Spontaneous - Brenda Jackson [44]
“I didn’t for a long time, almost eighteen years in fact. She left when I was twelve. A few days before my thirtieth birthday, after I’d celebrated the opening of my investigative firm, I decided to put my skills to the test and find her. I actually wanted to see her. I needed to see her for closure—at least I told myself it was closure. But I was hoping that when I tracked her down and she saw me, she would be remorseful, ashamed for not having the decency to pick up a phone to see how her kids were doing.”
He shook his head. “But when I found her, there was no remorse or shame on her part, just annoyance at being bothered. She told me, in a not-too-nice way, that she’d gotten out of our life for a reason. She never wanted kids, wasn’t the motherly type and that she didn’t want to renew a relationship with any of us.”
“Wow, that’s deep,” Kim said.
“Yes, it was. I caught a plane back to Atlanta to hear Terrence’s taunting that he’d told me so. Somehow he’d known. He hadn’t seen her, he hadn’t wanted to see her and had been determined to move on with his life. He’d accepted her walking out on us at face value. Her betrayal, her abandonment had left its mark on the three of us, but especially on Dad.”
Kim heard the bitterness in his voice. She knew it well. It was the same whenever she discussed her father with anyone. A father she hadn’t seen in at least five years now. The last time had been at her paternal grandmother’s funeral. He hadn’t looked in the best of health and even then she guessed he was still hitting the bottle and she’d even smelled alcohol on his breath.
She glanced ahead and saw her mother and Edward. They were standing in line to get on another ride. She didn’t want to think how her mother would handle it if what they suspected about Edward was true. That would definitely be a heartbreaker and her mother didn’t deserve that.
Duan glanced down at her. “I know you’re still worried about your mom, but you’re going to have to believe that I’ll do everything I can to find out the truth about Villarosas, good or bad. You’re going to have to trust me.”
She nodded. “I do trust you, Duan.”
Kim looked away, fearful she might also admit that she had fallen in love with him.
13
DUAN EASED OUT OF BED when he heard his cell phone vibrating on the nightstand. He picked it up and quickly moved toward the bathroom. Kim was still asleep, lying naked on top of the covers. He felt his shaft get hard as he entered the bathroom. Closing the door behind him, he leaned against it as he flipped on his phone.
“Kind of late for you, isn’t it, Landon?” he asked, wiping a hand down his face. It was just past midnight.
“Sorry about that. I’m still at the office.”
Duan wasn’t surprised. It had been that way for Landon ever since he’d lost Simone, just two days before their wedding day. She and two of her bridesmaids had shared a ride from the bachelorette party. A drunk driver had run a traffic light and the impact had been so great both vehicles had burst into flames, killing everyone involved. That had been close to four years ago and Duan knew Landon was still grieving. “I’m wondering about you not having a life, Lan.”
Landon’s chuckle came across the line. “Don’t wonder too much, otherwise you’ll sound like my mom. Anyway, I surfed the Internet and found something interesting.”
“What?”
“Several old police reports, dated twenty or so years ago. They’re on Villarosas. He went under the name Eduardo Villarosas then. Probably calls himself Edward for short these days.”
Duan nodded. “What are the police reports about?”
“Domestic calls. Most were from neighbors complaining that he and his girlfriend were disturbing the peace with their frequent arguments. There is one where the girlfriend placed a 911 call when Villarosas threatened her because he thought she was being unfaithful.”
“So there were a lot of lovers’ spats.”
“Seems that way. On one particular call, the girl friend said he threatened her with bodily harm if she moved her things out of the apartment