Blaze: Steel Brothers Saga: Book Twenty-One Read online

  But we were kids. Sure, Rory was technically an adult, but only an eighteen-year-old girl. I wasn’t quite sixteen.

  Still, holding the thumb drive in my palm, feeling its shape and weight, gives me relief.

  “Whoever got the key,” Rory says, “didn’t get here.”

  “They couldn’t have. Not unless they had your ID. And if it was Pat Lamone, I doubt he could have convinced anyone he was a woman named Aurora Pike.”

  “We don’t even know for sure it was him.”

  “Who else could it be? The only other person who knows where we hid it is Jordan. Unless someone else followed us and she didn’t notice.”

  “I know.” Rory wrings her hands together. “I think we have to consider the possibility that someone else saw us back then.”

  “Or that Jordan…”

  Rory shakes her head. “Don’t go there, Cal. She’s our cousin.”

  I nod. I want to believe Jordan wouldn’t be behind any of this. I want to so badly. But what if…

  Jordan’s parents live on our land, help us with the ranching and winemaking. At least we have ownership of the property. They don’t even have that.

  If someone offered her money…

  “I see those cogs in your brain turning,” Rory says. “She didn’t do it.”

  “I know.”

  But the truth is that I don’t know. My brain works differently than Rory’s. She’s a performer, an artist. She works on emotion.

  My mind is analytical. I look at all the facts, discard all the emotion, and then hypothesize theories.

  And frankly, the fact is that Jordan is the only other person who knows where we buried that key.

  “How well do you know him?” I ask Jordan.

  “He came on to me. But then again, he comes on to everyone. I didn’t particularly want him to be my escort for the homecoming procession, but it’s not like I had a choice. He was voted onto the court.”

  “Why is that again? He’s not a football player.” Rory cocks her head.

  “Yeah, but he’s a star baseball player, and he hangs out with the football team.”

  “You know he’s been stalking Rory, right?” I say.

  Jordan’s eyes widen. “He has?”

  “Geez, Callie.”

  “Hey, I’m just trying to get information on the guy. He freaking poisoned that punch at the homecoming bonfire. A girl is in the hospital because of him.”

  “Yeah, and the two of you want to get the Steel reward.” Jordan’s tone is dry.

  “Well…duh!” I drop my mouth open. “Don’t you want your cut?”

  “Sure. But I’m not sure how I can help you.”

  “You’re helping right now by telling us what you know about the guy.”

  “And what are you going to do with that information?”

  “We’re going to get him to confess,” I say.

  Jordan’s jaw drops. “No way. He never will.”

  “We have some tricks in our arsenal.” I gesture to Rory.

  “Please tell me you’re not going to—”

  “I don’t like the idea any more than you do,” Rory says, “but we have to try. Not just for the ten grand, but for Diana’s sake.”

  “Diana is going to be fine,” Jordan says. “Haven’t you heard? She’s already been released from the hospital.”

  “I haven’t seen her back in school,” I say.

  “She’s probably taking a few days off. Or maybe the Steels will be putting her in private school.” Jordan shrugs. “I’m not sure why all of them aren’t in private school, to be honest. They’re richer than God.”

  I bite my bottom lip, my mind whirling. How can we pull this off? It’s going to take more than just Rory and her sexual prowess.

  The two of them need to be contained.

  We need something like—

  “Can you get Cage’s van?” I ask Jordan.

  Jordan narrows her eyes. “Why do we need his van?”

  “We need a closed-in space. Where we can monitor what goes on.”

  “You want me to lock myself in the back of a van with Pat Lamone?” Rory raises an eyebrow.

  “We have to keep the whole thing contained,” I tell her. “We need to be able to stay close enough that we can get an accurate recording. Plus, we need to be able to stay close enough that we can come in in case something goes wrong.”

  “Nothing will go wrong,” Rory says. “I can handle Pat Lamone.”

  “I don’t doubt that you can. But we don’t know much about him. What if he gets violent?”

  “What if I slip him a little something?” Rory’s lips curve slightly upward.

  I’m not sure if it’s a smile or a… Yeah, I’m not sure.

  “Then we’re no better than he is,” Jordan says.

  “True. I can’t help but agree.” I rub my forehead. “But maybe… Maybe there’s something we can slip him that isn’t…illegal.”

  “We’re all under twenty-one,” Rory says. “Everything is illegal for us.”

  “Not everything. What about a big dose of antihistamine?”

  “What if he’s allergic?” Jordan asks.

  “Who the hell is allergic to Benadryl? It’s meant to counteract allergies.”

  “I want him to talk,” Rory says, “not fall asleep.”

  “There’s that alpha place between asleep and awake,” I say. “That’s when you’ll be able to get him to talk.”

  Jordan frowns. “I don’t know, guys. I still think that makes us no better than he is.”

  “Jordan,” I say, “there is a huge difference between spiking punch that the entire school is going to drink with an illegal drug like angel dust and spiking one guy’s drink with Benadryl.”

  “Which is not illegal.” Rory nods. “We can buy it at the pharmacy.”

  Jordan’s expression is unreadable for a few seconds, until—

  “Okay. I’ll talk to Cage.”

  I smile. “Then it’s settled. Jordan, get the van. Rory and I will take care of the rest.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  DONNY

  In the office, midafternoon, my phone buzzes with a text from Callie.

  We’re about fifteen minutes out. Do you want Rory and me to drop the car at the office?

  The text is basic, but still, it heats my skin just knowing Callie sent it.

  I text her back.

  Don’t worry about that. Just go ahead home, and I’ll pick up the car at your place later.

  Are you sure? I can put in an hour or two of work once we get there.

  Such a work ethic. Callie Pike is something else.

  No, that’s okay. But would you like to have dinner tonight?

  I hit send, and then I realize that Mom and Dad will be home by dinnertime. Crap. That’s okay. We’ll drive into Grand Junction and have dinner.

  Sure. I have a lot to tell you.

  Right. She’s going to tell me what’s been bothering her and how it has something to do with the safe-deposit box that she and Rory lost the key to.

  As curious as I am, and as much as I want to help her, is it really fair of me to take that information when I’m going to break up with her?

  If only…

  I can’t believe I’m even thinking this, but if Mom and Dad weren’t coming home tonight, I could have one last night with Callie.

  How can I exist knowing I’ll never make love to her again?

  And honestly? It isn’t even the making love that’s important. It’s Callie herself. Her presence in my life. The happiness she brings me.

  How can I live without that?

  You don’t have to let her go, you know, the little voice inside me says. Dale brought Ashley into all of this, and she’s doing fine.

  All true. But Dale brought Ashley in before we knew of these developments, and God only knows what they will lead to.

  I haven’t spoken to Dale because he’s been busy moving into his new house. He said he was going to check out those GPS coordinates, but I never heard whether he did. Instead of checking in with him yesterday, I stayed at home. I had a big pity party for myself. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get comfortable with the fact that I had to let Callie go.

  Maybe I need to talk to Dale now.

  He’ll tell me to not let her go.

  And perhaps that’s what I need to hear.

  I text Callie back quickly, telling her I’ll let her know when I’ll pick her up for dinner, and then I call Dale.

  He doesn’t answer. I get ready to leave a voicemail, when he blips, interrupting my message.

  “Hey,” I say.

  “Sorry. I left the phone on the counter of the new house, and I was upstairs. I heard it ring and ran down, but I was too late. What’s up?”

  “I should have checked in with you yesterday. Any luck on figuring out the GPS coordinates?”

  “Yeah. I drove out and took a look at all of them. They’re just standard points. One is even on our own property.”

  I widen my eyes. “It is?”

  “Yeah, our property is pretty vast. This is way north, almost on the Wyoming border.”

  “Is it property that we use?”

  “There are some old buildings, but no, we don’t use them. I’m surprised we don’t have squatters, to tell you the truth.”

  “Did you find anything in those buildings?”

  “No. I didn’t go inside any of them because I was due back at the winery. I figured you and I would go back together to do the thorough checking.”

  “What about the other GPS coordinates?”

  “Just outside our property.”

  “Who owns that part of the land?”

  “I don’t know, Don. That’s where you come in. You’ll need to check all the databases.”
r />   “Right. I suppose I can do that this afternoon. I’m not sure why I didn’t think of it before.”

  Except that I know exactly why I didn’t think of it before. I’ve been ruminating on Callie and the fact that I have to let her go.

  “I know this is a big mess,” Dale says. “Neither one of us has really been acting like ourselves.”

  “You noticed, huh?”

  “Yeah. I have to tell you, Ashley is keeping me very grounded. I’m glad I shared what’s going on with her.”

  I say nothing.

  “Don?”

  “Yeah?”

  “How are things with Callie? Is she back from Denver?”

  “Almost. I just got a text from her. She’s about fifteen minutes out.”

  “Good. I think you need a heavy dose of Callie Pike.”

  “Funny you should mention that…”

  “What?”

  I sigh. “Dale, I have to let her go.”

  “What?” My brother’s voice is almost shrill. He doesn’t sound like himself at all.

  “You heard me. And I know you understand why.”

  “No, I don’t understand. And I’ll tell you the reason why I don’t understand. Because a few weeks ago, I was exactly where you are now. I almost let the best thing in my life go, and it would have been the biggest mistake I ever made.”

  “Dale, you and I have a hell of a lot of baggage. But now with these new developments—”

  “So we have more baggage. So what? You have a woman who loves you and who you love in return. Don’t let all this baggage—”

  I can almost see my brother’s air quotes.

  “—lead you into making a bad decision.”

  “I’m only thinking about her.”

  “I get that. I’ve been there, like I said. Do I need to come over and pound some sense into you?”

  I scoff. “I’d like to see you try.”

  “Hey, I work out. I have a taekwondo dojang in my basement. You sit at a desk all day.”

  My brother is not wrong, and he also has way more of a temper than I do. Still, we’re pretty evenly matched body-wise.

  “Dale,” I say, “this is different.”

  “How is it different?”

  “This is some major family drama we’re uncovering. It could affect our finances. It could affect everything.”

  “So?”

  “This isn’t just my own personal baggage. That’s what you were struggling with when you were deciding whether to keep Ashley in your life. And you know that you and I handle that differently.”

  “Don’t give me that. Don’t tell me it affected me more than it affected you.”

  “Maybe it did. We’re two different people.”

  I hate the words as soon as they leave my mouth. They’re not untrue. Dale and I are two very different people. But I’m not unaffected by my past. I just don’t allow myself to think about it.

  “Don, I’m done. I’m done feeling guilty that I couldn’t save you.”

  “That’s not what I’m getting at.”

  “But it is. You think this affected me more than it affected you. In some ways, I’m sure it did. But you were younger. You were seven years old. Don’t tell me our past hasn’t shaped you into the man you are today.”

  “It hasn’t.”

  “Maybe I didn’t say that right. Of course it hasn’t. But everything that we’ve been through has had an effect on who we became. Our lives here on the ranch with Mom and Dad. Our successes and our failures. And…those two months.”

  “You think that’s the reason I want to cut things off with Callie?”

  “I think you need to consider that it might have more to do with it than you think it does.”

  This is my brother. If anyone else said these words to me, even Mom or Dad, I would probably say they’re barking up the wrong tree. But Dale… Dale, who went through it with me. Who in some ways suffered so much more than I did.

  Could he be right?

  Sure, I don’t let this affect my life. At least I don’t think I do. But I have been thinking about it more often than I normally do. That feeling… That horrendous feeling of being caged in… Of having no control over anything.

  Sure, I was a child. A mere seven-year-old. But children should not be caged.

  And the feelings I’ve had lately as things have piled on my shoulders more and more and more—Dad’s shooting, my near breach of my own ethics, the documents Brendan uncovered in his place, the safe-deposit box someone opened for me…

  All of it… All of it is making me feel very caged in.

  “Don? You still there?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Don’t give her up,” Dale says. “Needing someone in your life doesn’t make you weaker. It makes you stronger.”

  I consider his words. I have felt less strong since Callie came into my life, but it’s not because of her. It’s because of all the other shit that came along for the ride.

  “I’m not worried about my own weakness or strength. I’m worried about her.”

  “Believe me, brother. I understand that. But what I’m telling you is that you’ll hurt her more by cutting her loose.”

  “I’m not sure that’s true. Callie is going through some of her own stuff right now that I don’t even know about. Maybe dealing with me and my baggage is just too much for her.”

  “What’s she going through?”

  “I don’t know. She was going to tell me when we were in Denver, but I told her not to. I just wanted to hold her. I wanted to relish the time we had left because I knew the end was coming.”

  “Don’t make that mistake. Please. I’m your brother, and I love you. And I think Callie Pike is the best thing that has ever happened to you, Donny.”

  Again, I consider his words.

  And I wonder…

  Is it even my decision to make? Maybe I should give Callie the choice. She may choose to walk, and that’s her prerogative.

  “I’ll think about all of it. She and I are going to dinner tonight. I think we’ll drive into Grand Junction and maybe go check out that new steakhouse, the Fortnight. That’ll give Mom and Dad a chance to get settled back home without me being underfoot.”

  “Just a warning…the sommelier there, Idris, is a big-ass flirt.”

  “Idris?”

  “Yeah, and he has some snooty French last name, which escapes me at the moment. He couldn’t take his eyes off Ashley.”

  I laugh. And it feels damned good to laugh. “Anyone is a big-ass flirt to you, Dale. You don’t have the first clue how to flirt.”

  This gets a chuckle out of my brother. “Touché, little bro. Touché. I never claimed to. Thankfully, my wife seems to like me anyway.”

  “Who knows why?” I scoff.

  Good. We’re back to normal now. Giving each other crap and laughing.

  “I’ll think about it.” I return to the subject at hand. “I do love her, man.”

  “I know you do. I’m happy for you. Don’t fuck it up, all right?”

  “I’ll talk to you soon. After you’re settled in the new house, you and I have a date to check out those GPS coordinates.”

  “Nice subject change. But good enough. You’re my brother, and I love you, and I know you’ll do the right thing—for both Callie and yourself.”

  I set my phone back down on the desk. Within a minute though, I’ve picked it up again. I quickly make reservations for two at Fortnight and then text Callie the details.

  Tonight…

  Tonight the future of Donny Steel and Callie Pike will be decided.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CALLIE

  Cage is Jesse’s age, and he uses his van to transport the musical instruments and other equipment for their band. Which means…when the equipment isn’t in there, the back of the van is completely available. Somehow, Jordan managed to get him to agree to let us borrow it.

  “What did you tell him?” Rory asks as the three of us chat behind the high school football stadium.

  “I said we were helping the football team and cheerleaders move equipment.”

  I nod. “Nice. Since the season is over after homecoming, that makes perfect sense.”

  “I do have a brain in my head, Callie.” My cousin scoffs. “Quit thinking you’re the only smart one in this family.”