I lifted my gaze from his feet and looked straight into his fierce blue eyes. “I said I want to know about Daphne Steel.”

“Are you sure that’s all you said?”

My heart hammered wildly. Could he sense my nerves? Looking at him—his frozen blue eyes, his mouth a straight line, his creepy balding head, anger strained around his edges—I saw him for what he was.

Larry Wade was a sociopath. And I feared I had just crossed a line into dangerous territory.

I gulped and nodded. I berated myself for fearing this unethical piece of shit. But he was so close to me. The irate cold drifted from his body, frosting the air between us. Even though David and Michelle were right outside the office, I couldn’t go forward with my questioning about their probable familial relationship. That would take bravery I didn’t possess at the moment. So I decided to play it down, ask again without the “sister” reference, and relate it to the mysterious five-million-dollar withdrawal.

“Yes, I want to know about Daphne Steel. I think it will help the investigation.”

“I thought you said something else.”

I cleared my throat. “No. You must have misunderstood me.”

He raised one eyebrow. God, he looked sinister. For a moment I wasn’t sure he was going to say anything.

Then, “Daphne Steel died almost twenty-five years ago.”

I chewed on my lower lip. “I know that. That’s also right around the time when that five-million-dollar transfer was made out of one of the Steels’ accounts to an unknown recipient.”

Larry backed away slowly, and my panic lessened, but just a bit. If I had to, I could leapfrog over my desk and run out the door. Though in my pencil skirt and high heels, it would be a feat.

“Interesting,” Larry said. “I hadn’t considered that angle.”

I didn’t believe him for a minute. I was investigating the Steels on the city’s dime, but this was very personal to Larry, despite the fact that he’d said the Steels were “good people” the first time we’d met. Why would someone want to cover up the fact that he and Daphne Steel were half-brother and half-sister? Of course, I could certainly understand why the Steels wouldn’t want to be associated with him. He was a true sleazebag. Ethics meant nothing to him, and now his coldness was scaring the hell out of me.

“You told me to look for anything that was out of the ordinary. I think that’s out of the ordinary.”

He nodded. “It does seem odd. Have you had any luck finding out where the withdrawal went?”

I shook my head. In truth, I hadn’t had the chance to investigate the withdrawal any further. I’d been too busy exploring the link between Larry and Daphne and the cover up of Talon’s heroism. “They cover their tracks pretty well. I haven’t been able to come up with anything.”

I doubted, however, that the withdrawal had anything to do with Daphne Steel. I suspected it was related to whatever Wendy Madigan wasn’t telling me about what happened twenty-five years ago.

“Honestly,” Larry said, “I wouldn’t go delving into Daphne Steel anymore. From what I know of her, she was very troubled. Investigating a dead woman won’t lead to any pertinent information.”

Maybe not for him. Besides, he hadn’t shared with me the reason why he was investigating the Steels, other than his idea that they were allegedly involved in organized crime and laundering funds. I didn’t believe that, not for a minute. Then again, I knew very little about Talon’s father. Maybe Bradford was the place to start. Clearly, Larry didn’t want me uncovering anything else with regard to Daphne.

I’d continue to do his dirty work because it meant I could help Talon, Marj, and their brothers in the process. I’d also keep my ears and eyes open for another job. I wasn’t going to work for this asshole one minute longer than I had to.

I no longer felt safe here.

“Of course,” I said, “if that’s what you want. I won’t look any further into Daphne. Enjoy your afternoon and evening with the grandkids.” I hoped he’d take that as an invitation to leave.

Instead, he stared at me with his icy eyes, never blinking. Not once. I turned back to some work on my desk.

And then, “Jade?”

I looked up and met Larry’s gaze. “Yes?” Invisible snakes slithered over my flesh. Just being in this close proximity with Larry made my skin crawl. Something was off about him, and it had nothing to do with his missing toe. If my instincts were correct, it went way beyond his bending of legal ethics as well.

He curved his lips upward in a sleazy half smile. “You have a good weekend.” He turned and walked slowly out of the room.

A full twenty minutes passed before I felt secure enough to stand and leave the office.

Chapter Two

Talon

Dr. Carmichael was silent for a moment. Then, “I see. You weren’t kidding when you said you had come through something horrific.”

I cleared my throat. “No, I wasn’t.”

“Not that I thought you were. I figured it was something like this. Can you talk a little more about it?”

Oddly, now that I’d said the word—the word I’d kept so tightly bound within my mind for so many years—I wanted to speak. I wanted to tell her everything that had happened. And I wanted her to help me. My nerves were rattled, and my pulse raced, but I wanted—needed—to continue.

“Yes, I believe I can.”

“All right, go on.”

“They kept me locked up for over a month. Close to two, although I didn’t know that at the time. The days and nights blurred together, and I had no idea how long I’d been there or what day it was when I left.”

“So there were three of them?”

I nodded. “I don’t remember a whole lot about them. The one who took the lead had a phoenix tattoo on his left forearm. And he had dark-brown eyes. I only remembered that recently, during the guided hypnosis.”

“He seems to be the one that most of your rage is directed at.”

“I’ve no love lost for any of them, believe me.”

“Then why the focus on him? He’s the one you dreamed about killing.”

Why was it him? I hated all three of them to the depths of my soul. But the one with the tattoo—that mythical bird that had come to have such a contradictory meaning in my life—that one I abhorred.