“Believe it,” I said. “He’s way worse than Larry Wade. He’s an iceman, Tal. Nothing fazes him. He’s been hiding his true nature all these years. From his wife. From his son. It was freaking me out every time I thought of little Henry in that house with his pedophile grandfather.”
“You don’t think he would hurt an innocent baby, do you?”
“He hurt an innocent ten-year-old boy,” I said and then winced. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s old news now.” Talon shook his head. “Everyone knows. I’ve had to make my peace with that. It’s embarrassing. Humiliating. But it happened.”
“There’s no reason for either of those emotions,” Melanie said. “What happened wasn’t your fault.”
“I know that. It’s just…”
Melanie smiled. “I understand. But believe me, no one thinks any less of you. We all admire your strength.”
“She speaks the truth, Tal,” I said. “And no, I don’t think Tom hurt the baby. Evelyn was always home, and Bryce was usually there as well. So I figured that Henry was okay.”
“Oh my God,” Talon said. “Does Bryce know any of this?”
I nodded. “I told him my suspicions before I knew for sure. He wasn’t happy with me.”
“He wasn’t happy with you? What the hell would he have against you?”
“It’s his father, Tal. As far as he’s concerned, Tom was a good father. And I was very happy to hear that, because now I know he never touched Bryce and probably not Henry either.”
“True. But he had no reason to get pissed off at you.”
I took a drink of coffee. “He’ll come around. I have faith in our friendship. Especially now that we have proof. We just need to find the bastards.”
My phone buzzed again, this time with a call. I frowned. “I don’t recognize the number. Do you mind?”
“Of course not,” Talon said.
Melanie shook her head.
“Jonah Steel,” I said into the phone.
“Mr. Steel, this is Officer Jones in Murphy. We need you to come back in for questioning and a blood test.”
“A blood test? What the hell for?”
“To check your DNA.”
“And again, what the hell for?”
“Well…” Jones cleared his throat. “The man you brought in, Colin Morse? He…uh…he says you’re the one who raped him.”
I dropped the phone.
That asshole.
“What is it?” Melanie asked, stroking my arm.
I pulled away from her. My mind raged in an angry red haze. I had saved that shithead’s life, and this was how he repaid me?
I picked up the phone and power walked into the foyer. “What? That’s a fucking lie,” I yelled into the phone.
“We have to explore all evidence, Mr. Steel. We’re just doing our jobs.”
I clenched the phone in my hand. “I can’t believe this. You can all go to hell.”