The Reckoning - BLACKBIRD book 3

18. plot twist

Brock and Andrea had lunch at the mall, where she was meeting her friends later. She'd waken up late after the party, so Brock only had to endure three hours of nonstop harassment about his love life. He still didn't like the idea of a full disclosure, not about his personal life. And certainly not to his teenage daughter, with her sweet little head full of fantasies about romance and unicorns. Not the best audience to say look, it's no big deal, I'm just bedding her two nights a week, only because she's hot as hell and it feels good to be back in business.

However, he knew the only way to appease her was to spill at least a few beans. So he reluctantly told Andrea that yes, he'd been seeing somebody for the last three or four weeks. She was an attractive woman, five years younger than him, whom he'd met many years ago, after divorcing Andrea's mother and before meeting Georgia.

Andrea was glowing. "Oh, Dad, that's so cool! I'm so happy for you!"

Brock's calculations worked to the second, because right when Andrea asked when he would introduce her to this girlfriend—Brock squirmed inside at the word—her friends showed up. Viv's daughter Katie among them, but that was only expectable. So Andrea kissed his cheek, still grinning and repeating, "Oh, Dad! Oh, my!" and left to meet them.

Brock went back home. He had a couple of hours until Andrea called him to pick her up. So he grabbed the files of the agents he still had to interview, planning to go through them. He wanted to be done with it. He didn't feel comfortable at all, questioning those people he'd known for years—them and their dirty little secrets they tried to conceal in the interviews. And once he were done, he'd ask Cassidy for some simple post in the field. Because after all, both Tremont and Russell were right: he didn't like deskwork. At all. He didn't mind about promotions or titles. After so many years away from the field, he just wanted to be allowed to do what he did best: catch bad guys.

He worked for three hours straight, and had almost finished taking notes on the last file when Andrea called. She was at Katie's—Viv's place.

Brock couldn't put his finger on it, but he didn't quite like it, picking his daughter up at Viv's house. It was the weird feeling of mixing things he wanted to keep apart. Like they hadn't been mixed up from the start. Really, Brockner, you're such a genius these days.

He pulled over and honked, knowing Andrea would come out in a moment. Soon Viv opened the front door for her, and stayed there while Andrea crossed the lawn and climbed into the car. When she was sure Brock looked at her, she waved at him with one of her promising smiles. He nodded at her, geared in and speeded up, in case she blew him a kiss right in front of their daughters.

Then he noticed Andrea's odd silence. He glanced at her. The girl had folded her arms and stared straight ahead, her lips in a tight line and her brow slightly furrowed.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

To his utter surprise, she glared at him and turned to look ahead again without a word.

"Andrea, what is it?" he insisted.

"Don't ask," she grunted, folding her arms even tighter.

"Something happened with one of your girlfriends?" Brock waited ten whole seconds for an answer that never came. "C'mon, Andrea, you know you can tell me anything."

All he got in response was another grunt. "At home."

Brock frowned deeper, taken aback and worried, because Andrea's attitude was completely unusual. What could've happened that she couldn't tell him on the car? What difference did it make, talking about it at home?

He heard her growl and murmur under her breath. At a red light, he turned to her and rested a hand on her arm, frowning. To his shock, Andrea smacked his hand away with another furious glare. The honks from behind were the only thing that startled him to keep driving.

When they finally got to his apartment, Andrea hurried out of the car, slammed the door shut and stalked into the building, not waiting for him. Brock followed her at a complete loss.

But he didn't need to ask again. Andrea waited for him in the middle of the family room, hands on her hips and a very Brockner scowl. As soon as he walked in and closed the door, she addressed him in a harsh, angry way that he'd never heard from her before.

"You're seeing Katie's mom!"

Brock froze.

"She's the woman you're dating!" It was an accusation.

He raised his eyebrows and kept his voice gentle and reasonable. "Andrea, why don't you calm down, so we can talk about it?"

"Calm down!? When that sack of witless plastic is messing with my father!?"

Brock stiffened, his eyes widening, but he reacted in a heartbeat. "This is not the way to have a conversation, Andrea."

"And who said I wanted to have a conversation!? Not this conversation, that's for sure!" She shook her head, rolling her eyes and snorting.

"Andrea..."

"What!? Now I know why you didn't want me to find out! Why you wouldn't tell me who she was! Gosh! I would so slap you, you know? How could you!?"

Brock breathed deep. Andrea was nailing one right conclusion after another, but that didn't entitle her to talk to him like that. His voice suggested winter had cancelled its vacations and was about to crash down on DC. Hard.

"You better watch your mouth, young lady. I'm not one of your friends to talk to me like this."

That only seemed to ignite Andrea's anger. "Of course you're not! Because none of them would be such a dickhead to fall for that wrinkled wannabe Barbie! Good Lord, Dad! What happened to you? How could you fall so low? I mean, I know you've been alone ever since Georgia passed! And you know I was wishing so bad you would meet somebody who would make you happy! But Katie's mom!? C'mon!"

Since words didn't work, Brock tried the silence treatment. Which didn't work either. Andrea snorted again and pointed an angry finger at him.

"Wanna know how I know? Her perfume! When I got to Katie's, I realized the whole place stinks of it! And then I smelled her! And her, walking me out like that? She's never done that! I've been going to her house since before I can remember, and today was the first time she ever cared to walk me to the door! With that lame little dress to show off her MasterCard boobs like some cheap porn-star! And her face painted like a clown's! And that horrible perfume all over her! Argh!"