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“I don’t know how they’ll be able to,” Jade said. “I’m sure my prints are all over the stem. And getting something off the petals would be impossible.”
“Still,” I said. “It’s all we have.”
Talon sat down at the table, finally, and then punched the wooden surface. “Damn! Just as we’d all agreed to move forward. Just when I was starting to feel like I could have a life with my family and the woman I love.”
Ryan turned to Talon. “You can still have that, Tal. This is just a minor setback.”
“A minor setback?” Talon’s eyes lit with fire. “Someone was in our fucking house, Ryan. The house I now share with my girlfriend and my sister, the two most important women in my life. I will not have them in danger.”
“Do you think it could have been Colin?” Jade asked, referring to her ex-fiancé.
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Talon said.
“Of course, no one knows where he is,” Ryan said.
“He’s dead,” Talon said. “Larry Wade killed him.”
“I’m not sure he did,” Jade said. “Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have any love lost for Larry Wade. I’m glad he’s going to prison for a very long time. But when I talked to him recently, he swore up and down that he had nothing to do with Colin disappearing. That someone had planted Colin’s personals on him.”
“Colin could definitely be the culprit,” Marjorie said. “He turned out to be a
bad seed. How did I spend four years with him at college and not realize that?”
Jade shook her head. “You’re telling me. I spent seven years with him. I was going to marry the creep.”
“Colin.” Talon hit the table again. “He wanted you back. Somehow that motherfucker got into our house.”
“What about Larry Wade?” I asked. “It could have been him.”
“Why would Larry leave me a rose?” Jade asked.
I let out a sarcastic laugh. “Why would Larry molest his nephew?”
Eight eyes met mine, all widened. Perhaps I shouldn’t have said such blatant and tactless words, but really, the time for pussyfooting around this subject was long past. “Look, I’m sorry if that upset any of you. I really am. But this is no longer a secret. Everybody knows why Larry is sitting in a jail cell. It made the news, and this time Dad and Wendy Madigan weren’t around to cover it up. Maybe I should have quashed it. In truth, I thought about it, but what good would that do any of us now?” I zeroed in on two of the eyes. Talon’s. “Did I do the right thing, Tal? Did I do the right thing by not covering it up?”
He met my gaze, and his expression softened. A bit. “I would’ve covered it up myself if I’d wanted to, Joe. As humiliating as it is, I know it wasn’t my fault. Maybe my story will help someone. Who knows? That’s the least of my concerns right now. Right now, I want to know who the hell broke into my house and put a flower on my woman’s pillow.”
Chapter One
Jonah
In the end, I knew the guilt would eventually kill me.
As I lay on the harsh pavement in a dark alley, guilt—in the form of a couple homeless vagrants booting me in the kidneys—was kicking my ass.
I always protected my face. I couldn’t risk my brothers seeing evidence of what I was up to. Anything from the neck down was fair game though. Sometimes I even threw the guys a couple bucks for their trouble.
Tonight, though… Nope.
Tonight guilt would end my life.
And I welcomed it.
“Joe! Thank God!”
My sister’s voice. I opened my eyes. Marjorie’s form was a blur, but it was her. Her dark eyes shone with concern. Where the hell was I?
I groaned. My lower back throbbed, and I inhaled sharply. Big mistake. Damn, guilt had gotten a few of my ribs, too.
