“My Thomas was a possessive man, but he knew I cared about Toby, and Toby cared about me. Plus, they had forged a bond that’d surpassed merely friendship.”
“But it never got serious?”
Cindy’s gaze drifted to the mug in front of her. “I think we each wanted something more, but no one knew how to voice it appropriately, so we settled for what we had. Plus, Toby wasn’t the sort to settle down. He wanted to explore, to see the world, while I wanted to raise my kids and focus on being a teacher.”
“I take it things ended after the accident?” JJ probed.
“It did. I was devastated, and I think Toby was, too. He came to visit soon after I called to tell him what happened. His visits lessened after that. I think it was too difficult for him to see Thomas like that, so he stayed away. Then I met Hugh.”
JJ had to wonder what might’ve happened if there’d never been an accident. Would they have found a way to make things work eventually?
“Toby had a picture of you in his home,” Baz noted. “A couple, actually.”
“I heard.” Cindy picked up her coffee mug and took a sip. “I’ve talked to him a few times over the years. I suspected he had regrets that things didn’t work out between us.” She looked up. “Don’t get me wrong; I cared about Toby. There’s a chance I even loved him, but it wasn’t the same way I loved Thomas or even what I feel for Hugh. I think it had to do with his constant disappearances. It was hard to love someone who wasn’t around.”
“Is that your subtle way of tellin’ us that you don’t know what Toby’s been up to?” JJ teased, picking up her bagel and taking a bite.
“I really wish I did. After I talked to Reese, I tried calling the last number I had for Toby. It’s been disconnected.”
JJ focused on eating while Baz filled Cindy in on what they’d learned so far, which was a whole lot of nothing. Cindy seemed genuinely surprised to hear that the travel agency was no longer in business, but not so much Toby’s preference for full-nude cabarets.
“Part of Toby’s appeal was his devil-may-care attitude. He wasn’t ashamed of who he was, and that was refreshing. He was a lot like Thomas in that way, although Thomas didn’t care for sex clubs. Just not his thing. He did embrace who he was and didn’t make excuses for it, though.” Another smile appeared. “Much like my boys did. I’m proud of them for that.”
JJ felt tears well up in her eyes. Cindy’s love for her kids always caught her in the heart.
And, unfortunately, these damn pregnancy hormones made it impossible for JJ to pretend she was heartless.
***
Having undergone a quick tour through theSniper 1 Security building to meet a few new people who’d been hired in recent weeks, as well as say hello to some of those they’d been working with over the past year, Brantley found himself relaxing a little. He’d woken up antsy because they didn’t have a lead to follow, so when Reese suggested they come here, he had no excuse for why they couldn’t.
Now that they were here, he was glad he’d come. Especially since it appeared Reese’s older brother was enjoying Reese’s discomfort with the recent revelation about their mother and her past love affairs.
“You realize she’s gonna tell JJ everything.” Z’s wild grin said the man was happy about that.
Brantley followed Z as he led the way toward his office. “Oh, I know.”
Reese grunted as he did anytime someone brought up the subject.
“Have a seat.” Z motioned toward the two chairs in front of his desk before moving behind it to sit in the large leather-back executive chair.
“I take it you were already aware of your mother’s relationship with Toby?”
Z’s gaze swung to Reese, and he smiled again. “Oh, yeah. I knew.”
“How’d you learn about it?” Brantley canted his head toward Reese. “Did you find out the same way Reese did?”
“You mean, did I walk in on them?” He barked a laugh. “God, no. I would’ve been scarred for life.”
“I didn’t walk in on them,” Reese said through clenched teeth. “They were kissin’.”
“But you saw Mom kissin’ another guy.” Z sat up and clasped his hands together on the top of the desk. “How did that make you feel?”
“Fuck off.”
Brantley laughed, then patted Reese’s arm. “All right, we’ll stop fuckin’ with you now.”
“That’d be nice,” he mumbled, reaching down to pet Tesha, who was lounging at his feet. Brantley noticed Reese did that frequently, as though using her as his emotional support animal.
