Chapter Nineteen

Jade

Talon’s eyes widened. “What the fuck?”

Quickly I told him the story about the birth certificates I’d found for both his mom and Larry. About how the name on Daphne’s birth certificate had been changed from Wade to Warren. And how someone had to have had big-time access to make those changes.

“That can’t be true,” Talon said. “And if it is…” His eyes were far away, and a mixture of rage and sadness laced them.

“If it is, what?” I asked.

“You say you got a creepy vibe from him, right?”

“Yeah. I suppose that could just be because he’s such an unethical attorney, though.”

“No, I trust your judgment, Jade. If you say he’s creepy, the guy’s a creep.”

“Like I said, I don’t really know that much about him. I plan to remedy that on Monday.”

“Goddamnit.” Talon stood, raked his fingers through his tousled hair, and paced around my room. “Goddamnit all to hell.”

“Talon, you’re freaking me out. What’s going on?”

He didn’t respond, just kept pacing, and then left my room. Since I didn’t have any clothes here, I was wearing my pullover top and my underwear as pajamas. I didn’t want to walk around the house that way, so I went next door to Marj’s room—she wasn’t there—and grabbed one of her robes.

Then I left in search of Talon. He was back in the office, sitting at his computer.

“Where’s Marj?” I asked.

“Over at Ryan’s, last I saw her.”

Why the hell was Marj at Ryan’s? But I didn’t ask. Talon was clearly on a mission of some sort. He was focused on his computer screen.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m going to find out who the hell Larry Wade is.”

“Why don’t you wait until Monday? I have all the state databases at my disposal at work. You won’t be able to find anything or do anything more than a Google search from here.”

“Not true. I have my ways.”

“Talon, it’s the middle of the night.”

He was clearly disturbed, raking his fingers through his hair constantly. “I don’t care. You know I don’t sleep much anyway. I’ve got to find out more about him and about that boyfriend of your mother’s.”

“Nico?”

“Yeah. Has he come back to see your mom yet?”

I shook my head. He hadn’t, and for the life of me I didn’t understand why. My mother had been fighting for her life for the last couple of weeks, and her boyfriend had up and disappeared. I didn’t get it.

“Do you want me to help you?” I yawned.

He shook his head. “No, go back to sleep, baby. I’m sorry I woke you.”

I smiled. I didn’t know what was bothering Talon, but the fact that he said he was sorry that he woke me meant the world to me. Whatever was going on in his head, therapy was helping. It might be that this rampage about finding out about Larry and Nico was just as therapeutic in its own way. I didn’t know, and Marj wouldn’t tell me. I just had to have faith that Talon would tell me eventually—when he was ready.

I walked over to him where he sat behind his desk and gave him a kiss on the top of his head. “Okay. I’m going to go back to bed. I love you.”

 

I woke from a sound sleep. My phone was buzzing on the night table. It took me a moment to adjust to my bearings. Light streamed through my window. It was morning—seven a.m. to be exact. Who would call me at seven on a Saturday?

I grabbed my phone—my father.

My heart jumped. Something must’ve happened with my mom. My skin chilled as I answered the call.

“Dad?”

“Yeah, sweetie, it’s me.”

“Are you okay? Is Mom okay?”

“Your mother’s fine. She woke up early this morning and asked for me. She and I had a very interesting talk.”

“Oh?” I was filled with relief that my mother was okay. Strange, I had never cared before about her well-being. Funny how now that I had almost lost her, I desperately didn’t want to. “What about?”

“This boyfriend of hers, this Nico Kostas.”

A chill ran through me. Talon was also interested in Nico, and I didn’t know why. “Did he come back?”

“No. He hasn’t been back at all. Your mother is beside herself.”

“I’m really sorry she’s upset, Dad. But honestly? Something in my intuition tells me it’s best that he stays away.”

“I have to agree with you, Jade, and I’ve never even met the man. Something that your mother told me this morning has me very concerned.”

“About what?”

“We were talking about him—this Nico—and your mother made a comment about a life insurance policy.”

“Yeah?”

“She said that Nico would’ve been a very rich man if she hadn’t survived the accident.”

My blood ran cold. I knew where this was going. “Oh my God…”

“Yeah. Evidently your mother had just taken out a one-million-dollar term life insurance policy and had named Nico Kostas as the beneficiary.”

“Why would she do that? As far as I know, she’s broke.”

“Which is maybe why Nico wanted to get rid of her. Your mother’s tastes are extravagant, as you and I both know. Maybe Nico got tired of footing the bill. Maybe he got tired of her.”

“My God, have you called the cops?”

“Yes, I have. They’re coming over to talk to me and to your mother. I’d like you to be here if you can.”

“Absolutely. I’m at the ranch right now. I’ll shower quickly and be on my way.”

“Great. I’ll see you soon.”

I ended the call.

Could Nico be a killer? I shuddered. Why in God’s name had I wanted that tattoo so badly? And it had upset Talon so much. I had already decided not to get that particular image because it upset Talon. Now I wasn’t sure I could get any phoenix image. All it would do is remind me of the person who might’ve tried to kill my mother. Why hadn’t I thought of it sooner? Nico’s airbag had functioned just fine. He had escaped with hardly a scratch. But for my mother’s not to deploy? Here she was suffering broken bones, multiple lacerations all over her face and body, and a severe concussion.