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“Romeo and Juliet both ended up committing suicide,” I said.
“Still, we were like that. Star-crossed lovers.”
“Why did my father marry Daphne then? If he was in love with you, why didn’t he just pay her child support and not marry her?”
“Because Bradford Steel is a man of honor. He lived up to his responsibilities.”
A man of honor? I’d once thought so. No longer. “Did you ask him to stay with you?”
“I didn’t have to. I knew him well enough to know that he would do what he had to do. We were both seeing other people at that time.” She shook her head, rolling her eyes. “Daphne was never Brad’s type.”
“They always seemed happy enough to me.”
“How can you say that? You were only nine when she died. What could a nine-year-old possibly know about love and happiness?”
Enough was enough. “I know more about love and happiness than you possibly could, Mother.”
“Do you expect me to get upset? How could I? I only wanted a life of love and happiness for you, my darling son. I wanted only the best for you. Your father was the best.”
“Was it truly love you felt for my father?” I asked. “Or was it obsession?”
She smiled, the eerie smile I had come to know. “My dear, is there really any difference? What is love, anyway? What is obsession?”
I sighed, raking my fingers through my hair. “Please, Mother. Please help me find my father.”
“Why is that so important to you?”
“How can you ask me that? Because he’s my father, for God’s sake. Because he owes me a goddamned explanation for what has become my life.”
“Ryan,” she said seriously. “Please be careful what you wish for. I adore your father. He is everything to me. But he’s brought a lot of pain into my life as well. He married someone else. I had to give up my son for him. That’s the kind of deep connection your father and I have. I did whatever he asked. All because of the love I felt for him. The obsessive, coveting love.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “Sometimes the things we covet are the things that destroy us.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Ruby
“Detective Lee.”
“Ruby, it’s Mark.”
“Hey.”
“I need you to stay late tonight. Some information has come in, and I need you to take a look.”
Crap. I’d been looking forward to dinner with Ryan. He’d promised me an elegant meal at the best restaurant in the city. “Sure. Just let me make a call.”
I texted Ryan that I’d be working late at my boss’s request and that I was sorry I couldn’t make our dinner date. Then I walked to Mark’s office, which was at the end of the hallway, somewhat isolated.
The door was closed, which was odd. Mark had a notorious open-door policy. Should I knock or walk in? To be on the safe side, I knocked.
“Come in,” he called, his voice a bit…off.
I cocked my head and turned the doorknob. Something niggled at the back of my neck. But this was Mark, who I trusted. Not only was he a great cop, he was a friend. I opened the door.
And I gasped, my heart racing.
A masked man was holding a Glock to Mark’s temple.
“I’m sorry, Ruby,” Mark said, his voice shaking now.
