"I've got your back. Just know that."
He didn't deserve this woman. But he sure as hell wasn't going to let her go. It felt like they were more than a couple. They were a team.
"And I've got yours. Always know that."
Knox parked on the street a few houses down from his brother's home. There were cars all along the street due to the party. He recognized a few as his sister's and also his older brother Roman’s. Carrying the present he and Jenna had shopped for and wrapped this morning, he rang the doorbell.
"This is going to be a shitshow. Just let me know if you want to leave and we will."
The door swung open and Randy stood there, grinning ear to ear like he'd won the lottery. Dylan ran up behind him and squealed Knox's name in such a high pitch it almost made his ears ring.
"Is that for me?" the brand new ten-year old asked, jumping up and down. "Is it the Legos I wanted?"
Knox handed over the gift to his excited nephew. "You'll have to open it to find out."
"You won't open it now. You can wait until later," a stern voice said from somewhere behind Randy. It could only be Randy's wife Julia. "Put it on the table with the rest of the gifts."
"Aw, Mom," Dylan whined, but ran off to do as he was told.
Julia peeked around Randy's shoulder and then tugged him back. "Let them inside, for heaven's sake. They don't want to stand around on our front porch all afternoon."
Actually, Knox might prefer it but Julia wasn't going to allow it. He gave her a hug and then stepped back to introduce Jenna.
Julia's eyes were wide and her brows were almost up to her hairline. "It's certainly nice to meet you, Jenna. I don't think we've met any of Knox's girlfriends before. In fact, I'm sure I haven't."
Knox placed his hand on the small of Jenna's back. "Then she must be special."
Randy grinned and rubbed at his chin. "I guess she must be. Come on in. Get yourself a drink. There's pizza in the kitchen as well."
Like all of the Owens family get-togethers, it was a casual party. The food was first come, first serve in the kitchen and the guests mingled in the living room or out back if the weather was cooperating. Today was warm and sunny so there was a group of men in the backyard while the women congregated inside, pushing the kids outdoors so they wouldn't make a mess in the house. Randy's kids, especially, were high energy pretty much every single hour of the day and Knox didn't know how they did it. He was exhausted just watching them. Maybe he should go on a diet of peanut butter, chicken nuggets, and pizza.
"Your brother and his wife seem nice."
Knox was filling two red plastic cups with soda. "Randy is a good guy and Julia is great too. They're the normal ones. Don't get too comfy because I see my brother Roman heading right for us. He doesn't look happy."
Not that Roman ever did. He was perpetually angry about something. He seemed to always be grumpy about the state of the world in general and his life in particular.
"We need to talk," Roman said, getting into Knox's personal space. His older brother smelled like beer so this probably wasn't going to end well. "I heard about you accusing Cal of being a killer."
Sliding an arm in front of Jenna, he nudged her behind him.
"That's not what I did, but I'm sure Cal made the story sound a hell of a lot dramatic than it actually was. I asked him about a woman he'd been dating and about the last time he saw her. Which he lied about to the police, by the way. Not that you give a shit about that, I'm sure."
"What do you care about some girl anyway? She probably ran off with a guy and is holed up in a motel room with some tequila. Get real."
He could feel Jenna stiffen against him, shocked at his brother's words. Knox stepped aside and placed his arm around her waist.
"Roman, I'd like you to meet Jenna Waters, the sister of that girl that maybe ran off with another guy and is holed up in a motel with some tequila. Jenna, this is my halfwit brother Roman who talks way too much for his own good."
To Knox's brother's credit, he flushed a deep shade of crimson. Roman opened his mouth to speak but only a few sounds of gibberish came out before he snapped it shut again.
Sighing, Jenna shook her head. "You did warn me."
"Told you so."
Randy elbowed Roman out of the way. "Christ, I can't leave you alone for a second. Ms. Waters, I'm so sorry about my big brother. He often talks without actually engaging his brain first. We're used to it but you're a guest. Please accept our apologies."
"It's fine. And please call me Jenna."
Roman finally found his voice.
"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to make it sound like your sister...I mean...I'm sure your sister is...what I'm saying–"
"What are you saying?" Knox said, cutting off his brother. "Because you're not helping yourself here."
"Roman, your wife is looking for you," a deep voice said from outside the kitchen area. Knox recognized it immediately. Cal. He joined them in the kitchen and gave his brother a glare that had Roman turning on his heel and muttering under his breath as he walked away.
"Ms. Waters," Cal said, turning his attention to Jenna. "It’s nice to see you again. Maybe it's time for you and I to talk. What do you think?"
Knox didn't know what Jenna was going to say but he thought it was shitty idea. Cal was going to try and charm his way out of this. Fuck that.
"I think that's a good idea," Jenna replied before Knox could tell his brother to go pound sand.
"Jenna, you don't have to–"
"I want to." She placed her hand on his arm and looked up at him. Her expression was serene and composed but there was a look in her eyes that he couldn't ignore. She wanted him to trust her. He did. He just didn't trust Cal. "We won't be long. If I need you, I'll call for you. I promise."
With a kitchen full of people staring at him he could only give in gracefully, nodding his grudging agreement. Leaning down, he pressed a quick kiss to her cheek and whispered in her ear.
"Don't take any of his shit."
She gave him a cheeky grin. "That's the plan."
"You can use my office," Randy said. "If you'd like to. Lots of privacy. No one will bother you there."
Randy led Jenna and Cal out of the kitchen leaving Knox, Roman, and Julia.
"I guess I'll go check on the kids," Julia said far too brightly. "If I leave, can you promise that you won't come to blows? This is a family party."
It wouldn't be the first time fists were thrown at an Owens family get-together, but Knox wasn't going to be the one to do it today. Unless someone else threw the first punch. Then all bets were off.
"We're okay," Roman said. "In fact, how about we go outside and get some fresh air? It might do us both some good."
"I could go for some fresh air," Knox agreed, following his brother through the garage and out to the back deck. There were some kids playing soccer in the yard and a group of men gathered around the picnic table. Almost magically, the crowd of about eight or so parted to reveal the one person that Knox didn't want to see.
Benjamin Owens.
And he was walking toward Knox.
Unless Knox was planning to run away, it looked like he and his dad were going to have that talk after all. Roman had known exactly what he was doing. So had Randy.
25
"I didn't have anything to do with Lori's disappearance. I liked your sister. She was a nice person."
Cal had opened the conversation pretty much as Jenna had expected. He'd smiled at her as if he had nothing in the world to hide. And that might be true. She didn't know for sure. But that's why Knox was working on this investigation. She needed to find out the truth.
"That's not what you told the Douglas police detective. You told him that Lori was kind of crazy and was capable of doing weird things."
She wasn't planning to make it easy for him. Knox had warned her that his brother had at most a casual relationship with the truth, and Lori had talked quite a bit about her troublesome boyfriend. Michelle hadn’t a
nything good to say either.
Cal's throat bobbed and he squirmed in his seat. He'd tried to take the "power position" behind the desk but she'd been immediately on to him, and instead suggested that they sit on the small loveseat against wall. From there she could watch his expressions and body language closely. She was a psychology major and had learned a thing or two about how a person reacts when telling a big fat lie. She'd be watching for those tells.
"I don't remember saying that," Cal finally replied after a long pause. "I think maybe the cop was taking what I said out of context."
"He said you used the word crazy to describe Lori. How could that be taken out of context?"
"I just don't know that I even used that word. Maybe that's his interpretation. He seemed kind of cynical if you know what I mean." Cal leaned forward, his gaze on Jenna's face. "You look so much like your sister. It's uncanny. She was always the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. Absolutely gorgeous."
So if Jenna looked like Lori, then she was beautiful too? She had a feeling that Cal didn't get called on his shit very often. He probably sailed through life fairly smoothly, making people feel special. In the beginning, he'd made Lori feel special too.
"I was adopted into the family," Jenna replied, watching his expression. "There's no blood relation between Lori and I."
And absolutely no resemblance either. Jenna didn't look a bit like her sister.
Cal's face fell, just for the briefest of moments, but then he was smiling again. He'd realized Jenna wasn't going to be a pushover.
"I know you must be in so much pain, missing your sister. I cannot imagine what you've been going through–"
"You lied to the police about seeing Lori that last day. Why?"
Jenna simply didn't have the patience. When she looked at this man, she could see his resemblance to Knox but it was only superficial. She didn't get the same vibes from him - integrity, security, honesty. If anything, she felt a little dirty just sitting next to him on the couch.
"I'm sure you can understand my position. I knew that I wouldn't be any help in finding her–"
"How could you possibly know that?" Jenna broke in, irritated as hell. "It looks like you lied because you didn't care if anything had happened to her."
"Did Knox tell you that? Because that's not what I said."
Cal wasn't bothering to keep up the facade. He didn't look happy, handsome, or charming at the moment.
"I'm telling you how it looks from my perspective. It looks like you were protecting your own ass. Like maybe you had something to do with it and you didn't want anyone to find out."
"I didn't have anything to do with Lori disappearing," Cal protested, hopping to his feet. His red cheeks indicated his displeasure with her words. "I cared about Lori. I would never have hurt her. She disappeared, but it wasn't me."
"Then who was it?" Jenna asked, keeping her tone even. She didn't want to get too emotional. Cal would surely point that out. "Did you ever see anyone bothering her? Did she complain about a friend or co-worker? That last day did you see anyone on the street watching you?"
Cal shook his head. "No. No, I didn't. There were a few people but no one stood out. As for people she complained about there was this one guy at work. Hell, I don't even remember his name but she said that he had a creepy crush on her. She was always trying to avoid him without hurting his feelings."
Now Jenna was simply plain mad. Angry. Furious.
"And you didn't think to tell any of that to the police? Not once did it cross your mind that this person might be important? That maybe he had something to do with Lori's disappearance? You just didn't think it was worth telling the police?" Jenna stood, her legs eating up the space between herself and Cal. He was far taller but she got as close as she dared, poking her finger into his chest. "We now know about that guy and we're investigating him. But damn, it sure would have been nice to know about him months ago. Then maybe there might be a chance of finding my sister alive. But hey, you don't really care, do you?"
So much for not getting emotional. Too late. She was pissed as hell and Cal Owens was one of the reasons. Just one of them, though. She was also angry about the unfairness of the world. Lori should be living a long and happy life right now. It wasn't right that her life had probably been cut short like this. Lori was a good person and she'd deserved a hell of a lot better.
Cal threw up his hands, his frustration evident. "There was nothing I could do to help. Why can't you see that?"
"Because I don't believe it," Jenna stated firmly. "Maybe you could have helped, maybe not. But you didn't care to find out. You just wanted to sweep everything about Lori under the rug like it didn't happen. Let me ask you a question...does it still bother you that Lori dumped you? That she dug through all the bullshit and saw you for what you really are?"
It looked like Cal wanted to say a whole lot to Jenna, but he didn't. Instead, he swept past her and stomped out of the room.
That went well.
Cal had asked to talk to her thinking that he could lay on some smarmy charm and get her to think that everything he said was true. Frankly, she'd seen his type more times than she could count. She worked in politics, after all. They weren't known for being the most truthful and transparent people. She'd worked with men and women far worse than Cal Owens.
Knox was probably right that his brother didn't have anything to with Lori's disappearance. But he was definitely guilty of being a jerk. How he and Knox shared DNA she didn't know. Other than the same coloring, they shared nothing else.
So they were back to Brett Hedgcock. Hopefully, they'd get that warrant to search his home. If they didn't? Jenna didn't know what Plan B was, but she was sure that Knox did.
"It's good to see you, son. You look well."
Knox bit back a retort. It was not good to see Ben Owens. He could have gone the rest of his life peacefully and serenely, never missing his father.
"Thanks. I didn't know you were going to be here."
Ben gave Knox a smug smile. "If you did, you wouldn't have come."
Why deny what was absolutely true?
"Yes, Randy told me you were coming later."
"And you were planning to be gone by then."
"I was. But I have a feeling that what Randy told me might not be the truth."
"I asked him for a favor." Ben shrugged as if it wasn't important. He always just wanted to get his own way and to hell with everyone else. "You and I need to have a talk and your brother understood."
Knox was planning to chew Randy a new asshole. His baby brother didn't get to make his decisions for him.
Strangely, the group of people and children that had been outside had disappeared, leaving Knox and his father all alone. Yep, this was definitely a setup.
"So let me get this straight. You decided that we needed to talk, and even though I've said no, you once again decided to get my brother to lie to me. Do I have it right? It appears that you haven't changed a bit, Ben. You're exactly the same as you always were."
It always pissed his father off when Knox called him by his first name. He'd been doing it since he was an adult. Ben had never been much of a parent to begin with.
There it is.
Ben's expression had changed...just for a millisecond. It was a momentary flash of irritation and anger, so fleeting that no one else would have noticed it except for someone that had lived with Ben's crazy mood swings all those years. Back then Knox had learned quickly and early that he needed to be attuned to his father's every emotion. When Benjamin Owens wasn't happy, Knox had made sure that he was out of his dad's way, not wanting to listen to his father rant and rave about how life wasn't fair and they were all idiots.
That was a long time ago, however. Now? Knox didn't give a shit if his father didn't think that life was fair or whatever his complaint of the fucking day was. Making Ben Owens happy was impossible, so he'd given up years ago.
Checking his watch, Knox sighed loudly, wanting his father to hear his impat
ience.
"You've got five minutes. Make it fast."
"Only five minutes for your own–"
"Time's ticking away," Knox said, tapping the crystal on his watch. "And you're wasting most of it. Trust me when I say that I'm going to walk away in four minutes and forty-five seconds and I really don't think there's anyone here that's strong enough to stop me."
Ben slapped his bottle of beer down on the edge of the deck railing. "Fine. We need to talk."
"You keep saying that but you haven't said anything yet."
"I had a lot of time to think when I was inside and I knew that I had to make some changes in my life. I'd like my son to recognize that I'm a different person now. I've changed."
Ah, Ben wanted applause. He wanted to be praised.
"Before I congratulate you, I need to know how you've changed."
"If you were around at all, I wouldn't have to tell you. You'd just see it," Ben groused, his expression stormy. "You'd know."
"Well, I haven't been around, I've been working. So humor me and tell me all the wonderful changes you've made. Hey, let's start with Patty. It didn't take you long to replace her with a younger model. But wait...that can't be a change because that's what you've always done. Do you have a job? Because that would be a change from letting everyone else take care of you like you're royalty. Have you started paying child support for all the kids you've fathered that are running around? Because that would be a huge change. Have you done any of that? Because those are the changes that I would be most interested in."
Knox had called out Ben many times since becoming an adult but the man didn't seem to be getting used to it at all. Every time they met up, his father seemed to think that he could somehow talk his way into his son's good graces and that Knox would fall for his lies like he did when he was a little kid.
When I wanted to believe.
"You're not listening–"
"When you say something worth listening to I will, but if all you're going to do is keep making the same old tired promises from my childhood...I'm out. I'm not interested anymore. If you had truly changed, I don't think you'd be dancing around trying to get everyone to celebrate you. You'd have just changed and waited for all of us to notice. But no, it's still all about you. You, you, you. As if you're the fucking center of the goddamn universe. I'm too old to believe in your stories, and I'm definitely too old to believe in your lies. Tell them to someone who still cares. I don't."
Deceptive Truth: Cowboy Justice Association (Serials and Stalkers Book 4) Page 19