by HELEN HARDT
“Hey, Bob.” Heidi walked to the bar and laid her hand on my shoulder. “Len, I need two raspberry margaritas and an amaretto sour.”
“What the—”
Heidi laughed raucously. “Len, you know I’m joshing you. A rye and two Scotches.”
Len poured the drinks, and Heidi ambled away.
“Bob?” Joe said to me.
“Don’t ask.”
“You and her?”
“No. Well…almost. But no.”
“I’ve known you most of your life, Bryce, and I’d have bet my entire ranch that she’s not your type.”
“She’s not.”
“Then—”
“I was looking for a fuck, okay? Christ.”
“But you just said—”
“Right. And I changed my mind. Obviously.”
“She’s got a hot body. I’ll give her that.”
“Yeah. But she smokes dope, and she’s not…”
“Not what?”
Not your sister. Nope, couldn’t say that.
“Not my type, like you said.”
“How long has it been for you, man?”
“A while. I have a baby, remember? Wait until Melanie gives birth. The sex’ll go way down.”
“I doubt it.”
“You’ll have to stay away from her for six weeks after birth anyway.”
“I know.” He grinned. “We’ll make do.”
Oh, man. TMI again. I didn’t want to think about the bondage things he did to his therapist wife.
Joe signaled the bartender—Len, apparently—and got us two more drinks. He looked down the bar. Mike had left, so we were free to talk.
“I talked to Melanie last night about Rohypnol and its effects.”
“What? How did you bring that up without saying anything about this?”
“I said I’d read an article in the Post about date rape.”
“She bought that?”
“Yeah, since it was true. I’d been looking it up.”
“And she didn’t wonder why you were researching date rape?”
“Bryce, come on. I said I stumbled across an article, and I easily could have.”
“All right. All right. What did she say?”
“Pretty much what we already know. It can lead to retrograde amnesia for an hour or so before you take the drug. But more often than not, what it does is make you very malleable and suggestible.”
“And we were nine years old, so we’d believe anything my father told us,” I said quietly.
“Exactly. And while you can keep the memories, as we obviously have, they become so clouded that you never really think of them again. That’s why rapists use it. They get what they want, and the woman essentially forgets about it.”
“But the kid’s family… He couldn’t have roofied them into forgetting their kid.”
“Remember that these guys got away with everything. Wendy Madigan escaped a criminal mental hospital.”
“How?” I asked. “Seriously, how? How did my father do all of this while my mom and I had no fucking idea?”
Joe downed the rest of his second drink. “Money. You’d be amazed by what money can accomplish.”
A thought pierced my brain with a sudden jolt. “I need to ask you something.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Did you pay off prison guards to beat up Larry Wade?”
He looked away, signaling Len for one more. Joe was a big guy, and he could hold his liquor, but that was three drinks in a pretty short time. Still, I didn’t say anything.
“You going to answer me?”
“Where’d you hear that?”
“Ted Morse.”
“That motherfucker.”
“Look. I told him you wouldn’t do that, that it was a lie. But I need to know. We need transparency here, man. Did you do it?”
“Does it matter if I did?”
“Hell no, Joe. You’re my brother. I’ve always got your back.”
He took a sip from the glass Len set in front of him. “I did. But I did not pay anyone off to have him killed. I sat through days of questioning with my lawyer to make that clear.”
I said nothing.
“You can’t clam up on me now,” he said.
“I’m not exactly surprised. I know you, and the guy had it coming.”
“Hell, yeah, he did. How the fuck does Morse know? I wasn’t charged with anything, and part of the deal was that the records of my questioning were sealed.”
“I have no idea. A friend in the DA’s office maybe?”
“I doubt it. This goes way deeper. The guy found out about Justin. Damn, what was his last name?”
“It was a Spanish name.”
“It was?”
“Yeah. I’m not sure why, but it just popped into my mind.”
“The kid was blond, wasn’t he?”
“No, he had dark hair. I think.” I tried willing my mind to churn, but the rotgut bourbon had taken its toll. It was on the tip of my tongue. Rodriguez? No. Martinez? No. Velasquez? That sounded really close.
“We’ll find out soon enough. The Spider’ll come through.”
“Yeah, but we’re sitting on pins and needles until then. I’m a single dad, and you’ve got a kid on the way. How do you deal with this shit?”
“I keep busy. I’ve been working like a dog.”
“I need to start my job.”
“Monday will come soon. And trust me, you’ll have plenty of work.”
I still wished I’d be working outdoors on the ranch, but I’d make way more as the new CFO for the Steels. Money was important. I had a son, and I needed to do the best I could for him.
“Listen,” Joe said. “I get why you wanted outdoor work. I’ll make sure you get some. All of us work with the hands sometimes. We all need it. Talon probably does it more than Ry and I do, but lately, I’ve been seeing my share of our land. All this shit has been making me crazy.”
I nodded. “It’s got to be good for the head.”
“It is. I mean, nothing goes away, but it helps.”
Heidi strutted back up to the bar. “I’m off in ten minutes, Bob.”
Joe stifled a chuckle.
I cleared my throat. “Busy tonight.”
“You think this guy is better than me?”
This time, Joe didn’t hold back. He laughed uproariously.
I gave him my best “fuck you” look.
“This is my best friend in the world. Heidi, meet John.”
Joe laughed again. “Yeah, John Smith. Good to meet you.”
“Are you free tonight, John?” Heidi asked with a smile. “Or both of you?”
“Sorry.” Joe held up his left hand. “Married.”
“With a baby on the way,” I added.
Heidi didn’t miss a beat. “So?”
Unbelievable. I was so glad I hadn’t done the deed with her. “I hate to be blunt, but we’re not interested.”
“No worries.” She placed the drinks Len set in front of her on her tray, turned, and then looked over her shoulder. “You two don’t know what you’re missing.”
“I feel like I need to scrub down after that,” Joe said when she was out of earshot.
“I hear you.”
“Man, you must have been desperate that night.”
I had been. Desperate to get his sister out of my head.
However, I was rapidly concluding that getting Marjorie Steel out of my head would never happen.
“I’ve got to admit,” Joe said. “It feels good to laugh a little.”
“I know,” I agreed. “There hasn’t been a lot to laugh about lately. I hate just sitting around waiting for the Spider. Isn’t there anything we can do in the meantime?”
“I honestly don’t know.” Joe swirled the brown liquid in his glass. “If we start snooping around or asking questions, people will begin to suspect we’re up to something. This isn’t anything I’m comfortable talking about to anyone.”
I nodded.
“Crap. Really?”
“My contact swears he’s trustworthy, and I trust my contact. But because he has our info, I can give you his.” Joe handed me a plain white business card with “The Spider” and an email address on it in plain black print. “I created a new email account for us. It’s written on the back, and the password is in our code.”
Our code. Wow. I hadn’t thought about that in ages. Joe and I had used a secret code when we were kids. Did I even remember it? I turned the card over. The password stood out at me. Then I turned it upside down. Yup. I remembered.
“Just in case you lose the card, no one will know the password. But don’t lose it. Memorize it, and then burn it.”
“I will.”
“We can both access that account, and that’s how he’ll communicate with us. It’s on an encrypted server.”
“Okay.” This was freaking me out. I hoped I sounded more confident than I felt.
“I mean it. Memorize and destroy.”
I cleared my throat, hoping to dislodge the lump that sat there, and simply nodded as I pushed the card safely into my wallet.
“We talk only here,” Joe continued. “Not on our cells, and not anywhere else unless we’re outside and alone.”
“Got it.”
“This is serious.”
“I know it’s serious. For God’s sake, Joe.”
“No, you don’t understand,” Joe said. “There’s something I haven’t told you. Something I’m going to tell you now.”
Chapter Ten
Marjorie
I went straight to my bedroom. For Talon or the boys to see me after a meltdown would not be a good thing. Jade, finally feeling better, was taking more of a role in the household. She and Talon could handle the boys—at least for one night.
I needed to be alone, first, so my face could return to normal, but second, and more importantly, so I could figure out my next steps.
How to get Bryce Simpson out of my head and heart? I was in love. Completely and hopelessly in love.
With a man who wanted me—that much was clear—but who didn’t love me. Would never love me.
Jade had suggested I get “out there.” Myriad eligible men worked on this ranch every single day. Plus, there were the townies—the name we rurals had called the kids like Bryce, who lived in Snow Creek the town, when we were in school. I didn’t keep up with who still lived around here, but I’d seen a few guys in the gym who might be interesting.
Okay. Tomorrow I’d go back to the gym. I needed to get in shape anyway. If that didn’t work, I’d check out the guys on the ranch. Not a great idea to get involved with someone who technically worked for me, but I was desperate.
Not desperate to have sex, but desperate to get Bryce out of my heart and head. Why not date, as Jade said? I didn’t have to fall into bed with everyone I went out with. I had no desire to go to bed with anyone other than Bryce. Basically I needed a distraction.
What could distract me from a man better than another man?
Unfortunately, I knew already that no one would live up to Bryce, but I had to do something other than pine for him.
As I was contemplating starting to read a novel—anything to occupy my brain—my phone buzzed.
I recognized the number.
Colin Morse.
“What do you want, Colin?” I said, not nicely, into the phone.
“Hi, Marj.”
“That’s not answering my question,” I said. I felt a little shitty, given what Colin had been through, but I had nothing to say to him.
“I want to talk to Jade, but I know she’s probably not feeling real good.”
I huffed. “What do you want from me, then? And don’t ask me to set up another meeting with Jade. The last one ended with her sick in the bathroom.”
“I have to tell her.”
“Tell her what? I’m happy to take a message.”
“I…can’t. I can only relay this information to Jade.”
“What information, Colin? You had the chance to tell her anything you wanted the last time you were here.”
“I know. But…I couldn’t.”
“Why not?”
“You know why not.”
“Actually, I don’t. Enlighten me, please.”
“Because you were there.”
“Maybe you don’t know how the concept of best friends works. Jade and I don’t have secrets. Anything you say to her will get to me. Besides, neither Talon nor Jade wanted her alone with you.”
“This is important, Marj.”
Was it? Colin had been so vague the last time he spoke to us. He’d made it seem like his father had been behind his not showing up to his wedding with Jade. Perhaps we were reading into things. I had no idea. I knew one thing, though. We needed all the information we could get out of Colin.
None of the puzzle pieces fit together. Maybe Colin had answers.
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll see what I can do, but I’m not making any promises.” I ended the call abruptly and then checked my face in the mirror. I still looked like crap, but at least the swelling in my eyes had gone down some. Hopefully I’d find Jade alone.
No such luck, though. She and Talon were out on the deck with the boys. Donny was running around with the dogs, and Dale appeared to be doing homework.
“Hey.” I touched Jade’s shoulder. “Can we talk for a few minutes?”
Talon, of course, missed nothing. “What about? And what happened to you?”
“Nothing,” I lied. “I just need to talk to Jade.”
“You look like you’ve been—”
“I haven’t. I’m fine.” I turned to Jade. “Just a few? In the kitchen, maybe?”
“Yeah, of course.” She rose and followed me back into the house. “What is it?”
“Colin just called. He wants to talk to you again.”
“Talon won’t like it.”
I bit my lower lip. “Which is why maybe we don’t tell him.”
“I can’t—”
“Until after the fact, I mean. Of course we’ll tell him everything. Colin must know that.”
“I don’t know if he does, Marj. If he asks me to keep it a secret…”
“Seriously? Jade, this is important to all of us.”
She nodded. “You’re right, of course. I just… I thought I loved him once, and he’s been through so much.”
“I have an idea, if you’re willing. You talk to him, but you have me on speakerphone while you’re doing it. That way, I hear everything.”
“Marj…”
“I know it’s underhanded, but I don’t want you alone with him. I mean, I realize you’d still be alone, but I’d be in the next room ready to rescue you if you need it.”
“He’s not going to hurt me.”
“I know, but he might use your past against you emotionally, and you’re hormonal right now.”
“Marj…”
“I just mean that… Oh, hell. There’s no PC way to say it. You’re pregnant, Jade. Pregnancy messes with you. But we need the information. We need it.”
“First of all, stop using my hormones against me. I’m fine.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. But I can be recording the call as well. Then we can share it with the guys later.”
“It’ll have to be during the day, while Talon and the boys are gone.”
“Right, which means next week.”
She sighed. “All right. Set it up, Marj. Tell him to come here.”
“Done.”
“I just wish we could all live in peace now, you know?”
“I hear you,” I said. “Totally. But something’s still going on, and we need to get every ounce of information we can.” I pressed Colin’s name on my phone.
He didn’t answer.
Chapt
er Eleven
Bryce
My heart dropped into my gut. Had I heard Joe correctly? “Excuse me? You’ve been holding out on me?”
“Of course not. We’re in this together.”
“Then what the hell are you talking about?”
“New information.” He looked away for a moment, seeming to focus on a spot above the bar. Then he turned to me, his eyes troubled. “I got a call today.”
“From who?”
“I don’t know. It was a number I didn’t recognize.”
“And…?”
“It was a guy. He didn’t say his name. He just said, ‘I’m watching.’”
Chills skittered down the center of my back. I took a sip of my bourbon, letting its fire dig spikes into my throat. Seemed almost like a premonition.
“Did you have the call traced?”
“No.”
“Stupid question.” Of course he hadn’t. This was between the two of us. No one else knew about Justin. No one we knew of, anyway.
“I did some research on my own with the number. I found nothing.”
“How about we give it to the Spider?”
“Yeah, I will. I’ll send it through the account I set up.” He downed the rest of his bourbon and set the glass back on the wooden bar with a clomp. “I don’t scare easily, Bryce, but I’ll tell you. That phone call freaked me out.”
“It’s freaking me out too.” I finished my own drink and set the glass down.
Len raised his eyebrow at me, but I shook my head. I was done with alcohol for the evening. Maybe for a while. From here on, I needed to keep a clear head.
“Do you think it might’ve been Morse?” I asked.
“Didn’t sound like him, and whoever it was didn’t sound like he was disguising his voice in any way.”
“He could have had someone else make the call. What area code was it from?”
“Somewhere in Iowa.”
I lifted my brow. “Iowa? Why does that sound familiar?”
“Remember when Jade first met Mathias?”
“Yeah. He was dating her mother.”
“He was posing as a guy named Nico Kostas, who was supposedly a state senator from Iowa. That’s the only connection I can think of.”
“Seems pretty farfetched. As I recall, he was not a state senator from Iowa.”
