. “I’m about this close”—she gestured with two fingers—“to dragging you down to the station. In fact, I’m thinking I might have you arrested.”
“What for?”
“For not cooperating with an investigation. We have a missing person here. This is serious business.”
“For God’s sake. What do you want to know about that stupid club?”
“What it was. What it truly was,” Ruby said, putting her feet on the table. “And I have all fucking day, Uncle.”
As I prepared to hear what Rodney Cates would say, my phone buzzed.
Chapter Thirty–Eight
Jonah
The hospital no longer had a pay phone, but since I didn’t have my wallet, I wouldn’t have been able to pay for a call anyway. The doctor let me go into his office and use his phone.
I needed to call someone to pick me up, probably Talon or Ryan. But first, I had to call Melanie and let her know I was all right.
I dialed the number. No response.
“Damn,” I said aloud.
I tried again. This time I got a “Hello?”
“Melanie?”
“Jonah! Where are you? Are you all right?”
“I’m okay, sweetheart. It’s a long story. I’m at Valleycrest.”
“The hospital? What’s wrong? Oh my God.”
“Baby, calm down. I’ll tell you everything.”
“I’m here in the city, Jonah. I’ll come to you. I can be there quickly.”
“What are you doing in the city?”
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you when I get there.”
* * *
I was sitting in the waiting area when Melanie shot through the door to the emergency room about fifteen minutes later. She ran straight to me and launched herself into my waiting arms.
“I’ve been so worried. Where have you been? What happened to you?”
“I’ll tell you everything, baby, but first let’s get out of here. I want to go home.”
After we’d gotten confirmation that Talon and Ryan were fine and were heading back to the ranch, we got on our way as well. Melanie insisted on driving, even though I felt fine. As we drove, I told her what had happened with Wendy Madigan.
“You were right,” she said. “You were right to be suspicious of her.”
“You don’t know how right.”
“What else happened?”
“She claimed that she…” How could I even say this? Telling Melanie would somehow make it real.
“She claimed what?”
I sighed. “Melanie, she claimed that she is Ryan’s mother.”
Melanie dropped her mouth open. “What?”
“I know. It’s hard to believe. She’s probably lying. But damn, what she said made some sense. I don’t want to believe it, but I’ll find the truth somehow. I can’t tell Ryan until I know for sure.”
“I can’t imagine that your mother would’ve allowed your father to raise a bastard son in her home.”
“That was my first thought as well, but there’s no denying my father was the boss. I’ve told you before what a sexist my father was. He kept my mother in the house, doing wifely things. She never fought him on anything. No one ever fought him until Marjorie got old enough to help on the ranch. She let him have it, and my father finally relented. She claimed she was as good as any boy, and she was right.”
“Still, it’s hard to believe that your mother would be willing to raise a child that wasn’t hers.” Melanie bit her lip. “Besides, didn’t Marj and Jade find all of your birth certificates? I assume Ryan’s showed the same mother and father as the rest of yours did.”
“Yeah, they did. But we already know that my mother’s birth certificate has been tampered with, changing her maiden name to Warren, when her real name was Wade. Whoever did that could have easily tampered with Ryan’s as well, putting my mother’s name on the certificate.”
She nodded.
“Somehow, someone hacked into whatever database they needed at the time. I mean, look at what they did just recently. Changing Larry’s fingerprints in the attorney database to whoever’s fingerprints were on that damned business card we found in Jade’s room. These aren’t your garden-variety hackers. It’s almost as if…”
“What?” she asked.
“I just can’t wrap my mind around it. Tom Simpson or Larry Wade or the other one… They can’t have that kind of knowledge.”
“It’s unlikely. But maybe. Or maybe they hired someone to do it for them.”
“Hackers of that caliber cost a lot of money, Melanie. Look at Mills and Johnson.”
She nodded again. “You don’t think…”
“That Mills and Johnson are working for Simpson and Mathias?” I shook my head. “No. I’m pretty sure they aren’t. I mean, it was the police who referred us to them.”
“That doesn’t always mean anything,” she said. “Tom Simpson had been a respected man in Snow Creek, and look who he turned out to be.”
I raised my eyebrows. Melanie had a point. A good point.
And speaking of Tom Simpson…
I owed Bryce a phone call. Of course, he might not answer. Who could blame him? But at this point, I could back up my claim. I wasn’t looking forward to telling my best friend that I now had proof that his father was a psychopathic iceman.
After we arrived home and let Lucy out, my phone buzzed in my back pocket. Speak of the devil. I looked at Melanie. “You mind? It’s Bryce.”
“Of course not. But are you sure you’re up to talking to him right now?”
“I’ll be fine. I need to see what he
wants.” I put the phone to my ear. “Hey, Bryce.”
“Hey, Joe.” His voice cracked.
“What’s up?”
“God… Where to start? I guess I’ll just start with this. I’m sorry, man.”
“You don’t have anything to be sorry about,” I said.
“But I do. I got some disturbing news from those PIs I hired. And I have only one question for you.”
“What’s that?”
“Why the hell didn’t you come to me, man? I had to hear this from PIs, when you were directly involved.”
I swallowed. “Hey, the way our last conversation went… Plus, I’ve been a little busy. I was kidnapped by a crazy woman.”
Bryce gasped through the phone. “What?”
“I’m good. I’m okay. It’s a long fucking story, man.”
“Well, when we’re both feeling better, let’s get together for drinks. For now, though… God, Joe, what the hell am I supposed to tell my mother?”
I sighed. “Just tell her the truth. There’s not much else you can do. At least she’ll know something so she can stop worrying about where he is.”
“It’s just so fucking unreal. How could I have lived with this man for the better part of my life and not know who he was? And my mother? How…”
“Look, I hear you. I just found out that my own father probably isn’t who I thought he was either. He’s dead, so I may never be able to figure it out. People hide things, Bryce. My family was great at it. They hid what happened to Talon. They hid the fact that my mom was related to Larry Wade. And now…” I couldn’t form the words. I had been about to spill the beans about Ryan’s possible parentage. No way could I do that until I had solid proof. And Ryan would have to be the first to hear it from my lips.
“Have you heard anything about Colin Morse?” Bryce asked. “How is he doing?”
Damn. I had all but forgotten about Jade’s ex-fiancé. So much else had been going on. “I haven’t checked in on him in a few days, but I will. I’ll let you know.”
“Did my father…rape him?”
“I can’t beat around the bush on this, Bryce. Yes. In all likelihood, your father raped him. I’m pretty sure Theodore Mathias did as well.”
“Who’s Theodore Mathias?”
“Boy, we do have a lot to catch up on.”
“You want to go for that drink now?” Bryce asked.
“I can’t. I was drugged, and it’s still in my system a little bit. I don’t want to add any alcohol.”
“Damn, Joe, what the hell is going on?”
“I told you. I was kidnapped.”
“By whom?”
“Wendy Madigan.”
“The newswoman?”
“Yes. The newswoman. And apparently my father’s mistress.”
“No way. Your father would never—”
“Stop right there. That’s what you told me about your father. Remember?”
“You’re right. Maybe neither of our fathers were who we thought they were.” He cleared his throat. “Joe, I’m scared. I mean, I’ve got his psychopathic DNA in my genes.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“Look, my mother was mentally ill, and God knows who my father was at this point. DNA has nothing to do with who we are.”
“How can you say that?”
I stayed silent. How could I say that? For all I knew, one day I would snap like my mother had. And Bryce? But I would appease him. At least until I knew what I was talking about. “Look, your dad was involved in this shit when he was way younger than you are now. You’re a good man, Bryce. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“If it’ll make you feel better, go have a psychological evaluation.”
I’d be doing that myself. Luckily I had my own live-in psychotherapist standing right next to me.
“Look, man, I need to run. Are you going to be okay?”
“It’s just so much to handle,” Bryce said.
“It is. But I’m here for you. Always. We’ll get together soon enough for that drink. I have a whole shitload of other stuff to tell you.”
“Yeah. All right. Take care of yourself, Joe.”
“You too, buddy.” I ended the call and turned to Melanie.
“Go downstairs. Now.”
Chapter Thirty–Nine
Melanie
I arched my eyebrows at Jonah. “Are you sure you’re ready for this right now?”
He regarded me sternly, his dark eyes afire. “Don’t question me. I said get downstairs. Now.”
I wanted to please him. More than anything I did. But right now I was still consumed with worry over him, plus I wanted to check in with Ruby. I had left her at Rodney Cates’s house after she assured me she would be fine. She was armed and a trained police officer, but still, I was a bit worried. I hadn’t been able to stick around to hear what Rodney was going to tell her. It had been more important for me to go to Jonah.
I opened my mouth to argue with Jonah again, but his eyes told me he was not about to take no for an answer.
I was determined to please him, and I knew he would never harm me. So I would do as he asked. He needed me, and I would be there for him.
I turned toward the door to the basement.
His deep, dark voice invaded my thoughts. “Be naked when I get down there. Kneeling by the bed.”
Without looking back at him, I nodded and continued toward the door.
I walked down the stairs slowly and flipped on the light switch in the rec room. Again, slowly, I walked toward the closed door to the dungeon and opened it.
“Oh!”
Lavender buds were spread over the bed, and a plant sat on the table next to the bed. I inhaled the fragrant scent. He had done this for me after our last encounter, to make the room better for me. My God, I loved him so much.
A lavender pillar candle sat on the table next to the bed. Two tapers sat next to it.
My nipples tightened. Was he planning to use the candles on me? The idea of warm wax dribbling over my nipples…
Would it be too hot?
Or would it be warm and sensual?
I secretly hoped it would be a combination of both.
I removed my clothes, remembering his order, and set them on a settee at the foot of the bed. I hid my beige cotton panties under my jeans. He’d told me never to wear them in this room. I hadn’t meant to disobey, but I hadn’t exactly had the chance to go shopping for new underwear either. He’d said he’d make sure I had plenty of new stuff, but then he had disappeared.
Once naked, I knelt at the side of the bed. I didn’t know how long it would take Jonah to come down, but he was clearly in a mood to take control. It made perfect sense. He had just been in a situation where he had no control. Now he needed to exert it.
And I would let him.
I didn’t turn when I felt his footsteps jar the floor. He’d told me to kneel, and I would do so until otherwise instructed.
“Do you like the lavender, Melanie?”
I still did not turn. “I love it. Thank you, Jonah.”
His fingers tangled in my hair. “You’re welcome.”
Still, I did not turn.
“Do you have any idea how beautiful you look right now? Kneeling, ready to do whatever I ask of you? Your lovely blond hair flowing down toward the small of your back? Your creamy shoulders, the swell of your hips, the beautiful cleavage of your ass. You’re stunning.”
I bit my lip. “Thank you.”
The word “sir” sat right on my tongue. He had never asked me to call him “sir,” but I had done some research on Dominant and submissive relationships. Most Dominants required their subs to address them as “sir” during play. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but at the moment, saying it felt natural. Still, I would wait until instructed to do so.
“You may rise, Melanie. Turn to face me.”
I complied, the soft fibers o
f the carpet making an indentation on my knees. I turned to face my lover. He had already taken off his shirt, his boots, and socks. He stood, wearing only his jeans, his bronze chest glowing, the musculature of his abdomen a beauty to behold.
“We haven’t talked about a safe word yet,” he said.
I’d read about safe words. Most people in these types of relationships had them.
“I want you to say ‘red’ if you want me to stop. Like a red traffic light.”
I nodded.
“Say ‘yellow’ if you’re getting a little uncomfortable but you don’t want me to stop yet. Like a yellow light. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Good.” He cupped my cheek, thumbing it lovingly. “Now, remove my jeans, Melanie. Then kneel and suck my cock.”
I looked down and fumbled with his belt.
He touched my forearm. “Look into my eyes. Look into my eyes as you undress me.”
Looking into his eyes didn’t seem like a submissive thing to do, but he was the boss. I glued my gaze to his, the smoke in his deep, dark eyes heating me. My fingers trembled slightly as I unbuckled his belt and then unzipped his jeans. I slid them over his hips, following with his boxer briefs.
His cock, so large and majestic, jutted out at me, and a pearl of pre-cum glistened on the tip. I licked it off of him, letting the saltiness sit on my tongue. I inhaled. So musky and masculine, so spicy and perfect. I stuck my tongue out again, teasing the head of his cock.
“You’re so beautiful, Jonah,” I said. And then I gasped. Was I allowed to speak?
He did not berate me. “You’re beautiful too, Melanie, but never so beautiful as when those ruby lips are around my cock.” He grabbed the back of my head, taking a fistful of my blond hair. “Suck me. Suck me hard.”
I had sucked his cock many times before, but his size was always hard to take. Still, I wanted to please him more than anything, so I wrapped my lips over his engorged shaft.
I slid my lips forward until the head of his cock nudged the back of my throat. Still I was only little more than halfway over his length. I would have to get better at this.