by HELEN HARDT
“God, no,” Talon said. “She’s been with us for…how long now? No, there’s not a criminal bone in that woman’s body.”
“I don’t think so either,” I said.
I turned toward footsteps.
Bryce walked into the foyer. “Hey, Talon, what’s going on?”
“Sorry,” I said to Bryce. “We’ve got some new evidence that Talon came by to talk to me about.”
“Oh, okay. Let me just get Henry, and we’ll be on our way.”
“No!” My voice sounded harsher than I intended. “I mean, don’t disturb him. In fact, why don’t you leave him here for the night?”
Bryce started laughing. “No offense, Joe, but I don’t think you know anything about kids.”
He had me there. “Then you crash here too. God knows I have the room. It’ll be fun, like old times.”
“You mean when you and I used to pass out in your barn because we were too drunk to move?” He shook his head, still laughing. “It’s not even nine o’clock yet. It’s early. Henry will be fine.”
“Bryce, I really need to talk to you.”
“Then call me later. Right now, I need to get my son home. He needs to be in his own bed.”
I sighed. What could I say? Henry was probably safe at the Simpsons’ house. After all, Bryce would be there.
“When are you moving out?” I asked abruptly.
“I don’t know. Probably in a couple days. I was able to get an apartment right on the outside of town. I figure Henry and I can stay there until I find a place to buy. Frankly, I’m getting a little sick of living with my parents. My mom treats me like I’m twelve.”
I tried not to sigh with relief. “You just say the word, bro. I will be there to help you move.”
“No need. I rented the place furnished. All I need to do is move Henry’s stuff.”
“I’ll help you with that. Can you get in tomorrow?”
“Calm down, Joe. Probably this weekend. What’s your hurry?”
I pressed my lips together. I could not tell Bryce my suspicions about his father with Talon standing right here. Talon would go crazy…and rightfully so. Right now, I had to focus on my brother. He was distraught over this new evidence. Plus, Bryce was going to be home with Henry. He wouldn’t let anything happen to his child. I knew that. I just had to make sure Henry was never left alone with his grandfather.
“So what did you want to talk to me about anyway, Joe? You said something about one of the—”
“It can wait,” I said. God, if Bryce had finished that sentence, I would’ve had to spill the beans right in front of Talon. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. I’ll just go get Henry.” Bryce left us standing in the foyer.
In a few minutes, he returned with his son, still a sleeping bundle. “See you later,” he said quietly.
“Yeah, thanks for coming over, man. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
Talon and I went into the family room. Time to open up the bar. I poured us each a drink, and then we sat down on the couch.
“I don’t even know how to approach this,” Talon said.
“I think you need to ask her. Talk to her first, before bringing the cops in.”
“Yeah, definitely.” Talon took a sip of his bourbon. “I just can’t imagine how her prints got on that card.”
I shook my head. “I sure don’t know either, but there may be a logical explanation. So you talk to her. Maybe take Jade with you. Or Marj.”
“It’s just so weird at the house right now, with Brooke there. And I love Marjorie, but Jade and I don’t get any alone time, except at night. And now this. I have to talk to my housekeeper about something really awkward.” He sighed.
“Tal, you may not solve everything that happened twenty-five years ago, but maybe you can at least find out who got in your house and left that flower for Jade. You have to follow this lead. You know that as well as I do.”
He took another sip of his drink and nodded. “I know that.”
“You want me to go with you to talk to her?”
“Yeah, maybe. I need some time to figure out what to do.”
“Understood.”
He furrowed his brow, the wrinkle on his forehead creasing. “You don’t really think Felicia could’ve had anything to do with this, do you?”
“Of course not. But we have to find out for sure.”
“God, when will this all end?”
“I don’t—” My phone buzzed.
“Go ahead and take it,” he said.
“No, I don’t have to.”
“For God’s sake, Joe, take the call. I’ve disrupted your and Ryan’s lives enough as it is.”
I grabbed my phone out of my pocket. It was a number I didn’t recognize, with the Grand Junction area code.
“Hello, Jonah Steel.”
“Jonah?”
The voice was soft, kind of parched. But it sounded an awful lot like…
“Melanie?”
Chapter Ten
Melanie
Just hearing his voice smoothed soothing lotion over my tired body and menaced mind. “Yes. It’s me. Melanie.”
“Are you all right? You haven’t been returning my calls. I’ve been worried about you.”
“I’m fine, Jonah.”
“You don’t sound fine. Where are you?”
“I’m in…the hospital.”
“What happened?”
“It’s a long story. But I’m going to be okay.”
“Are you at Valleycrest? I’m coming to see you.”
“No, it’s late. They won’t let you in.”
“They’ll let me in, by God.”
I sighed. I wanted to see him more than anything. I needed to see him, to know that he still existed in the world. Even if he could never return my feelings, I needed to touch his hard body, like a pillar of rock in the whirling tornado of my life.
“Yes,” I said, barely whispering. “Please come.”
“I’ll be there in an hour.”
I rang for my nurse and let her know I was going to have a visitor. Of course I got the standard lecture on hospital rules, but she finally relented and said she’d show my guest to my room when he arrived. I closed my eyes, picturing Jonah’s strong countenance.
I needed his strength right now. I needed him.
* * *
“Melanie?”
Something nudged my arm. I opened my eyes, and a blur stood in front of me.
Jonah.
My Jonah.
I opened my eyes wide. He was not my Jonah. At least not yet. It wasn’t like me to be so presumptuous. But after the near-death experience I’d just had, I didn’t want to waste one more moment not telling him about my feelings.
“God, Melanie, what happened? They wouldn’t tell me anything at the nurse’s station.”
I was fatigued and groggy. “Give me a minute.”
“I’m so sorry. I probably shouldn’t have woken you. But I just have to know that you’re all right.”
I fumbled for my remote control and adjusted my bed so I was sitting up. I didn’t even want to think about what I looked like. I hadn’t had a shower in over forty-eight hours, and I had been to hell and back.
No. I had not been to hell. Gina Cates had been to hell. Talon had been to hell. I had not.
Jonah was seeing me at my worst right now, and that was as good a way as any to tell whether we had a future.
“What happened to your hands, sweetheart? Why are they all bandaged up?”
“I cut them. On glass.”
His eyebrows rose. “How? How did that happen?”
I cleared my throat, which was still dry and parched. “Like I said. It’s a long story.”
He pulled up a chair next to my bed and took one of my bandaged hands in his. “Is this okay? It doesn’t hurt, does it?”
“No. It’s fine. They must be giving me lots of ibuprofen. I didn’t want any narcotics. I wanted to be awake when you…you…” I yawned.
“I’ll stay here. I’ll sit here all night if you want, if this is too much for you right now. You need to sleep, so sleep.”
“No, no. I want you here. I want to be awake. I want to look into your eyes, feel your touch. I need to know that you’re here, keeping me safe.”
“Keeping you safe? Melanie, what is this— Oh my God. I went to your loft. Your neighbor said you weren’t there when the police came. I figured you were okay. What happened?”
“I’m so sorry, Jonah. I’m so sorry I sneaked out of your house the other day. I don’t know what came over me. I was embarrassed, and a little bit frightened. But it was all so stupid.”
“It’s okay. I was angry at first, but I’m over it. I’m sure you had a good reason for leaving. But tell me what happened. Why are you here? Thank God you’re—”
“Please.” I held up a hand to stop him. “I need to say this. I didn’t have a good reason for leaving. My reasons for leaving were stupid and infantile. It was self-indulgent. I should have faced up to what we’d done, what I’d done. I was there of my own free will. I wanted you. I shouldn’t have left.”
“Look, Melanie, I accept your apology, okay? Just tell me how you ended up here in the hospital with your hands all cut up.”
“I was…attacked.”
He stood, his eyes burning. “What?”
“Please, sit down. I need to feel you next to me. I’m all right now.”
He sat back down, his demeanor still tense and rigid. “What the fuck happened, Melanie?”
“When I got back to my place, I took a shower to wash the chlorine out of my hair. While I was in the shower, an intruder entered my loft.”
“Oh my God, did he hurt you?” Rage flared in his eyes. “I’ll fucking kill him.”
I shook my head. “No. I mean, yes. He hurt me a little, but not in the way you mean.”
“If he put one bruise on your beautiful body…”
“He only kicked my ankle after I twisted it. Other than that, the only thing he did was tie me up and inject me—”
“Inject you? Inject you with what?”
“I don’t know. Something that knocked me out, or so I thought, anyway. My blood test didn’t show anything, so whatever it was left my system quickly. My guess is that it was Rohypnol.”
“Rohypnol? You got roofied?”
“Probably. We don’t know for sure. But it’s gone now.”
“God.” Jonah raked his fingers through his hair. “That’s the date-rape drug. Are you sure he didn’t…”
I shook my head. I’d wondered the same thing, but the doctor had done an examination, and there were no signs of sexual assault. Plus, I didn’t have any pain down there. “I checked out clean.”
“Thank God.” He pulled at his hair again. “I can’t believe any of this. How did you cut your hands? Is that why you’re here?”
I let out a little cough. “I’m here because…I was exposed to a lot of carbon monoxide.”
“What?”
“The man who took me, he tied me up and pushed me into a closed garage with a running car. He…” My voice shook. Tears formed in my eyes. “He wanted me to die like my patient did.”
Jonah stood again, his jawline tense. “Her parents are behind this. I’ll fucking kill them.”
“That’s my thought as well, but we don’t have any proof.”
He sat back down. “I’m so sorry. That’s not what’s important now. What’s important is that you’re okay. Tell me, sweetheart, how were you able to escape?”
In my crackling voice, I relayed the story to Jonah. Several times he tried to interrupt me, but I gestured for him not to. Finally, I said, “Somehow I remained conscious. My adrenaline was really moving. Dr. Hernandez says that although I didn’t inhale enough to kill me, I should’ve been unconscious.”
“Oh my God, baby. Oh my God.” He closed his eyes and then opened them. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“I tried to. When I was hiding in my closet. I called 9-1-1, but it was busy. Can you believe that? Busy. Anyway, after that I tried to call you. It was Tuesday evening. But you didn’t pick up.”
His eyes widened into circles. “Oh my God,” he said again. “Oh my fucking God.”
“What? What is it?”
Chapter Eleven
Jonah
The call. The call from Melanie when Talon and I were about to leave for Denver to see Wendy Madigan.
I hadn’t picked up.
I’d been angry at her for leaving.
“Oh my fucking God,” I said once more.
“What is it, Jonah?”
How could I tell her? She was lying here in a hospital bed because of me. She could be dead right now. Only her own resourcefulness had saved her. I hadn’t saved her. She had cried out for me, and I hadn’t been there for her.
And then, when I’d gone to her loft and seen the police tape… Why hadn’t I investigated further?
More guilt.
Guilt had been a way of life for me for the last twenty-five years. Why had I ever thought that could change? I had wondered why Melanie hadn’t returned any of my later calls, after I changed my mind and wanted to speak with her. It was because she hadn’t been able to. She hadn’t had her phone. She had been locked up and then forced into a garage to die.
My God, I wasn’t worthy of her.
I wasn’t worthy of anyone.
“Jonah? Will you stay with me tonight? I know that chair won’t be the most comfortable in the world, but I… I need you here.”
She didn’t need me. She wouldn’t want me there once she learned the truth. I would never be able to make this up to her. She would never forgive me.
“Yes.” I nodded. “I’ll stay.”
She smiled, and her beautiful green eyes closed.
I still held her bandaged hand, and I sat next to her. I didn’t sleep when the nurse came in to check her vitals.
I didn’t sleep at all.
* * *
She was still sleeping soundly when a nice-looking young man with dark hair came in early in the morning. “Good morning,” he said. “I’m Dr. Hernandez.”
I stood, wiping my eyes. “Jonah Steel.” I held out my hand.
“Are you a friend of Dr. Carmichael’s?”
A friend? I hoped I was more than a friend. I’d dreamed of being way more than friends, but that seemed impossible now, given my oversight. I simply nodded. “How’s she doing?”
He scanned the chart. “Everything looks good. She can probably go home today. I’d like to send in a lab tech to take some blood, just to make sure the CO is out of her system. After we get a clean check there, she can go.”
I nodded again.
“No need to wake her up just yet. She’ll wake up when the tech comes in to take her blood.”
For the third time, I nodded, and then I sat back down in my chair, my body weak with fatigue. Melanie looked like an angel sleeping. Her hair was a mess, and she wore no makeup, but she didn’t need it. She was so naturally beautiful.
I rubbed my forehead. What had I done? I rose and left the room, took the elevator down to the main floor, and got myself a strong cup of coffee. When I returned to Melanie’s room, she was awake, and the lab tech was drawing her blood.
She attempted a smile when she saw me. “Oh good, you didn’t leave.”
“I would never leave without telling you I was going. I just needed some coffee.”
“Of course. Isn’t he wonderful?” she said to the lab tech. “He stayed here with me all night in that uncomfortable chair.”
The lab tech smiled. “He’s not the first one I’ve seen do that. It’s what people do for those they care about.”
Care about… Her words sank into my head. I had grown to more than just “care about” Melanie Carmichael. Was I in love with her?
And it hit me like a weight crashing down on me.
I was.
I was in love with her.
And it was a love that would nev
er be returned. I had failed her.
I had failed her, just as I had failed Talon on that fateful day.
I was so fucking tired of failing the people I cared about. The people I loved most in the world. Was I doomed to a lifetime of failing the people I loved?
It would appear so.
“All set,” the tech said. “Just please read the label on this vial, and make sure that I have your name and date of birth correct.”
Melanie took a look and nodded.
“All right. We should have your results in soon.” She picked up her supplies and left the room.
“Thank you for staying,” Melanie said to me, smiling tiredly.
“It was the least I could do.” The very least. God, if she only knew.
“So tell me, what have you been up to for the past couple of days? I need to hear about something normal.”
I had to stop myself from laughing. Normal? My life hadn’t been normal for decades. It certainly wasn’t normal now. I had a brother who was hell-bent on finding the truth about his abductors, a housekeeper whose fingerprints were found at a crime scene in the main ranch house, a best friend whose father was probably a psycho child molester and murderer… Normal? Hell, I could use a little normal too.
But Melanie didn’t need to hear all my baggage right now. “Talon and I took a trip to Denver, the night after…”
God, why had I started out that way?
“It’s okay,” she said. “You mean the night after I left your house. The night they took me.”
I inhaled, bracing myself. “Yes. That night. We went to Denver to talk to that news correspondent we told you about, Wendy Madigan.”
“Did you find out anything new?”
We’d found out some new information that I wasn’t sure was accurate, but I didn’t want to burden Melanie with any of that. “Sweetheart, that can wait. Right now, you need to get some rest if you’re going to get out of here today.”
“I need to go to the police station when I leave. They have my purse and my cell phone. They recovered them from my loft.”
“You’re not going anywhere without me by your side today,” I said. “I’m going to take care of you.”