Deceptive Truth: Cowboy Justice Association (Serials and Stalkers Book 4) by Olivia Jaymes (psychology books to read .TXT) 📗

there's nothing more hellish," Eli replied, popping a pretzel into his mouth. "Now how about you and I start thinking about dinner? Knox is going to be hungry when he gets home."

That was an excellent suggestion. She needed to keep moving forward. Sitting around was only allowing her to wallow in all the crap that had happened to her family. Despite everything that had happened today, the most important thing hadn't changed.

Finding the truth about Lori.

21

"What the hell was that for?"

Callum Owens was lying on his ass and rubbing his sore jaw where Knox had punched him.

The entire drive here Knox's anger and frustration with his brother had grown. Cal had been treating everyone around him like shit since he was a kid and Knox was tired of it. Exhausted, actually, of dealing with the bullshit. Their parents hadn't done a damn thing to rein in Cal, and while Knox and his siblings had made an effort over the years, it was simply easier not to be around him at all. More peaceful, too.

By the time Cal opened his front door, Knox had built up quite a head of steam. He might not have done anything to Lori to cause her to go missing, but he'd treated her - and all his other girlfriends - like shit. If Lori was anything at all like Jenna, she hadn't deserved that.

So Knox had punched him. It wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't be the last, either. That he was sure of. Cal had punched Knox as well many times over the years. Since Cal didn't like to talk things over, they'd usually end up arguing the old-fashioned way - with their fists. When they were younger, they'd been more evenly matched, but as time had marched on Cal had let himself go a bit and now Knox could cream him if he wanted to.

"Because you deserved it," Knox stated, stepping farther inside Cal's home and slamming the door behind him. "In fact, someone should punch you in the face every fucking day until you straighten the hell up."

"It's nice to see you too, little brother," Cal mocked, a wide grin appearing on his face as he hopped up from the floor. Knox should have hit him harder. "So glad you could stop by."

"This isn't a visit for tea and cookies," Knox snarled. "We need to talk."

"So talk. I'm listening."

Knowing Cal, though, he wasn't. He didn't listen to anyone because he didn't think anyone had anything interesting to say other than himself.

"I'm here to talk about Lori Waters."

Cal shrugged, leaning a hip against the back of a chair. "And? Randy told me all about your little investigation. I'm not sure why you need to talk to me about it."

"You were the last person to see Lori Waters alive."

Cal shook his head. "No, I wasn't. I think you're mistaken."

"I'm not making any mistakes. I know that you met Lori at the coffee shop that day. That day. Not another day. One of the baristas remembered the exact date, douchebag, so stop lying your ass off and tell me the goddamn truth. You saw Lori at the coffee shop and whined and moaned trying to get her back. Luckily, she'd finally seen through your act and saw you for the piece of shit that you actually are and dumped your pathetic ass for good."

It was just a ghost of a change, almost a whisper, but Cal's expression fell for a single second. No one else would have noticed it, but Knox had spent most of his formative years learning to read his self-absorbed older brother. Then it was gone and that arrogant smirk was back on Cal's face.

"You think you know everything. If you're so smart, why do you need to talk to me anyway? According to you, I'll just lie about it. Isn't that what you said to Randy? You called me a big liar."

The usual defense from Cal was to complain that he was a victim.

"Because you are a liar. You lie about everything." Knox stepped forward, bearing down on his big brother so they were almost nose to nose. "But today you're finally going to stop being a pathetic waste and tell the truth, even if it's only for a few minutes. And do you know why? Because we're talking about a human fucking life here, Cal. This isn't about making yourself look successful for a woman or telling Mom and Dad that you're the best son. This is about an actual human being who might be dead. So I'm not going to cut you any slack today. Start fucking talking. Tell me about that day and don't try to lie to me because I know when you're lying."

There was a fine sheen of sweat on Cal's upper lip but no other outward sign that he might be concerned or nervous. He'd been hiding his true self for so long Knox wasn't sure if his brother was even aware of the truth anymore. In a way, he and Brett Hedgcock had much in common. Neither of them was fond of reality.

Cal stepped back, a ruddy tone in his cheeks. "So what if I saw her that day? It doesn't mean I killed her or anything. I saw her. We talked. That's it. End of story."

"That's not the end of the story. You walked with her out of the coffee shop. You two were arguing."

"It doesn't mean I killed her. Jesus, I'm not a murderer, for fuck's sake. I walked her to her car and she drove away. I never saw her again, but she was very much