Breathless_ Steel Brothers Saga - HELEN HARDT Page 0,45
a vote.”
“Hold on again,” Marj said. “The only person who gets a vote here is Jade. Jesus.”
“Bro, you’ve been an honorary Steel from day one,” Joe said. “Plus, you’re the one Ted Morse has reached out to. Of course you get a vote.”
“Do you people even hear me when I speak?” Marj said.
God, she was beautiful when her temper flared. Her cheeks and lips had darkened to a light crimson. Her hands were balled into fists.
Visions of our night together speared into my mind. Her lips and cheeks had been that same color. And her body…
“Well, Bryce?” Joe said.
“Marjorie is right,” I said.
“Thank you. At least someone else in this room has some sense.” She didn’t meet my gaze, though.
“If your wife was in the middle of a difficult pregnancy—” Talon began.
“I don’t have a wife.”
“If you did, you’d be as protective as I’m being.”
“Maybe so. But she’s her own person, and so far she hasn’t had a word of say in this.”
“She doesn’t even know,” Marj said. “I agreed with you, Tal, at first. Best not to rock the boat where Jade’s pregnancy is concerned. But if Ted Morse is up to something, Colin might know what it is. Right now, he’s vulnerable and will be especially so around Jade. We could learn something.”
“But…”
“She’s strong, Talon,” Marjorie said.
“I know that.”
“We all understand your need to protect her,” Joe said. “Ry and I feel the same way about our wives, right?”
“Of course,” Ryan agreed.
“Christ. Fine.” Talon relented. “But it’s up to her. If she says no, the answer is no.”
“Of course,” Ryan said. “No one wants to force her to do anything.”
“She’ll be up for it,” Marj said. “I know her. Especially if we let her in on what’s going on.”
“I don’t want her worrying,” Talon said.
“She’s—”
Talon interrupted Marjorie. “Yes, I know she’s strong. I’ll talk to her.”
I jerked slightly when my phone buzzed in my pocket. My mother. “Sorry. I have to take this.” I left the office and answered the call.
“Yeah, Mom?”
“Honey, Ted Morse just showed up at our house.”
Adrenaline spiked in my gut. I didn’t think Ted Morse was a danger to anyone, but I needed to get my son and mother out of that house as soon as possible. “What did he want?”
“You. He said he needed to talk to you about something important. I told him he’d have to come back another time. Henry was crying, and I didn’t know what to do.”
“And he left?”
“Yes. He said he was sorry to bother me and wanted you to get in touch with him.”
“You did fine, Mom. Don’t worry. Just lock up and don’t answer the door again. I’ll be home soon.”
“It’s okay. Take care of your business. He didn’t seem threatening.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. We’re fine here.”
“All right. I’ll check in with you if things go much longer. Bye, Mom.” I walked back into Talon’s office.
Chapter Twenty–Seven
Marjorie
“Speak of the devil,” Bryce said.
My body tingled. Yes, just from him walking back into the room. Damn.
“Colin?” Talon asked.
“No. Ted. Apparently he was at my house minutes ago. My mom sent him away.”
“He showed up uninvited?” Joe said.
“Yup.” Bryce shoved his phone back into his pocket. “And I don’t like it one bit. We’ll be moving as soon as everything’s packed up, possibly before. Ted and I didn’t make plans to meet last night. He just said he’d be in touch, which apparently meant he’d show up at my home unexpected and freak my mother out. I should get home.”
“Takes a lot of nerve.” Joe’s words were more like a growl.
“Agreed,” I said, just to have something to say.
“If the Feds are seriously still watching us, why would Morse know about it and we don’t?” Joe asked. “And why would he show up at your house with them watching? He’s bluffing.”
“That’s my feeling,” Bryce said.
“Then what’s the priority?” I asked. “Have Jade talk to Colin, or have Bryce talk to Ted?”
“Why not both?” Joe said. “Seems we’ll get the most information that way, and if they give us conflicting accounts, we’ll know Ted’s a fucking liar.”
“Or Colin is,” Talon offered.
To Talon, Colin was a villain for what he’d done to Jade. To Joe, Ted was the villain for trying to blackmail him.
“Colin will be more accurate,” I said.
“You think?” Bryce asked. “Because Colin’s been through hell, and he probably blames all of us for that. It was my father, after all, and if Jade hadn’t met Talon, Colin wouldn’t have been here anyway.”