“You know what? No, it’s not easy for me to say. Do you think I’m looking forward to sitting our baby sister down and explaining what happened twenty-five years ago? Are you kidding me? But she deserves to know how she came into this world, why she goes by her middle name, why her mother fucking committed suicide, for God’s sake.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but Joe kept right on yelling.

“Dad went to a lot of time and trouble and money to cover this up when it happened, but I’m wondering if he didn’t do us all a disservice back then. We were never allowed to deal with it. We swept it under the rug. Then poor Mom couldn’t deal with it. So she fucking offed herself. It’s time for this all to be over.” He slammed his hand down on the wooden arm of the Adirondack chaise longue he was sitting in.

Ryan’s lips trembled, but he did not speak. That was Ry. He accepted the fact that this was my decision. I was his big brother. I was his hero. I had saved him that day. He would never go against my wishes. I knew that as well as I knew that my name was Talon John Steel. If I fought Jonah on this, Ryan would be right behind me, having my back.

But was it worth the fight anymore? If I worked through this and came out alive on the other side, could I have a life with Jade?

Because a life with Jade was what I truly wanted. Ached for. I would never be able to live without her. She had become my obsession. As vital to me as the oxygen I breathed.

So I did the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I turned to Ryan, and I said, “It’s time.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jade

Colin was here? Hadn’t my ex-fiancé already given me enough heartache and headache to last the rest of my life?

“Could you tell him to go away, Felicia? It’s Saturday night, and I really don’t want to be bothered.”

“All right, Miss Jade.”

A few minutes later, Colin walked out onto the deck.

“I’m so sorry, Miss Jade. He just stomped right past me. I couldn’t stop him.”

“Oh my God. I’m sorry, Felicia. Are you okay?”

“Of course. He didn’t touch me or anything.”

I eyed Colin. “Darn good thing, or I might have him arrested for assault and battery.” I said the last through gritted teeth, referring to him having Talon arrested for the same. Granted, Talon had beaten the snot out of him, but I couldn’t say I was too sorry. This was the guy who’d left me at the altar a few months ago.

“Why in the hell are you back here?”

“Your new boyfriend and I have a court date on Monday. Have you forgotten?”

“I struck a deal with Talon’s attorney. You don’t even have to be here, Colin.”

“Yes, but I have a few words to say to the court. Like maybe I’m not happy with the deal that you struck.”

“You’re going to be getting full restitution.”

“I don’t give a shit about restitution, Jade. You know I don’t need any Steel money. I have my own. I want to see the guy rot in prison.”

“He’s not going to prison for a misdemeanor assault, no matter what you do. Have you forgotten that we have an eyewitness? Namely me?”

“Yeah, also the prosecuting attorney on the case. No way should you be handling this, Jade.”

I opened my mouth but shut it quickly. He was right. I had so many conflicts in this case, but my boss, the unethical Larry Wade, had insisted I take it.

“If I read the Colorado statutes correctly, he can get up to six months in prison for misdemeanor assault.” Colin smirked.

“Yeah, and as the city attorney on the case, I don’t think it’s worth the taxpayers’ time or money to pursue this any further. I’m pretty sure the court’s going to agree with me.”

Colin nodded. “Sure. Because Steel is a homeboy. He’s probably got the judge in his pocket.”

Marjorie stepped forward then. “You take that back, Colin. My family may have money, but we are decent citizens, and we don’t buy people.”

Colin rolled his eyes. “Do you think I was born yesterday, Marj?”

“Oh my God, Jade. How did you stay with this asshat for seven years?”

I had no clue. Seven years of my life down the toilet. What if I had married him? He stood there, his dirty-blond hair slicked back, looking ever so sanctimonious in his pinstripe navy-blue suit and yellow tie. Who wore yellow ties anymore? Hello, Colin? This is the eighties. We want our tie back.

“What are you doing here now? The court date isn’t until Monday, and you can easily get a hotel room until then. Why can’t you leave me in peace?”

“I want to take you to dinner.”

“Not that I would go to dinner with you anyway, but Marj and I are just about ready to sit down to eat. Felicia made some awesome spaghetti.”

“Oh, I think you’ll come to dinner with me.”

“And why in hell would I do that?”

“Because if you don’t, I’m going to make things really difficult for both you and Talon Steel come Monday morning.”

My heart lurched a bit, but I—hopefully—concealed it, willing myself to remain calm. “Seriously? You’re going to threaten me? Threatening an officer of the court? Threatening a defendant?” I looked over at Marj. “You’re my witness. He just made a threat.”

“That wasn’t a threat, Jade,” Colin said. “It was just a fact. You think this kind of thing doesn’t happen in court all the time? God, you are naïve.”

“If you don’t leave now,” Marjorie said, “I’ll call the cops and have you escorted off my property.”

“Simmer down, Marj,” Colin said. “This is between Jade and me.”

“Well, Jade is on my property and currently under my protection.”

Colin let out a snort. “Under your protection? What are you, a gangster now?”

“It’s a good thing my brothers aren’t here,” Marj said. “They’d kick the shit out of you again, and neither one of us would stop them.”

“You’d better watch what you say too,” Colin said. “That sounded kind of like a threat to me.”

“Just a fact.” Marj curled her lips into a saccharine smile.