“You did fine, Mom. Don’t worry. Just lock up and don’t answer the door again. I’ll be home soon.”
“It’s okay. Take care of your business. He didn’t seem threatening.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. We’re fine here.”
“All right. I’ll check in with you if things go much longer. Bye, Mom.” I walked back into Talon’s office.
Chapter Twenty–Seven
Marjorie
“Speak of the devil,” Bryce said.
My body tingled. Yes, just from him walking back into the room. Damn.
“Colin?” Talon asked.
“No. Ted. Apparently he was at my house minutes ago. My mom sent him away.”
“He showed up uninvited?” Joe said.
“Yup.” Bryce shoved his phone back into his pocket. “And I don’t like it one bit. We’ll be moving as soon as everything’s packed up, possibly before. Ted and I didn’t make plans to meet last night. He just said he’d be in touch, which apparently meant he’d show up at my home unexpected and freak my mother out. I should get home.”
“Takes a lot of nerve.” Joe’s words were more like a growl.
“Agreed,” I said, just to have something to say.
“If the Feds are seriously still watching us, why would Morse know about it and we don’t?” Joe asked. “And why would he show up at your house with them watching? He’s bluffing.”
“That’s my feeling,” Bryce said.
“Then what’s the priority?” I asked. “Have Jade talk to Colin, or have Bryce talk to Ted?”
“Why not both?” Joe said. “Seems we’ll get the most information that way, and if they give us conflicting accounts, we’ll know Ted’s a fucking liar.”
“Or Colin is,” Talon offered.
To Talon, Colin was a villain for what he’d done to Jade. To Joe, Ted was the villain for trying to blackmail him.
“Colin will be more accurate,” I said.
“You think?” Bryce asked. “Because Colin’s been through hell, and he probably blames all
of us for that. It was my father, after all, and if Jade hadn’t met Talon, Colin wouldn’t have been here anyway.”
“How is any of that our fault?” I asked.
“It’s not. But he’s a victim, and he’s looking to place blame,” Bryce explained.
“Then he’s forgetting that I saved his sorry ass,” Joe said.
Indeed, Joe had rescued Colin from Tom Simpson. Colin had been near death, and probably would have died but for Joe.
“We’re all sorry for what he went through at my father’s hands,” Bryce said. “He must know that.”
“Sure, objectively,” Talon said.