Burn (Steel Brothers Saga 5)

Felicia swallowed audibly and nodded. “A couple months ago, a man came to my house. He was dressed all in black, even a black mask.”

At the words “black mask,” my brother visibly stiffened.

“He said if I didn’t do what he said, he would kill my parents. They are old and weak, and they could never fight back. I didn’t know what to do.”

“Felicia,” Talon said through gritted teeth. “What did he ask you to do?”

“He gave me a red rose and told me to put it on Miss Jade’s pillow. And then he gave me a business card that belonged to her old boyfriend, Colin Morse. He told me to drop it somewhere in Miss Jade’s bedroom.”

“And did you?”

“Yes. I put the rose on her pillow one morning while she was in the shower. The business card, I didn’t just drop it. I…put it under the carpeting. When those private investigators came to the house and pulled everything out of Miss Jade’s room, and then no one said anything to me, I figured they just threw the business card away.”

“No, we didn’t throw it away. We had it analyzed for fingerprints. That’s how we found yours.”

“I suppose I should’ve worn gloves. But I wasn’t thinking straight, Mr. Talon. I was so scared.”

“Felicia, we’re glad you didn’t wear gloves,” I said. “Otherwise we wouldn’t know what happened.”

“You do believe me, don’t you? You know I would never hurt any of you. I love your family. You’ve given me so much.”

“Why didn’t you come to us?” I asked. “We trust you to come into our home. We trust you with our security codes. Why would you not trust us with this?”

She trembled, clenching her coffee cup. “I was scared. I was so afraid he would hurt my parents.”

“Felicia,” Talon said. “I want you to think hard. Can you tell us anything else about the man?”

“Just he was all in black.”

“How tall was he?”

“I don’t know. Average I guess.”

“His build? His eyes?”

She widened her eyes. “Blue. He had blue eyes. Cold blue eyes.”

“Could the man in the mask have been Colin Morse?” I asked.

Felicia trembled. “I… I don’t think so. I only met Mr. Morse once, but he was taller than this man. I don’t remember the color of his eyes, but I don’t think they were blue.”

I had only met him once myself, and I couldn’t remember the color of his eyes. “Do you remember his eye color, Tal?”

He nodded. “Not blue. They’re greenish brown. You sure this guy had blue eyes, Felicia?”

Felicia gulped. “Yes, I’m sure. I’ll never forget him.”

“Did he tell you why he wanted you to do this? Was he trying to frame someone?”

She shook her head vehemently. “No. He didn’t tell me why, and I didn’t ask. I didn’t think to. He had a knife to my throat, Mr. Talon.” Felicia burst into tears.

Talon clearly wasn’t in the mood to coddle Felicia, so I went to her and placed my hand on her forearm. “Calm down. You’re safe here. We just wish you had told us when this happened. We could’ve installed a security system in your home, to make sure your parents were safe while you were gone.”

“I could never ask you for such a favor,” she sobbed.

“I don’t know how we would have handled it at the time,” I said, “but we would have believed you, and we would have helped you.”

“I know that. I was just so”—she hiccupped—“frightened.”