“I ran into a guy the other day,” I said. “Said he knew you.”
“Yeah?” Talon raised his eyebrows. “Who?”
“An old guy named Mike. Met him in an old dive bar around skid row in Grand Junction.”
“What the hell were you doing down there?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“I asked you first.”
“I’m the older brother. You need to answer me first.”
Talon shook his head. “Oh, hell, no. You’re not going to pull rank on me. Those days are long gone.”
True, they were. I had lost the right to pull rank on Talon one fateful day when I was nearly thirteen.
“What the hell does it matter why either of us was there?” I asked.
“Doesn’t matter a damn to me. You brought it up.” Talon took a sip of his whiskey and handed me a martini.
I accepted the drink gladly and took a long sip. Mother’s milk.
Definitely time to change the subject. “Why are you researching Colin?”
“Jade says Larry is claiming his innocence regarding Colin. Not that I take Larry’s word for anything but the shit it is, but remember a few weeks ago, when Jade got a call from Colin’s phone?”
“Yeah.”
“It just doesn’t sit right with me. Larry had disappeared. And if he had Colin’s phone, why the hell would he call Jade with it?”
“I don’t know. She was his assistant city attorney. Maybe he was calling to check up on things.”
“Then why didn’t he say something? And if he cared about how things were going at the city attorney’s office, why did he disappear in the first place?”
“I don’t know, Talon. None of this makes any sense at all. Why is Colin even an issue? He certainly wasn’t one of your abductors. He would have been about a year old, at most.”
Talon rubbed his jawline. “He hates me. One, for taking Jade from him, although he dumped her first, and two, for kicking the shit out of him. He is involved in this somehow. How else would his phone and wallet get into Larry’s possession?”
“Easy. Larry offs him, and he takes his phone and wallet. It makes perfect sense to me.”
“Come on, Joe, you’re smarter than that. Dig a little deeper.”
“Talon, did it ever occur to you that maybe you weren’t meant to figure this all out? Maybe you should just concentrate on healing.”
“God, you sound like Dr. Carmichael.”
I stiffened, hoping Talon didn’t notice. “What makes you say that?”
“She says I should concentrate on healing, because whether these guys are ever caught won’t help me either way.”
“She’s a smart lady. You should probably listen to her.”
“By the way, how’s it going with you and her?”
My cheeks warmed. “What do you mean?”
“I mean your therapy, dumbass. What did you think I meant?”