by HELEN HARDT
Surrender
Steel Brothers Saga: Book Six
Helen Hardt
Contents
Warning
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty–One
Chapter Twenty–Two
Chapter Twenty–Three
Chapter Twenty–Four
Chapter Twenty–Five
Chapter Twenty–Six
Chapter Twenty–Seven
Chapter Twenty–Eight
Chapter Twenty–Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty–One
Chapter Thirty–Two
Chapter Thirty–Three
Chapter Thirty–Four
Chapter Thirty–Five
Chapter Thirty–Six
Chapter Thirty–Seven
Chapter Thirty–Eight
Chapter Thirty–Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty–One
Chapter Forty–Two
Chapter Forty–Three
Chapter Forty–Four
Chapter Forty–Five
Chapter Forty–Six
Chapter Forty–Seven
Chapter Forty–Eight
Chapter Forty–Nine
Epilogue
Continue The Steel Brothers Saga with Book Seven
Message from Helen Hardt
Also by Helen Hardt
Discussion Questions
Acknowledgments
About Helen Hardt
A Special Thank you
Start the Temptation Saga
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Epilogue
Continue The Temptation Saga with Book Two
Message from Helen Hardt
Also by Helen Hardt
Acknowledgments
Warning
This book contains adult language and scenes, including flashbacks of child physical and sexual abuse, which may cause trigger reactions. This story is meant only for adults as defined by the laws of the country where you made your purchase. Store your books and e-books carefully where they cannot be accessed by younger readers.
For all the amazing members of Hardt and Soul!
And in memory of Lucy.
Prologue
Jonah
Two hours later, I arrived in the small town near the New Mexico border. The address hadn’t shown up on GPS, so I had to drive the roads of the town until I found what I was looking for. It was a cracker box house on the outskirts of town. A one-car detached garage sat off to the side.
Tom Simpson’s hideout.
I parked a block away to hide my car and then walked stealthily to the small abode.
I didn’t bother knocking, just turned the knob on the door. Oddly, it was open. I walked in. A nice enough home, sparsely furnished.
“Tom? Come out here, you sick son of a bitch.”
No response. Not that I thought there would be. I walked through the living area, down a hall, to a couple of bedrooms. One was clearly being used, but no one was there. The door to what turned out to be a bathroom was also closed, but I opened it and walked in, not caring if I might catch Tom Simpson in the middle of a crap. But it was also vacant.
On the other side of the bedrooms was a small kitchen. Supplies had clearly been laid in. One more door. I opened it. It led to a dank basement surrounded by dark concrete walls. As I descended the stairs, eerie fingers seemed to crawl over my body.
The steps. The walls.
I inhaled, nearly gagging. Waste. Whether it was human or animal, I didn’t know.
I looked around once I got to the bottom.
My heart nearly stopped. It was exactly how Talon had described it. I could almost see the phoenix on the dark-gray walls, taunting him.
I had just walked into the cave-like cellar where my brother had lived for two months when he was a child of ten.
My skin tightened around me. I could hardly catch my breath. Was there no oxygen in this place?
I suppressed my fears as best I could and looked around. No windows, which was odd, and the room was pitch black. I waited for my eyes to adjust, feeling the wall for guidance, and I checked out the space. The rough concrete walls scratched at my—
I jerked.
A groan had come from the corner. I inched forward slowly, and a heap of blankets emerged in my field of vision. More groaning.
Someone was here. Someone in this basement where those three psychos had kept my brother.
I didn’t dare speak. I made my way slowly and quietly to the blanketed lump on the floor and removed the dirty covers.
The body, bound and gagged, recoiled away, whimpering.
My God.
It was alive.
“Hey, hey,” I whispered. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
It was a male, naked, his bony body streaked with blood and grime. His head had been shaved.
“I want to help you. I’m a friend. I’m going to take the gag off you, but don’t scream. All right?”
The man whimpered and nodded.
I removed the gag carefully. “Who are you?”
He groaned, muttering unintelligible words.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to talk. I’m going to get you out of here.” As quickly as I could, I unbound his ankles and wrists.
I startled when a sound like a board creaking came from somewhere upstairs. Tom must have come back. I threw the dirty blanket over the sickly man. “Shh,” I said. “Don’t let him know I’ve untied you. I’ll take care of him. If I don’t come back for you in half an hour, find something to use as a weapon, and get the fuck out of here.”
I hated leaving him there, but he’d at least be safe while I was in the house. I’d told him to leave if I didn’t return, but he was so bony and sickly looking, I wondered if he’d be able to get up the stairs.
But he would. Talon had gotten up those very same stairs.
“I’ll be back for you. I promise.”
I hoped I’d be able to keep that promise.
I walked toward the stairway, the dark walls seeming to pulse and close in.
My God, how had Talon survived this?
And who was the man in the cellar?
I willed myself to get a grip and ascended the stairs slowly. I had come here alone and unarmed. I hadn’t thought about protecting myself. I could kick the shit out of Tom Simpson with a look, and if he had a knife, I could easily disarm him.
But if he had a gun…
The man was a killer. A cold-blooded killer. And God only knew what he’d done to this poor man in the cellar.
Bile nudged up my throat. That was a crock. I knew exactly what Tom had done. The same thing he’d done to my brother.
I shut the door of the basement qu
ietly and walked through the small kitchen. The doorknob to the front door turned slowly.
A man entered, carrying a bag of groceries. As far as I could tell, he was unarmed. The hair on his head was dyed dark brown.
But the eyes…
A maniacal smile crossed my face. I had him.
Finally.
Finally, I would avenge my brother.
My smile became wider.
“Hello, Tom.”
Chapter One
Melanie
I was determined to take my life back. Take myself back. I didn’t for one moment think that Jonah and I were over. I could forgive him for ignoring my call that night. After all, I was the one who had left him, sneaked out of this house because I was too embarrassed to stay and talk with Talon and Jade after they caught us naked by Jonah’s pool.
But one thing I knew more than anything else—I could no longer depend on Jonah for my safety, for my protection. I had to make peace with the ghosts of my past so they would no longer follow me and haunt me.
I drove to my loft in the city. I had gotten a voice mail earlier from my insurance agent, telling me that the police had gotten all the evidence they needed and that I could now go to the loft and take whatever I wanted without a police escort. I would start there. Once my insurance company paid and I got the place fixed up, it was going on the market. Yes, I wanted to take my life back, but I wouldn’t do it in that loft. Too much history there. I would begin somewhere else.
I pulled into my parking spot and went into my building. I took the elevator to the fourth floor and walked toward my door. The police tape was gone, and a new lock had been installed. It was a touch-tone lock, and the police had given me the code and instructions on how to change it. I punched in the four digits and opened the door.
“Dr. Carmichael?”
I looked over my shoulder. Officer Ruby Lee, whom I had met while I was in the hospital and talked with several times, walked off the elevator toward me. I almost hadn’t recognized her because she wasn’t in uniform. She wore khaki pants and a white Oxford shirt buttoned almost all the way up. Her slick, dark hair was still pulled back and secured in a severe bun.
She had lovely features and searing blue eyes, yet she still dressed like a man when she wasn’t in uniform. To each her own.
“Officer Lee, what are you doing here?”
She smiled broadly. “It’s Detective Lee now.”
“Oh. Congratulations. I was wondering why you weren’t in uniform.”
“I didn’t expect to see you here tonight,” she said.
“I didn’t expect to be here either. But here I am. Why put this off, you know? It’s not going to get any easier.”
“Well, don’t let me bother you. I was going to look around. I want to make sure the uniforms and the others didn’t miss anything.”
“Anything new on the case? Do you have any leads?”
“No. I’m afraid not. I’ve talked to just about everyone I can, even though this isn’t officially my case anymore. In fact, I probably shouldn’t even be here. I’m off duty. But something about this case…”
I startled. “What?”
She shook her head. “It’s kind of…personal to me. Let’s leave it at that.”
I was a psychotherapist. I couldn’t leave anything “at that.”
“Make yourself at home, such that it is. If you’re here to help, you’re certainly welcome.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” She followed me into the loft.
The place was still in shambles. Of course it was. The police department wasn’t going to hire a cleaning service to clean up after a felon—or themselves, for that matter. I regarded the living room. My sofa had been ripped apart, and I darted my gaze to the floor. My book sat there, nearly hidden by the sofa’s dust ruffle. I picked it up and turned it over to see the front cover.
Ice crept through my veins. “Bitch” had been scrawled across it in black marker.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” the other woman said, taking it from me.
“It’s all right, Officer. I mean Detective.”
She smiled. “How about we just settle on Ruby?”
I returned her smile. “Then you call me Melanie.”
She held out her hand. “Deal.” Then she took the book from me. “This should have been taken in as evidence. Damn. And I’m not wearing gloves.”
“I guess it has both your prints and mine on it now. Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be sorry. None of this is your fault. The guys on this case will be hearing from me.” She shook her head. “Morons.”
I cocked my head at her.
“Sorry. They’re overworked, just like we all are. And since you got away and aren’t horribly hurt or dead, this case isn’t a priority. I wish it were, but unfortunately, our resources are limited.”
I sighed. Story of my life. Never a priority.
Stop it!
I’d made a promise to myself to stop thinking of myself as average, and damn it, I was going to keep that vow, no matter how neglectful my parents had been or how neglectful the police were being now.
“I think it’s sad that my case isn’t a big priority, but I guess I understand.” I looked around the room again. “I don’t think I want any of this stuff. I’ll get some insurance money for what’s been ruined. I’ll use that to buy new stuff. I think I’ll call a charity and have the rest of this shit picked up.” I whipped out my cell phone and quickly searched for the number for the Salvation Army.
“Hold on,” Ruby said. “I’d like to do some more investigating if it’s okay. I mean, before you dump all this stuff.”
“I thought the officers and detectives already got everything they needed,” I said. “That’s why I could come without an escort.”
“So they said, but they obviously missed the book.” She held it up to me. “Like I said, I’m off duty. This case is…personal to me.”
The second time she’d said that. Surely she didn’t expect me, a therapist, to let it go.
“Pardon me for prying,” I began, “but why? Why is it personal?”
“I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“You opened that door, Ruby. This is my apartment, and you’re not here officially. If anything you find can uncover the lunatic who kidnapped, drugged, and tried to kill me, I’m all for it. But I need to know why.”
She sighed and looked around. “Not really any place to sit, huh?”
“Unfortunately, no. At least not in here. We can sit on the bed in the other room. Or here on the floor.” I gestured.
“Works for me.” Ruby sat down cross-legged.
I sat across from her. “Look, you don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to talk about, but I need to have some clue as to why this is personal to you.”
“All right.” She cleared her throat. “Here goes. There’s a reason why I was taken off the case when they promoted me.”
“Yes?”
“This is difficult for me to talk about. It’s a crazy sort of coincidence that is almost unreal.”
My heart started beating faster. What was she getting at?
“I’ve been estranged from my family since I was fifteen. I ran away from home and never looked back.”
Teenagers didn’t usually run away unless they had a very good reason. “What happened? Why would you do that?”
“I ran from my father.”
“What about your mother?”
“She’s dead. At least I think she is. He always told me she was, but I’ve never been sure, you know?”
I nodded. “What does all of this have to do with my case?”
She inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, they flamed a bright blue. “I know about your history with Gina Cates, and I know about her uncle who abused her.”
This was all information I had given to the police when I was questioned, and surely they had heard it from Dr. Rodney Cat
es, Gina’s father, as well, since he’d been the prime suspect in my abduction until he exonerated himself with an ironclad alibi.
“I hope you know I can’t talk to you about any of that. Even though Gina is dead, her psychotherapy notes are still protected under HIPAA.”
“Yeah, I understand all of that. I’m not going to probe you for information on Gina. I know all I need to know about her. We were actually close once. A long time ago.”
“You were?”
“Yes. She was my cousin. The man who raped her is my father.”
Chapter Two
Jonah
Tom was unfazed. His eyes didn’t widen. His face didn’t pale. Icy. Yup, an iceman. But I saw beneath the surface. Beads of sweat were emerging on his forehead. His hands trembled. Only slightly, but I noticed.
“Nice of you to bring groceries. Were you planning to feed your guest in the basement?” I stood, advancing toward him.
His trembling hands got the best of him, and he dropped the bag of groceries. Apples rolled toward me as he turned to flee.
Oh, hell, no.
I ran after him and tackled him on the lawn with a thud. If only it had been concrete, I could have hurt the psycho. “You motherfucking son of a bitch!”
“Who are you?” he yelled. “You’ve got the wrong guy!”
“You want to tell me you’re not Tom Simpson? The fucking mayor of Snow Creek? One of the men who raped my brother? That bad dye job can’t hide who you are.”
“Let me go!”
I threw my body on top of him and clamped my hand over his mouth. “I’d recognize those eyes anywhere. My best friend has the same ones, and so does his baby son. And if I ever find out you touched one hair on that baby’s head— Fuck!”
I removed my hand quickly. The fucker had bitten me hard enough to draw blood.
He moved quickly, but I was bigger and stronger. In a flash, I had my hand back over his mouth, pain be damned. My blood smeared crimson across his cheeks.
“You think you can get away from me, you stupid motherfucker? I’m not a ten-year-old little boy. I’m a grown man, and I can destroy you.” I straddled his thighs, keeping his legs in place, and wrung his neck with my other hand. I looked around quickly. We were isolated enough that no one could see us, thank God. “I could break your neck. Right now as you lie here, struggling to get free. I could break your fucking neck, Tom.”
