Melt (The Steel Brothers Saga Book 4)

by HELEN HARDT

  An elderly man sat behind the counter, helping a customer with the purchase of some rope and duct tape. “There you go, Mayor,” the elderly man said.

  “Thank you, Gus,” the man who was presumably the mayor said. “Always good to see you.”

  “You too. Have a great day.”

  The silver-haired mayor brushed past me without a look.

  Gus looked over to me. “Anything I can help you with, miss?”

  And suddenly I knew why I had walked into the store.

  Chapter Twenty–Nine

  Jonah

  “Anything you want to tell us, Joe?” Talon raised his eyebrows when I walked back to the kitchen.

  “Nope.”

  “Oh, come on,” he razzed me. “I knew you had the hots for her.”

  “I’m not discussing this. And be quiet. She’s embarrassed enough as it is.”

  “I hope she’ll join us,” Jade said. “I’ve been wanting to meet her for a long time, to thank her for all the help she’s given to Talon.”

  “Believe me, blue eyes, she knows how much I appreciate it.”

  “But she doesn’t know how much I appreciate it,” Jade said. “The woman is a miracle worker.”

  A small smile played at my lips. Melanie Carmichael was special, for sure. Yes, she had worked a miracle with Talon, but right now she was dealing with a patient who hadn’t turned out so well. Of course, I couldn’t mention that to Jade and Talon, and Melanie would likely be joining us soon anyway.

  “She’s just getting dressed. She’ll be out in a few minutes,” I said.

  Talon chuckled under his breath.

  “Not another word out of you,” I said.

  “Sure, my lips are sealed.” But he was still chuckling.

  “So what do you guys have to say that’s so important enough to interrupt me in the middle of my swim?”

  “Oh, that was swimming? Looked more like skinny-dipping.”

  “Just show me what you have, Tal.”

  “They were able to extract enough blood from the business card to get a DNA sample,” Talon said.

  “That’s good news,” I said.

  “The only problem is we have no idea whose DNA it is. And here’s something as well. Jade found Larry’s fingerprints in the Colorado attorney database, and they do match one of the three sets that were on Colin Morse’s card.”

  I nodded.

  “We can get a DNA sample from Larry easily,” Jade said, “If it’s his blood, he’s probably the one who left the rose. He could have pricked his finger on one of the thorns.”

  That made sense—which blew my Tom Simpson paper cut theory. Was I totally barking up the wrong tree? Maybe Tom was completely innocent. I’d have to give this some thought. I was certainly glad I hadn’t yet voiced my suspicions to Talon.

  “Or,” I said, “someone planted Larry’s fingerprints on the card to implicate him. He’s still claiming innocence in the whole Colin matter.”

  “That’s also a possibility,” Talon said. “But I don’t believe Larry for a minute when he says he’s innocent with regard to Colin’s disappearance. That man is no good.”

  “We already know that our uncle is a sick criminal. But remember, the other two beat him to a pulp when he let you go. It’s possible they’re trying to frame Larry to ensure that he stays quiet.”

  “Larry is scared to death of those other two,” Jade said. “I could see it on his face when he refused to tell me who they were.”

  “Yeah, Jade is right. Larry won’t roll over. He’s scared.”

  “How would you know?” Talon asked.

  “I went to see him. Bryce and I.”

  “Bryce went with you? Really?”

  “Yeah, now that this whole thing is dredged up again, he wants to find out what happened to Luke.”

  “Oh my God, you didn’t tell him what they did to Luke, did you?” Talon rubbed at his chin.

  “I had to. I hadn’t, which was a bonehead move on my part, but he insisted on going with me to see Larry, and Larry mentioned that you knew. Which of course meant that I knew. So I was the one who had to tell Bryce.”

  “God, I’m sorry, Joe,” Talon said.

  “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. None of us have been through the hell you have. Bryce needed to know. Hell, Bryce wanted to know. If I hadn’t told him, Larry probably would have.”

  “It’s a nasty situation all around,” Jade said. “But now we have to figure out where to go from here. I can get a court order for Larry to take a blood test, so we can check to see if his DNA matches what’s on the card. We already know his fingerprints are on the card, so I’m sure Judge Gonzalez will give me the warrant.”

  “Yeah, let’s do that,” Talon said. “The next thing I want to try to figure out, while we’re dealing with this, is why in the hell Mom and Dad swept this shit under the rug twenty-five years ago.”

  “I can talk to Wendy again,” Jade said. “But Talon, I think maybe you should talk to her. She told me the last time we spoke that there were things she had promised only to reveal to you.”

  My skin tightened around me. I wanted to know some answers as well. Why in the hell had my father, who was an intelligent and reasonable man by anyone’s standards, allowed this to happen?

  “I think Jade’s right,” I said. “And I want to go with you. I think we should visit her in person. We need to go to Denver.”

  “Jade, you should come along too,” Talon said. “After all, you’re the one who has the relationship with her.”

  Jade shook her head. “I’ve actually been thinking about that. I don’t think I should be there. I’m pretty sure she’ll only reveal the stuff to you alone, and maybe to your brothers. So yes, take Jonah with you. Maybe Ryan, too.”

  “Ryan’s too busy,” Talon said. “He’s knee-deep in winemaking and wine-bottling. Busiest time of the year. I wanted him to come over here today and hear about the new evidence, but he couldn’t get away.”

  I nodded. “Understandable. Jade, I understand your reluctance to go as well. But Talon, I do think the two of us should go.”

  “Will you and Marj be okay at the house with your mom and all?” Talon said.

  “Of course.” Jade smiled. “With that mega-security system you have installed, no one can get in. My mother is a handful no matter what. But she’s got a physical therapist and her nurse to deal with her. I can handle it. Marj can handle it.”

  “Still, I’m going to have Steve Dugan keep an eye on the place.”

  “That’s fine,” Jade said. “When do you guys want to leave?”

  “I can go anytime,” Talon said. “Axel is used to me taking off by now. He’s getting a big raise this year, by the way.”

  I nodded. “No problem. I can probably get away anytime. I’ve got guys I trust seeing to the day-to-day stuff, and we’ll only be gone a day or two. I just need to have Dolores check my calendar.”

  “You want to fly or drive?”

  I thought for a moment. It was about a four-hour trip. Maybe a road trip with my brother was just what I needed. “Why don’t we drive? We won’t have to rent a car when we get there.”

  “Works for me,” Talon said. “We’ll leave as soon as we can. Check in with Dolores. And oddly, I got a phone call from Melanie’s secretary earlier today. Said she had to cancel my appointments for the next three weeks.”

  I jolted. Of course I couldn’t tell Talon anything about what Melanie told me, but the mention of her name stirred me. Where was she? She should’ve come out by now.

  “Excuse me for a minute, guys,” I said.

  I walked briskly back to my bedroom. “Melanie?” I said softly as I walked in. I checked the sitting area, the bathroom, even the walk-in closet, since I’d caught her in there earlier.

  She was nowhere to be found.

  I walked back to the kitchen. “Did you see Melanie leave? She’s not here.”

  Both Talon and Jade shook their heads.

  “That’s stran
ge. Wouldn’t we have noticed if she walked out?”

  “Maybe not,” Jade said. “We were kind of all involved in the whole blood and DNA thing.”

  “I don’t understand why she would leave,” I said.

  “I think she was probably embarrassed,” Talon said. “I mean, we did catch you guys naked. What was going on here, anyway?”

  “That’s still none of your business,” I said.

  “Hey, it’s no big deal. She’s a great woman. I know you have the hots for her. But…I thought you were seeing her as a therapist.”

  “I told you, this isn’t any of your business.”

  “Joe, it’s okay to date her. Really. I don’t mind.”

  “I wouldn’t care if you did mind, Talon, but we’re not dating.”

  “Okay, then I don’t care if you fuck her either.”

  I clenched my teeth. For some reason, the idea that he thought Melanie was just a fuck to me got my ire up. “I’m not fucking her either.”

  That was one big goddamned lie. But it struck me that I really didn’t know what was going on between Melanie and me. Did I want a relationship with her? I wasn’t really ready to have a relationship. So why had I started this?

  Because something about her drew me. Like we were kindred spirits or something. Both struggling with guilt, both needing an outlet.

  Is that what I was to her? An outlet?

  She had come to me today, needing comfort. But as soon as things got a little uncomfortable, she had bailed.

  The thought slid into me like a knife in the heart. Her embarrassment over the situation had been more important than coming out to meet Jade and to be with me.

  What would I have done if the situation had been reversed?

  Truthfully, I didn’t know.

  Well, it was clear. She wasn’t interested in being a part of my life past fucking. I would have to be okay with that. After all, I was pretty much in the same boat that she was.

  At any rate, she had made a choice. I would not push it.

  No woman was worth that. If she couldn’t sit down with my brother, whom she knew, and my most likely future sister-in-law when she was welcome, and neither of them minded, perhaps whatever was between us should be over.

  I’d let myself get close. But she’d only been using me.

  Nope. No more Melanie Carmichael.

  I just hoped I could get my body to go along with my mind.

  I sent a quick text to Dolores at the office to check on my schedule for the next week or so. She texted back that she could move some things around to free me up for a couple of days.

  “Good news,” I said to Talon. “Dolores says I’m free. When do you want to leave?”

  “How about tonight? We can take turns driving and see Wendy tomorrow morning.”

  “Works for me.” I quickly texted Dolores again, letting her know.

  “I just texted Wendy, as well,” Jade said. “She says she can meet with you guys tomorrow. I’ll get you the address. It’s her mother’s home in Denver.”

  “You sure you’ll be okay without me for a few days?” Talon said to Jade.

  She laughed. “We’ll be fine. Marj and I haven’t had any girl time for a while. Maybe I’ll slip my mother a Valium, and Marj and I can hang out.”

  “No parties without me, blue eyes.” Talon smiled.

  And I smiled. Seeing my brother smile warmed my heart every time. I had seen more smiles out of him in the last three months than I had in the last twenty-five years.

  Damn, that felt good.

  A road trip with my brother was just what the doctor—even though she had disappeared and would no longer be a part of my life—had ordered.

  Chapter Thirty

  Melanie

  It was near six p.m. when I got home to my loft. The package from the hardware store sat on my passenger seat, taunting me the entire way home. I might never put its contents to use. In fact, I probably wouldn’t.

  So why had I made the purchase?

  Maybe as a little bit of a security blanket.

  I unlocked my door and walked into my little place. Oddly, my cell phone hadn’t buzzed at all since I’d been gone. I’d expected Joe to call me, wondering where I was.

  Even though I had left of my own free will, knowing I had been welcome there, I was still crushed that he hadn’t called. Maybe I didn’t mean as much to him as he was beginning to mean to me. Which is why I needed to let him go. I couldn’t get involved with anyone right now, especially someone who had as many issues as I did.

  What a mess we would make together. A Freudian nightmare.

  What I needed right now was a nice shower. Yes, I’d had a nice hot shower at Jonah’s house, and my tiny shower cubicle would never compare to that steam shower of his, but I did have lavender essential oil, and I did need to wash the chlorine out of my skin and hair. Colorado was dry enough on my skin without letting the chlorine sit on it for a long period.

  I sighed. I should’ve stayed. I wished I could’ve stayed. But it would be better this way. Jonah Steel deserved better than me. He had enough to deal with in his life without taking on a woman with my baggage.

  I walked into my bedroom and stripped off the work clothes that had already been off of me today. I spritzed some lavender essential oil into my shower and then turned it on to heat up.

  I threw my dirty clothes in my hamper, pausing to smile at how I had picked up Jonah’s clothes in his closet that were strewn two feet away from his hamper.

  He was definitely a man—an amazing man—and he would be better off without me.

  I stepped into the shower and stood under it for several moments, letting the water pelt me, easing the stress away. My back hurt, and my temples had started to throb as I drove home. I took a deep inhale of the relaxing lavender scent. Still, the stress remained. I began shaking, shuddering. My breaths became more rapid.

  A panic attack.

  I knew the symptoms well. It was part of my professional training, after all. However, panic attacks were not the norm for me. I had experienced one only once before—when I received Gina’s letter.

  Again I breathed in, out, in, out…trying desperately to will myself out of a panic attack.

  But my heartbeat was thundering, nearly pounding right out of my chest.

  I looked down. My left breast pulsed with my heartbeat. So fast. So fast.

  Not normal. Had to get my pulse down. I inhaled one more deep breath and then sat down on the floor of my shower, the warm water raining over my body.

  “Get a grip, Melanie,” I said out loud.

  But the grip eluded me. Still my heart pounded. Still I breathed rapidly. I stood and forced myself to wash my hair and body. After all, that was why I had gotten into the shower in the first place, to get rid of the chlorine. As I rinsed off, I jerked with a start.

  I’d heard something. But I wasn’t sure what it was.

  I began my breathing again. In, out, in, out. I told myself the same thing I told my patients. When things get so bad that you think you can’t bear it anymore, return to the essential of life. Breathing.

  I hoped my patients bought that drivel more than I did at the moment. It wasn’t working, and I jerked as I heard another creak.

  My mind could easily be playing tricks on me. Right now, I had to bring myself out of this whirl of panic.

  Bam!

  I nearly lost my footing on the slick shower floor. Now my panic was real. My bowels cramped and my pulse continued to race.

  It hadn’t been my imagination before. Someone was in my apartment.

  The bathroom door was open. My bedroom door was open. If only I had thought to shut them both and lock them. But that wasn’t normal. I never shut the bedroom door and locked it when I showered. Why would I do it today of all days? I stepped out of the shower quietly, leaving the water running. The intruder knew I was in the shower, so perhaps I could surprise him. I wrapped a towel around my wet body and slid quietly out my bathroom door. Someone was shu
ffling around in the living room. My heart beat rapidly. My purse sat on my dresser where I’d left it, and my cell phone was inside. I crept as silently and quickly as I could, grabbing my purse, and ran into the open closet, shutting the door quietly behind me. The shower was still on, so with any luck, the intruder would look for me there first. In the darkness of my closet, I grappled for my cell phone in my purse. The battery was nearly dead, but I was able to dial 9-1-1.

  “Thank you for calling 9-1-1. All of our operators are busy right now—”

  Were they kidding me? I ended the call and tried again.

  Same message.

  I wanted to scream and throw the phone, but that would give away where I was.

  As an introvert, I didn’t know my neighbors or their numbers. Who could I call?

  Jonah Steel. He would help me. So I dialed his number. It rang once, twice, three times… The intruder was in my room now, still shuffling around. The phone was still ringing in my ear. Jonah hadn’t picked up, and I dared not leave a message on his voice mail. The intruder might hear me. At least he would see I had called. Maybe he would try to call me back. I put the ringer on silent just in case.

  I tried 9-1-1 once more and got the same message. No one was going to help me. I was truly alone.

  I would have to help myself. My eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I looked around my closet. There was nothing to use as a weapon except for my shoes. Right then, I wished I were a shoe whore and that I had some sharp stilettos that I could use to gouge an intruder’s eye out.

  But not me. Not frugal Melanie Carmichael, who wore cotton bras and panties and who thought six hundred and seventy-five dollars was too much to pay for an emerald-green nightgown. Of course I had no sharp stilettos. They were too expensive and nonfunctional.

  I grabbed a brown suede pump with a kitten heel. It would have to do. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself not to cry.

  I had to be strong. I longed to stand and shed the towel that covered my body, to put on some clothes, but I didn’t dare move.