Deceptive Truth: Cowboy Justice Association (Serials and Stalkers Book 4) Read online

  Deceptive Truth

  The Cowboy Justice Association: Serials and Stalkers, Book Four

  Olivia Jaymes

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  About the Author

  DECEPTIVE TRUTH

  Copyright © 2021 by Olivia Jaymes

  * * *

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  * * *

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  1

  Knox Owens flinched as the barred doors behind him slid shut and locked with a loud metallic clang. He'd already signed in and turned over his firearm for safekeeping, and he was traveling farther into the prison where uniformed guards stood watching his every movement with suspicion.

  Gray. Everything around him was a particularly depressing shade of greenish-gray. The floors, the walls, even the ceiling. It only added to the overwhelming air of despair, sadness, and gloom mixed with more than a whiff of desperation. It was almost physically painful to be standing in these surroundings. It was as if there wasn't enough oxygen in the room and he had to struggle for breath, his chest excruciatingly tight.

  It these gray walls could talk the stories wouldn't be happy. The gloom was that palpable; deeply dark and oppressive.

  He didn't want to be here and he resented the hell out of it. It was all he could to keep going forward rather than turn back and forget all of this bullshit. He didn't need to actually show up at the parole hearing. He'd already written his letter to the parole board. They knew his feelings. They weren't a deep, dark secret.

  But he'd promised his younger brother that he would be there. If it had been anyone else, he would have said fuck it and not even showed up, but he couldn't do that. Not to Randy. His brother said that it was important that all the family be there. Family was important to Randy. He still believed that the Owens clan could be happy, loving, and close. Knox had given up on that dream a hell of a long time ago. In a funny way, he admired his brother's optimism. Randy never gave up hope.

  His entire family put the fun in dysfunctional.

  To keep his own sanity, Knox spent as little time with them as possible. It had been over a year since he had seen Randy and more like two since he'd seen any of the others. He doubted anything had changed. Nothing ever seemed to. Luckily, he'd moved out of Montana for his job and that gave him a good excuse to stay away. He was always busy. It wasn't a lie. Even when he'd lived in Montana, he'd been the first guy to raise his hand to volunteer to work holidays. Getting shot at by criminals was far superior to spending Christmas Eve with his relatives.

  Damn, I'm getting pessimistic in my old age. In a few years, I'll be yelling at kids to get off my lawn.

  "You made it. I told Mom you'd be here."

  Randy threw his arms around Knox and they hugged, slapping each other on the back.

  "I did. How's business, little brother? Life treating you good?"

  "Busy as all hell. Julia sends her love."

  Julia was Randy's wife, a lovely woman who handled the paperwork side of the family business. Randy ran a heating and air conditioning company. Knox had even invested in it at the beginning to help his brother get a start. He was certainly the most successful of the Owens kids and he deserved it. He'd worked hard for it.

  "Tell her I said hello."

  "Tell her yourself," Randy shot back. "Come and visit. See the kids. They miss their Uncle Knox."

  Randy and Julia also had three rowdy boys that liked to climb Knox like a tree and play wrestle in the middle of the living room floor. Every time he visited, he had to rest the next day. He didn't know how his brother survived. Those kids kicked his ass and then some.

  "I miss them too. I'll make some time."

  Eventually.

  Randy jerked his thumb toward an open set of double doors. "We're all assembled in the waiting area."

  "Who all is here?" Knox asked, delaying the inevitable as long as possible. He didn't want to go in there. Already a tension knot was building in his gut. When the Owens were all together the only certainly was uncertainty. Literally, anything could happen. Usually it was bad.

  Randy shrugged. "Pretty much everyone. Patty, Diana, Sara, Cal, and Roman. And Mom, of course."

  There was no of course about Knox's mother being there. Their dad had left Alexa Loudon Owens years ago when Knox was only a teenager. Since then, Benjamin Owens had been married four more times, and always to the nicest women that Knox had ever met. Every one of them had been far younger than Ben and had somehow missed - or ignored - all of the red flags that came along with him. They were genuinely nice and sweet and they seemed to think they could change or save Ben by loving him a lot. If they'd asked Knox, he would have told them that it was a waste of time but no one ever had and he, for the most part, kept his mouth shut.

  Benjamin Owens could be a smooth, charming son of a bitch when he wanted to be. He could turn on the suave, debonair side of him as if flipping a switch. He could also be meaner than a snake, and twice as cruel. He only thought about himself and he'd been a lousy father and husband, not giving two shits about the long line of destruction in his wake.

  That's how Ben had ended up here. Drinking and driving. They'd told him for years to stop but he didn't care. He'd been arrested several times but somehow, he'd always get his license back. Then when he didn't, he'd drive anyway, railing against "the system" and saying that no one was going to tell him that he couldn't drive. Eventually, he'd hit someone while driving drunk and they'd died. He'd been sent here.

  Now he wanted out.

  Knox was against it. His father wasn't capable of remorse for his actions. He'd never had any before. He didn't learn from his mistakes. He didn't empathize with others. He was a goddamn sociopathic narcissist, and this was the best place for him.

  Randy slapped Knox on the back again. "Come on, let's go join the others. Mom's been talking about you all day."

  "I highly doubt that."

  Alexa had never seemed all that fond of Knox when he was growing up. He'd lost count of the times she'd told him to leave the house and not to come back until bedtime. Apparently, he gave her a headache.

  Now as an adult, he didn't think that was the case. He was pretty sure it wasn't him that did that. It was the gin. That was her drink of choice because she thought others couldn't smell it on her. She was wrong.

  "Is she here with Rock?"

  Rock was Alexa's man friend of sorts. They'd been together for many years, and he seemed to drift in and out of
her life whenever it suited him. Knox had known him since he was twenty but he still didn't know the guy's real first name. Everyone called him Rock.

  Randy didn't have to answer the question because Knox could clearly see his mother and her shady boyfriend standing in the corner of the large room. At seventy Alexa looked a decade older, lines deeply embedded around her eyes and mouth, and Rock didn't look much better, although he still had a few pounds of muscle packed onto his large frame.

  The better question was why Alexa was here at all. She and his father had been divorced for years. Ben was on his fifth wife, a lovely woman named Patty who was also in the room waiting for the hearing. If asked, Alexa would say she was here to support her children, but Knox had a gut feeling that she'd never quite got over her first love.

  His older brothers Cal and Roman were talking to Rock and Alexa, but Roman excused himself and hurried over to Knox.

  "You made it. We were beginning to worry about you."

  I drove slow because I didn't want to be here.

  "To be honest I'm still not sure why we're all here anyway."

  "To show support," Roman replied quietly. "That we believe in Dad's rehabilitation."

  "But I don't believe in it and if you're honest, you don't believe in it either."

  "People can change," Randy argued, also keeping his voice low. "Everyone deserves a second chance."

  "I wholeheartedly agree," Knox said. "But how many chances has Dad had? About a million? He's blown through them all and doesn't give a shit."

  Cal joined the group, a scowl on his face. "Then why are you even here then?"

  Sadly, his brother took after their father. Women, booze, gambling, and who knows what else. Cal was the center of his own universe and everyone existed to simply orbit around him. Knox kept his distance as much as possible. His brother destroyed pretty much everything around him without a thought or care in the world.

  "Because Randy asked me to be here," Knox replied evenly. "I'm here for him, not for Dad."

  That scowl didn't budge, only deepening. Cal jerked his head toward Alexa. "What about Mom? Aren't you here for her too? This has been really hard on her."

  Knox was used to being the black sheep of the family. The scapegoat. Everyone blamed him for whatever was going wrong in their life even if he was a thousand miles away. Cal, on the other hand, had always been the golden child. He'd never done anything wrong in their parents' eyes.

  Knox's gaze traveled to his mother who had lit a cigarette and was sitting in one of the metal folding chairs. "I can see that it's been hard on her. I can also see how she's handled it. Her face is bright red from the gin."

  "It was just one to help calm her down," Cal said, but Knox had already brushed past his siblings and walked up to his mother.

  "You can't smoke in here, Mom. This is a no smoking building."

  Her eyes narrowed and she swayed slightly in her chair, not answering right away as if she had to figure out who the hell he was before she did.

  "It's just one cigarette," she finally said. "It's not hurting anyone."

  Rules were always for other people. That's what Knox had learned from her and Ben when he was growing up.

  "For Christ's sake, put it out before they march you outside," he growled. "For once, can't you just do what you're supposed to?"

  Rock stepped forward. "Your mother–"

  Knox didn't give a shit what Rock thought.

  "Just put it out. You can smoke later."

  Stomping away, Knox didn't spare a glance over his shoulder. This was why he didn't spend time with his family.

  "I see you're your usual charming self," Patty said as she joined him, giving him a hug. He allowed it because he truly liked her. He still thought she was out of her mind for standing by his dad, but he did like her. She was a good person and she deserved a hell of a lot better. "How have you been, Knox?"

  "I've been good. Busy with work, but good. How about you?"

  Patty was only a few years older than Knox. Attractive with short dark hair and hazel eyes, she always had a smile and a kind word for everyone. No matter how much of a jerk they were.

  "I'm doing well. Nervous about today, of course." She gave him some side eye. "I'm surprised to see you here. Randy must have been very persuasive."

  "He was and this was a mistake. I shouldn't have come here."

  She placed her hand on his arm and leaned closer. "I know about the letter you wrote to the parole board."

  Instinctively, he stiffened, suddenly wary of her friendly mood. "It's not a secret. I told Randy what I was going to do."

  She nodded. "You did and he told me. Ben's lawyer reached out to me and I told him that you were going to send a letter, and to let me know when it arrived."

  "I'm not sorry, Patty. Someone had to say it. Come on, you have to know the truth by now. My dad isn't ever going to change. He says he's found religion. I think it's just another in a long line of con jobs. He's played and abused every one of us. How can you let him continue?"

  From the conflicted expression on her face he could tell that she did know the truth about her husband. She just didn't want to admit it. Then she'd have to admit that she'd been wrong hanging in there all these years.

  "He's done good things too."

  Knox could feel the heat on the back of his neck as his anger simmered. It wasn't her fault though. This was all Ben.

  "I can't think of any recent things. He's left you with two young kids and no income. Let's not even mention all the other kids my dad has fathered and not bothered to support or care about. How many is it now? Ten? Or is twelve? I've lost count of the women he's left behind while he skips merrily through life without a thought to the consequences."

  "He's paid his debt to society."

  "That's a matter of opinion. And even if he has, he has a mountain of outstanding debts he needs to deal with."

  Unfortunately, it wasn't Knox's opinion that mattered today. It was all up to the parole board.

  "I wish you and your father could reconcile," she sighed. "He is your father, after all."

  An accident of biology.

  "There's more to being a father than being a sperm donor," Knox replied, the words blunt. "Being a father means being there for your kid, and he sure as hell was never there for me."

  "He was young," Patty argued. "He's learned as he's aged."

  "Good for him. The best thing he can do is be a better parent to his younger children. Clearly, I'm a lost cause at this point."

  She opened her mouth to defend Ben again but Knox shook his head and put up his hand to stop her from wasting her breath.

  "Please don't. I'm not going to change my mind and neither are you. Can we just enjoy seeing each other again? I don't have any issues with you."

  He tried to give her his best smile and Patty simply chuckled. "You've got as much charm as your daddy. I think you could get away with anything."

  She thought she was saying something nice but...

  "I'm nothing like my father. I don't use my charm against people."

  Ben did it to get his way and if he didn't get what he wanted, he acted like a toddler having a tantrum.

  She finally let it drop and they chatted for a few minutes about innocuous subjects like the weather and who might make the playoffs this year. Patty was a die-hard sports fanatic.

  "I wrote a letter too," Patty said abruptly when the conversation had begun to lag. "After I heard about yours. I wrote a letter saying that Ben sounded like he'd changed. I said that his children needed him."

  Knox didn't know what to say at that point. He didn't think Ben was anyone to look up to, but clearly Patty with her sunny optimism saw something that he'd never seen.

  "I shouldn't have come here," he said instead. "This was a mistake. I wanted to be here for Randy but I can't pretend that I think Dad should get out."

  This time he walked away to the other side of the room, shoving several quarters into a coffee vending machine and drink
ing down the vile liquid in just a few gulps. He barely noticed the burn on his tongue and the back of his throat, his attention on his family and staying a few feet away from them. This is how they always ended up. Him on the other side of the room counting the minutes until he could leave.

  I'm an adult. I can leave now if I want to. But what about Randy? That's why I'm here.

  I can do this. I can stay until this is done. For him. Then I'll leave.

  Sometimes he wondered if it was really him that was the issue and not his family. They didn't seem to have the problems with their father and mother that he had. They didn't seem to think that Cal's behavior was all that bad. It was always Knox calling them out and everyone else telling him to apologize and stop being so mean. They told him that he didn't understand the importance of family.

  Maybe I don't.

  Tossing the empty paper cup in a trash can, he turned as a man walked through the set of double doors. He walked directly over to Patty and leaned down to speak, their heads together. Without a backward glance, he walked out again.

  Smiling widely, Patty stepped into the middle of the room.

  "He's been granted parole. Ben's going to be free."

  2

  One year later...

  * * *

  Chris Marks slapped Knox on the back and grinned. "She's a keeper, my friend. You need to hold on to this one."

  Knox and his friends, Chris, Luke, and Ryan were having a fun night out with their significant others. They'd gone to a movie and then ended up at a sports bar that had tons of gaming equipment. So far Knox had lost three straight air hockey games to his new girlfriend Jenna. Far from being put out about it, he was actually quite proud of her. She was damn good at the game. He liked that she didn't feel the need to pretend to lose to him or some such bullshit to try and protect his ego. That was such crap.