by HELEN HARDT
“You’re no bother. What’s up, Ruby?”
“I got a weird text today. Freaked me out something awful, and in my line of work, I’m not easily freaked out.”
“Who was it from?”
“That’s just it. I don’t know. But if I had to wager a guess, I’d say Wendy Madigan.”
Silence. Then, “What did the text say?”
“It said, ‘Stay the fuck away from my son, bitch.’”
“Wow.”
“You know Marjorie contacted me, right?”
She sighed. “Yeah. Jade and I disagree with how they’re handling this.”
“She told me. I’m in your camp. Did you guys ever find out anything about the number that Ryan was getting calls from? You know, from the woman claiming to be his mother?”
“No. We’ve been trying to get in touch with Trevor Mills since we returned from Jamaica, but he hasn’t been answering.”
“I’m at the office now, running a check on this number. I’ll forward it to you if you want to look into it.”
“Yeah. Please do. Jonah and Talon will want to know about this.”
“And Ryan?”
She sighed. “His siblings still think it’s best to keep him in the dark. I don’t agree, but what can I do?”
My clutch was burning a hole on my desk where it sat. I could almost see it pulse with the plastic bag containing Ryan’s hair.
My heart raced.
I was a cop. I had made the truth my life. And here I was, holding a piece of evidence that could lead the Steel family to the truth.
But I couldn’t betray Ryan.
I just couldn’t.
But I could have the DNA extracted from the hair myself…
If I could get a hair from one of his brothers or from Marjorie, I could have them compared. That would show whether they were full-blooded siblings. Marjorie would gladly volunteer her hair.
God, what was I thinking?
“Ryan’s here now, in the kitchen with the others,” Melanie was saying. “He seems to be under the impression that you’re lying to him.”
“What? I didn’t. Well, I did, but then I retracted it. I told him I needed to leave this morning for work. But he didn’t believe me, so I said it was something unofficial. I could hardly tell him about the text. That would just worry him.” And then I laughed out loud. “Christ, did I just say that? Here I am, trying to convince you to convince Jonah and Talon that the right thing to do is let Ryan in on all of this, yet I kept this text from him.”
“You didn’t want to hurt him or worry him,” Melanie said. “Believe me, we all understand that. I’ve tried to convince them. Jade too. We just haven’t been successful. He’s their baby brother. They want to protect him, and I can’t blame them for that.”
The plastic bag containing Ryan’s hair pulsed harder, almost with a heartbeat thud now.
Why had I taken that goddamned hair?
And I made a spur-of-the-moment decision. He already thought I was lying to him. What if the test proved he wasn’t Wendy’s son? Then he’d be spared any pain.
If I had the slightest chance of sparing Ryan pain, I would do it. I’d give Marjorie the strand of hair.
Even if it meant losing Ryan.
* * *
A half hour later, I had called Marjorie and asked her to meet me at the station. I had also traced the number of the text to a cell phone registered to a Mary Moon, who just happened to be an orderly at the psych lockup where Wendy Madigan was currently being held. Shocking.
Somehow, Wendy had stolen Ms. Moon’s phone and sent the text. I made a quick call to the detention center and alerted them that Wendy was stealing phones and that they needed to up their security.
I wouldn’t hold my breath, though. The facility was underfunded, and the staff was mostly apathetic. I sighed. From what I knew, apathy was not a good match for Wendy Madigan. Melanie had told me that she was some kind of genius, according to Larry Wade. Cunning and shrewd. Crazy as a loon, but brilliant. A lethal combination.
Whether it was true or not, she thought she was Ryan Steel’s mother.
And a mother always protected her young.
I shook my head. I’d get to the bottom of this one way or another. I just hoped it wouldn’t cost me—
My phone vibrated. Marjorie was downstairs. I buzzed her up.
She brought with her the hair Jonah had taken from Wendy Madigan’s head and also hairs from her, Talon, and Jonah for comparison. “We decided we want to find out once and for all who is who,” she said. “Here’s hoping Tal, Joe, and I have the same mother. I know I’m her daughter. I’m the only one who looks anything like her.”
“The lab is closed on the weekends,” I said, “but I’ll call the tech I use. He’s usually agreeable to coming in and getting things done.”
“Be sure to tell him we’ll make it worth his while.” She patted her purse. “I brought ten grand in cash if he can get results in twelve hours.”
I stopped my eyes from widening. “It may take some more time. Blood or saliva is the best.”
“Unfortunately, there was no way to get any of Wendy’s blood or saliva. Though I’m sure Talon and Joe would have liked to get her blood.”
That actually made me smile. I gave my tech a quick call, and as usual he was eager to do the extra work and make some extra money. And the Steels were offering a pretty penny.
We drove over and met him at the lab.
Tucker Madden was a science geek. Genius, but never had it together enough to actually do anything with his microbiology degree. So he worked as a lab tech. Which was good for the station. He was a wizard with DNA. He could pick out strands from samples that other techs couldn’t make heads or tails of. The DA used him as an expert witness frequently, and we detectives always wanted him doing our tests.
He was wearing his white lab coat and black-rimmed glasses when we got there, his blondish hair in disarray.
“Hey, Tucker,” I said. “Thanks for coming in on such short notice. This is Marjorie Steel.”
“Good to meet you.” He took her hand. “So let’s see the samples you have.”
Marjorie and I both handed him our samples. “We’ve got them all clearly labeled,” I said. “And I know I don’t have to say this, but this is completely confidential.”
“Of course. Always.”
Tucker’s word was as good as gold.
“I have to tell you though. Hair isn’t the best sample from which to extract DNA. Are the roots intact?”
“Yes, yes,” I said. “You know me better than that, Tuck.”
“True, Roo.” He glanced at the samples in their clear plastic bags. “These look good so far as the naked eye can tell. I’ll be able to tell more once I get them under the scope. So let me make sure I’ve got this right. You want to find out if the sample marked RS is a match to be the child of the sample marked WM.”
“Yeah,” I said.
“And the samples marked TS, JS, and MS should be compared to RS to see if they’re full-blooded siblings, just as an extra precaution.”
“Yeah,” I said again.
“Good enough. I’ll get started. You’ll hear from me in twelve.”
“The sooner the better,” Marjorie said.
“Oh? You willing to—”
“For God’s sake, Tuck. Is ten K not enough for you?”
“Sure. But I’m good at this, as you know. I can shave several hours off for, say, another five?”
“Done,” Marjorie said. “We’re good for it. I only have ten with me now.”
I rolled my eyes. “He’s a genius, but he doesn’t work for free.”
Marjorie laughed. “I don’t know anyone with great skills who does.” She pulled an envelope out of her purse and handed it to Tucker. “Here you go.”
“Just so you know, if the samples aren’t viable…”
“Don’t worry. You still keep the cash,” Marjorie said.
He smiled. “Just so we’re clear.”
“Thanks, Tuck,” I said. “You’re the best.”
Marjorie and I left. As we drove back to my office, I was silent.
“What’s going on in that head of yours, Ruby?” she asked. “How are things with Ryan?”
Oh, great. I’m in love with him, in fact. But I wasn’t ready to say that to anyone. Not yet. Especially since, if this test turned out positive, I would probably lose him.
So I said simply, “He’s great. Really great.”
“Yeah, he is,” she agreed. “He’s a great brother. I really hope this test shows that Wendy is not his mother.”
I nodded, staring at the road as she drove.
Hoping I hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of my life.
Chapter Twenty–Eight
Ryan
“What gives, guys?” I asked. “The two of you go into your bedroom with Melanie for ten minutes, and then she leaves. What aren’t you telling me now?”
I was alone with my brothers, and we had retreated out to the deck. Joe’s dog, Lucy, was out with Jade chasing a ball.
Talon cleared his throat. “Maybe we should just—”
Talon stopped abruptly. Had Joe nudged him? I wasn’t sure, but he could have.
“What is it, Tal?” I asked.
“It’s nothing,” he said.
“It’s not nothing. I’m sick of feeling like the odd man out around here. What’s going on?”
“You know everything we know,” Joe said soothingly. “And right now, I’m really concerned that we haven’t heard from Mills.”
“I am too,” Talon agreed. “Mathias has proved he can get to anyone. Look at poor Colin. I admit he’s an asshole for what he did to Jade—though I’m glad he did, or I wouldn’t have her. Still, he didn’t deserve what he got at Mathias’s hand.”
“You think Mathias has done something to Mills and Johnson?” I said.
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Talon said. “Nothing is off limits to him, and if he found out that Mills and Johnson were working for us…”
“Mills and Johnson can no doubt take care of themselves,” Joe said. “At least I hope they can.”
“I do too,” Talon said. “We don’t need any more casualties because of me.”
I tensed. I didn’t like when Talon put this all on himself. He was the least guilty of all of us, and he’d been through the most. “None of this is your fault, Tal.”
He raked his fingers through is hair. “If I’d just left it alone. Let sleeping dogs lie.”
“Then you wouldn’t be happily married now,” Joe said. “You deserve happiness, Tal. You deserve healing. Don’t take this on your shoulders.”
“Yeah, please don’t,” I agreed. “We all want you to be happy.” I gestured out to the green grass where Jade was playing with Lucy. “Look at all you have to live for now.”
“I know.” He nodded. “I know. Thanks, guys.”
“So,” Joe began. “We need to talk about the elephant in the room.”
I was pretty sure they were talking about Ruby and me. So I started to open my mouth to speak, but Joe continued.
“Dad. We need to figure out how Dad was involved in all of this.”
Good save. Of course. We’d recently found out that our father, Bradford Steel, former lover of Wendy Madigan, had been a member of the future lawmakers club at Tejon Prep School, along with Wade, Mathias, Simpson, Wendy, and Rodney Cates, Gina Cates’s father. In addition, he had been the financial backer for the club’s activities, which, as far as we knew, were masterminded by Theodore Mathias, Tom Simpson, and Larry Wade—Talon’s three abductors. Tom was dead and gone, and Larry wasn’t talking.
“I agree,” I said. “But how?”
“We go back to Larry Wade, for starters,” Joe said.
Tal rubbed at his forehead. “I can’t, Joe. I’m sorry.”
“You already faced him. That’s all you have to do. We understand you can’t do it again, don’t we, Ry?”
“Of course,” I said.
“But I do need someone to go with me. I’ll see if Melanie—”
“What about me?” I interjected.
Joe’s face went white. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Why the hell not? I’m just as much invested in this as you are. Maybe I want to face one of the motherfuckers who tortured my brother. Maybe I want to give him a fucking piece of my mind.”
“Ry—” Talon began.
“You want to stop me too? Really? What the hell is going on here, guys?”
“Nothing,” Joe said.
“Bullshit. You give me one good reason why I shouldn’t go confront our uncle. Just one reason that has merit, and I’ll consider it. Otherwise, I’m going.”
Joe and Talon exchanged a look. What kind of look, I wasn’t sure.
“You were there that day,” Joe said. “It could have been you.”
“So?” Could I face one of the men who’d tortured and raped my brother? Who would have tortured and raped me if not for Talon?
I’d do it. Joe had already faced our half uncle several times. He’d faced Tom Simpson. But Joe was strong. He’d always been the strongest of us.
“So…this might affect you more than you think,” Talon said.
“I don’t fucking care. You two have left me out of this long enough. I’m going.”
Joe sighed. “Since there’s no talking you out of it, how about this afternoon?”
“On a Saturday?”
He laughed. “There are no weekends in prison. Besides, I know the guards there. They’ll let us in.”
My stomach dropped. I was about to come face-to-face with one of the men who’d raped my brother.
Who would have raped me.
I swallowed. “Count me in.”
* * *
Larry Wade didn’t look anything like our mother, but then they were only half siblings. My mother had been dark-haired, dark-eyed, and gorgeous. Larry was graying-blond, balding, blue-eyed…and pretty far from gorgeous.
I stared at him. He didn’t look so scary.
Of course, as a ten-year-old boy, and with Larry wearing a black ski mask, Talon had no doubt seen him as a menace.
I cringed as acid slid up my throat like hot lava. I had to get hold of myself. I’d wanted to do this, after all.
Larry was gaunt, his cheeks hollow. One eye was blackened. Joe had prepared me, but still, his appearance shocked me.
He sat down with a plunk and looked at me. “You must be the other one.”
“I’m Ryan,” I said shakily.
“Great. Another Steel. Perfect.” He looked me over. “You have your mother’s nose.”
I did? No one had ever said that to me before. Marjorie was the only one of us who resembled our mother in the slightest.
“Enough, Uncle Larry,” Joe said. “We’re here for answers.”
“Then you’ll be disappointed, as always,” Wade said.
“Maybe. Maybe not,” Joe said. “You already know how difficult I can make your life when I don’t get what I’m looking for.”
“I’m not talking about Wendy Madigan,” he said.
Wendy Madigan? Why would he bring her up? I looked to Joe, but he didn’t meet my gaze. “We are not going to talk about Wendy Madigan. Not at all.” He rolled his eyes toward me for a second. “Do you get my meaning?”
Wade arched his brow just a touch. “Sure. I get it.”
I didn’t. But whatever. I’d let Joe take the lead here.
“We’re here to talk about our father,” Joe continued. “We have reason to believe that he backed you, Simpson, and Mathias in your business—and I use the term loosely—dealings. I want to know how much money he gave you and what that business was.”
“This could take a while.”
“I don’t have anywhere to be. Do you?”
Wade sighed. “I was about to go there with you last time. Are you sure you want to do it now?”
Joe looked at me. Was I sure? Hell, no,
I wasn’t sure. But we needed to figure out the role our father had played with these three. The role he might have played in Talon’s abduction.
Just the thought nauseated me. Our father might have played a role in our brother’s abduction.
What kind of a man had Bradford Steel been? Truly?
I’d known him as a strict disciplinarian but loving in his own way. He taught all his children the value of a job well done and of a dollar earned. He taught us the business of ranching and to not take our fortune for granted. He was tough on us. But he was fair.
Never had I imagined there might be more to him than met the eye.
He was a good man. A good father.
How could he have gotten involved with three psychopaths?
“Find Simpson or Mathias. They can tell you more about your father than I can.”
Joe scoffed. “You don’t know? Tom Simpson is dead.”
Larry jerked backward, his eyes wide, forehead wrinkled. “How?”
“Shot himself in the head, rather than face what he’d done.”
Wade shook his head. “Lucky bastard.”
Jonah went rigid, and I knew why. If Larry killed himself or was killed in prison by another inmate, we couldn’t use him to get information. Not that he’d been overly forthcoming so far, but he had led us to the future lawmakers club and our father’s involvement.
“Lucky? Maybe. Mostly he was a coward. After all was said and done, the iceman couldn’t face the music,” Joe said. “At least you’re facing it.”
Buttering Uncle Larry up? Interesting move, Joe.
“Look, we’re going to figure this out with or without you,” I said. “With would be easier. I know Joe has offered to get you legal counsel. That offer still stands. Why won’t you roll over? One of the guys is dead. What does Mathias have on you?”
“You have no idea what he’s capable of. What they’re all capable of.”
“All?” I asked. “Who do you mean?”
“The future lawmakers, of course.”
“Oh, we know,” Joe said. “An innocent woman is dead because she got us the yearbooks we needed. Yearbooks that had been erased from the online database and stolen from the school library. She stole them from the archives, and she paid with her life.”