Breathless (Steel Brothers Saga #10)(43)

“And he left?”

“Yes. He said he was sorry to bother me and wanted you to get in touch with him.”

“You did fine, Mom. Don’t worry. Just lock up and don’t answer the door again. I’ll be home soon.”

“It’s okay. Take care of your business. He didn’t seem threatening.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. We’re fine here.”

“All right. I’ll check in with you if things go much longer. Bye, Mom.” I walked back into Talon’s office.





Chapter Twenty–Seven





Marjorie





“Speak of the devil,” Bryce said.

My body tingled. Yes, just from him walking back into the room. Damn.

“Colin?” Talon asked.

“No. Ted. Apparently he was at my house minutes ago. My mom sent him away.”

“He showed up uninvited?” Joe said.

“Yup.” Bryce shoved his phone back into his pocket. “And I don’t like it one bit. We’ll be moving as soon as everything’s packed up, possibly before. Ted and I didn’t make plans to meet last night. He just said he’d be in touch, which apparently meant he’d show up at my home unexpected and freak my mother out. I should get home.”

“Takes a lot of nerve.” Joe’s words were more like a growl.

“Agreed,” I said, just to have something to say.

“If the Feds are seriously still watching us, why would Morse know about it and we don’t?” Joe asked. “And why would he show up at your house with them watching? He’s bluffing.”

“That’s my feeling,” Bryce said.

“Then what’s the priority?” I asked. “Have Jade talk to Colin, or have Bryce talk to Ted?”

“Why not both?” Joe said. “Seems we’ll get the most information that way, and if they give us conflicting accounts, we’ll know Ted’s a fucking liar.”

“Or Colin is,” Talon offered.

To Talon, Colin was a villain for what he’d done to Jade. To Joe, Ted was the villain for trying to blackmail him.

“Colin will be more accurate,” I said.

“You think?” Bryce asked. “Because Colin’s been through hell, and he probably blames all of us for that. It was my father, after all, and if Jade hadn’t met Talon, Colin wouldn’t have been here anyway.”

“How is any of that our fault?” I asked.

“It’s not. But he’s a victim, and he’s looking to place blame,” Bryce explained.

“Then he’s forgetting that I saved his sorry ass,” Joe said.

Indeed, Joe had rescued Colin from Tom Simpson. Colin had been near death, and probably would have died but for Joe.

“We’re all sorry for what he went through at my father’s hands,” Bryce said. “He must know that.”

“Sure, objectively,” Talon said.

“Objectively?”

“Let’s just say I get where he’s coming from.” Talon sighed.

Of course Talon understood. He was in a precarious position. Colin had hurt Jade, so he wanted to hate him. Yet he was also a kindred spirit to Colin in a way, as they’d both been brutalized at the hands of Tom Simpson.

“I’ll go talk to Jade,” I said.

“I’ll go with you.” Talon stood.

“And I guess I’ll call the elder Morse and set up a meeting,” Bryce said.

“I’ll be going with you,” Joe said.

“He may not be willing to meet with you,” Bryce said.

“That’s why we’re not going to tell him.” Joe smiled. “But I don’t want you going alone.”

“I can take care of myself, Joe.”

“You think that’s what this is about? You’ve held your own against me for thirty-plus years.”

“Then why?”

“Because he’ll fuck with you, Bryce. He’ll use your father against you. I’m not going to let that happen. Plus, he and I have history to settle.”

I excused myself, Talon following me, to speak to Jade.

She was in her bedroom, dressed and looking better than she had in a while, so that was good news. Talon entered and I followed.

“Hey, blue eyes.”

Her face lit up. “Hey, yourself.”

“Marj and I need to talk to you.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, fine. But… Crap. You tell her. I’m still not sure I like this idea.”

I gave Jade the lowdown on what Ted had been saying and about my visit with Colin at the smoothie shop. “If you talk to him, maybe you can figure out what’s going on.”

“Sure. I’ll be glad to do my part,” she said.

“And I’ll be with you,” Talon said.

“Tal,” I said. “He may not be completely truthful if you’re there glaring at him.”

“He’s got to know that anything he tells me will go straight back to my husband,” Jade said.

“Good point,” I said, “though he might be more willing to talk if you’re alone.”