Larry chuckled. “I can guarantee you one thing, son. Your father won’t do shit for me.”
“How can you say that? He appointed you as a city attorney when you needed a job.”
“There were special circumstances there.”
“Like what?” Bryce asked.
“Confidential special circumstances.”
“Just as well,” I interjected. “Because, Bryce, we’re not letting this asshole out. I don’t care if the president himself wants to pardon him. I will not let it fucking happen. Absolutely not.”
“Calm down, Joe,” Bryce said. “I didn’t know you would freak out this way.”
“This scumbag molested my brother. This scumbag molested and killed your cousin.”
Larry started to speak, but I silenced him with a gesture.
“How could you possibly think I would be okay with getting him pardoned? Not only does he deserve to be in prison for life, but also, what if he got a pardon and then he got out and molested another kid? Maybe your kid?”
Bryce went pale. “Okay. It was just a thought. My father probably wouldn’t do it anyway.”
“That’s for damn sure,” Larry said.
“Just what in the hell do you have against my father?” Bryce demanded. “He’s been the mayor for over ten years. Before that, he was a prominent attorney in Snow Creek.”
I had to bite my tongue not to say anything. If I’d been alone with Larry, I would’ve said straight out that I thought Tom Simpson was the third abductor. Of course, Jade had asked him straight out if Nico Kostas was one, and he had given her a poker face. So he would undoubtedly do the same. Time to give it a test.
“I have a name, Uncle. Was one of the men Nico Kostas?”
“No,” he said.
One of his eyebrows rose just a bit. Was that a tell?
“Just tell us,” Bryce pleaded. “It will be worth your while. You’ll get a lighter sentence. And Joe has already offered you money for a lawyer.”
Larry looked intently at Bryce. “Why is it so important for you to learn the truth?”
“Because Luke Walker was my cousin. Because Talon is Joe’s brother. Because I have a son of my own now, and I would die inside if anything like this ever happened to him. So I want to know the truth. I want to know who those fuckers are so we can get them off the street and they’ll never again hurt innocent children like my son.”
Larry looked at Bryce, his face stern. “Look, I’ve got nothing against you, kid—”
“Kid? I’m thirty-eight,” Bryce said.
“To me, you’re a kid.” Larry coughed. “I’m not going to tell you who they are.”
Bryce stood. “Then Joe and I will find them on our own.”
Still facing Bryce, Larry curled his lips into a sleazy half smile, his blue eyes creeping eerily toward me while his head stayed still. “Keep looking if you want to, kid, but let me give you a piece of advice. The truth is overrated. Once you open the door to that dark room, getting out is damn near impossible.”
Continue The Steel Brothers Saga with Book Five
Burn
Coming February 14th, 2017
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Message from Helen Hardt
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Melt. If you want to find out about my current backlist and future releases, please like my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HelenHardt and join my mailing list: http://helenhardt.com/signup/. 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: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hardtandsoul/. 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
Also by Helen Hardt
The Sex and the Season Series:
Lily and the Duke
Rose in Bloom
Lady Alexandra’s Lover
Sophie’s Voice
The Perils of Patricia (coming soon)
The Temptation Saga:
Tempting Dusty
Teasing Annie
Taking Catie
Taming Angelina
Treasuring Amber
Trusting Sydney
Tantalizing Maria (October 25, 2016)
Daughters of the Prairie:
The Outlaw’s Angel
Lessons of the Heart
Song of the Raven
The Steel Brothers Saga:
Craving
Obsession
Possession
Melt
Burn (February 14, 2017)
Surrender (May 16, 2017)
The Cougar Chronicles:
The Cowboy and the Cougar
Calendar Boy
Collections:
Destination Desire
Her Two Lovers
Non-Fiction:
got style?
Discussion Questions
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 Melt?
What new things are revealed about Jonah in this book? About Melanie?
Do you think Melanie failed Gina? Why or why not? How do you feel about her not telling anyone about Gina’s letter?