Dirty Truths Read Free Page A

the client’s approval, and then sent them Carl’s way to sign the contract. He seldom spent time in the office.
    Canon was the closest to success he could hope for, at least while staying in this piece of shit community.
    He could move to the city, and get the hell out of this area. He’d had enough job offers to know he’d never starve out there. But then he’d be nobody. Daniel had never been no body.
    He slowed as a fat woman with a stroller crossed the road ahead. She wiped her dark hair from her forehead and pulled at her baggy t-shirt. Daniel closed his eyes as she slowly waddled to the other side. Probably one of those welfare cases with ten kids and no husband to whip her back into shape. Did Kristina have any clue how lucky she was to have someone care about her like he had? Christ, he’d busted his ass to make her into the best wife she could be and made sure she didn’t turn into a fat piece of trash like that woman. What did he get for giving a damn?
    Thanks to him, she lived in a nice house on a quiet street with respectable neighbors. Practically waterfront property. True, no house in Laighton screamed high class, but the one he provided was a damn sight better than the dingy eyesore she came from over on the other side of the river.
    Her parents didn’t even own a house. Joe, her father, worked in construction and her mother was a cashier. Neither would improve their situation in life. Fuck, Joe could barely read. Because of Daniel, people considered Kristina worth their time and she’d kicked his balls for his trouble. There’s gratitude for you.
    He squinted through the sun’s glare. Turning right again he’d barely accelerated when he had to slow once more. A woman in the car ahead kept touching her brakes, and it pissed him off. The air conditioning, cold as an arctic breeze, blew across his face. Cursing, he switched it off and pushed the button next to his arm to put the window down.
    The woman ahead came to a full stop, her right signal light flashing for no fucking reason. He slammed his foot on the brake, clenched his jaw, and tried to breathe. She changed her mind about turning into the lawn to her right and continued forward. He wanted to jump out of the truck and rip her out of the car by her frizzy hair, take her keys and her license, and then find the stupid shit that let her behind the wheel of anything. This is exactly why he never allowed Kristina to get her license: one less idiot woman on the road.
    Finally, the woman turned right, no signal this time, leaving the road clear. He slammed his palm on the horn and gave her the finger. She didn’t glance his way, but he knew she saw him.
    He came to the set of lights across from the grocery store and stopped. The town now boasted two sets of traffic lights as it became apparent more and more of Laighton’s residents didn’t know what an intersection was or how one should use it. He pulled out his phone while waiting for the light to turn. An old man stood next to the Dollar Store on Daniel’s right, staring at the walk sign. Did he expect the flashing man to hop out and help him across the road? Finally, the idiot stepped off the curb and hobbled across the street. Daniel turned his thoughts back to Desiree and dialed her number.
    Slim, blonde, and about as bright as a burned out light bulb. But she had potential because she made it her mission in life to please him. As Desiree’s phone rang, he thought back to the day he met her. It always made him smile.
    Kristina had been at the doctor’s, having an ultrasound done to determine the sex of their baby. Turns out they’d driven all the way to Salach for nothing. At the time, she said they couldn’t tell because the baby wouldn’t turn. She lied. He didn’t want a girl and she tried to cover it up so he wouldn’t be angry. Kristina learned that day no one lied to him.
    Desiree had been sitting in triage, her arm in a sling. Holding a copy of some women’s magazine, she