“Lots of times. His law partners put up with it because he funds the firm.”
“Hold on. He funds the firm? With what?”
“His father was loaded. He died intestate, and Cade was his next of kin.”
I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t considered this fact. Of course Cade’s father had been loaded. My father had paid him off. Bert Valente had bought real estate that had increased in value, and who knew what else he had invested in?
“Right,” I said. “He got shot at a convenience store.”
“How did you know that?”
“I have my ways. Do you know how Cade’s father got his money?”
Dominic shook his head.
“He sold his son. He sold Cade. To my psycho father.”
Dominic shuddered slightly. If it weren’t night, I was sure I’d see his tan face turning white.
“How do you know this?”
“I found documentation hidden in my father’s things.” I wasn’t about to tell Dominic the whole story—that Joe and I had been responsible for my father even knowing about Cade.
“He’s right,” a low voice said.
I jerked around, looking for the source of the sound. “Who’s there?”
“The person who wants to talk to you.”
“Get out here, then,” I said harshly. “Show yourself.”
A figure approached, a black mask covering his face. He was tall, easily as tall as I was, possibly taller.
“I don’t talk to you unless I know who you are,” I said.
“I’m the person who’s trying to protect Marjorie and her mother.”
His voice was laced with familiarity. Depth and familiarity. It was a voice I’d once loved, I’d once respected.
“You’re not…”
“Brad Steel?” The figure sighed and slowly pulled off his mask.
Bradford fucking Steel stood before me. His hair was still dark, as I remembered, though it was speckled with silver that shone in the light from the moon. Though I’d felt the ghost of my father more than once, this was no ghost. This man was alive. Alive and well.
“Fuck it all,” I said. “You’re supposed to be dead.”
No response.
“And weren’t you dying of cancer? Pancreatic, I think?”
“No. That was a lie. If Wendy hadn’t tried to kill me, I needed another reason to die.”
“You did this to your kids again. You’re a fucking freak of nature, Brad.”
“I have my reasons. I meant to stay covered, but once I saw you, I knew it wouldn’t work. You recognized my voice, didn’t you?”
I nodded.