Melt (Steel Brothers Saga #4)(24)

“Yeah, she was.”

“I know a woman named Melanie.”

“Do you now?”

“She sounds a lot like your Melanie. She helps people.”

“Is she yours?”

How I wished she were, but that wouldn’t happen. “No, I’m not that lucky. I don’t have a woman right now.”

“So why’d you walk in here…Jonah, did you say?”

“Yeah. You can call me Joe.”

“So why’d you walk in here, Joe?”

Should I tell him I’d been skulking around, trying to find someone to kick my ass? All the times I’d been down here, and never once had I stopped in this little bar. What had led me here tonight?

I took a drink of my gin—not CapRock by a long shot—and looked Mike in his rheumy eyes. “If I could tell you, I would, but I don’t have a fucking clue why I’m here.”

Mike chuckled. “You sure do remind me of your brother.”

“How can you say that? You only met him once.”

“Well, you probably heard this before, but you look a lot like him. The two of you could be—well—brothers.”

That got a smile out of me. This guy was all right. “Yeah, we do look alike. We have a younger brother too, and he looks a lot like both of us. We all favor our dad.”

“He must be a good-looking man.”

“He was. He passed away a while ago.”

“I’m sure sorry to hear that.”

Mike had no idea. If my dad were still alive, we might be able to get some real answers about what had happened to Talon. Like why the hell our father had swept it under the rug for so long. But nope, we were stuck figuring it out on our own. And I was stuck trying to figure myself out on my own. I had effectively screwed up the doctor-patient relationship with Melanie. Not that I regretted sleeping with her. I hadn’t had anyone like her for a long time. I wasn’t sure if I ever had.

That was bullshit. I had never had a woman like her, and I never would again.

“Hey, people die.” I took another sip of rotgut gin.

Mike sighed. “That they do. I sure miss my Melanie.”

“You ever think of dating again?”

He laughed so hard I thought he might choke. “An old goat like me? Who would be interested?”

I couldn’t help a smile. “A woman your age maybe? You seem like a nice enough guy.”

“No, I’m good by myself these days. No one could ever replace Melanie. I’m not looking for advice on my life. I’d rather go about giving advice to people who need it. Like you.”

“What do you think I need advice about?”

“Well, when I said you reminded me of your brother, I didn’t just mean in looks—although you do look just like him. He ended up here one day not too long ago, and I asked him point-blank what the hell he was doing hanging out down here when he could obviously afford a better place. And now here you are. What the hell are you doing out here, son?”

“Just came in for a drink.”

“There are plenty of other places in the city where you could get that first-class gin you’re looking for.”

I looked down at the martini glass in front of me. I downed the rest of it and stood, pulling my wallet out of my pocket and throwing a twenty on the counter.

I looked over at Mike again and threw another twenty down. “Buy Mike here a couple more drinks if he wants them,” I said to Lucky.

“Didn’t mean to chase you out of here,” Mike said.

“You didn’t. I just have no business being here. See, I didn’t come down here to stop in the bar.”

“Yeah, I was pretty sure you hadn’t. Why did you come here?”

I wasn’t going to tell Mike about my penchant for getting my ass whooped. And hey, didn’t the fact that I stopped this time count for something? An empty alley wouldn’t have stopped me before. I’d have just kept walking until I found someone to pick a fight with.

I needed to see Melanie. I wanted to discuss this with her. Maybe she couldn’t be my therapist anymore, but I felt an overwhelming urge to open up to her. I didn’t relish telling her that I got my ass beaten on purpose, but she was a trained professional. She would understand. Even when I didn’t quite understand myself.

But even then, no matter how much I yearned to open up, I knew I wouldn’t tell her. At least not yet.

“I don’t know, Mike. I really don’t know.”

“Sit back down for a while. Maybe I can help.”

“No one can help me. I’ve tried.” I gave him a pat on the back and walked out.





Chapter Twelve





Melanie




My phone buzzed once again while I was waiting to be taken in to see Erica Cates, Gina’s mother. It was Jonah again. He’d called several times during my walk to Valleycrest Hospital, but I hadn’t picked up. I sighed. Sooner or later I’d have to deal with Jonah Steel, but right now, all I could think about was Gina’s mother, here in the mental wing of Valleycrest. I wasn’t sure coming to see her was a good idea, but I had to know that she was okay. That she would live.

I had privileges at Valleycrest, so I figured it wouldn’t be any problem to get in to see Mrs. Cates. Because of the nature of the situation, though, I had to jump through a few hoops. Dr. Cates had said his wife had been repeating my name, or what he thought was my name. Did that mean she wanted to see me, or did it mean something else?