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“Oh my God. That’s what she told me about this. That it was for you to tell me.”
“And she was correct. Wendy Madigan is my mother, not hers.”
“If Mom shot her… Mom doesn’t miss, Dad.”
“No, she doesn’t. And she didn’t. But I also saw my own father shot that day as well—also by someone who doesn’t miss—and he turned out to be very much alive.”
I shake my head, trying desperately to make sense of what I’m hearing. “How? How do you cheat death like that? How do you fake your own death?”
“My father did it twice. He was well versed in it. When you have that kind of money lying around, you can do anything.”
“But how?”
“None of us know the logistics, Ava. Bulletproof garments. Blood pellets. Or most likely something more elaborate. To be honest, I don’t want to know any more than that. I would never do that to my children.”
My mind whirls. What have I walked into? What have I been forced into?
“You’d better not,” I tell him forcefully.
“I won’t, but I have some fears.”
I gasp. “Are you in danger, Dad?”
He shakes his head. “No. I can tell you for certain that I’m not in any danger. Nor is your mother, nor are you and Gina.”
“Then what are you afraid of?”
“If Wendy Madigan—my mother—is alive, your aunt and uncles—and all your cousins—could potentially be in danger.” He rubs his hand over his face. “She could be behind Talon’s shooting. Joe thought he was the target, but Wendy—she’s gone after Talon before. When he was just a child.”
More chills. More icicles. More pine needle pricks to the back of my neck. “Why? Why would she do that?”
“When Talon was a child, it was to hurt my father, to punish him for choosing Daphne over her. My mother was obsessed with my father. They had known each other since they were very young, in high school, and they were an on-again, off-again couple until my father met my mother—er…Daphne.”
“So you always thought of Daphne as your mother?”
“I did, and she treated me as her son. No differently than Talon or Joe. In fact, I was the youngest for a long time until Marjorie came along. I was her baby, and she spoiled me rotten.”
“So she considered you her own.”
“She did, and later we found out why.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. Daphne suffered from dissociative identity disorder. She dissociated during the time Wendy was pregnant with me, probably because the pain of her husband’s infidelity was too much to bear. Once I came along, as far as she knew, I was hers.”
“When did you find out?”
“Not until twenty-five years ago. It shattered my world, Ava. And for a while, I questioned who I was, just as I’m sure you will now. But be firm. Be confident in who you are. You are a Steel. You are my daughter, and you are the granddaughter of Bradford Steel. But more than any of that, you are Ava. My beautiful daughter of whom I’m extraordinarily proud.”
“I don’t know what to say to any of this. But it’s all making sense now…” I close my eyes, pondering. “The cards I’ve drawn… The messages I’ve received… But who? Who is sending these messages?”
“I don’t know exactly who’s sending them,” he says, “but I know Wendy is probably behind them. Why she’s resurfacing now, I have no idea. But she is, and it’s something we’re going to have to deal with.”
“But she’s an old woman.”
“She is. But I don’t know what the hell she’s been up to for the last twenty-five years, and we need to find out.”
“Why do we need to find out, Daddy?”
“Because, sweetheart, you, your mother, your sister, and I may not be in any danger, but Uncle Talon was shot. And I don’t want anyone else to be next.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Brendan
I sit with Ruby in the kitchen, drinking a pumpkin spice latte that she made from her Italian cappuccino machine. It’s surprisingly good, especially given the fact that my taste buds are on hiatus.
“I should be going.” I wipe the foam off my upper lip with a napkin. “I should see how things are going at the bar.”
“Please, wait for Ava. She’ll need you.”
“Of course, I’ll do anything for Ava. But I’m not sure she’ll need me, Ruby. I think maybe she’ll need you. Her mother. What she needs now are answers. She doesn’t need me to protect her. She doesn’t need you and her father to protect her. She needs, simply, to know what’s going on.”
“I’m not sure she’s ready to hear all the answers,” Ruby says.
“Ava is a strong woman.”
“I’m not suggesting that she isn’t, but there are things… Things about our family…”
“I know. Believe me, I’ve heard the rumors my whole life that the Steels own this town. Then when I found those documents hidden in my place, it seemed the rumors may be true.”
