Insatiable (Steel Brothers Saga #12) - Helen Hardt Page 0,62
it to even be corrupted like that.”
“I won’t disagree with you there,” he said, “but they were corrupted.”
“By whom?”
“Wendy. She was the mastermind behind it all, though I didn’t see it quite as clearly when we were still in high school.”
“You funded them,” I said, more to myself than to Brad.
“I did. And I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
I couldn’t help a sarcastic scoff. “The rest of your life was supposed to have ended eight years ago. Then again a few months ago. Spare me your regrets.”
“I’ve never asked for your sympathy,” he repeated. “Only your discretion.”
“Joe’s my best friend. And Marjorie…”
“You’re in love with her. I couldn’t wish for a better man for my little girl.”
“So how can you ask me to keep this from her? From Joe? From the rest of them?”
“They’ve all found their happiness, Bryce, just as I knew they would. I’ve done all I can, but my first loyalty is to my wife. You know that.”
“Your wife is insane.”
“Mentally ill,” Brad said.
“Semantics. No offense, but she doesn’t even know you exist.”
“I’m the only one she knows, Bryce. She doesn’t recognize any of her children, and she’s caught in a time warp. She can’t take care of herself.”
“You can’t take care of her either. Sure, you built a replica of your ranch house on that island—”
“I did that so I could take her home,” Brad said. “I had to protect her from Wendy. She never got over her jealousy of Daphne. She would have had her killed. I did what I had to do. I’ve told you this before. My children were adults and could protect themselves. My wife could not.”
“Why were you worried for Daphne, Marj, and Colin when Justin—or Cade, or whoever the fuck he is now—had a beef with Joe and me, not with any of—”
I stopped midsentence. My words were asinine, and I knew it.
“Daphne is the weakest link. Easy to target,” Brad said. “And Marjorie… Well, she means everything to both you and Joe. It was a two-for-one deal.”
“And Colin?”
“Colin is a little different. Cade seems to have an issue with him. I’m not sure why, but it’s enough to make me concerned for Colin’s safely. I was also protecting him from his own father. Ted has been working with Cade Booker since he uncovered his true identity.”
“I always wondered how he found out,” I said. “Joe and I couldn’t figure it out, especially since we had no actual memory of it ourselves.”
“I can’t help you there. My guess is that Cade contacted Ted, but that’s just a guess.”
“There had to be a trail somewhere. My dad took care of Joe’s and my memory and he paid off Cade’s father, but a whole town couldn’t have forgotten a kid.”
“Snow Creek is a small town,” he said, “but if a kid was the invisible type—”
“But he wasn’t invisible. He was a target for the bullies. That’s why Joe and I befriended him in the first place.”
“I wish I had an answer for you. We may never know how Tom pulled it off.”
“It’s all crazy,” I said.
“Pretty much. I know you and Joe have been through this place, but I still feel like there’s something else here.”
“So do I. That’s why I came here today. My father’s darkest secrets are here, and I don’t think we’ve uncovered them all.”
“Then let’s get to it,” he said. “I have the time. Do you?”
I cleared my throat. “You do know you’re a grandfather, right?”
He smiled. “I do. I’ve already sneaked in and gotten a good look at my grandchild. He’s small but strong.”
“Melanie went into premature labor. Probably because of all the stress of the situation. The stress that you caused, Brad. You had Marjorie and the others kidnapped.”
He ignored my rant. “Thank God she and the baby are both fine. I had to be careful. Melanie never actually saw me, so I don’t know if she would recognize me, but—”
“She’d recognize you. Joe looks exactly like you.”
“I was careful. She didn’t see me. I took a quick look at the baby while she was gone to the restroom.”
“How did you— Oh, never mind.”
“I’m pretty good at sneaking around these days.”
Yeah, he was. Being “dead,” he’d have to be.
“All right,” I said. “Let’s start looking. Do you have any idea what we’re looking for?”
“No,” he said, “but I bet we find it.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Really? Dominic Booker again? “What is it?” I said into the phone.