“Who should go first?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Hell if I know, baby. All I can tell you is that what I have to say is big.”
“Me too.”
“Well”—he took a sip of coffee—“I always say ladies first.”
“All right.” I smiled but then got serious as I told him what I had learned from Ruby Lee the previous night.
“I can’t believe it,” he finally said, after a few moments of silence when I stopped talking.
“I can’t either. Seems we now have proof that Nico Kostas, alias Theodore Mathias, is Talon’s third abductor.”
“I just don’t get it though.”
“What?”
“Who the hell is this guy with blue eyes? The one who kidnapped you?”
“Most likely he was a hired gun. He pretty much told me that himself.”
“But the guy who went to Felicia, who threatened her and forced her to leave that rose for Jade, he had blue eyes, and also…”
“What?”
“I came in contact with another guy yesterday. A guy with really bizarre blue eyes.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. It’s a long story.” He looked at his watch. “And we need to get to Talon’s. I’ll tell you everything in the car.”
“No,” I said. “I’ll wait until we get to Talon’s. Whatever you have to say, he deserves to hear it first.”
* * *
When we walked into Talon’s, Marjorie was busy at the stove, making bacon and eggs. I inhaled the appetizing aroma.
“Morning, Marj,” Jonah said.
&
nbsp; His sister turned around. “You better have a good reason for getting us all up at the butt crack of dawn, Joe.”
Talon walked quickly into the kitchen, followed by Jade. “Well, Sis, we’re all used to getting up at the butt crack of dawn.”
Marjorie laughed and scooped eggs onto a platter. The table had already been set, and glasses of orange juice sat at each place. Jade brought the coffeepot over and filled the mugs.
“Everybody, sit down,” Talon said. “Joe says he has something important to talk to us all about.”
“You don’t have to worry about my mom being here,” Jade said. “She stayed in the city overnight for therapy with her nurse.”
A little bit of tension released from Jonah. And from me as well, to tell the truth. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that Brooke Bailey had tried to seduce him.
I took a seat next to Jonah. Marjorie sat on my other side and began passing around a platter of eggs, bacon, and toast. Once we were all served, Talon spoke.
“So, Joe, it was your idea to get us all together for this breakfast. Let’s hear it.”
I was antsy. I had no idea what Jonah was about to tell us, and my nerves were doing a little jig underneath my skin. After he was done with his news, and if there was any time left, I’d let them all know that I had almost positively identified the third abductor. I wondered if that was bigger news than what Jonah was about to say.