Deceptive Truth: Cowboy Justice Association (Serials and Stalkers Book 4) by Olivia Jaymes (reading women .txt) 📕

divert me. I know he's angry with me but I'm not all at fault here. When the chips were down, and I absolutely had to tell him the truth, I practically had to tape his mouth shut so he would let me talk. I would have told him a lot earlier if he hadn't been so stubborn."

"I wasn't saying that you were trying to lie to him, but that was sort of the result of all of this, right? He's mad and you two broke up."

Sighing, Jenna rubbed at her throbbing temples. She was exhausted and needed a good night's sleep. She didn't want to talk about Knox and their abbreviated relationship.

It hurts too much.

"Knox and I are going to Douglas tomorrow. Are you going with us?"

"Unfortunately, I have to work. I wish I could though. You'll give a full report when you get back?"

"I will. I'm not really sure where we're going to start, to be honest. With Lori's neighbors, I think? Then maybe her co-workers."

"What about Cal? When are you going to talk to him? He's the one you should start with. He's the one that probably is responsible for Lori's disappearance."

And death. But we don't say those words out loud.

"I don't know," Jenna confessed. "Knox hasn't talked about that yet, but I imagine that he'll want to learn as much as he can about Lori's life and situation before he talks to his brother. So he’ll know the right questions to ask."

"I guess there's no polite way to ask your own family if they're responsible for the disappearance of another human being."

"I can't imagine having to do that. I'm sure that Knox wants to prepare for that."

"And if his brother says that he's innocent? What then?"

Jenna had always assumed that Callum would never admit anything and would tell Knox that he hadn't seen Lori that last day. He'd stick to his story. It had been working so far.

"Then we find other evidence."

"You make it sound so simple."

It wouldn't be. It was going to be damn near impossible. The only thing they had going for them was Knox.

Just for the case, not for her.

He was a good man, but he wasn't her man. Not anymore.

He never really was. She'd only been fooling herself.

I'm done being a fool. Time to be realistic.

10

Knox woke up extra early the next morning. Showered and dressed before anyone else was up, he quietly left the house, leaving a note for Jenna behind. She wasn't going to be happy that he'd gone to see his family without her but some things he needed to do on his own. This was one of them.

He wasn't going to see Cal. Not yet. He needed to know much more about this case before he confronted his brother. Knox didn't believe his brother had anything to do with Lori's disappearance but he did have the feeling that Cal knew more about that last day than he was letting on. Confronting Cal without hard facts, however, was a waste of time.

This morning he was going to see his brother Randy. Not just because he wanted to spend some time with his little brother but because Randy was closer to the rest of the family. There was a good chance that he'd met Lori at one point. Knox needed to talk to someone who didn't have a vested interest in covering his own ass like Cal did.

They met at a twenty-four-hour coffee and donut shop a few blocks from his brother's home. Randy was already sitting there by the time Knox walked into the small shop. The smell of sugar and coffee hung heavy in the air and he realized that he hadn't yet had even one sip of caffeine this morning. The smiling woman at the counter took his order and said she'd bring it to him.

"I still don't see why we couldn't just meet at the house," Randy said as soon as Knox sat down across from him in the booth. "The kids want to see their Uncle Knox."

"I want to see them too, but this conversation isn't for little ears," Knox replied. His coffee and chocolate glazed donut were slid in front of him and he thanked the server before dumping sugar and creamer into the dark brew. He took a lot of shit from the guys about how sweet he drank it. "But I'll definitely be by to see them. Just not today."

"You said you wanted to talk about Cal. What's so sensitive that we can't talk about it in front of the kids? Are you pissed off at him again? Just move on from it. You know how he is."

You know how he is.

Knox was sick and tired of hearing those words. He'd heard them all of his life and shockingly, they didn't make anything better. Apparently, he was supposed to excuse every shitty thing his father and brother did...

Because that was just how they were.

They were crappy people, and the Owens family gave them a get out of jail free card. Everyone else always had to be the bigger person. Cal and Ben? They didn't have to change at all.

"Yes, I know how he is. We all do. But this is something a little more serious than Cal being an asshole for the millionth time."

Randy's brows rose. "Really? So tell me about it."

"First, let me ask you a few questions. Did you ever remember meeting one of Cal's girlfriends? Her name was Lori. Dark hair and eyes. She worked in marketing."

Rubbing this chin, Randy nodded. "I do remember her. Pretty, smiled a lot. She seemed like a nice