Page 21 of The Couple’s Secret (Detective Josie Quinn #23)

Josie said, “You and Tobias?”

“Or Jackson, if Tobias was on a job and couldn’t get there in time. He was old enough by then to take on a jerk-off like Dalton. You’ve seen the kid, right? He’s huge. Moved a hell of a lot faster than me or Tobias, that’s for sure. That wimpy-ass bastard was afraid of him.”

“Did Cora ever call the police?”

“Sure. Every time. She had one of those PFAs or whatever. Restraining order?”

“Protection from Abuse orders,” Gretchen said.

“Right, right. But those things are worth less than the paper they’re printed on.”

Josie and Gretchen knew that better than anyone. If they had a dollar for every call police responded to for partners violating their PFAs in the last ten years alone, they’d never have to work again.

“Plus,” Hollis went on, “Dalton hated Tobias. Despised him. Cora didn’t date anyone after her divorce.

No one, and it wasn’t because men weren’t lining up.

You’ve seen her pictures. She wasn’t short on offers, that’s for sure.

It just seemed like Dalton ruined all that for her.

Not just because she couldn’t trust men but also because she knew any guy she dated was going to get harassed by that prick.

She went years without going on a single date.

Then Tobias came on the scene and suddenly, she was moving in with him and wearing his ring.

Dalton damn near lost his mind. For as many times as he threatened Cora, he said he was gonna kill Tobias double that amount.

Check the police reports and see how often our place was vandalized.

Could never prove it was Dalton, but everyone knew he did it. ”

“Tobias didn’t have a problem with Dalton stalking him and Cora?” Josie asked.

“I told you, Tobias loved Cora. He would have put up with a thousand Daltons if it meant being with her. He wasn’t a little bitch like Dalton either.

Tobias wasn’t afraid of him. I guess he should have been.

Honestly, I was surprised nothing happened to Tobias before that night ’cause Dalton had it out for him big-time. You know how those types are.”

“Yeah,” Josie and Gretchen said in unison.

The abusive husband who got off on terrorizing his wife, controlling her with violence.

If she managed to get away—if she lived—it became his sole mission to continue making her life hell.

He made sure that she spent the rest of her days looking over her shoulder, waiting for the proverbial axe to fall, wondering what would be next.

He made sure that she never had a peaceful night of rest again, sleeping with a bat or a gun or a knife next to her bed, starting at every unusual noise.

His constant harassment ensured that she wouldn’t be able to form new friendships or relationships.

No one wanted to deal with their new friend or girlfriend’s crazy ex-husband.

No one wanted to get caught in the crossfire.

He isolated her just as sure as he had while they were married.

Only now he used psychological guerilla warfare instead of broken bones.

For as long as he was alive, she would spend every moment wondering if this was the day he finally came after her for good.

Men like Dalton Stevens were dangerous. Their need for control usually outweighed their own self-preservation. They were ticking time bombs and often, they didn’t care if they took themselves out in the process of destroying their ex-wives.

But men like Dalton Stevens could also be impulsive.

They were more likely to kill in a fit of rage than with some well-thought-out and carefully executed plan.

The demise of Tobias and Cora smacked of meticulous planning.

That didn’t mean Dalton Stevens wasn’t behind it but Hollis seemed a much more likely suspect.

He was clearly smart, even-tempered, and strategic and he had both resources and motivation.

Not to mention that he was strangely calm and glib after just having learned that his close friends had been murdered.

“Hollis.” Gretchen twirled her pen in her hand. “Do you own any firearms?”

He went still. For the first time, his easy bravado slipped, and he looked older than his age and scared. “Doesn’t everyone around here?”

“What kind?”

“A Sig Sauer .45 and a Glock 17.”

“How long have you owned them?” Gretchen jotted down more notes.

“I don’t know. Ten years? What are you getting at? You think I shot them, right? The kids told me they were shot. Here we go again. What do you want? You got some fancy test you want to do on my guns? Some forensic shit? Go for it.”

“We’ll let you know,” Gretchen said coolly.

He had no idea that they hadn’t found any bullets inside the car. Without the projectile, there wasn’t any forensic testing that could be done. They didn’t even know what type of rounds had killed Tobias and Cora. Neither Josie nor Gretchen was going to tell him that.

Before they could continue questioning him, the sound of shouting drew their attention.

Hollis hefted himself out of his chair, maneuvering around a floor polisher.

He was almost at the door when it flew open.

Standing on the threshold was a younger, fitter version of Tobias Lachlan.

Unlike his father, he had a full head of thick, sandy hair.

His hands were fisted at his sides and his chest heaved. Tears rolled down his cheeks.

Ellyn ran up behind him, peeking around his solid frame. “Sorry, Hol. He’s a little worked up.”

“It’s fine,” Hollis said softly. Then he beckoned the man toward him. “Come here, kid.”