"No, we didn't argue. She was going out for a date with her ex-boyfriend. To have coffee. She said she would call me the next day. She never called and I never saw her again. She's disappeared and no one knows where she is."
Knox didn't reply, his brows still pinched together as if he was trying to make sense of what she was saying.
"She'd been dating her boyfriend for several months," Jenna went on. "No one really liked him, but she'd make excuses for him. We all thought he was bad for her."
Still silence, although Knox had pulled away from her, his expression turned wary.
"His name was Callum. Lori was dating your brother, Knox."
Levering to his feet, Knox walked over to the front window that overlooked the small patch of yard outside her condo. He looked outside and then back at her.
"She was dating my brother?"
"When she disappeared," Jenna confirmed. "So you probably know where I'm going with this."
Her voice was shaky and she had to hold her hands together to keep them from shaking.
"Let's pretend that I don't. Where are we going here?"
He hadn't budged from his spot by the window. If it was awkward before on the couch, now it was downright frosty between them.
He hated her. She'd expected this but she hadn't figured on how much it would hurt. Like a knife slitting open the flesh to the elements.
I really liked you, Knox. For real.
"I need your help," she finally replied. "I need you to help me find Lori."
"You want me to help you find your sister?"
His tone gave nothing away, although that ice wall was still firmly between them.
"Yes, and I think your brother was responsible."
In for a penny...
This time he took a step forward, his eyes narrowed. "Say that again, please."
She could feel the tears beginning to spill over, her fear, sadness, and despair all coming to the fore at once. It was all too much.
Didn't he realize just how desperate she had to be to come here? To him?
"I think your brother is responsible for my sister's disappearance and I want you to help me prove it."
3
The universe had to be playing a dirty trick on Knox. Some sort of not-very-funny prank and some game show host-type of guy was going to jump out of a closet or from behind the couch and yell, "Gotcha!" any second.
Except that didn't happen.
Jenna simply sat on the couch crying, her shoulders shaking with the strength of the sobs. His first instinct was to go to her side and comfort her, but then he remembered that the reason she was crying was that she thought his brother Callum had killed her sister.
What in the ever-loving fuck was going on?
"I think I'm going to need more information than you've given me."
A big part of him wanted to march out her front door and never come back but there was a little voice in his head that was saying that he needed to shut up and listen. He needed to know this story because it was too crazy to be true.
Although my brother is a total loser. But I don't think he's a killer.
But it was that tiny shred of doubt that kept Knox's boots planted on Jenna's living room carpet.
Jenna scrubbed at her red, wet cheeks with a tissue. "I can tell you what I know."
Knox glanced at his watch. "Then get to it because I'm rapidly losing my patience here."
The romantic mood of earlier was completely gone. Knox was pissed. He didn't like surprises. At all. The vast majority of surprises in his life hadn't been positive.
"Lori told me and Michelle - Lori's twin - that she had a new boyfriend. She really liked him and she couldn't wait to introduce us to him. She was working in Douglas at the time for a marketing firm. She said she met him at a coffee shop. When I went to visit her, I met him. Your brother, Callum Owens."
"You don't know for sure that he's my brother. He could have been lying about his name."
She nodded in agreement. "That's true but you and he do have a strong resemblance. His hair is darker and he has more lines around his eyes and mouth."
"He's older."
"Anyway, I met him and at first, he seemed just like Lori had described, charming and funny. But then it got a little weird. He seemed rather controlling and not so nice. The more I heard about him, the less I liked how he treated her. Eventually, I spoke up and she admitted that she'd had some doubts about him as well. She told me of a few incidents that made me worried."
"Violence?"
"No," Jenna said with a shake of her head. "Not actual violence, but sort of threats. Like he could understand why a guy might smack his girlfriend or cheat on her. Stuff like that. He was constantly turning every argument around on her and making himself the victim. It was always about how she needed to change and somehow he never did. I'm not sure if you get what I'm talking about."
Unfortunately, Knox did. He'd seen his father pull that shit on his mother countless times. He'd tried it with Knox and his kids too. Hell, he'd pretty much tried it with everyone and sadly, it worked more times than not. Now that Knox was savvy to his dad's manipulation it didn't work anymore. But in the past? Far too often.
Ben Owens liked to get his way, and he wasn't above some sketchy shit to get it.
"I get what you're saying. But being a lousy boyfriend doesn't make a person a killer."
His tone was aggressive, but shit...what did she expect? That he was going to roll over and just accept a crazy accusation like that? She was dreaming.
"There's more," Jenna continued, still sniffling from her earlier crying. She turned her head away from him, her expression stormy. "Both Michelle and I tried to convince Lori to leave Cal. He was getting more out of control, yelling and having tantrums when she wouldn't do what he wanted her to. Eventually, she did. At that point, she was staying mostly at his place although she had an apartment there, so she packed all of her stuff when he wasn't home and left him a note that their relationship was over."
Knox hadn't been around his brother's romantic relationships much, but he still had an inkling how Cal had reacted.
"And that was the end?"
Jenna shook her head. "Not at all. I guess Cal had a meltdown of sorts. He called all of her work friends when she wouldn't answer her phone. She'd blocked him. He called from other numbers and when she wouldn't answer those messages, he started showing up at her worksite. He said he just wanted to talk, explain himself. She told him it was over, but he wouldn't give up. Eventually, she said she'd meet him for coffee just to hear him out and give him closure. She said he kept saying that he needed closure and only she could give it to him. He just wanted ten minutes of her time."
Jesus H. Christ, Knox could almost hear his brother's voice whine the word closure. Cal was completely convinced his wants and needs were the most important in the world.
I wonder where he got that idea? Oh right, my dad.
"What happened when she met him?"
Jenna stood, her arms wrapped around herself as she walked over to the window where Knox was standing.
"That's the thing. He says that she never showed up. But there were witnesses that said that she did. All we know is that she disappeared after that. Just...gone."
He didn't want to hear this, but his cop brain was already whirling, trying to make sense of the mystery. He couldn't fucking help himself.
"What did you do? Did you call the police?"
"Michelle did. They said that it wasn't against the law for a woman to disappear."
That sounded...strange.
"They didn't look for her? Talk to anyone?"
"They did. That's how they found witnesses that said that she showed up at the coffee shop. Michelle received a text from Lori a few days later saying that she was going to take some time to clear her head but then we didn't hear anything else. The police said that it wasn't against the law for a person to voluntarily leave their own home, but we know that she wouldn't do that. She wouldn't j
ust disappear, Knox. We pushed the police detective and he questioned a few people, but nothing came from the investigation. They say it's still open but I don't know what they're doing about it. When Michelle or I call, they never have anything new to tell us. They said we should be patient and Lori will get in touch with us when she's ready."
Was Jenna in denial about her sister? Sometimes people do strange things when under pressure.
"She just disappeared? Just...poof...gone? Did they go to her apartment? Talk to her friends?"
At the very least, they had to have spoken to his brother Cal. Was he under suspicion? Knox had to admit that it didn't sound good. He could - kind of - see why she thought that Cal was responsible for her sister's disappearance. And possible murder. Except that Lori could be alive and well and hanging out at the beach for all they knew. Jenna had jumped to the worst-case scenario.
"You've jumped to a lot of conclusions here, Jenna," he finally said when she didn't continue with the story. "The first is that your sister is dead. She might not be. She might be out there trying to get a little bit of peace and quiet. Let's hope that's the case. The second is that Cal is responsible. While I agree that my brother can be an asshole, he's never been violent in all the time that I've known him. A pain in the ass? Absolutely? A woman killer? No."
Her lips turned down and a few stray tears streaked down her cheek. "I thought you'd be open-minded. I thought you'd be different."
"You thought I'd be down to put my own brother behind bars? Why did you think that?"
She threw up her hands and groaned loudly. "Because Lori talked about how Cal complained about his brother Knox. He said that you weren't loyal to the family because you didn't think your father should get parole."
That sounded like Cal.
"So you thought I'd be more helpful when you came to me with your accusations?" A thought occurred to him. "Wait, did you know who I was that night in the bar?"
It was all becoming a hell of a lot clearer. He didn't need her answer. He already knew he'd been set up.
Licking her lips, she nodded. "I did. I found out where you worked and I followed you to that bar. I watched you for a few days and then that night I made sure to run into you."
She'd stalked him. Fuck. He was a member of an elite serials and stalkers task force and he'd been completely taken in. He'd had no fucking idea. The heat of his anger had his stomach churning and the back of his neck hot. He was pissed the hell off. At her and at himself.
He'd been taken in by a pretty face.
I'm such an idiot. Too horny for my own good. This is what I get when I think with my dick.
"I was so desperate," Jenna said, her voice rising with emotion. "I couldn't eat or sleep. I was going crazy. We weren't getting any answers from the police and it seemed like they'd given up. Nothing was happening. We hired a private investigator but he didn't seem to be getting anywhere, just taking our money. Lori had talked about you and how you were this amazing cop. I just...I know it's bad...I just...I just hoped..."
Her voice trailed away, and she'd turned so her back was to him. From the shaking of her shoulders, he could tell she was crying again. This time so quietly he could barely hear.
Fucking hell.
"I didn't intend to like you. I didn't intend to fall for you."
Her head was in her hands and her voice was muffled but Knox understand her words. This was a nightmare. He hadn't intended to like her either. Not as much as he had.
Had? Was it already past tense?
Fuck, yes. She'd lied to him.
"But you did lie. Every time we were together you made that decision."
She whirled around, her cheeks red. "I tried to tell you so many times, but you always shut me down. Changed the subject. Kissed me. Said we could talk about it later. I tried, Knox. Fuck, the only reason we're having this fight now is because I wouldn't let you divert me again. You tried to do it again but I wouldn't let you. Because I've wanted to tell you the truth from the beginning. I never expected it to go on this long. I was planning to tell you that first night."
Well...shit. So that's what she'd been wanting to talk about? He'd assumed...
You know what they say about assuming. He'd made an ass of himself.
But she'd stalked him, dammit. He wasn't taking the blame here. This was all on her.
"Don't turn this around on me. You planned all of this," he spat out. "You watched me and stalked me. Lady, that's some mental case behavior right there. You should seek help right away. You've got problems."
Her chin lifted and her blue eyes had turned gray. She was mad. Tough shit.
"The only problem I have is that my sister has disappeared and might be gone forever. She was dating your brother and he's lying about her being at that coffee shop. I've done my research and I know that the most dangerous person in a woman's life is the man she's seeing. That makes him my number one suspect."
"You have suspects?" Knox's tone dripped with sarcasm. "Why didn't you say so? Tell me, Sherlock, how you came to this conclusion. Was it elementary?"
The hurt look on her face was almost his undoing. Twenty minutes ago he'd adored this woman but at the moment he didn't like her very much. But that didn't mean he was happy about being a jerk. But he wasn't feeling all that regretful at the moment either. She'd brought this on herself. Did she think it was going to be all rainbows and kittens?
"You don't think that your brother lying about seeing Lori is suspicious behavior?"
Scraping his fingers through his hair, he tried to get his temper under control. Being pissed off wasn't helping the situation.
"I haven't talked to my brother about this but perhaps he had already left the coffee shop by the time your sister arrived," Knox explained as patiently as he could muster. "Maybe she got there earlier and left. Maybe he didn't see her. Or perhaps, and this is the big one, the eyewitnesses mistook another woman for your sister. Eyewitness accounts are notoriously faulty and shouldn't be relied on. What I'm trying to say here is that neither you nor I truly know what happened that day. We can't draw any conclusions."
"That's why I need your help."
Her voice was so low he almost didn't hear her reply. A heaviness took up residence in his chest. This whole situation was a cluster fuck.
"This wasn't the way, Jenna."
This time she turned back around so he could see her face, now streaked with tears, her mascara running down her pale cheeks. She looked lost, sad, and alone and for a moment he wanted to reach out to her, pull her into his arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay. He'd make sure that it was.
Then he remembered that she'd lied to him.
"I think I'm going to go home," he said taking a step back from her. There was still a part of him that had feelings for her but he was determined to stomp that feeling into the dust. "I wish things could have been different."
She visibly shook but she didn't argue or beg, simply brushing past him to the door. She opened it and stepped back.
"I think you're right. It is time for you to go. I'm sorry that I ever thought that you might help me. I'm sorry that I intruded on your life. It won't happen again, I can promise you that."
Shit.
He didn't want it to end this way, hating each other.
"I'm sorry–"
"You said that." She nodded toward the door. "I'm sorry too. This was all a big mistake. You'll never hear from me again."
There was really nothing left to say so he kept his mouth shut, grabbing his jacket and slipping it on as he headed out the door. He was halfway to his car when he heard it.
"Take care, Knox."
He turned on his heel but the door was already closed. Clearly, he was imagining things. She was inside and there was no way he could have heard anything she said with a door between them.
It was over. Jenna was the past. It was just all so much a mess.
He'd never see her again. That was good. He didn't need crazy in his life.
There were plenty of fish in the sea.
4
"I told you that it was a waste of time. There was no way he was going to help you."
After a good cry, Jenna had poured herself a glass of wine, settled on the sofa, and called her sister Michelle. She was emotionally battered, her usual enthusiasm gone. She'd convinced herself that Knox would help, that he would see how desperate she was.
She'd been wrong.
She wasn't angry with him. And he certainly had the right to be mad at her. She had lied to him. She couldn't sugarcoat her own actions here. She'd been in the wrong, although she'd hoped he see that it was for a good cause. He hadn't, of course, and he hated her now. She sort of hated herself too. She'd let Lori down. She'd failed.
"I thought he might see how much we needed his help," Jenna replied softly, taking a small sip of the wine. She wasn't a big drinker but she'd felt the need of it tonight. It was probably a lousy idea. Drinking alone wasn't a healthy habit. "I thought... Shit, I don't know what I thought."
Somehow in her mind she'd built Knox up to be their knight in shining armor who was going to rush in and help them solve this mystery.
I'm an idiot.
"Sometimes you are so optimistic and naive," Michelle said, her tone gentle. "It's a beautiful quality but it can get your heart stomped on. Did you really like him?"
The million-dollar question.
"Yes," Jenna admitted, although it pained her to do so. "I did really like him. He's a great guy. Even if he won't help us."
"Did he yell? Was he furious?"
Jenna would have preferred it if Knox had yelled. She'd seen the muscle that ticked in his jaw and known that he was angry. Very angry, but he'd kept his tone calm, if not more than a little sarcastic.
"No, he didn't yell. I don't think that's how he gets mad. I think he's the type that goes cold."
"Oh honey, I'm so sorry that it ended up this way. I wish he would have said yes. But..."
"Right, he was never going to do that."
"It's his own brother, Jenna," Michelle reminded her. "He's not going to help us put his brother in prison. He was never going to help us."
Deceptive Truth: Cowboy Justice Association (Serials and Stalkers Book 4) Page 3