Deceptive Truth: Cowboy Justice Association (Serials and Stalkers Book 4) Olivia Jaymes (urban books to read .TXT) 📖

That explained it. Cal never had the chance to turn on the charm machine.

"Did he bother her after the break-up?"

"He called all the time. Mostly, she'd just send the calls to voicemail."

Knox was going to kick his brother's ass the next time he saw him. Cal was acting like a toddler and he needed someone to check his behavior. No one had ever even tried during their childhood, and clearly, he was out of hand and acting like a douchebag.

"Listen," Sherry said urgently, leaning forward in her chair. "We all knew Lori. She never would have just bugged out in the middle of a big project. She was the team lead. She was far too responsible to chuck it all and head out to some destination without telling anyone. It wasn't who she was. And she was really happy those last few weeks. She'd ended things with Cal and she was back to her old self, smiling and laughing. It doesn't make any sense to us."

"Did you tell the detective all of this?" Knox asked.

"We didn't tell him about Brett," the other man said, his cheeks a ruddy shade. "We should have but we didn't want him to get in trouble. That was our mistake. We did tell him that Lori wasn't the type to run off like that. She wouldn't just disappear and not tell anyone."

Knox turned to Jenna, his brows raised in question. If she had questions, this was her chance. She shook her head no.

Now they needed to talk to Sam. Brett, too.

They were finally making progress. This was the break that Knox had been hoping for.

The meeting with Sam didn't turn out to be all that helpful. He said that Brett and Lori went on a few dates, which surprised the hell out of Jenna. Her sister had never mentioned Brett at all, let alone that she'd gone to a movie and dinner with him. When questioned, Sam admitted that he'd never actually seen them together but Brett had told him about the dates in question. They'd been careful in the office because they didn't want anyone to know.

"It sounds like horseshit to me," Jenna said as they settled into a booth at a local cafe. They were both starving. "Lori never mentioned anyone named Brett and we knew about every guy she dated. And she definitely would have told us about him when we were encouraging her to dump Cal. There's no way they dated. Brett is full of it."

Knox was studying the menu and stroking his chin. Was he contemplating what she'd said or his lunch order?

She tapped on his plastic menu with her finger. "Are you listening to me?"

"I am."

"Do you have thoughts?"

"All the time."

Sighing, she picked up her own menu. He was going to be a shit until he ate. He was hungry all the time and, like herself, he could get a little testy when he was like that. He didn't answer until they'd both ordered and the waitress had disappeared into the kitchen.

"I agree."

"You agree? You think Brett was lying too?" she asked.

"Yes. I think he told Sam that to either make himself feel better or he said it because he truly believed it. There's a small percentage of people out in the world who unfortunately don't deal with reality all that well. This Brett may be one of them. I suppose we'll figure out which one he is when we talk to him."

"His friend Sam is going to get to him first," Jenna warned. "I bet he was on the phone with Brett before we hit the parking lot."

"I think you're right but that's fine. If he's the delusional type then warning him won't help anyway."

"And if he's just your garden variety liar?"

Knox chuckled. "We'll find out that too."

"You seem very confident."

"I've been doing this a long time."

She had to admit that she'd been impressed so far. He had a way of making people feel comfortable while talking. She wouldn't call it charm; that was way too superficial, but somehow he made people feel calm - as if everything was simply great.

They were halfway through their lunch when Knox's phone buzzed. He checked it and sent the call to voicemail.

"Not important?"

"It's my dad. Again. He's not getting the hint that I'm not going to call back."

"You could just block the number."

Knox shrugged. "I just ignore him. My younger brother Randy is trying to convince me to give my father a second chance. He says he's changed."

It didn't appear that Knox agreed with that sentiment.

"And you don't think that he has?"

"I can't even imagine how that would look. And as for giving him a second chance, fuck that. I've given him dozens of chances and he's blown every single one. He's a mess of a human being and I don't think he'll ever change. I don't honestly think that he wants to. What he really wants is for us to change. He wants us to forgive and forget whenever he gives us one of his lame ass apologies."

With her own background, Jenna didn't blame Knox. A child - even as an adult - could only take so much. At some point they had to drop the rope if only for their own sanity.

"I think you should do whatever it is you want to. Your brother can't make your decisions for you."

Knox's brow quirked. "You don't think I should give my dad another chance? Everyone else thinks I should."

"Only if you want to."

"Would you give your father another chance?"

"Doubtful. But to be fair, he's never