Breathless (Steel Brothers Saga #10)(38)

Chapter Twenty–Four





Bryce





I’d flipped through that damned book, waiting for a design to speak to me, and now one was screaming my name.

Colin’s design.

This was the tattoo I wanted.

How sick was that? This image was no doubt born of the damage my father had inflicted on its designer. So why the hell was it speaking to me?

“He designed this himself?”

“That’s what he says.” Haley shrugged. “It’s not like we check copyrights and trademarks here. Someone wants the Coke logo, that’s what we give them.”

“Someone actually wanted the Coke logo tattooed on their body?”

“Sure. We don’t ask questions. We just do the work.”

“How much does a tattoo cost?”

“Depends. Usually a minimum of about three hundred.”

Had I heard correctly? “Dollars?”

“No. Three hundred potatoes.” She rolled her eyes. “Of course dollars. Jeez.”

That settled that. No tattoo for me, at least not today. Mom and I needed to be frugal until I started earning income.

Speaking of income, I had no choice but to accept the Steels’ offer. To do otherwise would make me a selfish ass. I’d just have to stay far, far away from Marjorie.

With her in the main house and me in the guesthouse, it wasn’t going to be easy.

I took out my phone and called Joe.





Dinner with Joe and Melanie at the best restaurant in Grand Junction wasn’t how I’d planned to spend the evening, but Mom insisted I go. I deserved it, she’d said, for taking the Steels’ offer and making a better life for my son.

Melanie radiated health and energy, her blond hair lustrous and thick around her shoulders and her cheeks a rosy pink. She’d just entered the third trimester of her pregnancy, and she was ravenous, devouring a sixteen-ounce hunk of prime rib.

“I can hardly keep up with her,” Joe said, laughing.

“Please,” Melanie said, having just swallowed. “The day I have your appetite is the day I weigh three hundred pounds.”

“You’ve hardly gained any weight at all that I can see,” I said truthfully. “Except your belly, of course.”

“Ha!” she said. “I’m just good at hiding it. I’ll be hitting the gym big-time with Ruby after the baby is born.”

“You’ll look perfect as always,” Joe said, his gaze upon his wife.

Love. God, they were so in love it was almost sickening.

I was truly happy for both of them, but being in close proximity with all the Steel brothers, who were as pussy-whipped as all get-out, wasn’t going to be the easiest thing to deal with, especially not while I was lusting after their baby sister.

“We figure you can start next week,” Joe said. “That’ll give you a few days to get settled.”

“Hold up,” I said. “It’ll take some time to move everything to the ranch.”

“Don’t worry about that. We’re hiring movers. You and Evelyn won’t have to lift a finger.”

I twirled my mashed potatoes with my fork. “We still have to pack.”

“They’ll handle that.”

“I’m perfectly cap—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know you are. But we’re happy to do this. It’s a write-off, you know?”

I sighed. “Look. I’m not complaining, but you’re making this too easy on me. I’m beginning to feel like a charity case.”

Joe shook his head, and the emotion in his brown eyes was almost…hurt. “None of us think of you that way. We’ve been through this.”

“I know, but—”

“No buts. You accepted the offer. We need you, and if we can make the change easier on you in the process, we want to do it.”

I opened my mouth to respond when my phone buzzed. I looked down. Shit. Ted Morse again.

“Do you need to take that?” Joe asked.

“I’m not taking it. It’s Ted Morse.”

“Colin’s dad?” Joe furrowed his brow. “Fucking bastard.”

“Jonah,” Melanie admonished. “This is a nice place.”

“Sorry. But you know what I think of that asshole.”

“Jonah!”

“He’s right,” I agreed. “The guy tried to have him framed.”

“I get it,” she said. “I don’t disagree. Trust me.”

“What the hell does he want?”

Melanie just rolled her eyes, apparently tired of arguing about language in a rather quiet upscale restaurant.

“He called me this morning. Said he had information for me and wanted to meet.”

“And you said…”

“Hell, no. Sorry, Melanie.”

“It’s okay. I give up,” she said.

“I told him to give it to me over the phone, but he said the FBI might have tapped us.”

“The FBI? The case is settled.”

“That’s what I told him. Then I hung up.”

Joe shook his head. “He’s looking for a payoff. The guy’s a mercenary if I ever met one.”