Burn (Steel Brothers Saga 5)

“You know, I might just take you up on that nude beach.” Oddly, I wasn’t lying. The idea of a nude beach with Jonah was starting to appeal to me.

“I won’t forget that, Melanie. Now, do you want to go inside and see what Talon wants, or do you want to hide out here?”

I let out a sigh. “I think hiding is kind of moot now, isn’t it?”

He smiled at me, and I melted into a big puddle of butter.

“Come on,” he said. “Talon has no secrets from you.”

I walked with Jonah back to the deck and then into the kitchen, Lucy following at our heels.

Talon was sitting at the kitchen table. He cleared his throat. “I’m really…sorry…”

“Ever think of calling first, bro?” Jonah asked.

“I did. No answer.”

“Did you ever think that maybe that means I’m busy and don’t want to be disturbed?”

“You weren’t in your office, and Dolores didn’t know where you were. I figured you might be here, and maybe your phone died.”

Jonah’s facial features softened. He was relenting. He would never ignore a call from Talon. If there was ever a man who was devoted to his brother, it was Jonah Steel.

“Hey, Doc,” Talon said, not meeting my gaze.

I chuckled, remembering how embarrassed I had been the first time Talon and Jade walked in on Jonah and me when we were naked in the pool. It didn’t bother me nearly as much now. Something in me had changed since my attack. I was still scared of things going bump in the night, but something burned inside me, a new confidence.

“Hey to you too,” I said. “If the two of you will excuse me, I want to go dry off and put on something decent.”

“That suit is decent, Melanie,” Jonah said. “You look amazing.”

I smiled and turned and walked out of there.

“Come back after you change,” Talon said. “I want you to hear this too.”

“Okay,” I said over my shoulder.

I took a quick shower to rinse the chlorine out of my hair and then put on a pair of sweats and a tank top. I gave my ankle a once-over. Still a lot of bruising, but the pain had subsided quite a bit, as long as I didn’t try to run any marathons. I walked back out to the kitchen, and Jonah had poured everybody a glass of iced tea. I sat down in front of the extra glass and took a sip, quickly followed by another. I was parched.

“I was telling Joe,” Talon said, “that the only thing Felicia can tell us about the guy who threatened her is that he had blue eyes. Larry Wade has blue eyes.”

“I see.” I took another drink of iced tea. “Larry Wade isn’t the only person around here with blue eyes, though.”

“I know that, Doc, but he’s the most likely suspect. Who else would want to screw around with me and Jade?”

“Are you ready to go talk to Larry, Talon?” Jonah asked.

Talon threaded his fingers through his wavy dark hair. “I don’t know, man. Some days I think I’m ready, and other days the idea just freaks the hell out of me. Seeing him, being in the same room with him, talking to him… I don’t want to go back to that dark place.”

“Talon, you’ve left that dark place behind,” I said. “But you’re right about one thing. Any kind of healing involves removing the negative influences from your life. Larry Wade is definitely a negative. You don’t have to see him.”

“I’ll think about it,” he said.

“What does Jade think?” Jonah asked.

“She says it’s up to me, that she’ll support whatever decision I make. But she feels the same way as you do.” He glanced at me. “She doesn’t want me put in harm’s way.”

“She’s a smart woman,” I said.