Breathless (Steel Brothers Saga 10)

Bryce

I followed her.

She was falling for me.

She’d as much as said it.

I was at once elated and crushed. I’d fallen for her long ago, when I’d seen how good she was with Henry. I just hadn’t been able to admit it to myself. All the “baby sister” stuff had gotten to me, and then, once I found out about my father…

She deserved better.

The guys were in Talon’s office, and we knocked before entering.

“Hey,” Joe said to me. “We thought you’d left.”

“I was going to, and then I ran into Marj and she suggested we join you.”

“Of course,” Talon said. “We had assumed you both would.”

“We’re just talking about what happened with Dale,” Ryan said. “How we can find out who this guy is who spooked him.”

I nodded and sat down in one of the leather chairs. Marj sat next to me.

“We’re going to contact Mills and Johnson,” Ryan continued. “They seem to be able to ferret out anything.”

I nodded again. Trevor Mills and Johnny Johnson had been integral in helping the Steels solve the mystery of Talon’s abduction. They were high-paid mercenary PIs. The cops called them. Joe had already suggested getting them to check my house for surveillance.

Oh, shit…

I looked over to Joe. He was deliberately not making eye contact with me.

I understood why. The last thing he and I needed was Mills and Johnson poking around. If they uncovered what Ted Morse allegedly had, Joe and I would have a lot to answer for.

Answers that wouldn’t make us look good.

We were innocent. We both knew that. We’d been little kids, for God’s sake.

But we weren’t nine anymore, and we’d been sitting on a secret for thirty years—a secret that could have outed my father long ago and saved so many, including Talon Steel, from physical, sexual, and emotional torment.

How had we forgotten? How had my father made us forget?

“Why not have the cops investigate?” I asked. “Why spend the money on PIs?”

“That’s what I’ve been saying,” Joe said, finally meeting my gaze. “My brothers won’t hear of it.”

“I agree with Tal and Ry,” Marj said. “Why trust the cops to find the guy when we know the best PIs out there?”

“It’s a lot of money,” I said, knowing the argument would fall on deaf ears. Since when did the Steels have to worry about money?

“It’s not your money, dude,” Ryan said. “Let us worry about that.”

I could say no more. I knew I’d lose this battle. Joe remained quiet, his lips pursed. He knew as well. Mills and Johnson would be on the case, and soon. If he continued to argue the point, his brothers would get suspicious.

We couldn’t have that. Not yet. Not until we knew exactly what we were dealing with.

I cleared my throat. “Have you thought about having this office swept for bugs?”

“Bugs?” Talon said. “Why?”