“Yeah, Jade is right. Larry won’t roll over. He’s scared.”

“How would you know?” Talon asked.

“I went to see him. Bryce and I.”

“Bryce went with you? Really?”

“Yeah, now that this whole thing is dredged up again, he wants to find out what happened to Luke.”

“Oh my God, you didn’t tell him what they did to Luke, did you?” Talon rubbed at his chin.

“I had to. I hadn’t, which was a bonehead move on my part, but he insisted on going with me to see Larry, and Larry mentioned that you knew. Which of course meant that I knew. So I was the one who had to tell Bryce.”

“God, I’m sorry, Joe,” Talon said.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for. None of us have been through the hell you have. Bryce needed to know. Hell, Bryce wanted to know. If I hadn’t told him, Larry probably would have.”

“It’s a nasty situation all around,” Jade said. “But now we have to figure out where to go from here. I can get a court order for Larry to take a blood test, so we can check to see if his DNA matches what’s on the card. We already know his fingerprints are on the card, so I’m sure Judge Gonzalez will give me the warrant.”

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Talon said. “The next thing I want to try to figure out, while we’re dealing with this, is why in the hell Mom and Dad swept this shit under the rug twenty-five years ago.”

“I can talk to Wendy again,” Jade said. “But Talon, I think maybe you should talk to her. She told me the last time we spoke that there were things she had promised only to reveal to you.”

My skin tightened around me. I wanted to know some answers as well. Why in the hell had my father, who was an intelligent and reasonable man by anyone’s standards, allowed this to happen?

“I think Jade’s right,” I said. “And I want to go with you. I think we should visit her in person. We need to go to Denver.”

“Jade, you should come along too,” Talon said. “After all, you’re the one who has the relationship with her.”

Jade shook her head. “I’ve actually been thinking about that. I don’t think I should be there. I’m pretty sure she’ll only reveal the stuff to you alone, and maybe to your brothers. So yes, take Jonah with you. Maybe Ryan, too.”

“Ryan’s too busy,” Talon said. “He’s knee-deep in winemaking and wine-bottling. Busiest time of the year. I wanted him to come over here today and hear about the new evidence, but he couldn’t get away.”

I nodded. “Understandable. Jade, I understand your reluctance to go as well. But Talon, I do think the two of us should go.”

“Will you and Marj be okay at the house with your mom and all?” Talon said.

“Of course.” Jade smiled. “With that mega-security system you have installed, no one can get in. My mother is a handful no matter what. But she’s got a physical therapist and her nurse to deal with her. I can handle it. Marj can handle it.”

“Still, I’m going to have Steve Dugan keep an eye on the place.”

“That’s fine,” Jade said. “When do you guys want to leave?”

“I can go anytime,” Talon said. “Axel is used to me taking off by now. He’s getting a big raise this year, by the way.”

I nodded. “No problem. I can probably get away anytime. I’ve got guys I trust seeing to the day-to-day stuff, and we’ll only be gone a day or two. I just need to have Dolores check my calendar.”

“You want to fly or drive?”

I thought for a moment. It was about a four-hour trip. Maybe a road trip with my brother was just what I needed. “Why don’t we drive? We won’t have to rent a car when we get there.”

“Works for me,” Talon said. “We’ll leave as soon as we can. Check in with Dolores. And oddly, I got a phone call from Melanie’s secretary earlier today. Said she had to cancel my appointments for the next three weeks.”

I jolted. Of course I couldn’t tell Talon anything about what Melanie told me, but the mention of her name stirred me. Where was she? She should’ve come out by now.

“Excuse me for a minute, guys,” I said.

I walked briskly back to my bedroom. “Melanie?” I said softly as I walked in. I checked the sitting area, the bathroom, even the walk-in closet, since I’d caught her in there earlier.

She was nowhere to be found.

I walked back to the kitchen. “Did you see Melanie leave? She’s not here.”

Both Talon and Jade shook their heads.

“That’s strange. Wouldn’t we have noticed if she walked out?”

“Maybe not,” Jade said. “We were kind of all involved in the whole blood and DNA thing.”

“I don’t understand why she would leave,” I said.

“I think she was probably embarrassed,” Talon said. “I mean, we did catch you guys naked. What was going on here, anyway?”

“That’s still none of your business,” I said.

“Hey, it’s no big deal. She’s a great woman. I know you have the hots for her. But…I thought you were seeing her as a therapist.”

“I told you, this isn’t any of your business.”

“Joe, it’s okay to date her. Really. I don’t mind.”

“I wouldn’t care if you did mind, Talon, but we’re not dating.”

“Okay, then I don’t care if you fuck her either.”

I clenched my teeth. For some reason, the idea that he thought Melanie was just a fuck to me got my ire up. “I’m not fucking her either.”

That was one big goddamned lie. But it struck me that I really didn’t know what was going on between Melanie and me. Did I want a relationship with her? I wasn’t really ready to have a relationship. So why had I started this?

Because something about her drew me. Like we were kindred spirits or something. Both struggling with guilt, both needing an outlet.

Is that what I was to her? An outlet?

She had come to me today, needing comfort. But as soon as things got a little uncomfortable, she had bailed.

The thought slid into me like a knife in the heart. Her embarrassment over the situation had been more important than coming out to meet Jade and to be with me.