Possession: Steel Brothers Saga: Book Three (14 page)

I
was
nervous as hell driving Jade into Grand Junction to see her dad and talk to the cops. I was going to meet her father. The man who raised her. The man she loved more than anyone. Well, next to me, I hoped.

Believe it or not, that was bothering me more than dealing with this Nico character. If he was who I thought he was, I had no doubt he had tampered with the passenger airbag and tried to kill Jade’s mother for the money. If he was who I thought he was… Well, there was no limit to what he would do for his own amusement, let alone financial gain.

He was already guilty in my eyes—not only of abducting and raping me and killing Luke Walker and those other children, but also of attempting to kill Jade’s mother. All I needed to do was prove it. Of course, that was way easier said than done.

What made people so evil?

It was the first time I’d asked myself that question. I had really never before thought of those three men as human. Instead, they were the embodiment of evil. Now I might’ve identified two of them. They were men. Just men. Men I could pummel into next week, kill with my bare hands.

Simply men.

How did men turn into evil demons?

Jade was quiet during the ride, and I didn’t engage her. She knew by now that I didn’t have the gift of gab, and I was just as happy to be left to my own thoughts during the drive. Thanks to Jade’s strong coffee, I was awake. Awake and alone with my thoughts.

I dropped Jade off and then drove around a while, looking for a parking spot, finally deciding to use the valet service. It was Saturday, after all, and many people were here visiting, no doubt.

I signed in as a visitor and made my way up to the waiting area outside the ICU.

My nerves jumped when I walked into the area. Two cops were there, and Jade was already talking to them. Beside her stood a man about six feet tall with the same golden-brown hair I was used to seeing on the woman I loved. He was a nice-looking man, his skin tan, showing wrinkles around his eyes. Jade said he was in construction. He’d probably worked outside most of his life. He looked tired. And not just tired in that he had worked hard all his life. Tired and worried. Worried about someone he loved. Jade’s mother, I assumed.

I was going to have to meet her father—the father of the woman I loved. Here I was, thirty-five years old, and I had never met a woman’s father before.

Jade motioned me over, smiling. “There you are. Talon, this is my father, Brian Roberts. Dad, this is Talon Steel.”

Jade’s dad stuck out his hand. “Good to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

The back of my neck chilled. Jade had seen some of my darker moments, but surely she hadn’t shared those with her father. “Nice to meet you too, sir,” I said.

Was that right? Did you call a woman’s father “sir”?

“Please, call me Brian.”

“All right.” I attempted a smile. “How’s your mom doing, Jade?”

“She’s good. They’re finally moving her out of ICU today.”

“That’s great, baby.” Then I snapped my head over to Brian. I had just called his daughter baby. But it didn’t seem to faze him. Thank God.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Jade said. “This is Officer Shapley and Officer Duke. Talon Steel, my boyfriend.”

Boyfriend.

Never had a word imbued me with such warmth. And still, it was woefully deficient. For if I was Jade’s boyfriend, that made her my girlfriend—and “girlfriend” was such an inadequate term for what Jade was to me.

“Nice to meet you, sir,” the one called Shapley said.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt. I can go sit down over there while the officers ask their questions,” I said to Jade.

“No, I wish you’d stay. Is that all right with you two, and with you, Dad?”

“It’s fine with me, sweetie,” Brian Roberts said. “I guess it’s really up to the officers here.”

“It’s fine,” Shapley said. “This is just preliminary questioning anyway.”

“So do you two think there’s enough to warrant an investigation here?” Brian asked.

Shapley, obviously the mouthpiece of the two, replied, “Yes. We’re definitely going to take a look at the vehicle. See if we can determine whether the airbag was tampered with. The only problem is that the vehicle has already been repaired. But we’ll have our experts take a look.”

Jade’s face fell. “Why was it repaired?”

“Ms. Roberts,” Shapley said, “no one had any reason to think there was any foul play. Mr. Kostas had the vehicle towed from the scene and repaired.”

“Mr. Kostas seems to be nowhere to be found.”

Shapley nodded. “True enough, and that is also something of a concern.”

“He’s a senator, for God’s sake,” Jade said. “He can’t just disappear.”

“No,” I said, my voice low. “He’s not.”

Jade turned to me, her steely eyes wide. “What?”

“I’m sorry. I forgot to tell you. I did some research on him. I should have mentioned it.” I sighed. How could I tell her I’d been side-tracked because of what I’d become convinced he was? I couldn’t, at least not in front of all these people

“He’s right, ma’am,” Shapely said. “He’s not a United States senator or an Iowa state senator.”

“But why would my mother say…” Jade bit her lip. “I guess she never thought to question him.”

“Brooke believes anything someone says if she’s getting attention and gifts,” Brian said.

“It’s certainly easy enough to check out,” Jade said, “but that might not have occurred to my mother. She did tend to let men walk all over her.”

“To be honest,” Shapley said, “Nico Kostas might not even be his real name. But we’re definitely going to look into this. That is, if we can find evidence that the airbag was tampered with.”

“You’ve just got to find it, please,” Jade begged. “I mean, why would he have disappeared? He supposedly cared about my mother, and now he’s just gone. Sounds like someone on the run to me.”

“Yes,” Shapley said, “it’s definitely suspicious. We’ll be in touch. Here’s my card.” Shapley handed one to each of us.

“Thank you for your time, Officers,” Brian said.

The two men nodded and walked away.

“I can’t believe it,” Jade said.

I put my arm around her. “What?”

“The jerk is a liar, and he tried to kill my mother. He’s probably going to get away with it. Now that the car’s been repaired, there won’t be any evidence of his tampering.”

“We don’t know if that’s what happened,” Brian said.

I kept my lips closed. That was what had happened all right. Somehow, in the recesses of my bones, I knew. Just like I knew that Larry Wade, my esteemed half uncle, had raped me when I was a child. So had this Nico character. And now he had tried to kill Jade’s mother.

Neither of them were going to get away with it.

* * *

U
nder the guise
of needing to make a few business calls and run some errands, I left the waiting area. Jade was safe with her father, and she needed to be near her mother.

I did make some phone calls, but they had nothing to do with my business. Within ten minutes, I had the name of the body shop where Nico Kostas had taken his vehicle.

I drove over there and asked to speak to the person who handled the car. I was asked to sit until a man called Shem was available.

I thumbed through a
Popular Mechanics
issue from three years ago.

“Mr. Steel?”

I looked up. A young man, tall and thin, grease under his fingernails, his blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, stood before me.

“I’m Shem.”

I stood and held out my hand.

He shook his head. “Don’t want to get you greasy. What can I do for you?”

“I’m interested in a car that was brought in about two weeks ago. The owner is Nico Kostas.”

“Yes, sir, I remember. It was a wreck. He’s lucky he got out of it alive.”

“Well, airbags are amazing things. Are you aware that he had a passenger?”

“Oh, yeah. Her blood was everywhere. Airbag didn’t deploy, I heard.”

“Yes, that’s what happened.” I looked around. “I understand you still have the car.”

“Yeppers, got it done. It was damn near a total loss. The only thing that kept it from being totaled was that the car has so much value.”

“I have reason to believe the airbag might have been tampered with, and that’s why it didn’t deploy. I’d like to take a look at the car, if you don’t mind.”

“You a cop?”

“No, just a friend of the family of the woman who was injured. She’s lucky to be alive.”

Shem spit on the ground. “I’ll say. That car was sure wrecked. And no airbag?” He whistled. “She’s damned lucky for sure.”

“About the car? May I see it?”

“Sir, it’s not your car. I can’t release it to anyone but the owner.”

“Has the owner been in to claim it?”

“No, sir, he hasn’t. Damnedest thing. We’ve called him every day twice a day for the last week. No one can get hold of him.”

Shocking. “Listen, I’d be happy to make it worth your while if you let me have a look at the vehicle. Even more if you let me bring an expert to look at it.”

“Sorry, sir. Without a cop, without a warrant, I can’t do it.”

I pulled two Benjis out of my wallet. “How about now?”

He pocketed them. “Meet me here at seven. Sharp.”

I nodded. “Thank you.” I left.

I guessed we’d be staying in the city for the night. At least I would be.

I picked up some takeout from a local place and drove back to the hospital. Jade and her dad were happy to have some decent food.

“I’d like to take you to dinner,” Brian said. “Get to know you a little better.”

My neck chilled. Get to know him a little better? Shit. Talk about a scary thing. So I made excuses. I hoped Jade would understand.

“I’d appreciate that, but I can’t. While I was making my business calls, something came up at the orchard, and I need to get back. Baby, go ahead and stay here. Take a cab home if you want. Or spend the night here with your father, and you can see your mom in the morning.”

It was a coward’s way out. But I couldn’t stomach the thought of sitting here in the hospital for the next six hours trying to make small talk with Jade’s father. I had to stay until seven, to meet Shem over at the body shop. What would I do in the meantime? I could go back to the ranch and then drive back this evening. Better yet? I’d find a so-called expert to take a look at the car and make it worth his while to come back with me at seven sharp.

G
etting
my mother settled in a normal hospital room was good for my spirits. I wished Talon could have stayed. I so wanted them to meet. But perhaps it was best that he hadn’t. I could tell being around my father made him nervous. I wasn’t sure why. My dad was the easiest person in the world to get along with. But like Talon had said, he’d never met a girlfriend’s father before.

Girlfriend.

The word sounded so juvenile, but it would have to do for now.

My mom was more alert than I’d seen her in a while. The move out of ICU was definitely doing her good. I desperately wanted to ask some questions, but I didn’t want to upset her.

“Is there anything I can get you, Mom?”

“No, no. I’m just so glad to be out of that sterile environment.”

I smiled. “You’re looking so much better. Your face is healing nicely.”

“But there will be scars.”

I wasn’t about to sugarcoat things anymore. She was out of danger. “Yes, there will be scars. But you know? Scars aren’t necessarily a bad thing. Scars show that you’ve been through life. That you went through hell and came back kicking. Scars are a good thing.”

“I made my living on my beauty, Jade. I was still a bankable model. Sure, I wasn’t making the kind of money I did when I was young, but I was doing okay. I was living check to check, but I was at least making something.”

“Who says it’s over?”

“Darling, look at me.”

“I am looking at you, Mom. I see a strong and beautiful woman whose life is not nearly over. So stop talking like it is.”

“No. I’ve taken everything for granted. I took for granted that I would always be beautiful, and then I started to get older. I started to get laugh lines around my eyes, a few age spots here and there. Nothing good makeup couldn’t cover. But now? I have scars from all these lacerations on my face. I’m not sure my eye will ever look normal again.”

“Mom—”

“No, let me finish. I always took it for granted. And not just my looks, but people. You, your father. And now Nico.”

My hackles rose. Why did she have to mention that jerk? I couldn’t tell her that we thought he might’ve tried to have her killed to collect insurance money. But maybe I could find out why she had taken out the policy in the first place.

“Mom, speaking of Nico, tell me about this insurance policy you took out.”

“You mean the life insurance policy?”

“Yeah. If you were going to take out a life insurance policy, wouldn’t it make more sense for you to designate your next of kin as beneficiary?”

“You mean you think
you
should have been the beneficiary?”

Crap. I hadn’t meant for that to sound the way it sounded. “No, that’s not what I mean. I mean, yeah, it’s what I mean, but I’m not after any money from you. But why would you name a boyfriend? He wasn’t even your fiancé.”

“I figured we’d be married eventually.”

“I didn’t know you were planning to marry again.”

She sighed. “For a long time I never thought I would. After that idiot Neal Harmon stole all my money, and then when your father refused to take me back after that. But Nico was different.”

“Really? How was he different?”

“He wasn’t after my money. After all, I didn’t have any. At least not much, anyway.”

“Dad was never after money.”

“Oh, I know that. But he didn’t want me.”

“That was ten years ago. What made you decide that Nico might be worth marrying?”

“He was very good to me. He bought me presents, flowers. He made me feel like I was important to him.”

“So you decided to take out an insurance policy and named him as beneficiary because he gave you flowers?” I shook my head.

“Actually, the policy was his idea.”

Why was I not surprised? “Why would that be his idea? Is there something you’re not telling me? Is your health bad?”

“Of course not, silly. If my health were bad, I wouldn’t have been able to get the policy in the first place.”

She had me there. Frankly, there was only one reason why Nico would’ve wanted to take out the insurance policy on my mother—so that he could eventually benefit from it. How could I get her to see that? And in her fragile state, did I even want to?

“Why do you think he made that suggestion? I mean, to take out the policy and make him the beneficiary.”

“Well, it was his idea to take out the policy because I’m not getting any younger, so it was a good idea to get life insurance now while there were no issues.”

“Okay, that actually makes sense. But no one is depending on you, Mom. Dad and I are self-supporting. When there’s no one depending on you, there’s no reason to take out insurance on your life.”

“Well, it made sense to me. I could get the policy now, and it’s amazing how cheap term life is from some companies.”

“So you decided to get the policy, and he wanted you to make him the beneficiary?”

She shook her head. “Oh, no, that was my idea.”

I arched my eyebrows.
Her idea?
“Yes. He suggested you, Jade. Or your father.”

“Then why didn’t you choose one of us?”

“I did. I chose you. But then I started thinking that the one rock in my life for the last several months had been Nico.”

“The last several months? You named a man your beneficiary when you’d only known him a few months? Not even a year?”

“Well, yes. After I chose you, Nico and I talked about the future. He told me he loved me and that he planned for us to live our lives together, and that maybe, since we were going to be married anyway, it might make more sense to make him the beneficiary. Then we wouldn’t have to change it later.”

“A-ha. So it
was
his idea after all.”

“Oh, no. It was my decision.”

And once again, my mother had been played by a man. It wasn’t bad enough that her second husband had sucked her dry of all of her life savings. Now this lying jerk had come to suck the life out of her, literally. But I couldn’t press it right now. She was clearly getting tired.

“All right. I understand.” I didn’t, but what good would it do to let her know that? “I think we’ve talked enough. You need some rest.”

She closed her eyes and sighed. “I’m so sorry, Jade. For everything. When Nico comes back, he’ll explain it all to you.”

When Nico comes back.
My poor mother. Still as naïve as the day she was born.

“I’m sure he will. Don’t worry about it, Mom. Right now, all you have to worry about is getting rest so you can heal properly.”

When she had drifted off to sleep, I went back out to the waiting area and told my father about our conversation.

“He’s a slippery fellow, that Nico, huh?” my father said.

“He seems to be. I wish she could see him for what he is.”

“When he doesn’t come back, she’ll have no choice but to see it.”

“I just don’t understand.”

“Well, your mother has two faults. The first one is that she is as vain as they come.”

I let out a laugh. “Really? Hadn’t noticed that.”

“Second one is that she has a hard time seeing people for who they really are. It happened with that second husband of hers, and now it’s clearly happening with this Nico. You see, they both showered her with affection, compliments, gifts, and she falls for it every time. That’s why she and I never worked.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, there’s no doubt Brooke is beautiful. She was a knockout when I met her, Jade. Amazing. But I saw beneath her looks. I knew she wasn’t perfect, and I loved her anyway. I never made her flaws any secret. But she didn’t want to be a real person in my eyes. She wanted to be a princess, a beautiful woman who had no flaws—she wanted to be Brooke Bailey, supermodel—and that’s how she wanted me to feel about her.”

“But you loved her.”

“I did. I loved her. Flaws and all. But she couldn’t accept that I saw her flaws.”

“Still, I feel bad that you couldn’t be with the woman you loved, especially when she wanted you back.”

“We’ve been over that before, sweetie. You were my priority then. You’re still my priority now. See? Your mother had her priorities all screwed up. Clearly, she still does.”

“She did tell me she wanted to try again with me. And she admitted she had taken a lot of things for granted in her life.”

My father nodded. “It’s all a step in the right direction, that’s for sure. A brush with death has a way of making people see what they’ve previously been blind to.”

“If only she could see Nico for who he really is.”

“She will, sweetie. Eventually. But she has to figure that out for herself. Neither you nor I will be able to convince her of it.”

I sighed. As usual, my father was right. The man had common sense to a fault.

“You know, I wish you could’ve known your mother when she was younger. She was so full of life. She wanted the world on a platter, and she thought she had it for a while. But fame and fortune are fleeting things, Jade. What’s important is people. The people who love us, who need us, who make us feel emotion. That’s what’s important in life.”

My heart swelled. My father had never been a rich man, but he surely was rich in the area of wisdom. I reached over to pat his hand, but before I could, my cell phone buzzed.

“Excuse me.” I grabbed my phone out of my purse.

Shit. It was Ted Morse again.