Did my brother know everything?
I chuckled to myself. No, he didn’t. But he might be right about this. Damned if I was going to admit it though.
“You got nothing to say to that?” my brother asked.
“Nope.”
Jonah let out a guffaw. “Means you think I’m right.”
“No comment.”
He shook his head, laughing. “Have it your way. But back to these leads. Any lead is better than none. So far we have a phoenix tattoo on the left forearm and a missing pinky toe on a left foot. That rules out the majority of the men in the world.”
“Yeah, I thought of that. So I ran to the computer and did a search, but nothing came of it. I’m not sure what I was thinking. There’s no database of guys missing toes out there.”
“I know you never wanted to do this before, but maybe it’s time we hire a P.I. Those guys could still be found. They could still pay for what they did to you.”
If I ever found any one of them, he’d pay. At my own hand. I couldn’t say that to my brother, though. “Maybe. I’ll think on that. But what are the chances of catching those assholes this late in the game? It’s been twenty-five years, Joe.”
“Yeah, I know. But I’ve been thinking about something else.”
“What’s that?”
“I think it’s time we tell Marjorie the truth. About everything.”
Marjorie? Jade’s best friend? From whom she had no secrets? Oh, hell, no. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“She’s just…not old enough to handle it.”
“She’s twenty-five. The rest of us had to handle it when we were half that age.”
“Well…” And the truth came out. “She’ll tell Jade.”
“Not if we tell her not to.”
“Look, Joe, you and Ryan and I decided a long time ago that the past was best left buried and we weren’t going to unearth it. Just as much for your sake as for mine.”
“But you’re unearthing it, don’t you see? By following this lead about the tattoo and now about the missing toe. Are you planning to just let that go? And if that was your plan, why did you go chasing all over to Grand Junction to find the designer of that tattoo?”
I sighed. “Pour me a Peach Street, will you?”
Joe headed to the kitchen and returned a minute or so later. He handed me a drink. “Come on. Let’s go outside and sit by the pool.”
We situated ourselves in a couple of chaise longues, and I took a slow sip of my bourbon. Damn good stuff, Peach Street.
I recognized the contradiction. Here I was, still wanting to bury the truth, yet I had gone on a wild goose chase trying to hunt down that tattoo. And now here I was all excited that I remembered something about another one of those fuckers.
On the other hand, we had decided long ago to bury it.
As if reading my mind, Jonah said, “I know what we decided a long time ago. But we were kids then, Talon. Just immature kids. You were embarrassed, humiliated, and hurt, and we all understood that. Even Mom and Dad. Now we’re adults, all in our thirties, and quite frankly none of us will ever be able to move on unless we all face this. Together.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know if I can do it.”
“Do you truly love Jade?”
I wished I could lie to him. Better yet, I wished I could say “no, I don’t” and not be lying. Jade would be better off for it. But I couldn’t do either. I nodded. “Yes, I do.”