by Cindy Dees
“Now who’s the moron? No, baby. I said yes because I want to wake up beside you every morning for the rest of my life and fall asleep beside you every night. I want every last cow on my farm to have a ridiculous name, and I want children—our children—lots of them. I want flowers on the kitchen table and girly underwear hanging in my shower. You can even hang decorated wreaths on my carved front door. I want to spend my youth with you and be with you in my old age. I want it all, Jess.”
“Funny, but that’s exactly what I had in mind. Except not the wreaths. Your carving is too pretty to cover up.”
And so it was, when Joe Westlake and the park ranger pulled up behind them, that Wes and Jessica were laughing and crying together.
And so it was, that out of trauma and tragedy, they found light. And hope. And happily-ever-after.
* * *
Don’t miss other thrilling stories by Cindy Dees:
Navy SEAL’s Deadly Secret
Special Forces: The Recruit
Special Forces: The Spy
Special Forces: The Operator
Her Mission with a SEAL
Navy SEAL Cop
Available from Harlequin Romantic Suspense!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Stalked by Secrets by Deborah Fletcher Mello.
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Stalked by Secrets
by Deborah Fletcher Mello
Chapter 1
Davis Black stormed into the kitchen of his parents’ home. He slammed the stack of dirty dishes he carried into the sink, pausing as they crashed harshly against the bottom of the metal pan. He was super pissed, rage rushing through his system with a vengeance he hadn’t known possible. It was emotion he was struggling to contain least he lash out and hurt someone. He clenched his hands into tight fists, his fingernails digging into the palms of his hands. His jaw was tight, the muscles in his face beginning to throb. To release the wealth of tension, he screamed at the top of his lungs, his rage spewing in a deep guttural roar that had him sounding like a wounded animal ready to attack. The family members in the other room went quiet and Davis shrieked again.
He was furious but didn’t know who he wanted to be mad at more. His mother, who had just announced he and his siblings had a long-lost brother that no one knew about. His older brother, Mingus, who’d just called him out in front of the whole family, threatening to expose a secret he had no interest in sharing. Or the rest of the Black family brood, all acting as if nothing in the world was wrong with any of them. Toss in the fact that someone was trying to blackmail his parents, putting the entire family at risk, and he was ready to spit nails.
Davis was thoroughly irritated that he hadn’t been able to respond to his mother’s news or his brother’s pronouncement; instead, made to bite his tongue and check his attitude. His father and his other siblings had been quick to chastise him, putting him on blast for his insolence. Now, what he wanted most was to punch something. Or someone. Hard.
The family’s Sunday dinner to celebrate Simone’s release from the hospital had not been without the usual dramatics that seemed to follow the Blacks. Six weeks earlier his youngest sister, an attorney, had been shot in a drive-by, the bullet intended for the father of her unborn child. The two had been preparing to announce a major lawsuit against a drug company they claimed was poisoning its patients with contaminated product. Simone’s boyfriend, Dr. Paul Reilly, had discovered the crime and now the two were local heroes in the medical community.
Sitting around the table breaking bread was supposed to be so much about normalizing their lives yet, more times than not, it was everything but normal. With his parents and his brothers all working for the Chicago judicial system, they spent most of their time on edge, chasing demons that threatened the peace and quiet throughout the city. These mandatory family gatherings inevitably left one or more of them deep in their feelings and tonight was no exception. Davis hadn’t thought it possible, but his family had finally taken dysfunction to a whole other level.
Now, every one of them, his brothers Mingus, Parker, Ellington and Armstrong, and his sister Vaughan were headed to their respective homes feeling like they’d been slapped with a sledgehammer. Davis didn’t include Simone because with her, he was never sure what he might get. Things that rattled the rest of them sometimes barely registered on his sister’s emotional radar.
Davis heaved a soft sigh as he leaned against the counter. He was emotionally exhausted, and seriously considering taking a break from his family. Between his parents’ expectations, the sibling rivalry that really wasn’t supposed to be a competition and trying to figure out what he needed for his own life, he was simply tired. He took a deep breath, held it deep in his lungs before blowing it back out. He was just about to head back into the dining room when Armstrong and Parker came through the door.
“I just wanted to check on you before Danni and I take off,” Armstrong said. “It sounded like you were having a hard time in here.”
“I’m good,” Davis muttered. He and his brother exchanged a look before Davis dropped his eyes to the tiled floor.
A moment passed before Armstrong nodded. “I also wanted to apologize. I didn’t mean to snap at you the way I did.”
Davis shrugged. “I shouldn’t have spoken to Mom like that.” He thought about the tone he’d taken with their mother after her announcement and contrition furrowed his brow.
“No, you shouldn’t have,” Parker agreed. “But we understand. It was a shock and we all have questions.”
“And Mom will answer them as soon as she’s able. She’s always been honest with us about everything,” Armstrong added.
“Obviously not about this,” Davis snapped, his arms folded tightly across his chest. “If she had been, there would be no way anyone would think they could blackmail her with the information.”
The brothers all exchanged anxious glances, everything about the situation unsettling.
“No,” Judith Harmon Black said as she suddenly entered the room. “I wasn’t up-front about this because I had no intention of ever telling any of you. This was not something I ever thought I’d have to deal with again. It’s a moment in my life that I’m not proud of. And it’s a moment in my life that I had put behind me.”
An awkward silence descended over the room. Judith moved to Davis’s side and pressed her palm to his cheek, the gesture meant to be comforting. Davis was her baby boy, the youngest of her brood. He was also the most sensitive, taking every one of their issues to heart even when it had nothing at all to do with him. His mother understood his frustrations better than anyone, and he knew that it hurt her heart to see him struggle. She leaned to kiss his cheek.
“I’m sorry,” Davis apologized. “What I said to you before was rude and disrespectful.”
His mother nodded. “Apology accepted! None of this is going to be easy, but each of you needs to understand that nothing that happened in my past, and nothing that will happen going forward, will change how much I love you all.”
“We love you, too, Mom,” Armstrong said. He reached to give her a hug, and then he hugged Davis. “I need to run, or my wife is going to be late for work!”
Chicago police captain Parker Black, head of the district Armstrong’s wife, Danni, reported to, laughed cheerily. “You better hurry then. I hear her boss is a monster!”
They all laughed with him, his jest lightening the mood.
“We good?” Armstrong asked, his question directed at Davis.
“We’re fine,” Davis said. “We can talk more later.”
They all watched the man make his exit then Davis shifted his atte
ntion to Judith. “Was Ellington able to help? I mean...well, did you make a decision about contacting your...your...” Davis hesitated, swallowing his emotion before finishing his question. “Your son?” The word seemed to suddenly catch in his throat as he thought about the child his mother had never acknowledged until forced to do so.
Judith took a deep breath. “No, I haven’t made any decisions. Your father and I want to discuss it more before I do anything. I’ll want all your input, as well. This impacts our entire family, so it’s only right that you all have some say in what we do.”
Davis wrapped his arms around his mother’s shoulders and hugged her warmly. His earlier anger had been assuaged, the wealth of it lifting like morning mist lost to a rising sun. Despite the uncertainty, his family always came together for each other. He knew they would weather whatever storm blew in their direction. It was the one certainty in his life that he trusted without reservation.
His father, Chicago Police Superintendent Jerome Black, suddenly barreled through the door. “Who wants to go to Vegas?”
They all turned to look at the man, confusion washing over their expressions. In the other room, Vaughan, the eldest daughter, cried out with glee as she and Ellington celebrated loudly.
“What’s going on?” Judith questioned, eyeing her husband curiously.
“Simone and Paul are eloping to Vegas. They just sent a text asking if we all want to fly out to join them.”
Davis rolled his eyes skyward, not at all surprised by anything his sister did. Only Simone would want to get married just hours after their mother’s bombshell announcement. “Why is she rushing?” he asked. “Especially now, after what happened at dinner this evening?”
“It’s Simone,” Parker responded. “Why does she do half the things she does?”
“She’s pregnant,” their mother interjected. “I’m sure her hormones have a lot to do with it, but she’s happy and Paul loves her. We should all go to support them.”
“I have to be here tomorrow afternoon, so we’ll need to fly right back after the ceremony,” Jerome said. “And I know Armstrong and Danni won’t be able to make it. Danni’s working undercover on a case and Armstrong’s not going to stray but so far from her.”
“Mingus and Joanna are going,” Davis said, reading a text message on his cell phone screen. “And Paul’s paying for the airline tickets for any of us that want to go.”
“I have a few days of vacation,” Parker said. “We should go and hang out for a day or two. Do a little brotherly bonding. What’s your schedule look like?”
“There’s nothing on my calendar that I can’t move,” Davis said with a nod. “And, I could use a break.”
He paused for a moment. He did need some rest and time away with his brothers, who were his best friends in the world, sounded exactly like the answer to a multitude of his problems. Because his stress levels were at an all-time high, his emotions often getting the better of him on his best days. Only Mingus knew just how much it had become a challenge for him to get through each day, and his brother had almost spilled those beans earlier that evening.
You need to tell them, Mingus had admonished; loudly, so that the whole family could hear. Then the questions had come and Davis had stormed out of the room and into the kitchen to avoid answering.
He was still nodding. “I say we should do it!”
“Then let’s go to Vegas!” Parker exclaimed.
Judith clapped her hands excitedly. “Let’s just get your sister married before you boys go off looking for trouble, please!”
Davis smiled. “Trouble? Not us!”
* * *
Davis exited the family home, still in his feelings but not as raging mad as he’d been earlier. His mother had hugged him tightly, holding him longer than usual. Yet, despite his best efforts, he’d found himself unable to ease fully into the comfort she usually brought to their interactions.
“You good, son?” Jerome Black questioned as he walked him to his car.
Davis shrugged. “I’ll be fine.”
Jerome nodded his head slowly. “If you need to talk...”
“I don’t,” Davis snapped. He felt his father bristle slightly.
The patriarch coughed, drawing his closed hand to cover his mouth. An awkward moment of silence rose swiftly between them. It hung heavily in the evening air and then it didn’t, a cool breeze carrying it away.
“It’s cold out here,” Davis said. “You should go inside.”
“I need a favor from you,” Jerome said. He shot a look over his shoulder toward the stately home, down one side of the street and then the other.
Davis blew a soft sigh. “Yes, sir?”
“I need you to take a meeting with Alexander Balducci.”
Davis turned to stare at his father. His eyes were wide, his brow furrowed. “You need me to take a meeting with Alexander Balducci? Are you crazy?”
The Balducci name was synonymous with every criminal element in the city. One of the oldest crime families in Chicago history, the Balduccis were notorious. His father and the Balducci patriarch, Alexander, had a long-time friendship that many didn’t understand. For years, the two had walked on opposite sides of the law. Their children also had a lengthy toe-to-toe history with fatal outcomes. His brother Armstrong, a distinguished police detective, had gone up against Alexander’s two sons and both Balduccis had lost. One his freedom and the other his life. But through it all, Jerome had maintained a relationship with the man others publicly distanced. Their long-standing friendship was why many questioned the police superintendent’s credibility, assuming he had to be a dirty cop.
“No,” Davis said, shaking his head vehemently. “Why would you ask me to—”
“I’m not asking,” Jerome said sternly. “He needs your assistance with something, and I told him you would help. I’ll call and let you know when and where.” He turned abruptly and headed for the front door of his home.
Still shaking his head, Davis didn’t bother to respond, knowing he’d been dismissed. He slid into the front seat of his car and as he pulled out of the parking space, he bellowed, a litany of profanity spewing past his full lips.
* * *
Days later, Davis sat with Mingus, Parker and Ellington, the brothers all gathered around the bar at The Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. They had already downed a round of shots and were ready for the next as they debated where to grab dinner.
Their sister’s wedding had gone off nicely. With Simone and Paul exchanging vows to seal the deal on their relationship, their baby sister’s well-being was one less thing for them all to be concerned about.
Davis exhaled loudly before guzzling another ounce and a half of black rum.
“Maybe you should slow down there,” Parker admonished, eyeing him with a raised brow.
Davis shrugged his broad shoulders. “It’s Vegas. It’s what we do in Vegas.”
Ellington laughed. “Some of us. Not all of us.”
“What’s with you lately?” Parker asked. He leaned forward in his seat, eyeballing Davis from three barstools away. “You’ve been in a mood.”
“He’s been a pain in the ass!” Mingus muttered under his breath. He turned to Davis. “Tell them already!”
Davis gave him a dirty look, his irritation clearly evident. He gestured at the bartender, tapping at his empty glass.
His brothers all sat, breaths bated, curiosity rising full and thick between them.
“Either you tell them or I will,” Mingus persisted. He swallowed his own drink and gestured for another.
“I’m going to therapy,” Davis said, the words spewing past his lips like rapid fire from a pistol. “I’ve been having a hard time lately and Mom suggested I go speak to someone.” Embarrassment suddenly colored his cheeks a deep shade of apple red.
Ellington and Parker exchanged a quick look.
“That’s it?”
Davis shrugged. “We don’t do therapy unless it’s around the dining room table with Mom and Dad telling us there’s nothing wrong with us. It’s embarrassing. People will think I’m weak if anyone finds out.”
“That’s not true,” Parker stated. “I’ve gone to therapy off and on for years. My job isn’t easy and, every so often, I need an impartial person to vent to.”
Davis’s eyes widened. “You?”
Parker nodded. “Mom suggested it when I was struggling after my last promotion.”
“Why haven’t you ever said anything?”
Mingus grunted. “For the same reason you didn’t.”
Ellington laughed. “That male pride will get you every time. There’s no shame in a Black man going to therapy if he needs it.”
“Maybe not, but we sure as hell don’t talk about it. It’s like some dirty little secret we think will make us look weak if our boys find out about it,” Davis said.
“Weakness is not admitting you have a problem when you do and then not doing something about it when you can,” Parker said firmly.
“I know that’s right,” Ellington echoed. He and Parker high-fived each other.
“Do the girls know?” Davis questioned.
“Oh, hell no!” Parker exclaimed, a low chuckle escaping past his lips. “And you better not tell them, either.”
“Definitely don’t tell Simone,” Mingus added.
“Says the guy who ratted me out,” Davis quipped sarcastically.
Mingus shrugged and the brothers all laughed.
“So, has therapy helped you at all?” Ellington asked.
Davis shrugged. “Too soon to tell. I know I just need to get out of my own way and allow the process to do what it’s going to do.”
“It’s hard work,” Parker said. “Just be open to the possibility.”
