Truth or Lies? by A. Gomez (book club recommendations txt) 📗

the fireplace going, pizza, beer on ice…I thought you said this agent was just here for your protection?” Charles Andrew eyed me suspiciously.

“It’s not a date, Charles Andrew. Rockwall didn’t get to celebrate his birthday this month because of this assignment and everything that’s happened with the Triads, so I told him we could order pizza and watch a game.” I was fidgeting with the tie on my robe. Charlie noticed I was nervous.

“Okay, whatever,” he said with raised eyebrows. Josh was then at my side with his arm around my shoulder.

“Charles Andrew, this is Special Agent Joshua Rockwall. Josh, this is one of my brothers, Charles Andrew.”

“Hey, man,” was all Charlie said, shaking Josh’s hand.

“Hey,” replied Josh. “Sorry about earlier, man. I was trying to keep Isabel safe, but after witnessing what Samson can do, I don’t think I really need to be here.” Josh was the only one laughing. Charlie just half smiled.

“So, it looks like I interrupted y’all’s date. Sorry about that, man.”

Josh was about to take the bait and there was nothing I could do to stop it. “No worries, we were just getting started. Have some pizza and beer with us. We were going to find a game, too.”

Charlie smirked at me and gave me an “I knew it” look. I shrugged sheepishly. We all sat down, Josh and I on the sofa together and Charlie on the chair closest to the fireplace. I turned on the television and searched for football. Josh opened beers for Charlie and me and set them on the coffee table in front of us. He opened water for himself. I stopped on a high school game that looked promising. Charlie started drinking his beer. I could feel him staring at us. I knew what he was doing: he was watching both of us, trying to assess just how severe my situation really was. I tried to ignore him, grabbing the paper plates and passing one to him. He wasted no time in getting two slices of pizza. I surveyed the size of the pizza in relation to the amount of people eating it. I thought I was going to have to order more pizza now that my brother was here. I decided to let them eat first and just drink my beer. If there was any left, I would eat. If not, I would order more or get something from the fridge. I leaned back to watch the game and drink my beer. Josh placed a slice of pizza on a plate and handed it to me. It caught me off guard, so I hesitated a little before I took it from him. He leaned back with his water in hand and rested his arm behind my head on the sofa.

“Isabel, baby,” Josh said softly in my ear. “Do you think we can find some basketball instead? I only like watching high school football when it’s the playoffs.”

“I suppose,” I replied, wrinkling my nose. “It is your birthday party.”

“Wow!” Charlie exclaimed through a mouth full of pizza. “Isabel Grace must like you a lot if she’s willing to sit through a game of basketball.” Josh’s eyes lit up, grinning.

“Shut up, Charlie!” I hissed.

“Baby, do you not like basketball?” Josh was surprised.

“No, not really,” I said apologetically. “But I’ll watch it since it’s your belated birthday celebration.” Josh kissed my temple and pulled me closer to him.

He put his lips to my ear and whispered, “So it’s Isabel Grace, huh? The G is for Grace,” he stated, sounding like it was more for his benefit.

I gazed up at him and he was already engrossed in the game. I looked over at Charlie and he was absorbed in the game too, eating pizza. I noticed Josh wasn’t eating so I offered him a bite of mine. He took a small bite and then I took a bite right after. I finished the slice and got another but this time handed it to Josh. He thanked me without taking his eyes off the television. Both men started to yell at the TV at some foul I didn’t catch. I wished this were football… this game was going to put me to sleep. I took a bite of Josh’s pizza and got up to look for some water and to feed Samson. Samson followed me to the kitchen, knowing I may have food for him. I placed his bowl full of food on his mat. He inhaled it as usual and then I let him out back to use the bathroom. I decided to sit at the table and go through my mail. It was mainly bills and junk mail. At the very bottom of the stack, however, was a white envelope with very elegant writing. It looked like an invitation of some kind. The envelope was thick and heavy and the paper was satiny. It looked expensive, almost like a wedding invitation. Whoever sent it used my full name, including my title. It read…

Dr. Isabel Grace Langley

They didn’t put my address on the envelope and there was no return address. Huh, it must have been one of my neighbors having a get-together or a wedding. Who else would put an envelope this nice in my mailbox, use my full name and not put a return address on it? I opened it and the card inside was equally as nice, also with satiny paper. The design on the front was a bouquet of flowers with soft fall colors. It was beautiful. I smiled. Yes. I thought to myself, this is a wedding invitation. I just love a good wedding. Everyone is always so happy and there’s at least one family member that always makes a fool of himself or herself and that’s entertaining in and of itself. My smile got broader at the thought. I opened the card.

Shock, fear and anger washed over