Obsession (Steel Brothers Saga Book 2) (23 page)

“How do you feel?” Dr. Carmichael asked.

She was right about hypnosis not necessarily being relaxing. I had a push me-pull you sensation going on inside my muscles. They were both relaxed and tensed, if that made any sense. Of course, it made as much sense as any part of my life had in the last twenty-five years.

“I’m not sure how to answer that,” I said.

“Do you remember anything about the session?”

I nodded. “I remember being on the beach.”

“Yes, that’s how I guided you to relaxation. Then what?”

“I felt very good. Jade was beside me. And then…”

“What?”

“A man appeared.”

“Did you know this man?”

I gulped and nodded. Brown eyes. The man with the tattoo had brown eyes. Something new. “Yes. I mean, I don’t know his name, and I’ve never seen his face. He always wears a mask.”

“He always wears a mask in your dreams?”

I gulped again. “In my dreams. And in reality… When I knew him.”

“Was he the man you were strangling?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“I guided you back to your dream when you fell asleep with Jade. That’s what you were remembering—what you were dreaming about when you ended up with your hands around her neck.”

I nodded.

“So you weren’t strangling her, Talon.”

“I know I wasn’t. I would never hurt her. But the fact is, despite that in my dreams it wasn’t Jade who I was strangling, in reality, it was.”

Dr. Carmichael nodded. “But at least now we know it wasn’t her you wanted to hurt.”

That did little to console me. “What if it happens again?”

“I don’t think it will, now that we’re starting to work through it. But if you’re scared that it might, just don’t fall asleep with her. Until you’re sure.”

I closed my eyes a moment. “That’s pretty much what I had decided anyway.”

“Now tell me about this man you were strangling. You say you knew him.”

“Yes.” My heart pounded.

“Is it someone from your time in the military?”

Oh, if only. People expected military personnel to have posttraumatic-stress disorder, expected them to have problems coping. If only it were that simple.

“No, it wasn’t someone from the military.”

“Then who was it?”

This was it, the moment of truth. The time of reckoning. Time to spill my guts.

“He was a man, one of three men, actually. He kidnapped me, beat me…molested—”

No, that wasn’t a strong enough word, and I had vowed to be honest, to get through this no matter how hard it was on me.

I cleared my throat. “He… He…
raped
me.” I squeezed my eyes shut. “When I was ten.”

“
H
ello
, Wendy,” I said to the receiver. “This is Jade Roberts again from Snow Creek.”

A heavy sigh whooshed through the phone line and into my ears. “What can I do for you, Jade?”

“You can tell me about the relationship between Larry Wade and Daphne Steel.”

Silence for a few moments. Then, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I have reason to believe that Larry Wade and Daphne Steel were half brother and sister.”

And again, silence.

“Look, Wendy, I know you don’t want to get involved in this, but I care about the Steels.”

“You’re just doing Larry’s dirty work.”

“Yes and no. I’m researching them for him for classified reasons, but as you know, I have my own agenda.”

More silence.

“Why did someone tamper with Daphne’s birth certificate and marriage certificate? Why didn’t anyone think to change her father’s first and middle names while they were in there?”

“I’m not sure what tree you’re barking up, Jade, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Look, I’m not stupid. The last name on Daphne’s marriage certificate is Wade. Her birth certificate notes that her father’s name is Jonathan Conrad Warren. Larry Wade’s father is Jonathan Conrad Wade.”

Another heavy sigh. “Well, you’re the attorney,” she said. “Piece together the evidence.”

“I already have pieced it together. What I want to know is
why
.”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not sure I know myself.”

I didn’t believe her, of course. In my mind’s eye, I saw her stroking her cheek with her index finger. But I wasn’t ready to pack up everything and fly out talk to her again if she wasn’t willing to cooperate.

“All right, Wendy. I understand. If you ever feel differently about things, please call me. You have my number.”

We said our good-byes and ended the call.

I shifted my focus to a couple of DUIs for the remainder of the day. I was due in court in the morning for arraignments. Besides, I had to let go of the Steels for a few hours. As much as I loved Talon and the rest of his family, I needed to escape it all, if only for a few hours. This research was taking its toll.

When I finished work on the DUIs, I got on the Internet to look at tattoo shops in Grand Junction. Maybe I’d drive into the city over the weekend and check one of them out. Maybe find a new image. One that wouldn’t upset Talon so much.

I was sipping the bottled water on my desk when Larry stuck his head inside my office.

“I’m taking off early, Jade,” he said. “Did you need anything before I go?”

I pushed some documents across my desk. “Just your signature on these.”

“Sure, no problem.” He entered my office, clad in shorts, a Hawaiian-print shirt, flip-flops.

“Going to the beach?” I smiled.

“I wish. Nope, just taking the grandkids out for the afternoon. Do you have any plans for the weekend?”

“I might go into the city.”

“Yeah, what for?”

“I’m thinking about getting a tattoo.” My phone buzzed. “Excuse me for a minute.” I picked up the receiver. “Yes?”

“It’s a Ted Morse for you, Jade,” Michelle said.

Colin’s father? Why would he be calling me? “Okay, put him through.” I turned to Larry. “I’ll just be a minute.”

He nodded, took the documents, and sat down in the chair opposite me, perusing them.

“This is Jade,” I said into the phone.

“Jade, Ted Morse. I need some answers.”

Would I ever be free of this family? “What do you mean?”

“Where the hell is my son, Jade? He was supposed to fly home after that court appearance. No one’s seen him since he left here.”

My blood froze in my veins. “He didn’t show up in court. The last time I saw him was Saturday evening.”

Silence for a few seconds, and then, “I’ll be in touch.” The line went dead.

Where was Colin? Dread crawled up my spine and lodged in the fine hairs on the back of my neck.

Larry sat across from me, staring. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, yes. That was my ex-fiancé’s father, just looking for him.”

“I see.” Larry scribbled his signature on the last document. “So your tattoo. May I ask where you’re getting it?”

“I don’t know yet. Maybe a shop in Grand Junction.”

He laughed. “I mean where on your body.”

“Oh. Sure. On my lower back.”

“Good spot. Your first?”

I nodded.

“They hurt like hell.”

“So I’ve heard. But I’ll be fine.”

He turned to leave, and my pulse raced double-time.
Don’t let him go.
I needed to know things, things that only he could tell me. And now Colin had disappeared. I doubted Larry had anything to do with that, but I feared Talon might. Damn it, I wanted some answers. So I risked losing my job and my access to all the databases. I needed to start now. For my own sanity.

“Larry?”

He turned around. “Yes?”

“Before you go, I need to ask you some questions about the Steel investigation.”

“Well, as I’ve told you, most of that’s classified, but I’ll help if I can.”

I drew in a breath, gathering my courage. “I want to know about your sister. Daphne Steel.”

His eyes grew dark, and he walked around to my side of the desk. I trembled. But what could he do? We were in a public office, and Michelle and David were right outside. I met his angry gaze and then dropped my own to the floor, berating myself for not being able to look him in the eye.

Cheap flip-flops. But something was off.

Larry was missing a toe—the little toe on his left foot.

D
ear Reader
,

Thank you for reading
Obsession
. If you want to find out about my current backlist and future releases, please like my Facebook page:
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and join my mailing list:
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. I often do giveaways. If you’re a fan and would like to join my street team to help spread the word about my books, you can do so here:
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. I regularly do awesome giveaways for my street team members.

If you enjoyed the story, please take the time to leave a review on a site like Amazon or Goodreads. I welcome all feedback.

I wish you all the best!

Helen

1. The theme of a story is its central idea or ideas. To put it simply, it’s what the story
   means
   . How would you characterize the theme of
   Obsession?
   
2. What do you think about Talon forbidding Jade to get a tattoo? Consider this question from Talon’s perspective and from Jade’s.
   
3. Have we learned anything new about Talon’s past? Discuss how this does or does not make his character more understandable and sympathetic.
   
4. Discuss Talon’s heroism during his time in the military. Why do you think he didn’t want the story to go to the national news? Was it really because he didn’t want the publicity? What else might have happened during his time overseas?
   
5. Discuss the character of Wendy Madigan. What do you think she’s hiding, and why?
   
6. What do you think of guided hypnosis? Do you believe it has any validity?
   
7. Ryan is devoted to Talon. Discuss how Ryan might be feeling, how the situation has impacted him and his possibility of a significant relationship in the future.
   
8. Discuss the author’s use of flashbacks in
   Obsession
   . How do they add to the story, and what purpose do they serve? Do they differ from those in
   Craving
   ?
   
9. How do you think the Steels changed Marjorie’s birth certificate and Daphne’s documents? Who else might have done it?
   
10. Discuss Jade’s role in the sexual relationship. Has it changed since
    Craving
    ? How so?
    
11. Do you believe Talon truly loves Jade? Why or why not?
    
12. Discuss the symbolism of the phoenix and how it affects Talon in both good and bad ways. Discuss the symbolism of the single red rose. What other literary devices does the author use in
    Obsession
    ?
    
13. Where might Colin be?
    
14. What do you think the future holds for Jade and Talon in
    Possession?
    What about Jonah and Ryan? Marjorie?
    

I
loved writing
Obsession
—especially because, in many ways, it poses more questions than it answers. Talon’s pain is raw and deep. He’s composed of many layers, and Jade has only begun to scrape through them. I hope you laughed and cried along with Talon and Jade during this phase of their journey. The ending you’ve been waiting for is on its way with
Possession
, but Jade and Talon will have more growing to do in the further books of the series. I won’t be able to turn my back on these two amazing characters.

As always, thank you to my brilliant editor, Michele Hamner Moore, and my eagle-eyed proofreader, Jenny Rarden. Thank you to all the great people at Waterhouse Press—Meredith, David, Kurt, Shayla, Jon, and Yvonne. The cover art for this series is beyond perfect, thanks to Meredith and Yvonne.

Thank you to the members of my street team, Hardt and Soul. HS members got the first look at
Obsession
, and I appreciate all your support, reviews, and general good vibes. I have the best street team in the universe!

Thanks to my always supportive family and friends and to all of the fans who eagerly waited for
Obsession
. I hope you love it!