Breathless (Steel Brothers Saga #10)(70)

This time Colin met my gaze. “There are things you don’t know,” he said again.

“Really? Spill them, then. And while you’re at it, you can tell us what your father’s up to.”

“My father doesn’t tell me everything he does.”

“Did you know he was trying to pin your abduction on Joe?”

“Not at the time he was doing it. No.”

“Did it surprise you to find out?”

“Honestly?” He looked down again, shaking his head. “No.”

I turned to Jade. “You knew Ted Morse. What kind of man is he?”

“He seemed fine to me. Polite. Always nice, but never overly friendly. Though I did think it was weird, Colin, that you waited until we were engaged to even take me home to meet your parents.”

“Yeah, that always seemed weird to me too,” I agreed.

“You didn’t know my parents,” he said. “I did.”

“So?” I said.

“Does it matter at this point?” he asked.

“Yeah, maybe it does,” I said. “What’s up with your parents? Your father?”

“Your mother always seemed detached,” Jade said. “Detached from your father, from you. From everything.”

“She’s a classic trophy wife,” Colin said. “Botox and all. She looks the other way when my father has affairs, does questionable business deals.”

“So you admit he engages in questionable business deals,” I said.

“Does that really surprise you, after he tried to frame your brother?” Colin met my gaze once more.

“What was he thinking?” I asked. “You know what kind of money we have. How could he think he’d get away with framing Joe, who—I’ll say it again—rescued you?”

“If I knew what my father was thinking, I’d be able to deal with him a lot better. He doesn’t have a lot of scruples, which should be obvious to you by now. He saw dollar signs and was looking for a payoff. It’s really that simple.”

“Is it?” I asked. “Really?”

“Seems like it is to me.” He still met my gaze.

I had to give him credit. He was looking me in the eye and everything. For a few minutes, I stayed quiet, digesting Colin’s words.

“Tell me then, Colin. You say there are things I don’t know. Why did you leave me alone on our wedding day?”

“Does it matter now?” he asked.

“It matters to me. You told me you were afraid. You had cold feet. But we’d been together for seven years. Maybe I bought it at the time, but it doesn’t make any kind of sense.”

“I loved you, Jade. I still do.”

“She’s taken,” I said harshly. “And pregnant with my brother’s child.”

“I’m not here to win her back,” he said. “Jesus, Marjorie.”

“Why are you here, then?”

He cleared his throat. “To say I’m sorry.”

“Too little, too late.”

“You don’t understand,” he said. “I’m sorry for what I did. For what I allowed to happen.” He cleared his throat again. “And for what’s to come.”





Chapter Forty–Six





Bryce





I texted Joe, and he agreed to leave the meeting with his brothers and meet me at the dive bar in Grand Junction, where no one would see us or hear us. He was already sitting at the bar, nursing a martini and talking to an elderly man, when I walked in. I scanned the room quickly. No Heidi, thank God.

“Hey,” I said.

“Bryce, hey.” He held up his drink in greeting. “Meet Mike. Mike, my best and oldest friend, Bryce Simpson.”

“Hi, Bryce,” the old man said. “Any friend of the Steel brothers is a friend of mine.”

“Nice to meet you. How do you know the Steels?”

“We seem to cross paths a lot.” He set his empty glass on the bar and stood. “It’s way past my bedtime, though. I just hate going home to an empty house since my wife passed. See you around.”

I turned to Joe. “I hope he didn’t leave on my account.”

“Nah. He’s a good guy, though. Helped me out once. Helped Talon and Ryan as well, as I understand it. He seems to be something like a guardian angel, always around when we need him.”

“I wish he’d stayed, then. I could use a guardian angel about now.” I quickly told him about the call with Frankie.

“She gave up her rights to Henry,” Joe said. “Nothing to worry about. And if she tries anything, we’ve all got your back.”

“I know.” I signaled the bartender and ordered a bourbon.

“No beer?” Joe raised his brow.

“Had to grow up sometime.”

“So what’s up?” Joe asked. “Other than all the shit we’ve got on our plates already.”

I took a sip of the drink the barkeep had placed in front of me. “Harsh stuff.”

“They specialize in rotgut here.” Joe smiled, holding up his martini glass. “This isn’t exactly Cap Rock, but sometimes you need the harsh stuff. It reminds you that life can be…well…harsh.”