by HELEN HARDT
He laughed. “Yes, it is that. It belongs to someone you knew, and the funny thing about this car is that it’s an older model. I can start it and then lock it so no one can get in while the motor is running.”
“So?”
And then it hit me.
“No!” I tried pulling away from him.
“So you figured it out?”
He pushed me into the garage, against the car, and then jiggled the keys in my face. “You won’t be able to open the door and turn off the ignition without these. And guess what? I’m taking them with me.”
My heartbeat raced as cold fear pulsed through my veins. “Let me go! Let me go!”
“I’m afraid not, Doctor. You’re going to die. In this garage, at the mercy of this car. Just like Gina Cates did.”
Chapter Thirty–Seven
Jonah
Still no answer from Melanie.
The next morning, I was starting to get concerned and was getting ready to drive to Grand Junction, when I got a frantic phone call from Bryce.
“I want to go back to Grand Junction, Joe,” he said. “I want to talk to Larry Wade again.”
“Your timing couldn’t be better,” I said. “I was just getting ready to drive into the city now. I suppose I could stop and see Larry first. We’ll have to take separate cars, though, because I have some things to do afterward.”
The two of us made quick time into the city. Before I knew it, we were sitting at the table, the same table we had sat at weeks before, waiting for the guard to bring Larry out.
I looked around the sterile room. And then I snapped my neck to the left. A silver-haired man was leaving the visitation room. From behind, he looked just like—
Tom Simpson.
I couldn’t say anything to Bryce. What if I was wrong?
But no, just as with every interaction I’d had with Tom Simpson, I felt knowledge deep within my soul. That was him, and he’d been here to see Larry. I looked around the large room. Sure enough, Larry sat at another table. He stood, and the guard brought him over to us. Too many thoughts were jumbled in my head right now—all that Wendy had told us, what we knew for sure, and then those gut feelings of mine—those gut feelings about Tom Simpson that wouldn’t go away.
I turned to Bryce. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
He nodded. “The close call with Henry made me even more sure. Now that I know what happened to Luke, I’m determined to figure this whole thing out. Find out why this happened and who was responsible. Some way, I’ll convince Larry Wade to tell us.”
I hadn’t given Bryce any of the information that Talon and I had gotten from Wendy Madigan. It just didn’t sit right with me, and until I had more evidence, I wasn’t going to say anything. I also hadn’t had the heart to tell Bryce that I thought the third abductor might be his father. How could I tell him something like that? It was hard enough knowing that one of them was my own uncle. But I hadn’t known he was my half-uncle. I hadn’t even known he existed, thanks to the cover up of the relationship between him and my mother. Bryce had grown up with Tom. Tom was his father, and as far as I could tell, he’d been a good one.
I still didn’t know where Tom’s birthmark was. What if it was on his arm, like Talon remembered? What were the chances of two men in the same area having an identical birthmark in the same place?
Probably about as good as being struck by lightning.
When Larry sat down at our table, he looked like he had lost weight since the last time I’d seen him. He also had a big bruise around one eye.
“What the hell do you two want?” he said.
“Get into a fight?” I asked.
“What the fuck do you care?”
“I don’t. Serves you right, and it’s still not even a down payment on what you did to my brother and those other kids. I imagine child molesters aren’t looked too favorably upon by other prisoners.”
Larry said nothing.
“Today, Uncle Larry,” I said, “you’re going to tell us the names of those other two abductors.”
He shook his head. “Nope. I’m afraid I’m not.”
“What the hell do you care? The DA is offering a good deal. And you’re already getting your ass kicked in prison. Look at you.”
Still he shook his head. “I can’t. And I won’t.”
“What if we’re willing to sweeten the pot a little?” Bryce asked.
“With what? If I walked away from the Steels’ money, what makes you think you have anything to offer me?”
“My father’s the mayor of Snow Creek. He can talk to the governor. Maybe get you a pardon.”
I jerked toward Bryce. “What the fuck?” I said through clenched teeth.
“What’s the problem?” Bryce said. “You want to find out who did this, don’t you?”
“Not at the expense of letting this asshole free. Hell, no.”
Larry chuckled. “I can guarantee you one thing, son. Your father won’t do shit for me.”
“How can you say that? He appointed you as a city attorney when you needed a job.”
“There were special circumstances there.”
“Like what?” Bryce asked.
“Confidential special circumstances.”
“Just as well,” I interjected. “Because, Bryce, we’re not letting this asshole out. I don’t care if the president himself wants to pardon him. I will not let it fucking happen. Absolutely not.”
“Calm down, Joe,” Bryce said. “I didn’t know you would freak out this way.”
“This scumbag molested my brother. This scumbag molested and killed your cousin.”
Larry started to speak, but I silenced him with a gesture.
“How could you possibly think I would be okay with getting him pardoned? Not only does he deserve to be in prison for life, but also, what if he got a pardon and then he got out and molested another kid? Maybe your kid?”
Bryce went pale. “Okay. It was just a thought. My father probably wouldn’t do it anyway.”
“That’s for damn sure,” Larry said.
“Just what in the hell do you have against my father?” Bryce demanded. “He’s been the mayor for over ten years. Before that, he was a prominent attorney in Snow Creek.”
I had to bite my tongue not to say anything. If I’d been alone with Larry, I would’ve said straight out that I thought Tom Simpson was the third abductor. Of course, Jade had asked him straight out if Nico Kostas was one, and he had given her a poker face. So he would undoubtedly do the same. Time to give it a test.
“I have a name, Uncle. Was one of the men Nico Kostas?”
“No,” he said.
One of his eyebrows rose just a bit. Was that a tell?
“Just tell us,” Bryce pleaded. “It will be worth your while. You’ll get a lighter sentence. And Joe has already offered you money for a lawyer.”
Larry looked intently at Bryce. “Why is it so important for you to learn the truth?”
“Because Luke Walker was my cousin. Because Talon is Joe’s brother. Because I have a son of my own now, and I would die inside if anything like this ever happened to him. So I want to know the truth. I want to know who those fuckers are so we can get them off the street and they’ll never again hurt innocent children like my son.”
Larry looked at Bryce, his face stern. “Look, I’ve got nothing against you, kid—”
“Kid? I’m thirty-eight,” Bryce said.
“To me, you’re a kid.” Larry coughed. “I’m not going to tell you who they are.”
Bryce stood. “Then Joe and I will find them on our own.”
Still facing Bryce, Larry curled his lips into a sleazy half smile, his blue eyes creeping eerily toward me while his head stayed still. “Keep looking if you want to, kid, but let me give you a piece of advice. The truth is overrated. Once you open the door to that dark room, getting out is damn near impossible.”
Continue The Steel Brothers Saga with Book Five
Burn
; Coming February 14th, 2017
Enjoy Steel Brothers: Melt?
Leave a review on
Amazon
Message from Helen Hardt
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Melt. If you want to find out about my current backlist and future releases, please like my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HelenHardt and join my mailing list: http://helenhardt.com/signup/. I often do giveaways. If you’re a fan and would like to join my street team to help spread the word about my books, you can do so here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hardtandsoul/. I regularly do awesome giveaways for my street team members.
If you enjoyed the story, please take the time to leave a review on a site like Amazon or Goodreads. I welcome all feedback.
I wish you all the best!
Helen
Also by Helen Hardt
The Sex and the Season Series:
Lily and the Duke
Rose in Bloom
Lady Alexandra’s Lover
Sophie’s Voice
The Perils of Patricia (coming soon)
The Temptation Saga:
Tempting Dusty
Teasing Annie
Taking Catie
Taming Angelina
Treasuring Amber
Trusting Sydney
Tantalizing Maria (October 25, 2016)
Daughters of the Prairie:
The Outlaw’s Angel
Lessons of the Heart
Song of the Raven
The Steel Brothers Saga:
Craving
Obsession
Possession
Melt
Burn (February 14, 2017)
Surrender (May 16, 2017)
The Cougar Chronicles:
The Cowboy and the Cougar
Calendar Boy
Collections:
Destination Desire
Her Two Lovers
Non-Fiction:
got style?
Discussion Questions
The theme of a story is its central idea or ideas. To put it simply, it’s what the story means. How would you characterize the theme of Melt?
What new things are revealed about Jonah in this book? About Melanie?
Do you think Melanie failed Gina? Why or why not? How do you feel about her not telling anyone about Gina’s letter?
Discuss the character of Bryce Simpson. What might his childhood have been like? His relationship with his father?
Do you think Jonah is right about Tom Simpson being an iceman? Why or why not?
Whose blood might be on the business card found in Jade’s bedroom? Whose fingerprints?
Discuss Jonah’s altercation with Talon while they were driving to Denver. Do you think it helped either or both of them? Why or why not?
What do you think Melanie bought at the Snow Creek hardware store?
Is Jonah letting his feeling of being responsible for everything go too far? Why or why not?
Discuss Jonah and Talon’s conversation with Wendy Madigan. Do you think Wendy is telling the truth? Why or why not?
Discuss the Cates family. What do you know about them so far? Do you think they went after Melanie because of the ill-advised phone call she made? Or would they have come after her regardless?
Who do you think is responsible for kidnapping Melanie? The Cates family, or someone else?
Where do you think Jonah and Melanie’s relationship will go from here? How will Jonah feel once he finds out that Melanie was in danger and he ignored her call?
Will we see more of Oliver Nichols? What might his role be?
How will Melanie be rescued?
Acknowledgments
I enjoyed writing Melt, but I have to admit that I missed Jade and Talon. But once I got into Jonah’s and Melanie’s heads, I knew I had another amazing couple whose story needs to be told. Jonah and Melanie are as alike as they are different, which makes for some fun writing. I hope you all enjoy this first installment.
Thanks so much to my amazing editors, Celina Summers and Michele Hamner Moore. Your guidance and suggestions were invaluable. Thank you to my line editor, Jenny Rarden, and my proofreaders, Amy Grishman, Audrey Bobak, Angela Kelly, and Scott Saunders. Thank you to all the great people at Waterhouse Press—Meredith, David, Kurt, Shayla, Jon, Yvonne, and Robyn. The cover art for this series is beyond perfect, thanks to Meredith and Yvonne.
Thank you to the members of my street team, Hardt and Soul. HS members got the first look at Melt, and I appreciate all your support, reviews, and general good vibes. You ladies are the best!
Thanks to my always supportive family and friends and to all of the fans who eagerly waited for Melt. I hope you love it.
You know me—I can’t resist leaving my readers hanging. But have no fear. Burn is coming soon!
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Helen Hardt's passion for the written word began with the books her mother read to her at bedtime. She wrote her first story at age six and hasn’t stopped since. In addition to being an award-winning author of contemporary and historical romance and erotica, she’s a mother, a black belt in Taekwondo, a grammar geek, an appreciator of fine red wine, and a lover of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. She writes from her home in Colorado, where she lives with her family. Helen loves to hear from readers.
http://www.helenhardt.com
http://www.facebook.com/helenhardt
