Possession: Steel Brothers Saga: Book Three (5 page)

“Hey.” I stood. “How’s Jade’s mom doing?”

Marj blew out a breath. “She’s the same. Jade’s going to be coming back later tonight because she has to go to work in the morning. She’s a little miffed at you, though.”

“I know. But she’s with her dad, and there were a few things I needed to take care of here. She’ll understand one day.”

“Yeah? When?” My sister whipped her hands to her hips.

She was a spitfire, that one.

I sighed. “Well, sit down, and I’ll tell you.”

Marj eyed the empty glass of whiskey sitting in front of me. “Drinking at noon?”

“Yeah. But I’m done. I’m only having one.”

She pulled up a chaise and sat. “What did you guys want to talk to me about?”

None of us spoke for a moment, but when Joe opened his mouth, I held up a hand.

“No, Joe. I need to say it.” I turned to Marj. “You were right to be suspicious. We
have
been keeping something from you. And it’s been my decision. Because what we’ve been keeping from you is something that happened to me.”

“Oh my God. Are you okay?”

I cleared my throat. “I’m fine. Or at least, I’m getting there.”

She went pale. “What do you mean? Talon, you’re scaring me.”

“You know those news articles you found in Joe’s house? About the child abductions around the area twenty-five years ago?”

Her eyes got as big as dinner plates.

“One other child was taken, one that never made the news.” I closed my eyes, willing myself to calm. “That child was me.”

I
had left
my dad for a bit to go down to the cafeteria and get us some food. As I was walking back with some sandwiches, my cell phone buzzed with a number I didn’t recognize. I was so tired and worn out, I considered not answering it, but my curiosity eventually got the best of me.

“Hello?”

“Jade?”

“Yes. Who is this, please?”

“It’s Ted Morse again.”

“How did you get this number?”

“I found it among my son’s things.”

My body went cold. “Has Colin shown up yet?”

“No,” Ted said, his tone accusatory, “and it seems that you are the last to have seen him.”

“I assure you I have no idea where he is, Ted.” Worry tugged at me. I no longer loved Colin. Hell, I no longer liked him very much. But I didn’t want anything to happen to him.

“I’ve contacted the police. They’ll be in touch to question you since you were the last person to see him alive.”

Alive? Did he think Colin was dead? My heart thrummed wildly. “That’s not true. There were three other people with me the last time we saw him.” I thanked God for the alibi of Talon and his brothers. The way Ted was talking, I thought he might be trying to pin this on me.

“And who would that be?”

“Talon Steel and his brothers, Jonah and Ryan Steel. Colin and I had just come out of a restaurant, and the Steel brothers were coming out of a bar across the street.”

Ted huffed into the phone. “Drunk, no doubt.”

“No, they were
not
drunk. Also, it was Friday night and it was warm. There were other people walking around.”

“And that’s the last time you saw my son?”

I didn’t like his tone. Ted Morse was a powerful man, and as an attorney, I knew better than to spill my guts like I had. “Ted, if you want to talk to me any more about this, you’ll need to call back some other time. I’m in the hospital right now. My mother’s been in an accident, and she’s currently in ICU.”

Silence for a moment. Then, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

His tone didn’t indicate sorrow at all.

“So I’m sure you understand why I can’t talk anymore. Goodbye, Ted.” I ended the call.

Marj had left a couple hours ago, promising to read Talon the riot act for leaving me here. I desperately wanted to call him just to hear his voice. Instead, I went back to the waiting room where my father sat. “There wasn’t much down there. Here are a couple of ham-and-cheese sandwiches.”

“Thanks, sweetie.”

“No problem.” I unwrapped one and took a bite. I didn’t want to talk about Ted and Colin, so I said something else that had been on my mind. “I can’t get over Mom’s boyfriend leaving her here.”

“That
is
weird,” Dad agreed. “How much do you know about him?”

“Not much. She said he was a senator from Iowa. I’ve never heard of him. But it’s not like I keep up with who the senators are in Iowa. Honestly, I’m not sure what Mom saw in him. He was good-looking enough, olive skin and a great head of hair, nice build. But he had a slimy look about him, you know? I can’t really put my finger on it, but something about him seemed off.”

“You didn’t like him?”

“I can’t really say that. All I did was have dinner and go swimming with the guy. He was perfectly polite to me, and he had a gorgeous tattoo—a phoenix on his forearm. You know I’ve wanted a tattoo for the longest time, and that image was just so apt for my life right now.”

My dad shook his head. “I’ll never talk you out of that tattoo, will I?”

I smiled. “Sorry, Dad. I’m going to be inked at some point. I don’t know when, though. I had originally planned to come to the city this weekend and scout out some shops, but Mom’s accident obviously superseded that intention.”

“I’m sorry your mom is in here suffering, but if there’s any good in it, it’s that it kept you from getting a tattoo.” He smiled at me.

“Only postponed it, Dad.”

Talon had reacted horribly to the idea of me getting a tattoo. It was the image—the phoenix—that had upset him. What did he have against the phoenix?

I couldn’t be concerned with that now. I was about to take another bite of my sandwich and then get back to the subject of Nico Kostas, when one of the new duty nurses came out.

“Mr. Roberts, Ms. Roberts, Ms. Bailey has regained consciousness.”

I stood up quickly, knocking over my coffee. “God, I’m so sorry.”

The nurse smiled. “Happens all the time up here. I can only let one of you in right now.”

I looked to my father.

“You go, Jade. She’s your mother.”

I nodded and followed the nurse. My mother was still hooked up to all the machines, and her eyes were still slits, though the swelling had gone down quite a bit. Amazing what a difference a day made.

“She looks the same.”

“She’s conscious. Just say hello to her. Tell her you’re here.”

I took my mother’s hand. “Mom?”

Her eyes fluttered just a touch.

“Mom, it’s Jade. I’m here. You’ve been in an accident, but you’re going to be okay.”

Her eyelids fluttered again, and her lips started to move. I couldn’t make out anything she was saying.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to try to speak. Just know that I’m here. Dad is here too. Everything’s going to be fine.”

She moved her lips again, and one word croaked out. “Nico.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes in front of the nurse. Her daughter was here, her ex-husband was here, but the only person she wanted was the guy we hadn’t seen head nor tail of since the first night.

“Nico will be here soon, Mom.” It was most likely a damned lie, but I didn’t want to upset her.

Her eyes flickered closed. I squeezed her hand, but there was no more response.

“It looks like she’s drifted out of consciousness again,” the nurse said, “but this was an excellent sign. The doctors are very happy with her progress.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “Can I let my dad come in?”

“He’s welcome to come in for a few minutes, but she’s no longer conscious.”

I went back to my dad and told him what happened.

“I’d like to meet this Nico,” he said.

“I’m sure he’ll turn up sooner or later,” I said. “A bad penny always does.”

* * *

I
was exhausted
when I got to work the next morning. My dad had driven me back to Snow Creek at nine o’clock last night, and then he drove back to Grand Junction, where he was staying at a motel. I said a quick hello to Michelle and David and then sat down at my desk and checked my calendar for the day’s events. I had a city council executive session this afternoon, but for now I was free. I took care of some administrative crap and then continued my investigation. I had fired up the Internet when Michelle poked her head into my office.

“Jade?”

“Yeah?”

“Have you heard from Larry today?”

I shook my head. “No. I haven’t seen him since Friday.” The ghost of him standing in the hallway talking to Nico drifted into my head. I was sure it had been Larry, though he hadn’t been wearing shorts and flip-flops as he had been when I’d last seen him at the office. Of course, it had been near midnight when I saw him at the hospital.

“He hasn’t called in, and I can’t reach him on his cell or home phone. He’s due in court in ten minutes, Jade. Can you cover?”

“What?” My stomach dropped.

“It’s just the Monday-morning docket. You can probably find all the folders on Larry’s desk.”

“Are you kidding me? I’m not prepared—”

“It doesn’t matter, Jade. You have to go. You’re all we have right now.”

I stood, flustered. “Fine, fine. Find everything in Larry’s office to get me up to speed. I’ll run over to the courthouse right now, and you bring the information as soon as you can. I’ll tell the judge what’s going on so I don’t look like a complete imbecile.”

The judge would probably not care that Larry had left me high and dry. She’d expect me there. The Monday docket was the Monday docket, and if the city attorney wasn’t available to handle it, the assistant city attorney would have to. And that, unfortunately, was me.

I looked down at my casual khaki pants and silk camisole. Hardly courtroom attire. Had I known I’d be going to court, I’d have worn a suit. Fortunately, a black cardigan was wrapped around the back of my chair. It would have to do.

“Bring the information as soon as you can,” I told Michelle again. “I’ll head on over.”

Damn Larry anyway.

* * *

A
few hours later
, it was over. I’d received a good talking to from Judge Gonzalez about adequate preparation. She wasn’t even slightly interested in the fact that her city attorney had flown the coop.

Judges were judges. I pledged to be better prepared from now on.

“Michelle,” I said, when I returned to the office, “from now on I want to be advised of all cases. All court dates. Whether Larry is in town or not, I want them all on my calendar, and I want to be fully apprised of each one. Make sure I get that information, please.”

I walked into my office and slammed the door shut. I hadn’t meant to be rude to Michelle. This was no more her fault than it was mine. But getting a dressing down from a judge was never on any lawyer’s “to do” list. Judge Gonzalez had been fair with me on Talon’s case, and she was perfectly within her right to expect me to be prepared to take over the city attorney’s duties. This would
not
happen again.

I sat down and picked up the receiver of my landline, ready to call my father, when my cell phone rang. Another number I didn’t recognize. “Hello?”

“I’m looking for Jade Roberts.”

“You found her. May I ask who this is?”

“Yes, this is Detective George Santos with the Denver PD. I’m investigating the disappearance of Colin Morse.”

Oh, shit. Just what I didn’t need right now. “I’m afraid I don’t know anything about that.”

“It’s our understanding that you were the last person to see Mr. Morse.”

“I was one of four to see him that evening. I was accompanied by three other people, and there were many others milling around the city on Friday night.”

“We’ve been in touch with the Snow Creek police. All three of them.” He scoffed. “One of their fine officers of the blue will be coming to see you, Ms. Roberts.”

“I will look forward to it with bated breath,” I said sarcastically. I knew better than to get mouthy with a cop, but this was so not a priority for me right now. I wanted Colin to be okay, but I had too much else going on to be overly concerned. All I wanted to do was check on my mother and then go and see Talon once work was over.

Would it be too forward to call Marj and request one of her homemade meals tonight? I could sure use it. And I could sure use a heavy dose of Talon.

I was still pretty mad at him for leaving me there Saturday. But maybe he really wasn’t ready to meet my father.

Maybe he didn’t love me as much as I loved him.

The thought hurt, kind of sliced my heart in two, but Talon was Talon. Something was eating him up inside, and as desperately as I wanted to help him, he had to let me first.

I went to pick up the landline again to call my father when a knock sounded on my door. God, would this workday never end?

“Come on in,” I said.

Michelle entered with an officer I recognized. “Jade, Officer Dugan needs to speak to you.”

“Sure. Come on in, Officer Dugan.” I gestured to one of my chairs. “Sit down.”

“I’m here to—”

I held up a hand. “I know why you’re here. I just got off the phone with the Denver PD. Go ahead and ask your questions. But I don’t know much.”

“I understand. When was the last time you saw Mr. Morse?”

“He took me to dinner Friday night a couple weeks ago. When we were coming out of Enzio’s, the Steel brothers were coming out of Murphy’s. We all chatted for a while, and then Colin went on his way.”

“Chatted” wasn’t really the right word for what had gone on, but I had basically told the truth. No punches had been thrown, thank God, though all four of them had threatened each other.

“Did he say where he was going?”

“No, he didn’t. I assumed he was going back to wherever he was staying in Grand Junction. He told me he was going to show up for court Monday morning, but then he didn’t.”