“Yeah?” he said into my ear.
“Let’s finish our conversation,” I said. “Come to room twenty-one.”
“I’d tell you more if I could,” Colin said. “I honestly don’t know exactly what my dad is up to.”
“But it’s not anything good,” Bryce said, his eyes angry. “Why did you want to talk to Marj in the first place?”
“Because something’s coming. I’m not sure what.”
“You said your father didn’t want you to marry Jade,” I said, “b
ut you never elaborated. Why?”
“I told you. He didn’t think she was good enough for me.”
“Why didn’t he make that clear once in the seven years before you actually got to the altar?” I asked. “Seems like there was plenty of time.”
“Jade had no contact with the Steels at that time, so this isn’t related,” Bryce said.
“It wasn’t then,” Colin said. “But my father’s a master manipulator. He twists things. And he covets things. He’ll do almost anything to get what he wants. He fucks with people’s minds, and he’s good at it.”
“And you’re saying he fucks with yours?” I said.
“He has since I was born. The whole thing with Jade was a test, I think. He told me I should call it off, but when I did, he called me a coward.”
“How was that a test?”
“He wanted to see how far I’d go to please him, but in the end, he had less respect for me.”
Bryce regarded Colin sternly but said nothing.
Silence for a few minutes that seemed like hours, until—
“Who’s watching us?” Bryce asked, though it came out more like a statement than a question.
“I don’t know.”
“Your father called me tonight,” Bryce continued. “He told me where Marjorie was, that she was with you. How did he know that?”
He shook his head. “I’ve given up trying to figure my father out.”
“Tell me more about this person your father has been meeting with.”
“I told Marj all I know. White guy. Dark hair. Average height.”
“What was he wearing?”
“Nothing memorable.”
“Not good enough,” Bryce said. “Think harder.”
Discomfort and unease whirled through me. Bryce was getting angry, and if he was anything like Joe when he was angry—
“Jeans. A hoodie.”
A hoodie. That got my attention. “What color was the hoodie?” I asked.
“I don’t know. That heather-gray color, I think.”