This was a man who still was trying to hold on to some semblance of honor. After all, he’d waited until all his children had reached adulthood before disappearing into thin air. He cared about his children.

Well, I cared about his children too.

“They won’t forgive you,” I said. “Ryan and the others. They won’t forgive you for leaving them.”

“After they hear the whole story, they might.”

“What if they don’t?”

He sighed. “Then I’ll have to live with that. Everything I ever did was with their best interests in mind.”

“Even Talon?”

“Yes, even Talon. What happened to him was a travesty. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t hate myself for it. Wendy is a vengeful woman. An evil woman.”

The ring. The quote.

“Who designed the future lawmakers ring?” I asked.

“She did.”

“Did she ever tell you what the symbol on the ring meant?”

“Not in so many words. But we figured it out.”

“So did your sons. We’ve all figured it out. Wendy was the mastermind behind all of this.”

“Yes, she was.”

“I hope you know that doesn’t absolve you or my father or any of the others of any of the guilt.”

He sighed again. “How well I do know that.”

“Talon was taken because your wife got pregnant with Marjorie. What do you think that is going to do to Marj when she finds out? And she will find out. We can’t keep that from her.”

His eyes pleaded with me. “Please. She can’t know that. I wasn’t able to shield the boys, but Marjorie… My baby girl…”

“More secrets? No.” I shook my head vehemently. “This all ends now.”

Before Brad could respond, someone knocked on the door.

“Yes?” Brad said.

Marabel entered and brought Juliet inside. “Miss Juliet is tired from roughhousing with the pups. I’m going to take her to lie down.”

“I need to go with her,” I said. “I don’t want her to be alone.”

Juliet looked visibly relieved.

I turned to Brad. “This isn’t over.”

* * *

When I opened my eyes, darkness had fallen. I had no idea how long I had slept, but I must have been exhausted. Nothing else would have let me fall asleep in this strange place. I’d been fighting it, frightened I’d have another freaky dream. Juliet was still snoring softly in the other bed.

I rose, went to the bathroom, and then I tiptoed out of the room, sliding against the wall. The door to Brad Steel’s office was ajar, and voices spoke within.

“She’s not ready.” Brad Steel’s voice.

“They’re on their way. She’ll need to get ready quick.” Shit! My father’s voice.

“She can’t yet. She’ll go off the deep end.”

“She’s already off the deep end.”

“Damn it!” A fist hit a hard surface, probably the mahogany desk. “You’re still a sick man, Theo. The fact that we’re working together now doesn’t change that.”

“I won’t try to atone for my crimes. It’s impossible. But I’m willing to do what I need to do, for my daughter’s sake as well as my own, though I don’t expect you to believe that. I want out. But I need what you owe me.”

A ringing commenced in my ears. Had I heard him correctly? He was actually thinking of me? He wanted out for my sake? I must have misheard. Mere days ago he’d been trying to get me to call off the Steel brothers.

“Why now? After…everything?” Brad asked.

“I’ve tried to get your kids to stop this manhunt, but they’re determined. I’m too old and tired to run anymore. And you may not believe this, but there are times I regret…everything.”

“Even torturing my son?”

My father sighed. “Especially that. All of it. I mean all of it.”

“It seemed easy enough for you at the time.”

“It gets easier after a while. After you’ve…” Silence for a few seconds. Then, “You don’t know what she’s capable of.”

“I don’t know what she’s capable of? You’re forgetting who you’re talking to. She turned my life upside down. And not just mine. My wife’s. My children’s.”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out they were talking about Wendy Madigan.

Silence for a moment. A muffled buzzing sound. Then, Brad’s voice. “They’re here.”

I tiptoed silently back to my room and closed the door.

Who was here? My father had said Ryan had arrived on the other island. Was he here? My heart jumped in anticipation. But if it was Ryan and his brothers, who was the “she” they’d been referring to? The “she” who wasn’t ready for “them” to be here?

Three choices.

The woman with the baby.

Juliet.

And me.

They could have been talking about any of us, depending on who was here. It couldn’t be the Steels. I certainly was ready for them to be here, and they wouldn’t harm Juliet. And the woman with the baby should have no problem with them either.

Juliet was still sleeping soundly.

I quietly stole out of the room again. The office was now empty. I traipsed down the corridor, shielding myself as best I could against the wall.

Marabel was nowhere to be found, nor were my father or Brad. Perhaps they had gone out the front door. I sneaked down the other hallway to the master suite. The door was ajar, and I opened it slightly and peeked inside. The woman in the robe was sitting in a rocking chair, looking lovingly into a bassinet. The baby must be inside.

A slight whoosh. Maybe the front door opening? We were far from the foyer, but the noise had been muffled.

The woman got up swiftly. I flattened myself against the wall. She didn’t appear to notice me. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Once she had left, I walked into the room.

I peeked into the bassinet. Angela slept soundly.

I touched her baby soft cheek…

“Oh!” I gasped.

The skin beneath my fingers was soft but not warm. Not…human. Not at all. It looked human, yes, but it wasn’t.

The child didn’t move, didn’t react at all to my touch.

No wonder Angela never made a sound. She was a doll. A very lifelike doll—the size of a real baby, but a doll nonetheless.

If I hadn’t thought I was visiting crazy town before, I knew I’d arrived now. I stood, motionless, but then jerked as I heard bustling. I sneaked back down the hallway.

Then, a feminine voice—the lady.

“You’ve brought the boys home, finally! Jonah, Talon, Mama has missed you so much!”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Ryan

We had driven up to and walked into a replica of our ranch house at home. Neither Talon nor I had reacted, other than a confused glance at each other. We couldn’t upset the boys. But inside, my nerves were a jumble, frantically crawling underneath my skin. Was I in a science fiction novel? Had we walked into a parallel universe?

When I heard the woman’s voice, I nearly dropped the child I was holding.

My heart pounded against my sternum.

In front of me stood two phantoms. My father, who we expected. He thanked the driver and handed him an envelope.

But the other one…

My mother. The one who’d committed suicide over two decades ago.

Daphne Steel.

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t…

The woman took the trembling child from my arms. “My sweet Joe,” she cooed. “Mama has missed you so.” She turned to Talon, eyeing the child he was holding. “And Talon. You look so tired. Do you need a nap, sweetie?”

The man with my father’s face said, “Darling, what are you doing out here? Where’s Angela?”

“She’s asleep. You know I couldn’t miss my boys’ homecoming. It seems like they’ve been away at camp for years.”

The older boy struggled in her arms. “Help! Help me!”

“She won’t hurt you,” I said, hoping I was right.

“Of course,” she soothed. “Mama would never hurt her babies.”

Talon had gone nearly catatonic beside me. The woman had called the boy he was holding by his name. These boys were blond and looked nothing like Joe and Talon had as kids.

And then it hit me like a boulder dropping onto my skull.

She hadn’t called out for me. She’d called for Joe and Talon, welcoming them home.

Not for me.

I was not her son.

A long-forgotten memory tugged at the corner of my brain.

* * *

“Get that woman out of my house!”

I covered my ears. I missed Talon. He was my big brother. My hero. But now that he was back, he wanted his own room.

Maybe soon he’d move back in with me.

Maybe not.

He had changed since he’d come back. He didn’t play with me much anymore. He was quieter now. More like Joe.

Mom and Dad were fighting again. They did that a lot these days.

My baby sister wailed from the nursery.

“Damn it, Daphne. You woke the baby!”

“I’ll take care of her. At least she’s my child.”

“We’ve been through this. You made a promise years ago.”

“A promise I regret.”

“You love him. You’ve always treated him like your own.”

“But he’s not mine. He’ll never be mine. She’s always around to remind me. So I’m done with this charade.”

My mother’s footsteps echoed down the hallway until I heard her open and shut the door to the nursery where my baby sister slept.

I tried closing my eyes again.

They fought a lot now. More than they ever had before.

Now that Talon was home.

I didn’t understand what they were talking about. I just wanted the fighting to stop.

It made my stomach hurt.

* * *