Deceptive Truth: Cowboy Justice Association (Serials and Stalkers Book 4)

by Olivia Jaymes

  Not sure what she was going to do, Jenna could only wallow in her own misery. She'd been more than desperate that night she'd "run into" Knox at that bar. The words hadn't been invented yet for what she and Michelle had been feeling. They only knew that their sister disappeared, the cops didn't think it was a big deal, and that Lori would never do that to them. She just wouldn't. Their entire lives they'd barely gone a few days without contact of some sort. The idea that Lori would go off somewhere by herself and not contact anyone was absurd.

  "What are we going to do next?" she asked Michelle. "We're going to have to figure out how to do this on our own."

  "That's what we've been doing," Michelle pointed out. "And we haven't done such a great job."

  "We could hire another private investigator. I was going to offer to pay Knox, after all. Maybe we'll have better luck this time."

  "I guess we could do that. I don't know anything about hiring a good one though. We picked the wrong one last time."

  They'd picked the first person who had returned their calls.

  "I'll do the research," Jenna offered. "It will give me something to do and help me feel like I'm not just sitting around helpless."

  "That's the control freak in you."

  "I'm not arguing that. But I have to do...something."

  As the oldest twin, Michelle had always been the most calm and patient. Lori had been the one with the softest heart. Jenna was far more a person of action, never wanting to sit still for too long. She and Knox had been alike that way.

  Don't think about him. He's gone. And hates me.

  "We're going to find her," Michelle said. "I just know we will. She's out there somewhere."

  Then why hadn't she contacted anyone?

  At first Jenna had been convinced that Lori was out there, but as the weeks and then months had gone by her hope had leaked away, leaving a terrible feeling of foreboding. Nothing would keep Lori from calling them or coming home except...something very bad. Something deadly. Each day had chipped away at Jenna's hope until she had none left. Now she wanted answers and for someone to pay for whatever heinous thing they'd done.

  "I want you to be right. I want that more than anything."

  "We'll find Lori and we'll bring her home. You have to believe."

  Michelle always said that Jenna was the optimistic and naive type but she was displaying quite a bit of both of those traits at the moment.

  Jenna wanted to believe. It was just about the only thing keeping her going.

  It was time for Plan Z. Getting Knox to help them hadn't even been Plan A through D. That's how desperate they were. But Jenna wouldn't give up.

  Time for a new direction.

  Knox was in a foul mood on Monday morning. He'd spent most of the day Sunday pissed off as well. With everything that had happened with Jenna, he couldn't clear his head. He couldn't even enjoy his damn day and that made him even more frustrated and mad.

  He wasn't supposed to give a damn about Jenna and her situation. He was supposed to break the relationship off and walk away, no looking back. That simply hadn't been the case, however. He'd been brooding about it since he'd walked out of her home. He couldn't seem to think about anything else.

  He was so tired that he'd contemplated calling into work. Not for very long, though. After all, he hadn't missed a day of work in years. So instead he'd dragged his tired ass into the office and slugged down a couple of cups of black coffee on an empty stomach. That turned out to be a huge mistake because by ten in the morning his nerves were jangled and his guts were hurting. His mood was on a swift sled downhill.

  So when Chris asked him about a case file, Knox didn't respond all that well. He growled at Chris and then proceeded to chew his co-worker a new asshole for merely having the audacity to ask if the folder was on Knox's desk. That earned him a trip into Logan's office to talk about it.

  "I thought you and Chris had put your feud behind you," Logan said, pointing to the guest chair in his office. "I thought you two were friends now."

  With a tired sigh, Knox lowered himself into the chair. "We have and we are. That was just me being an asshole."

  Poor Chris was currently in Jared's office probably getting the same grilling. Knox would have to buy his friend lunch to make up for this.

  Perched on the edge of his desk, Logan glowered down at Knox. His boss didn't like unrest on the team.

  "Why are we acting like an asshole this morning?"

  Scraping his fingers through his hair, Knox had no choice but to answer. If he didn't, Logan wouldn't give up. The man was like a dog with a bone when it came to shit like this and Knox already felt like a perp under a bright light being interrogated. It would be easier to get this over and done with.

  "I had a rough weekend. Didn't get much sleep."

  Logan's brow quirked up. "Party a little too hard?"

  If only that was the issue. Knox could take a few aspirin and eat some greasy tacos. He'd be better by mid-afternoon.

  "Let's just say that my new relationship has come to its inevitable but messy end."

  "She dumped you."

  Logan didn't phrase it like a question which only served to irritate Knox a bit more.

  "Actually, it was me that called an end to it."

  Standing, Logan rounded his desk and sat down in his oversized leather chair. "That's too bad. I guess I'm confused then as to why you're in a shit mood. If you ended it, then why are you upset?"

  "I don't know," Knox blurted before he could stop himself. "Dammit, I don't mean that. I mean...maybe. Shit, I don't know."

  Frowning, Logan leaned forward, his elbows propped on the desk. "If you don't mind my saying, you seem like you don't know whether to scratch your watch or wind your butt. Whoever this woman is, she's got you confused as hell. Are you sure you wanted to break up with her? Was this some sort of weird impulse? Were you drinking? Did you argue?"

  Knox had been thinking about it all night and still wasn't quite sure how to describe it.

  "I wouldn't say we argued. But we had a disagreement."

  "Okay, so you ended the relationship over this disagreement but now you're having second thoughts."

  Was he? No, he'd done the right thing. Jenna was a liar. Plain and simple.

  "I'm not having second thoughts."

  Logan's brows shot up. "Then you're going to have to help me out here because I can't see why you're being such a shit to everyone today and acting like a bear with a sore paw."

  Knox's hesitation must have clued Logan in.

  "Is it personal? You don't have to tell me about it. I respect your privacy. What I will say is whatever it is, try to leave it at the door. You can't take out your frustrations on everyone else in the office."

  Do I want to talk about it?

  Knox would trust Logan with his life. That was a fact.

  "It is personal," Knox admitted. "But I'm not keeping it a secret. It turns out that Jenna didn't bump into me by accident that first night at the sports bar. She knew who I was."

  "She knew who you were?" Logan echoed. "I'm not sure I follow you."

  As succinctly as he could, Knox explained what had transpired the night before all the way to the point where he drove away and then spent the entire night tossing and turning.

  "She wanted you to help prove that your brother had something to do with her sister's disappearance? That's one wild story."

  "I certainly didn't see it coming. I was shocked."

  "Did you even know Callum was dating this woman?"

  Knox shook his head. "I haven't seen him since...you know..."

  Logan was well aware of Ben Owens and his issues.

  "And you're certain he wouldn't do anything like this?"

  That was a question that Knox had been chewing on all night. He hadn't much liked the answers he was coming up with either.

  "Callum is a grade-A narcissist and all-around asshole. I definitely believe he could be verbally and mentally abusive to his partner, but I've never
seen him get violent with a female. I don't think he would kidnap and then maybe kill his girlfriend. I do see him making her wish she'd never started dating him to begin with."

  "You and I both know that behavior can escalate."

  "True," Knox conceded. "I just don't see it with Callum. I'm not trying to protect him or anything. Believe me, I have no delusions about what a dick he is, but I don't think he's a kidnapper or a murderer."

  "So that's that."

  Logan had...something in his tone. Like he wanted to say more but he wasn't going to.

  Dammit.

  "That's that," Knox agreed. "I told Jenna that I wasn't going to help her. She lied to me, after all. And stalked me too."

  For some reason he felt like he needed to justify his decision to Logan. It was a good decision. Sound. He didn't need to defend it or himself.

  "So you're walking away? Just letting it go?"

  "Of course, what else would I do?" Knox paused for a moment. "What would you do?"

  Rubbing his chin, Logan shook his head. "I don't think I should weigh in here. This is a personal issue for you. You said so yourself."

  But now Knox really wanted to know. He respected Logan's opinion as a boss and as a friend.

  "I wouldn't mind your thinking on this."

  Logan didn't answer right away, still rubbing at chin, his lips twisted.

  "I think," he finally said, his words measured. "I think that my curiosity would get the better of me and I'd have to look into her claims. Aren't you the least little bit curious as to what happened to her sister? It's not even my brother being accused and I'm curious as hell."

  Knox had mostly been concentrating on Jenna's betrayal, but he had found his mind wandering to the myriad of possibilities a few times.

  "A little," he admitted. "But I don't think that I should get involved. From what Jenna says, the cops aren't even investigating this. They seem to think that her sister's gone off on her own for awhile."

  Logan smiled. "And cops are never wrong."

  Knox had most certainly been wrong in the past. So had every lawman that Knox had ever known. They weren't superhuman, they were fallible just like everyone else. They did their best though and they tried to do the right thing.

  "I'm not sure that I want to see Jenna again."

  Knox hadn't been able to shake her expression, the pain and desperation. To do what she'd done...

  Stop. Don't make excuses for her.

  Shrugging, Logan sat back in his chair. "Then don't. I'm not suggesting that you do. Just look into the case, do a little research. See how you feel after that. You don't need to make any decisions right now. In fact, you don't need to make any sort of decisions today or tomorrow or the next day. If this woman has been missing for months, she's probably not going to suddenly reappear in the next week or so. And if she does, then this is all a moot point, isn't it?"

  Right. Knox didn't need to give himself a headache thinking about all of this crap. He could just sit with it for awhile and maybe, down the road, he might think about looking into the case.

  For his own curiosity. Not because he wanted to help Jenna.

  "Sure, that's what I'll do. There's no hurry at all."

  Logan stood, which meant that the meeting was over.

  Knox ducked out of the office and went back to his desk, determined to get his head in the game. Last night was over, Jenna was out of his life, and he had more important work to occupy his time.

  He'd think about it all later. Much later.

  5

  Luckily, Chris Marks was an easygoing guy and despite the fact that he and Knox had been at each other's throats in the morning, by midday they were friends again. They decided to head out for a late lunch around one-thirty, both of them starved.

  "We could just go to the sports bar," Chris suggested as Knox started the car. "It's fast and cheap, and I could go for a cheeseburger."

  Except that was where Knox had met Jenna. He didn't need the reminder today.

  "How about we hit the pizza place," Knox suggested. "My treat."

  "Then I'm in," Chris laughed. "I love a lunch I don't have to pay for."

  The pizza joint wasn't far and soon they were shown to a booth in the back. They ordered a large with pepperoni and extra cheese.

  "So did Logan rip you a new one?" Chris asked when the waitress had bustled away to get their drinks.

  "Not really. He just told me to keep my bad moods out of the office."

  "Very restrained of him. But you were in there for awhile. Did you get a new assignment?"

  "No, we just chatted."

  Chris' brow quirked up. "Chatted? Now you have my attention. What in the hell were you chatting about?"

  Knox might as well tell his friend the truth. He was going to find out sooner or later anyway.

  "Jenna and I broke up over the weekend."

  Frowning, Chris shook his head. "You asked Logan for romantic advice? I guess he must know something. Ava has stayed with him all of these years."

  "Shit, no. I didn't ask him about that. We talked about why we broke up. It's what put me in my bad mood."

  "That was my next question," Chris said as the waitress slid their sodas in front of them. "What the hell happened with Jenna? She's amazing. Great. Oh hell, did she dump you?"

  That was the second person today who had assumed that Knox was the dumpee instead of the dumper. It was starting to piss him off.

  "No, she did not dump me. I'm the one who ended it."

  Chris held up his hands in surrender. "Excuse the hell out of me. I didn't mean to offend you. I just...well...shit...you seemed really into her Saturday night. What in the hell happened after you went home? It must have been one big blowout. Did you find out she's married or a secret government agent?"

  Both of these would have been preferable to the reality.

  "Jenna and I didn't meet by chance that first night. She knew who I was."

  "You're not exactly a celebrity. How did she know who you were?"

  "Because she'd been following me," Knox replied with a sigh. "I'll tell you the story but you're probably not going to believe it."

  He recounted the details from Saturday night all the way to when he walked out. Chris didn't say anything while Knox spoke, just nodding as if he heard shit like this every single day.

  "You don't even seem shocked," Knox observed when he was done. "Not even a little bit."

  "I am surprised but I wouldn't say that I'm shocked. Very little can do that after the crap we've seen in this job. Also, you've told me from your own lips that your brother is a piece of work and an asshole. It's hard to be shocked that he might be wrapped up in something nefarious, isn't it?"

  "Cal is a grade A asshole but kidnap and murder someone? He's never done anything even remotely like that."

  "Has he ever hit anyone?"

  Knox shrugged away the question. "Sure, we all have. We beat up on each other growing up all the time."

  Chris laughed and shook his head. "No, I mean someone else. I get that siblings are shits to one another, although I never could have gotten away with hitting my sister. My dad would have grounded me for life for something like that. I was asking if he's ever hit a stranger. Bar fights? Domestic violence? That sort of thing."

  "There have been a few tussles," Knox admitted. "Mostly drunken bullshit, especially when we were younger. I don't know if there's been anything recent because I try not to spend any time with my family if I can help it. As for anything domestic, I don't know that either. I do know that he's a terrible boyfriend. He cheats and lies and those are his good qualities."

  "He sounds like a real charmer," Chris said sarcastically. "How does he attract women?"

  "The same way my dad does. In the beginning they're all suave and debonair. They're the greatest boyfriend in the history of romance. They bring flowers, shower them with gifts and compliments. They only show who they really are when they think they have the female totally in love with them. Then the women
keep thinking that my dad is going to change back into that great guy but he never does. He just keeps getting worse until they finally can't take it anymore or they get too old for him and he moves on to another victim. Cal learned from the best."

  "Your dad sounds...” Chris' voice trailed off. "I have no idea how you turned out so normal."

  "Neither do I, but then I wonder if I am all that normal. Maybe I'm as fucked up as they are, but I don't know it."

  "You aren't fucked up. You're a pain in the ass, but you're not a liar and a cheat."

  "My younger brother Randy turned out pretty normal too. I try and stay in touch with him, and my sisters aren't too bad. At least one of them is fairly normal. The other has a temper and frankly, I don't like to be around her when she yells."

  Knox didn't like it when anyone raised their voice, to be truthful. After watching his mother and father fight for years, he didn't like angry confrontation, yelling, or fighting of any type. He liked to keep the peace if at all possible.

  Chris leaned forward in his chair. "Was it bad? Did you and Jenna have it out? Did she cry? Damn, it rips my heart out when Ella cries."

  "It wasn't bad. I stated that I was angry and disappointed, and I told her that our relationship was over. She did cry though."

  Knox could still see Jenna's tearstained face in his mind. It was going to be awhile before he could forget it.

  "I hope you weren't too hard on her. She must have been so fucking desperate to do something like that. I can't even imagine what she and her sister have been going through, not knowing what happened to their own sibling and the police not really doing anything about it. It had to have made her crazy."

  "Are you making excuses for her? Because what she did was some serial killer shit."

  Chris threw back his head and laugh, causing a few heads nearby to whip around to see what was so funny. Apparently, it was Knox.

  "Are you seriously equating what Jenna did with someone like Wade Bryson? Because I don't think I can listen to anything you have to say if that's what you're trying to do. Listen, I know you're upset about her searching for you and then not telling you who she was, but you've already admitted to me that you now realize she was trying to talk to you but you kept derailing the conversation. You have a part in this too."