I smiled. “No, I didn’t mean for that. I meant for having this stupid pity party for myself right now. It was completely self-indulgent, and I’m sorry.”
He returned my smile. I marveled at the fact that I had seen my brother smile more in the last several months than I had in the last twenty-five years. Every smile was triumphant. And he deserved each one.
“No worries, bro. I still get self-indulgent myself sometimes. But Jade is always here to snap me out of it.”
“You’re a lucky man.”
Talon took a sip of coffee. “I am. That’s no lie. But you can be just as lucky. The doc is a wonderful woman. Take some advice from someone who knows. Don’t let her go, man.”
“I don’t know, Tal. I don’t know if I can get her back.” I rubbed the back of my neck. Man, I was tense.
“Joe, you don’t even know if she’s gone yet. Have you tried calling her?”
“Actually, no. I’ve been a little busy.”
“Yeah? Something going down in the pastures?”
“No, man. You’re not going to fucking believe where I’ve been.”
“Try me.”
Where to start? I hadn’t even told Talon my suspicions—which were no longer suspicions and hadn’t been for a while—about Tom Simpson yet. Besides Marjorie, the only person I had told was Melanie.
Now I risked my brother’s wrath for not letting him in on it. And also…for letting Tom Simpson get away.
This was going to be a long night.
Chapter Nine
Melanie
The talk with Ruby had renewed my vigor. What a strong woman. I had met a lot of strong women in my practice, but never one who’d been on her own since the age of fifteen. On top of that, I’d found a new friend who I had a feeling would turn out to be very helpful to both me and the Steels. I was beginning to look at my own strength in a new way.
I had left Jonah’s home to take myself back. But the truth of the matter was I needed to be with him to do that very thing. I would show him the strength I possessed. I would fight for us.
It was nearing midnight when Ruby finally left, and I decided I would not be going to a hotel. I packed up what little I wanted from my loft and got back into my car. I was going back to Jonah’s.
I was going home.
* * *
Jonah’s ranch house was dark, but that didn’t concern me. It was the early hours of the morning, and he was no doubt in bed. I let myself in, and Lucy bounded to me.
“What are you doing up, girl?” I let her out to do her business and then refilled her water bowl, which was bone-dry. It wasn’t like Jonah to neglect Lucy.
I quietly stole down the hallway to his master suite. I knocked lightly on the door. “Jonah?”
No answer.
I opened the door slowly and walked in. I didn’t want to turn on the light and wake him. My eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I went through the sitting room and into the bedroom.
The bed was made, and Jonah was nowhere to be found.
Where was he?
Oh, God. Images of his BDSM club floated through my mind. He wouldn’t go there, would he? He said he hadn’t been there in years and had no desire to go back.
But that darkness still lived within him, a darkness I had only seen glimpses of.