by HELEN HARDT
“I feel bad for kids with only one dad,” I said, making the last fold on my paper airplane.
“Some kids don’t have a dad at all.” Joe added a pinstripe to the wing on his.
“Our dads are the best.” I shot the plane into the air.
Brad Steel had taught me how to make a perfect paper airplane. He’d taught me to work the land, to do an honest day’s work.
My own father had taught me how to pitch a tent, how to fish for my own food, how to shoot a gun.
“I’m going to name my first kid after your dad,” I said.
“Then I’ll name mine after yours. And mine. Thomas Bradford Steel.”
“Bradford Thomas Simpson,” I said.
Joe spit on his hand. “Let’s shake on it.”
I spit, and we shook. “Deal.”
“Damn,” I said. “I’d actually forgotten about that.”
“So you don’t mind if I break it?”
“Of course not. I already have. I guess Henry should have been Bradford Thomas. Instead he’s Henry Thomas. Frankie wanted to name him after an uncle she admired. I’m going to change his middle name once all this blows over. I don’t want him bearing that bastard’s name.”
“Obviously I wasn’t going to stick to it either,” Joe said. “Not after…”
He didn’t need to finish. Not after he found out who my father actually was.
“Why not name him Bradley instead of Bradford?” Marj suggested. “Then you can call him Brad, so he’s sort of named after Dad, but he also has his own name.”
Joe lifted his brow. “I actually really like that idea. You think Mel will go for it?”
“I think Mel will be fine with it,” Marjorie said. “Plus, Bradley Steel is a great name.”
“What will his middle name be?” I asked.
“Melanie wants Jonah, after me.”
“Then let Mel have her way,” Marj said. “Bradley Jonah Steel. Sounds perfect to me.”
“I don’t know. This might be the only kid we have. I want him to have his own name.”
“First of all,” Marj said. “Melanie got through this pregnancy with no issues at all.”
“Except preterm labor,” Joe reminded her.
“Most likely brought on by stress. Does she want to have more children?”
“We both would,” Joe said.
“You’re acting like she’s an old lady. She’s forty, for God’s sake, and she looks ten years younger.”
“Forty is old for having kids,” Joe said. “We both understand that.”
“No reason why you can’t try again. Heck, you got pregnant this time without even trying.”
Joe laughed. “It’s that Steel sperm. It gets through no matter what.”
I punched Joe’s arm. “God, you Steels are a pain in the ass.”
“We’re the gift that keeps on giving,” he said.
Marj made a retching sound. “You’re not going to be like that, are you?” she cooed to baby Brad.
“The hell he’s not,” Joe said. “That’s prime Steel stock right there.”
Marjorie rolled her eyes. “You and Mel can always adopt too. Talon and Jade did.” She handed the baby to the nurse who entered.
“Time for him to eat,” the nurse said. “Let’s take you to Mama.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Marjorie
“He’s latching on really well,” Melanie said, nursing the baby. “That’s unusual for a preemie. And it’s a great sign.”
“He’s going to do fine,” I said. “He’s so beautiful. Look at that head of dark hair!”
“Steel hair for sure,” Melanie said.
“You never know,” I said. “That hair will fall out, and he might be blond like you.”
“Maybe.” She smiled.
“Whatever his coloring, he’ll be gorgeous. No doubt.” I swallowed. Joe had most likely told Mel everything that had happened…including the fact that Colin had cut Alex with a blade. Mel would know where that blade had come from.
Joe and Bryce had gone to get some coffee, and Melanie and I were alone in her private room while she nursed baby Brad.
“Mel…” I began.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I understand.”
“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“The blade, Marj. I understand.”
“But I lied to you. Again. And to Bryce.”
“I’m not going to condone lying. Not to your therapist and especially not to your significant other. But the fact is you had the blade when you needed it. Something held you back, and it turned out your instinct was on the nose.”
“But that’s not why—”
“It’s okay. Really. Maybe I was wrong to insist you get rid of it. Therapists aren’t always right, you know. We do make mistakes sometimes.”
“You didn’t make any mistakes with Talon.”
“Childhood trauma is my specialty,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean I didn’t make mistakes with your brother. Just because his outcome was great doesn’t mean I did everything perfectly. Perfection isn’t possible, Marj.”
Perfection isn’t possible.
No truer words.
Was that my issue? I wanted perfection in my life? No, not really. I wasn’t ever consumed with perfection…until I started cutting.
It had been my outlet, my way to stay sane when thinking about what my conception had cost my middle brother. Now, I wanted desperately to stop. Go cold turkey. Be strong enough not to need the security blanket.
Yes, I wanted perfection.
I wanted to be able to not need that stupid blade.
“You’re berating yourself,” Melanie said. “I can see it on your face.”
I couldn’t help a soft laugh. “You’re good.”
The nurse came in before Mel could respond. “How did he do?”
“Hard to say,” Mel said, “but he latched on well. I sure felt that.”
“You’ll get used to that. It’s painful for the first couple days. Right now, you’re only producing colostrum. Wait until your milk comes in. Then he’ll be feasting.” She took the baby into her arms. “Better get him back to NICU.”
Melanie simply smiled. “Thank you.”
Once the nurse had left, I said, “You’re a doctor. You know all about colostrum, right?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Does it bug you when medical professionals tell you things you already know?”
“Not really. They’re just doing their jobs.”
“That would drive me nuts,” I said.
“That’s because your brothers constantly do that to you.” Melanie laughed.
I joined in her laughter. “You really are good.”
“I just know the Steel men,” she said. “I know how they treat you. But they truly do it out of love, Marj.”
“I know. It’s still annoying, though. Sometimes they talk about me like I’m not even in the same room.”
“I’d like to say they’re going to change…”
“But you don’t want to lie to me.”
“No.” She laughed again. “I don’t.”
I sighed. “I love them all. I do.”
“I know. And they adore you. Why do you think they’re so protective? Jonah was mad as a rabid dog when he found out they’d gone after you without him even knowing.”
“They knew he’d want to be here with you.”
“I know. And he would’ve been, but he still wanted to know what was going on.”
“Freaking Steel men,” I said.
“They are forces to be reckoned with,” she agreed, “but they’re also the best men I know.”
“Yeah, me too,” I said. “Plus Bryce. Who treats me the same way, of course.”
“He’s as close to a Steel man as anyone except for the actual Steels. And he loves you very much.”
I smiled. “He does. In truth, I don’t want him to change a bit.”
“That’s true love, then. I woul
dn’t change Jonah, either.”
“Good thing,” I said, “because not one of my brothers will ever change who they are.”
“That’s why we love them,” Melanie replied.
Again, the woman was good. She spoke the utter truth.
Driving back to the guesthouse, Bryce filled me in on his and Joe’s visit to Cade Booker and how they ended up pepper-sprayed.
“Apparently Cade is related to a Dominic Booker and an Alessandra Booker,” he said. “We think Dominic James’s real name is Booker.”
“He did say Alex was his twin,” I said. “And they called her Booker at the hospital.”
“She’s going to make a full recovery,” Bryce said.
“That’s good for Colin.”
“Yeah. It is.”
“Bryce…”
“Yeah, baby?”
“I… I was supposed to be the one to cut Alex’s throat. It was my blade.”
“Oh?”
“But I couldn’t. I froze. And then she woke up, and still I couldn’t, so…”
“Colin did it.”
“Yeah. He moved so quickly. Just grabbed the blade from me and sliced his finger open. Then jabbed it into her throat like he didn’t even need to think about it.”
“It’s a good thing he did.”
“Yeah. It is. But why couldn’t I do it?”
“Marj, it’s not a bad thing that you couldn’t harm another human being. That’s a good quality.”
“But this bitch had it coming.”
“She did. Still, don’t punish yourself.”
“I had already motioned for Colin to escape before Alex woke up. But he didn’t. He stayed with me. What if he’d done as I asked? What if—”
“He didn’t. He stayed with you, and he took care of business. That’s a good thing. Don’t torment yourself with the ‘what if’ game. Trust me. I know it well, and it doesn’t lead to anything good.”
I nodded. Bryce had spent the last few months torturing himself over his father.
We didn’t speak again during the drive.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Bryce
Marjorie stopped at the main house to change clothes and see Jade, so I went to the office building to put in a few more hours of work.
At about seven p.m., I decided to head home just as my phone buzzed from the number I’d called earlier.
I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to return my call.
“Hello, Dominic,” I said into the phone. “Dominic Booker.”
No response.
“You called. You must have something to say.”
“You need to keep Marjorie safe,” he finally said.
“Yeah, I do. Safe from people who drug her and kidnap her.”
“I didn’t lie to her. I was under an order from her father.”
“Her dead father.”
“I’m not privy to that information.”
“You didn’t talk directly to Brad Steel, then.”
“No. I never talk directly to a client.”
“Do you do this for others?”
Silence.
“You going to answer me?”
“Not on the phone. Meet me.”
“Where?”
“I’ll text you the address. Bring your friend. Jonah Steel.”
The line went dead.
I could smell a setup a mile away, and this was definitely a setup. Still, I was going. There was never any doubt of that. And bring Joe along? The guy clearly didn’t know Joe’s wife had just given birth to a premature baby. No way would I be bringing him. He was still in Grand Junction.
I could bring the next best thing, though. Joe’s brothers. I quickly texted Talon and Ryan. Once I got their responses and gave them the meeting place, I trashed the phone. Time to pick up a new one.
“You think he’ll show?” Talon sipped a rotgut bourbon at the little bar in the next county. He’d ordered a Peach Street, and the barkeep had erupted in a gale of laughter.
“Someone will,” I said. “Whether it’s him or a band of goons who try to take us out, I have no idea.”
“They can give it their best shot,” Ryan said. “Does Marj know where you are?”
I shook my head. “She’s spending the evening with Jade.”
“Yeah,” Talon said. “The two of them were in a hen session when I left. The boys were doing homework. I just said I was going out for a while.”
“And they bought it?”
“Hell, no. But that’s what I said.”
“Shit. Marj will figure it out. If she shows up here…” I took a sip of bourbon. Seemed like a bourbon kind of night, for some reason. Oddly, I’d been drinking a lot of bourbon lately, and so had Joe. He was usually a martini man, and I normally preferred a beer.
“How can she? She doesn’t know where we are.”
“She followed Joe and me to my father’s cabin in the middle of the night.”
“She’s been through a traumatic experience,” Ryan said. “She’s not going to go out looking for trouble.”
I scoffed. “You really believe that?”
Ryan laughed. “Hell, no.”
“The fact remains,” Talon said, “that she doesn’t know where we are. So she won’t show up.”
“I hope not.” I set my drink down and looked toward the doorway. “Ah. The guest of honor.”
Dominic strolled toward us. “I told you to bring Jonah.”
“Jonah’s unavailable. These are the other two Steel brothers, Talon and Ryan.”
“Yeah.” Dominic waved his hand. “I know who they are.”
“You’re lucky we don’t have you arrested for kidnapping,” Ryan said. “Bryce here convinced us to listen to you first.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Only because Marjorie said you didn’t hurt her. In fact, she said you defended her against your sister, who, by the way, is in police custody.”
“Alex will be fine. Once she leaves the hospital, arrangements will be made for her bail and a plea bargain. And thanks for your concern, by the way.”
“The two of you kidnapped our sister,” Ryan said. “Spare us the guilt over concern.”
“Alex sometimes goes a little overboard,” Dominic said.
“I’d say you both do,” I said. “We’re here because Marjorie would want us to hear you out, but the minute you take a wrong step, we’ll turn you in.”
“We’re all armed,” Ryan said, “just so you know.”
“And you think I’m not?”
“Still,” I said, “it’s three against one. I don’t see any backup.”
“I don’t need backup,” Dominic said. “I was trained by the best.”
“Yeah? I was trained by my psycho father, so don’t get any ideas.” I took a sip of bourbon.
Dominic didn’t miss a beat. “I was trained by my psycho brother.”
I nodded. “Cade. Cade Booker is your brother.”
“Half brother, actually.” Dominic signaled the bartender. “Draft, please.”
“What does Cade Booker have to do with any of this?” Ryan asked.
“He’s the psycho who pepper-sprayed Joe and me and then went on the run,” I said. “He’s an attorney in the city, former FBI guy. Ruby probably knows of him. Maybe we should have her meet us here.”
“Are you nuts? I’m not dragging my wife into this.”
“Your wife would want to be dragged into this,” Talon said. “She’s probably better with a gun than you are.”
Dominic raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t get any ideas,” I said. “Ruby’s an ex-cop, but I guarantee you I’m every bit as good with a piece as she is, and I’ve been shooting way longer.”
“Slow down,” Talon said. “Seems you and Joe have been keeping things from us, Bryce.”
Dominic chuckled.
“I wouldn’t be laughing if I were you,” I said. “We can still have you dragged out of here in cuffs.”
“You haven’t ye
t.”
“We’ve explained why. I also warned you not to push me.”
“I told you I was working on orders from your father,” Dominic said, nodding to Talon and Ryan, “and that’s the God’s honest truth. I’m not the enemy here. But I know who is.”
“Your brother.”
Dominic scanned the bar. “Let’s get a table. You said you have information for me.”
Of course. He was calling my bluff.
“I’d say you have information for us,” I said. “I’m not telling you a damned thing until you spill every detail about your half brother and anything else you know.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Marjorie
My blade was gone. It was sealed in an evidence bag somewhere, even though no charges had been filed against Colin.
My friend.
My friend was gone.
Forever.
I could still feel its phantom brand against the top of my breast where it sat between my flesh and the fabric of my bra, just waiting to be plunged into Alex’s neck.
But though it had been plunged into Alex’s neck, I had not been wielding it. That blade—that friend that had been my go-to problem solver when confronted with the guilt of being inadvertently responsible for my brother’s abduction and torture—had failed me when I needed it to harm another human being.
What did that say about me?
About the blade?
Jade had gone in to check on the boys. Dale was doing much better. Helping Ruby investigate the hoodie-wearing guy he’d seen at the playground at school had done wonders for him. He felt more involved now, more like part of the family. In another couple weeks, when we went to court, he’d be an official Steel. Talon and Jade had allowed the boys to choose new middle names. Dale had chosen Robertson, his original last name, in memory of his mother. Donny—whose full name was Donovan—had chosen Talon, after his new father.
Jade looked so beautiful now that she was finally feeling better. She’d entered her second trimester, and the nausea had finally eased up. Plus, she hadn’t had any more spotting, and the pregnancy was progressing normally.
