by HELEN HARDT
It would be so easy to walk away, to live my life. To let it all go.
I breathed in and exhaled slowly, looking my uncle straight in his blue eyes.
“Yes. I want to go there.”
Chapter Forty–Five
Melanie
I smiled as I walked out of the doctor’s office. I’d gotten a clean bill of health and another positive pregnancy test. No heartbeat for the baby yet, but I was only about five weeks pregnant. Armed with a prescription for prenatal vitamins and a copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting, I headed toward my car.
“Melanie!”
I turned. Oliver Nichols walked toward me. I hadn’t seen or heard from him since Jonah had basically kicked him out of my office several weeks ago.
Seemed like a lifetime ago.
He looked good, his auburn hair blowing slightly in the breeze. “Oliver. How are you?”
“I’m good. I stopped by your office a couple of times, but no one was there.”
“Oh.” I cleared my throat. “I’m on a leave of absence.”
“Really? Is everything okay?”
“Yes.” I really didn’t want to go into it, so I lied. “Just taking a much-needed vacation.”
“Oh. Where are you headed now? Do you have time for a quick lunch?”
I looked at my watch. I didn’t want to be rude to Oliver, but Jonah would not react well to my having lunch with him, even if it was just a friendly lunch. He’d caught Oliver kissing me in my office, and that hadn’t gone well.
“Look, Oliver—”
He shushed me with a gesture. “Melanie, I’m interested, okay? I know that Steel guy made it pretty clear you belonged to him, but from where I was standing, I never heard you say so.”
I felt my cheeks burning. “It’s just…”
“What?”
“Well, to be honest, I’m…pregnant. Jonah and I are getting married.”
“Oh.” He smiled. “I won’t say I’m not disappointed. I was hoping something might spark between us.”
“It would have been fun.” And I meant it. He and I had engaged in a hot one-nighter after medical school graduation. Then we hadn’t talked until… Well, until we’d run into each other at the coffee shop by my office several weeks ago.
“I do owe you a meal, though,” Oliver said.
“I suppose—” My phone interrupted me. I pulled it out of my purse. Talon.
Talon would never call me unless it was important.
“I’m sorry. I have to take this.”
Oliver nodded.
“Talon?” I said into the phone.
“Doc, are you still in the city?”
“Yeah. Just finished at the doctor’s. What’s up?”
“I need to see you.”
* * *
Talon sat in my office. I’d opened it up for him, even though I technically wasn’t supposed to. I’d said a quick good-bye to Oliver, promising to call him.
But I wouldn’t call him. I knew that.
“It was a weird sensation,” Talon was saying. “Actually seeing the face of one of the men who… God, it’s still so hard to form the words. Who raped me, Doc. One of the men who raped me.”
“What do you mean by ‘weird?’” I asked.
“I wasn’t frightened, exactly. I just kind of froze.”
“Sounds like a completely normal reaction.”
“I really thought I was ready to face him.”
“And you did.”
“But I ran away like a little pussy. Just like they always called me back then.”
“Look, don’t let the head games they played with you when you were a little boy affect you now. I know it’s hard, but you’re a strong, capable man now, Talon. You know that. Larry Wade can’t hurt you anymore. Neither can the other two.”
“Well, they can. They haven’t been caught yet.”
“No, they can’t. You won’t let them.”
“Just when everything was going so great. Jade and I are getting married. I thought I was ready. I really thought I was.”
“You were ready. You just didn’t stay long. Please don’t beat yourself up about this, Talon. You’ve come so far. Facing an attacker is not an easy thing for anyone, even someone as strong as you are.”
“I don’t feel very strong at the moment.”
I smiled. “Of course you are. Look how far you’ve come.”
He shook his head. “But I’m not. Not compared to Joe. He has stared down the barrel of a gun twice now. I swear he could look into the eyes of a lion attacking him and keep his cool.”
“Jonah is an amazing man. You won’t get me to disagree with that. But Talon, you’re just as amazing. Remember, your brother didn’t go through what you went through at these men’s hands.”
“He went through it in his own way.”
“He did. But not the way you went through it. Don’t try to equate the two situations because they’re very different.”
“I just wanted to…” He raked his hands through his hair. “I wanted to be strong. To face Larry. I needed to prove to myself that I was ready. Ready to marry Jade and to be…normal.”
I smiled and patted his hand. “What you’re feeling is normal, Talon. So very normal.”
“You know what I mean, Doc.”
“Yes. I do. But what is normal? You’re happy. You’re healthy. You’re in love. That’s pretty normal.”
That got a laugh out of him. “You always make everything so clear.”
“That’s my job.” I smiled.
“Sorry to interrupt your day. I should text Joe and let him know where I am. Do you have anything you need to be doing?”
I looked at my watch. “Yeah. I’m meeting Detective Lee for a drink in a half hour. She and I need to talk about what she found out from Rodney Cates. I had to leave in the middle of our conversation with him when I heard from Jonah. You want to tag along?”
“Nah, that’s okay. I’ll see if Joe’s still in town. If not, I’ll take a cab home.”
“A cab all the way to Snow Creek? That’s expensive.”
He let out a guffaw. “One day you’ll understand Steel money, Doc.”
I smiled timidly. “Maybe. I’ve always been so frugal. And you know, just because you have money doesn’t mean you should waste it.”
“Getting a ride home is hardly a waste of money, Doc. See you back at the ranch.”
* * *
Ruby sat across from me at a local bar, dressed as usual, though this time her Dockers were black, not khaki. Still the same white Oxford shirt, with only one button undone. Hair pulled back severely. Not a touch of makeup.
She was a naturally pretty woman with a wonderful figure. Better boobs than I had and curvier around the butt too. Plus a few inches shorter than I. Not nearly as gawky.
“Were you able to find out anything about the future lawmakers club?” I took a sip of my mineral water.
“He clammed up like you wouldn’t believe,” Ruby said. “Actually cried. Said they’d kill him if he said anything. Said they were into some nasty shit, but I couldn’t get him to give me any details. But I did find out one thing.”
“Yeah?”
“They had a financier. A backer. A fellow member of the club.”
My heart sank. A member of the club who had the kind of money to back their activities. Who else? “Bradford Steel.”
Chapter Forty–Six
Jonah
The guard approached us. “Time’s up.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I stood. “Can we have a few more minutes? I was just getting him to talk.”
Larry stood. “Just as well. I need to keep my big mouth shut.”
The guard led him away just as my phone buzzed. Talon. “Hey, Tal.”
“You still in town?”
“Yeah, just finishing up with Larry.”
“Good. I need a ride home.”
But I wasn’t going home. I wasn’t going anywhere without some new information. “Can
you wait an hour or so? I want to make one more stop.”
* * *
Wendy Madigan looked old and tired as she sat across from Talon and me. She was flanked by two orderlies who would be privy to our conversation, and an armed guard stood to the right. Wendy’s short hair was greasy and slicked back on her head. She looked very different than she had mere days ago.
“Hello, Joe,” she said.
At least she was in her right mind today.
“Hello, Talon.”
“Hello, Wendy,” Talon said.
“What brings you two here?” she asked.
“Information,” I said. “We need information.”
She sighed. “I’ve told you all I can.”
“The future lawmakers club. What was it about?”
“You know, you look so much like Brad, Joe.”
“So you’ve told me.”
She turned to Talon. “And you… You resemble your father, but not quite as much. It’s such a shame what happened to you.”
“Wendy, you told me that Talon was taken to punish my father. I need to know the details.” I drummed my fingers on the table.
“I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Well, you did.”
“That sounds like something I would have said to your father.”
“You did. When you thought I was him.”
She laughed. “Don’t be silly. I know who you are. Though you do look just like him.”
I heaved a sigh. “Wendy, are you saying you don’t remember holding me hostage?”
“Why would I do that?”
“It’s the reason why you’re here,” I said. “For God’s sake.”
One of the orderlies eyed me.
“Wendy,” Talon said. “We need the truth. If you can’t talk about the future lawmakers club, you need to tell us about our brother.”
“Ryan.” She closed her eyes dreamily.
“You said he’s your son,” I said. “I was six when Ryan was born. I remember our mother being pregnant. Having a big belly.”
“Those were pillows. Brad’s idea.”
“What happened? If you’re Ryan’s mother, why did you give him up?”
“Because I would do anything for Brad, and he asked me to.”
“Why didn’t you tell us about this before now?”
“I promised Brad I wouldn’t. And I’d do anything for him. How did you find out?”
“You told me. When you thought I was my father.”
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“I just need to know if it’s true. Is Ryan your son?”
“Yes. He’s my son. My beautiful son.”
“We’ll need to get a DNA test,” Talon said.
“We need to tell Ryan first.”
“I should tell him,” Wendy said. “I’m his mother.”
“You don’t go near him,” I said through clenched teeth. “We’ll take care of it.” I turned to the orderlies. “Please make sure she doesn’t contact our brother.”
“Don’t worry. She doesn’t have access to a phone.”
I sighed with relief.
“Haven’t you ever wondered where he got his creativity? From me, of course.”
“From you? You were a journalist, not an artist,” I said.
“Ah, but I could have been. I used to love to paint. They let me paint here. Would you like to see some of my work? The doctors say it’s remarkable. Genius, even.”
Ryan wasn’t a painter, but he was a master winemaker. Creative in his own right. A creative genius.
Genius.
Larry had said Wendy was a genius.
Oh, God…
“You’re telling the truth, aren’t you?” I said to her. “About Ryan?”
“Of course. I can’t lie anymore.”
Talon spoke up. “You said I was held for ransom. By some enemy of my father. Who was that enemy?”
“Oh, it could have been any of a number of people.”
“Tom Simpson and Theodore Mathias?”
“They had reason to hate your father,” Wendy said. “But neither of them was the enemy who held Talon for ransom.”
“Then who did?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I did.”
I gulped. Next to me, Talon paled and clutched at the table. I gripped his shoulder in what I hoped was a soothing gesture.
“Did you take the payment of five million dollars?”
“It was no more than I deserved. I gave your father my only child!”
Talon stood. “You bitch!”
“Easy, Tal,” I said.
He sat back down.
“You told us before, Wendy, that you didn’t know where the five-million-dollar withdrawal had gone. Why did you lie to us? Or are you lying now?”
She giggled. “It was a secret. I couldn’t tell you.”
“Why now, then?”
“Because I want to see my son.”
“You stay away from Ryan,” Talon said through gritted teeth.
“She’s locked up here,” I said. “She can’t get to him.”
“She’d better not,” Talon said. Then, to Wendy, “You’re something, aren’t you? You got Jade to believe you. You got me to believe you. Only Joe here was skeptical, and turns out he was right.” He turned to me. “You were right, Joe.”
I shook my head. “I take no pleasure in being right. This is going to kill Ryan.”
“I’d never hurt my son,” Wendy said. “Why do you think I stayed quiet and away all these years? I didn’t want to screw up his life. But he’s a very special man. He’s a child conceived in love between two people who should have been together. He’s perfect in every way.”
Talon was still gripping the table, his knuckles white. “How could you? I was a fucking kid. Do you have any idea what they did to me? What they did to Luke Walker? And all for what? Because you told them to?”
“I had nothing to do with any of the other ones,” she said. “That was all them.”
“You fucking bitch!” Talon pounded his fist on the table.
As angry as I was, I needed to keep Wendy talking to get as much information as I could. “Tal, why don’t you wait outside for a while? Cool down a little. This isn’t helping.”
“No.” He sat down. “Not only no, but hell, no. This has as much to do with me as it does with anyone else.”
I sighed and nodded. He was right about that. “All right.”
Wendy yawned. “I’m tired. I don’t think I want to talk anymore right now anyway.”
“Oh, you’re going to keep talking, bitch,” Talon bit out.
She smiled—an eerie smile, like a clown in a horror movie. “I’m done. Take me back to my room, please,” she said to the orderlies.
“Sorry, guys,” one of the orderlies said. “Looks like she’s had enough.”
I rolled my eyes. “Let’s go,” I said to Talon. I stood, walked around to where Wendy was still sitting, and, as stealthily as I could, plucked a few hairs from her head.
“Ow!”
“Sorry,” I said. “My watch got caught.” I flicked my wrist to show the guard standing to the right.
The orderlies led Wendy away.
Talon stood, his eyes glassy. “Jesus, Joe. What are we going to tell Ryan?”
“Nothing,” I said. “Nothing until we have solid proof. He’s gone thirty-two years without knowing. A little longer won’t hurt him. She can’t contact him, so we’re safe. And hopefully we’ll find out that the bitch is lying.”
“How?”
I showed him the fine hairs in my hand. “We’re going to get a lock of Ryan’s hair and have a DNA test done. If it’s negative, he never has to know.”
Chapter Forty–Seven
Melanie
Bradford Steel had been the financial backer for the future lawmakers’ misdeeds. This was going to kill Jonah.
“The most I could get out of Rodney is that the future lawmakers club was founded by my father, and it started out as a legiti
mate business idea,” Ruby said, “though he wouldn’t elaborate on what the idea was. Then things went wrong.”
“Meaning?”
“I wish I could tell you. Rodney says the three of them—my father, Simpson, and Wade—got greedy. They decided to push the law a little. Steel didn’t realize what they were doing at first and continued to back them. When he pulled out, they never forgave him. Always felt he owed them.”
“Which could have led to their abduction of Talon.”
Ruby shook her head. “I don’t think so. Those three are a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them. They would have known better than to take one of Steel’s sons.”
“That corroborates what Larry says,” I said. “But Wendy Madigan says differently.”
“From what you’ve told me, Wendy Madigan is crazy,” Ruby said. “Of course, Larry is a sociopath. So who knows which one to believe?”
“As a psychotherapist, I should have an idea.” I shook my head. “But I’m at a loss. I’ve met Larry but not Wendy. They’re both crazy.”
Ruby took a sip of her drink. “It’s a crazy situation from all angles. We already know that the three of them are pedophiles and rapists. I’m not sure how they figured all of that out and decided to act on it, but I’m betting it began with money.”
“Money?”
She nodded. “While I couldn’t get much out of my uncle, what I did glean from him was the greediness of my father, Simpson, and Wade. They didn’t grow up rich like Brad Steel did, and when he was backing them, they got used to having a windfall of cash to do what they wanted. When he cut them off, they didn’t take it well.”
“So they found another way to make money.”
“Right.”
“By sexually molesting kids?”
She shook her head. “I have a working theory.”
“Yeah?”
“There isn’t much money in molesting kids,” Ruby said. “That part of it was just for their own fucked-up amusement. But there is money in selling kids.”