“Drug him? Whoever he is?” I yelled. “Are you nuts?”
“Marjorie,” Dominic said, “we’re trying to help him. And you.”
“Who is he?” I asked, but I knew the answer before Dominic replied.
“Colin Morse,” he and I said in unison.
“I want to see him,” I said. “He’ll listen to me.”
“You’re not listening to us,” Dominic said.
“Actually,” the other guy interjected, “she may have a good point. If he sees a familiar face, he might calm down.”
“Finally, someone who is talking sense,” I said. “Now if you’ll untie me, I’ll be happy to talk to Colin.”
“You’ll make a run for it,” Alex said.
Damned right. She was no dummy. Not that it took the brightest bulb to figure out what I had in mind. But I was also concerned about Colin. Having been through captivity and torture at Tom Simpson’s hands, he was most likely frightened beyond belief right now.
I was frightened myself, but though I didn’t trust Dominic—and I especially didn’t trust Alex—I no longer felt I was in any immediate danger. If they wanted to kill me, I’d be dead by now.
“I’ll untie your ankles,” Dominic said, “and we’ll take you to see him.”
I opened my mouth to complain but then shut it. I’d take what I could get. I could still run with my hands tied. Plus, I had to see Colin. Let him know I was here for him.
Dominic quickly unbound my ankles and pulled me into a stand. “Go with Dave.” He pointed to the other guy.
Dave was tall and thin and clearly not related to Dominic and Alex. He was fair and blond where they were tan and dark-haired.
“We’re not here to hurt you.” Dave guided me out of the room, touching my elbow.
I whipped my arm away. “Don’t you lay a hand on me.”
He nodded, and I followed him into another room. The lights had been dimmed.
“The brightness seemed to bother him,” Dave said.
Colin was lying on a couch in a fetal position, his legs and wrists bound as mine had been. Why would the brightness bother him? Then it struck me. He was reliving his captivity with Tom Simpson. He’d been kept in the dark, most likely bound as he was now. Tom probably turned on the lights when he… I didn’t want to think about what he’d done.
I approached him tentatively. “Colin.”
He whimpered. “No more. Please.”
“Colin, it’s me. Marj.”
“Please,” he said again. “Just let me go. My father will give you whatever you want.”
Yeah, he really was reliving his former captivity. Today’s Colin wouldn’t expect any help from Ted Morse.
“You’re not there anymore. You’re okay. No one is going to hurt you.”
In fact, Dave seemed to be concerned about Colin’s well-being.
“Please. I want my clothes back.”
“You’re dressed, Colin. No one took your clothes.”
“Why are you doing this?” he asked. “Why? Why me?”
I touched his face, but he jerked away.
“It’s me. Marj. Marjorie Steel.”
“Leave me alone! Please!”
“Look at me,” I said. “Just look at me.”
He opened his eyes wider, his pupils dilated from the darkness.
“Turn on the light,” I said to Dave.
“He won’t like it.”
“Just do it. He needs to see my face.”
Dave flipped the overhead light on, and I squinted against the invasion to my vision. I touched Colin’s cheek once more. This time he didn’t flinch.
“Look at me. It’s me. Marj.”
His eyes widened farther. “Thank God! Get me out of here.”
“You’re not in that basement, Colin. My brother Joe rescued you. Remember?”
He tried to sit up, tugging against his bindings. “Then where am I? Why are you here?”
“I don’t know yet, but these people say they don’t want to hurt us.”
“I’m tied up.” He looked me over. “And so are you.”
“True. I don’t know exactly what’s going on yet.” I turned to Dave. “Now would be a great time to explain it.”
He nodded. “I’ll get Dom and Alex.”
Chapter Five
Bryce
“So what?”
“We’ve been through this, Bryce,” Joe said. “I can’t tell you.”
“Do you think I give a damn if our governor or anyone else is into bondage? Not to mention some former G-man. I care only about Marjorie, and so should you.”
“You’re right,” he said. “Which is why I’m getting in touch with him. If he can help, I’ll keep his cover. If not, all bets are off.”
“And you still won’t tell me who it is?” I paced around. “I can’t believe you, Joe. Where’s your famous hot head? What if Melanie were missing?”
Yeah, I’d gone a step too far. Joe grabbed my collar. “You think I’m any less worried about my sister and my mother—”
I broke his hold easily. “Save the tough guy act. I call bullshit. There’s something else going on here. Who is this guy? Who is he? If he’s no longer with the government, his career isn’t in danger, right?”
“You think government officials are the only people whose careers are in danger if the public finds out they’re part of the leather community?”
“I don’t fucking know, Joe. I’m not a part of that community!”
“He’s a lawyer in Grand Junction. In fact…” Joe stopped. “Oh, shit.”
“What now?”
“He helped me find the facility in the city for my mother. After we brought her home from the place in California where my father had put her. Oh, shit.”
“You think he has something to do with your mom’s disappearance?”
“No.” Joe was adamant. “This guy’s legit, but there’s a paper trail with his office. Those records are confidential. They’re medical records.”
“It was probably pretty easy for someone to figure out where your mother was,” I said. “You, Talon, and Marj all went to visit her regularly.”
“Yeah. But something still smells rotten.”
Almost instinctively, I sniffed. Yeah, something did smell rotten, metaphorically speaking.
“If you can’t tell me who this dude is, that’s one thing. But you should be having a conversation with him right now.”
He nodded. “That’s why I’ve contacted him.”
“The Joe I know would be hightailing it to his office right about now. And when you do, I’m coming along.”
Joe sighed. “You’re right. Let’s go.”
Apparently, when Jonah Steel showed up unannounced, the red carpet came out. Kyle and Shenkman, Attorneys at Law, couldn’t have been more accommodating. But I wasn’t interested in their Rocky Mountain spring water and freshly baked cookies. I wanted information.