In the Shadow of the Shield (Secret Lives Series Book 2) Read Free

sort of ad?” He uncrossed his arms and then re-crossed them. Diana knew the moment realization hit him. His eyes double bulged as his already red face deepened to a dark crimson. “ What sort of ad? ”
    “I think you already figured it out.” She dropped back into her desk chair, throwing her hands in the air in defeat.
    “I want to hear you say it.”
    “Okay. Fine. It was an ad for a 1-900 operator.”
    “A sex line! My wife works for a damned sex line?”
    “A 900 number, Donnie. It specializes in lonely men over the age of fifty.”
    “So, I risk my life on the streets every night to keep the city safe, and provide for my family, and my wife uses that time to get all kinky with strange men on the telephone?” He turned and slammed his fist into the wall. The drywall crumbled into dust upon impact. “Holy shit! What the son of a bitch hell!”
    He clutched his fist to his chest, letting out a long string of curses. Diana ran toward the door, but Donnie stepped in front of her.
    “Where in the hell are you going? We aren’t done here!”
    “Donnie, you need ice on that. You probably broke your hand!”
    “I’m fine!”
    Even as he insisted, his hand turned a lovely shade of purple. The first two knuckles swelled to twice their normal size, and Donnie winced as he tried to open and close the fist.
    “You are not fine,” she stated quietly. “But if you want to do this now, then fine. I work as a 900 operator on Saturday night. The line makes $3.99 per minute. I get half of that. It’s good money, safe, and I didn’t have to worry about a babysitter when Jackson was little.”
    “A babysitter? You said a few years ago. How many is a few ?”
    “Ten,” she whispered, staring at the rug.
    “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you. It sounded like you said ten years.”
    She looked up at her husband. His eyeballs had receded back into their sockets, but his face had stayed scarlet while his breaths came in ragged gasps. It could have been from the pain as much as the anger, but she guessed it was the latter.
    “I did. It’s been ten years.”
    “How did I not know you were doing this for a decade ?” Donnie demanded, eyes getting large again.
    “The job is flexible.”
    “ Flexible ?”
    She reached out and touched his arm. “It’s okay, Donnie. I did it for us.”
    “For us?”
    “You have no idea how much money I have socked away for our retirement. You could retire now, if you wanted to.”
    All of a sudden she remembered the phone call earlier in the evening. “Donnie? Did something happen at work tonight?”
    “Don’t change the subject, Di.”
    “I’m not, I swear. A man called tonight—”
    Donnie snorted. “So I’ve heard.”
    “Donnie! Just listen! He knew you. He said you were ready for something.”
    Her husband stood there and stared at her, disbelief replacing some of the anger. His color slowly lightened to a bright pink, but his breathing didn’t seem to slow.
    “Say something, Donnie.”
    Donnie’s mouth opened, but no words came out. His face went pale, his eyeballs rolled back into his head, and her six-foot-two, two-hundred-and-twenty-pound husband hit the floor with a crash.
    “Donnie!” She ran to him, automatically feeling for a pulse. His heart beat erratically in his chest, but it was beating. She grabbed her phone and dialed 9-1-1.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Two
     
     
    The paramedics had all known Donnie. She tried to explain away the hole in the wall as an accident, but knowing eyes told her they didn’t believe her, despite the kind words that were murmured by their owners.
    “What’s taking so long?” Jackson paced in front of her. They were the only people in the little waiting area.
    “I don’t know, honey.”
    “What did you do to make him so mad?” Her son stopped walking and tried to stare her down, but Diana shook her head.
    “Jackson, your father and I have had arguments before. There’s something else wrong with