“If they took him on purpose, they didn’t tell me about it. I’ve told you before. I advised them to return him unharmed. They wouldn’t listen.”
I cleared my throat. “Wendy is claiming that Talon was taken as a way for her to punish my father.”
“For what?”
Just how honest could I be with Larry? What the hell? Why not go all out? “I’m not exactly sure, but I think it has something to do with my youngest brother, Ryan.”
“Shit. That bitch is worse than I thought.”
“Give it up, Larry. Tell me what you know.”
“I’ve warned you before about the truth, Steel. It’s a dark room with no escape. You sure you want to go there?”
Did I? Or did I want to go home and start my life with Melanie and my child? The latter sounded much better. I could walk out of here and leave the past behind. Let Uncle Larry rot in his cell until his trial. Let Tom Simpson and Theodore Mathias stay on the run. Mills and Johnson would find them eventually. Let Wendy Madigan rot in the psych ward at the detention center where she was now being held, no doubt knee-deep in her delusions about me and my father and my brother. Let Ryan live out his life as the third son of Brad and Daphne Steel, not Wendy Madigan’s bastard.
It would be so easy to walk away, to live my life. To let it all go.
I breathed in and exhaled slowly, looking my uncle straight in his blue eyes.
“Yes. I want to go there.”
Chapter Forty–Five
Melanie
I smiled as I walked out of the doctor’s office. I’d gotten a clean bill of health and another positive pregnancy test. No heartbeat for the baby yet, but I was only about five weeks pregnant. Armed with a prescription for prenatal vitamins and a copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting, I headed toward my car.
“Melanie!”
I turned. Oliver Nichols walked toward me. I hadn’t seen or heard from him since Jonah had basically kicked him out of my office several weeks ago.
Seemed like a lifetime ago.
He looked good, his auburn hair blowing slightly in the breeze. “Oliver. How are you?”
“I’m good. I stopped by your office a couple of times, but no one was there.”
“Oh.” I cleared my throat. “I’m on a leave of absence.”
“Really? Is everything okay?”
“Yes.” I really didn’t want to go into it, so I lied. “Just taking a much-needed vacation.”
“Oh. Where are you headed now? Do you have time for a quick lunch?”
I looked at my watch. I didn’t want to be rude to Oliver, but Jonah would not react well to my having lunch with him, even if it was just a friendly lunch. He’d caught Oliver kissing me in my office, and that hadn’t gone well.
“Look, Oliver—”
He shushed me with a gesture. “Melanie, I’m interested, okay? I know that Steel guy made it pretty clear you belonged to him, but from where I was standing, I never heard you say so.”
I felt my cheeks burning. “It’s just…”
“What?”
“Well, to be honest, I’m…pregnant. Jonah and I are getting married.”
“Oh.” He smiled. “I won’t say I’m not disappointed. I was hoping something might spark between us.”