A weekend with Ryan Steel.

Things could definitely be worse.

Before I let myself freak out about it, my phone buzzed again.

“Detective Lee.”

“Hi, Ruby. It’s Marjorie Steel.”

Marjorie? Why was she calling? Right, to get together for exercise and lunch. “Hey. How are you?”

“Good. You?”

“Can’t complain. What’s up?”

She sighed across the phone line. A heavy sigh. “Are you seeing Ryan again?”

“Tonight, actually.”

“Wow. That’s quick.”

“He called me. I told him I didn’t expect anything from him.” Shit. Was that the kind of thing I should say to his sister? Of course, she didn’t know we’d had sex. I wasn’t one to kiss and tell. Especially since this was the first time I’d ever been kissed.

“No, that’s not what I mean. I’m thrilled for both of you. We all are. It’s just…”

“What?”

“I’ve talked to my brothers and their girlfriends—I mean, wives.” She laughed shakily. “Anyway, we agree there’s something you need to know. About Ryan.”

My heart began to thump wildly. I didn’t have a good feeling about whatever was coming.

“What?”

“Has he told you about any mysterious phone calls he’s gotten?”

“No…”

“Someone has been calling him, claiming to be his mother.”

“I’m sorry. Isn’t your mother…?”

“Dead? Yeah. At least that’s what we’re all hoping.”

Say what? “What are you getting at, Marjorie?”

“Call me Marj. Everyone does.” She sighed. “This is still so surreal… There’s a chance that Ryan has a different mother than Talon, Joe, and I do.”

I went numb. I had no idea where this could be leading, and a feeling of dread overwhelmed me. “Oh my God. Who?”

“Wendy Madigan.”

I knew the name well. She was a member of my father’s infamous future lawmakers club in high school, and Melanie and I had talked in detail about her. She was currently in psych lockup here in the city.

“It’s a long story, but she told Jonah and Talon that she was Ryan’s biological mother, and that she gave him to our father in exchange for five million dollars.”

“She’s obviously lying.”

“That’s what we all thought at first too, but it makes an eerie sort of sense. The psych ward assured Jonah that she didn’t have access to a phone. But how hard can it be to hijack a cell?”

Not hard at all. As a police officer, I knew that security in psych detention centers wasn’t the best. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because Jonah and Talon have a lock of her hair. We need a lock of Ryan’s to get a DNA test done. We need you to get one for us.”

I about fell off my office chair. “Excuse me?”

“I know it’s a little unorthodox—”

“Unorthodox? That’s a pretty tame word for what you’re talking about here. It’s a total violation of his trust. I can’t have any part in this.”

Marjorie sighed across the phone line. “Melanie and Jade agree with you. But Jonah, Talon, and I are determined to keep this from him for his own good. Even thinking there’s a possibility that he might not be our full brother will cause him tremendous trauma. We want to avoid that. If we find out he’s not Wendy’s son, he never has to know there was an issue.”

“You’re his sister. How can you possibly condone this?”

She sighed again. “I don’t like it, not at all. Neither do the guys. It’s the lesser of two evils, though. We want to protect our brother as much as we can.”

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to let him know there might be an issue than to spring this on him all of a sudden if the DNA proves he’s Wendy’s son? That way he can at least prepare for it.”

“You think just like Melanie. That’s what she said. And Ruby, we have considered it. But our family has been through so much already. Why create more havoc if there’s no need?”

Poor Ryan. What if this turned out to be true? He’d be devastated. I was just starting to know him. Maybe even starting to fall in love with him. If he found out I had a part in this deception, what would he do?

I couldn’t take that risk.

“I’m sorry, Marj, but I can’t help you. It just feels wrong to me in so many ways.”

“I understand. I really do. We’ll figure out another way to get a strand of his hair.”

“Why not just grab his comb or brush? Certainly there are hairs there. Or get another type of DNA sample?”

“We’d need his blood or his saliva or a piece of his skin. Those are impossible to get without his cooperation. As for taking hair from a brush or comb, there’s no way to make sure that it’s actually his. Plus the root needs to be intact.”

I shook my head, even though she couldn’t see me. This was rattling me. Really rattling me. I had a lot of respect for all the Steels, but what they were planning to do was wrong on so many levels. “How do you know the hair sample from Wendy is usable?”

“Jonah pulled it right out of her head. The roots are intact.”

“So you just need Ryan’s hair to compare?”

“Right.”

“You really want me to pull a strand of his hair off his head?”

She sighed once more. “It’s impossible, isn’t it? Please forgive me. I’m sorry I asked. I truly am. We’ll figure out another way. He’s just dealing with so much right now, with someone calling him, claiming to be his mother. Wendy isn’t supposed to have access to a phone.”

“Security is pretty lax in those psych units.”

“Not surprising. The phone calls have alerted him to something. I don’t blame you for wanting no part of it.”

“I get that you want to protect your brother.”

“We Steels take care of our own. I’m glad to be one of them.”

One of them.

Could I ever be one of them? Did I want to be?

The answer frightened me.

Yes.

I wanted to be a Steel.

I hardly knew Ryan Steel, but I was drawn to him like I’d never been drawn to anyone. Of course, I’d never let myself be drawn to anyone…

“You are all pretty amazing,” I said, though that didn’t convey at all what I wanted to say. Amazing wasn’t strong enough. Strong wasn’t strong enough. They’d fought battles that made mine look like mere schoolyard quarrels. But while I understood their need to protect their brother, I couldn’t go along. From what little I knew about Ryan so far, he would want to know what was going on.

“Who will tell Ryan?” I asked. “I mean, someone will have to tell him eventually…if you get a sample and the test is positive.”

“I imagine Talon and Jonah. They’re the closest to him. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

---

Ryan Steel had a dog—a gorgeous golden retriever named Ricky. I fell instantly in love. I loved dogs but had never had one of my own. I kept my life simple, and a dog didn’t fit into simple.

“Joe has one of his siblings. Her name is Lucy.”

“Ricky and Lucy.” I laughed. “Cute. He’s just gorgeous.”

“The whole litter was. There’s some champion blood running through his veins. A few of their littermates actually do shows. Ricky and Lucy weren’t considered show quality.”

“Really? I know nothing about showing dogs, but he’s beautiful. The most beautiful golden I’ve ever seen. How old is he?”

“Four.”

I sank my fingers into his soft yellow coat. “I love him already.”

“Looks like he loves you too. Lucy’s a little darker than he is. More golden. He’s more blond.”

“I hope I can meet her.”

“Anytime. I’m sure Joe and Melanie would be happy to introduce you.”

The mention of Joe and Melanie made me think of my earlier phone call with Marjorie. I regarded Ryan, handsome as always in perfect-fitting jeans and a black button-down shirt. He wore cowboy boots. Yes, cowboy boots. I hadn’t seen him looking cowboyish while we were in Jamaica, but wow, he was made for western wear.

He looked happy. So happy.

I hoped to God his happiness wasn’t about to be destroyed.

“I opened a bottle of my Rhône blend,” Ryan said. “Would you like a glass?”

“Sure, sounds great.”

I followed him into his kitchen where he poured two glasses and handed one to me.

I swirled it in the glass. “Gorgeous color,” I said.

“This is a younger wine, hence the deep ruby hue.”

I chuckled. “Hence?”

“Would you prefer thus?”

“Neither are words I hear used in everyday conversation. At least not around a bunch of balding cops. Hence my surprise.”

“Do I look like a balding cop to you?”

And I laughed once more. “Definitely not.”

He joined in my mirth and swirled his own glass. “Give it a taste. I want to know what you think. This is Jade’s favorite of my wines.”

I inhaled its fruity fragrance and took a sip. “Mmm. It’s good. Really…” I searched for words. “I don’t know how to say this.”

“What’s the word that came to mind?”

I smiled. “Meaty. But not meaning meat, like beef.”

He smiled back. “Like meaty fresh fruit. A meaty plum, right?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly it. By gum, you are a genius!”

“I’ll take the compliment, but ‘by gum?’”

“Haven’t you seen the original Willy Wonka film, where Violet blows up into a blueberry?”

“About a million years ago.”

“That’s what she says. ‘By gum, it’s gum.’”

He smiled. “You’re pretty adorable.”

“Not quite as adorable as when you said ‘hence,’ but I’ll take it.” I took another sip. “This really is great wine. Which grapes do you use?”

“This is a blend of grenache, syrah, and mourvèdre. Three classic Rhône blend grapes.”

“Mmm. It’s excellent.”

“Glad you approve.”

I was beginning to feel a little self-conscious. He hadn’t tried to kiss me. Had barely touched me. Maybe this was just an overnighter between friends. I could deal with that. Not that I had a choice. Besides, I did have a ton of work to do over the weekend. I’d brought my laptop and some files.

But then he walked toward me, took my wineglass from me and set it on the kitchen table, and cupped my cheek.