ENTANGLED PURSUITS (MEN OF ACTION Book 1) by Brenda Jackson

Author:Brenda Jackson [JACKSON, BRENDA]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Madaris Publishing Company
Published: 2020-08-24T18:30:00+00:00

• • •

“What you told Ellis back there, was it true, Drew?”

Toni had to know. They had finally left the scene and were on their way back to headquarters. Officially, they were off work. When she returned to the office, she would gather up her notes and lock them in the desk drawer. A conscientious detective never left investigative information out for others to see. You never knew who might happen to be an acquaintance of one of the suspects.

Drew brought the car to a stop at a railroad crossing. As they waited for the train to cross, he glanced over at her. “Yes. I told you I’d served time in jail.”

“I’m talking about the other. About you wanting to kill your father.”

He didn’t say anything for a minute, then nodded. “It’s true.”

She knew she had no right to ask him anything personal, and a part of her knew that if he’d wanted her to know, he would have told her when they’d been together. But that didn’t keep her from asking, “Was he physically abusive to her?”

Drew shook his head. “No. He was mentally abusive, and in some situations, that can be just as bad or worse. As a kid, I watched how he treated her, how she worked while he stayed home, sitting on his ass. How she still kept the house clean and food on the table. He treated both me and Mom like shit. I could never figure out why she stayed with him. And having grown up with that example of wedded bliss, I was in no hurry to replicate it. Marriage and kids are fine...for other people.”

She didn’t say anything for a minute. “There was a time when I wanted to kill my father, too.”

He lifted a brow. “Why? Was he abusive to your mother?”

Toni shook her head. “No. He never lived with us, although he would visit. He had a wife and another daughter and son. I am the oldest. My mother had been his girlfriend in high school, but his family didn’t think she was good enough to marry their son. Dad convinced Mom he loved her and his engagement to another woman was one of convenience, done to fulfill his parents’ wishes. He promised her that after they were married, as soon as he could, he would get a divorce. I was born a week before his wedding to the other woman.”

Toni paused a minute. “Growing up, I adored my father, but as I got older and wiser and found out the truth, I started to resent his visits. Mom would be happy whenever he arrived, but then fall into a depression when he left.”

“How long did it last?”

“For nearly fifteen years.”

He didn’t say anything, and she broke eye contact with him. Just her luck—the train was a long one. She couldn’t even see the caboose yet.

“Tell me about it, Toni.”

She figured he had to be thinking that this conversation was coming a little late, considering they’d been apart for over four years.

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