Melt (Steel Brothers Saga 4)

“Not at the expense of letting this asshole free. Hell, no.”

Larry chuckled. “I can guarantee you one thing, son. Your father won’t do shit for me.”

“How can you say that? He appointed you as a city attorney when you needed a job.”

“There were special circumstances there.”

“Like what?” Bryce asked.

“Confidential special circumstances.”

“Just as well,” I interjected. “Because, Bryce, we’re not letting this asshole out. I don’t care if the president himself wants to pardon him. I will not let it fucking happen. Absolutely not.”

“Calm down, Joe,” Bryce said. “I didn’t know you would freak out this way.”

“This scumbag molested my brother. This scumbag molested and killed your cousin.”

Larry started to speak, but I silenced him with a gesture.

“How could you possibly think I would be okay with getting him pardoned? Not only does he deserve to be in prison for life, but also, what if he got a pardon and then he got out and molested another kid? Maybe your kid?”

Bryce went pale. “Okay. It was just a thought. My father probably wouldn’t do it anyway.”

“That’s for damn sure,” Larry said.

“Just what in the hell do you have against my father?” Bryce demanded. “He’s been the mayor for over ten years. Before that, he was a prominent attorney in Snow Creek.”

I had to bite my tongue not to say anything. If I’d been alone with Larry, I would’ve said straight out that I thought Tom Simpson was the third abductor. Of course, Jade had asked him straight out if Nico Kostas was one, and he had given her a poker face. So he would undoubtedly do the same. Time to give it a test.

“I have a name, Uncle. Was one of the men Nico Kostas?”

“No,” he said.

One of his eyebrows rose just a bit. Was that a tell?

“Just tell us,” Bryce pleaded. “It will be worth your while. You’ll get a lighter sentence. And Joe has already offered you money for a lawyer.”

Larry looked intently at Bryce. “Why is it so important for you to learn the truth?”

“Because Luke Walker was my cousin. Because Talon is Joe’s brother. Because I have a son of my own now, and I would die inside if anything like this ever happened to him. So I want to know the truth. I want to know who those fuckers are so we can get them off the street and they’ll never again hurt innocent children like my son.”

Larry looked at Bryce, his face stern. “Look, I’ve got nothing against you, kid—”

“Kid? I’m thirty-eight,” Bryce said.

“To me, you’re a kid.” Larry coughed. “I’m not going to tell you who they are.”

Bryce stood. “Then Joe and I will find them on our own.”

Still facing Bryce, Larry curled his lips into a sleazy half smile, his blue eyes creeping eerily toward me while his head stayed still. “Keep looking if you want to, kid, but let me give you a piece of advice. The truth is overrated. Once you open the door to that dark room, getting out is damn near impossible.”