Wicked Obsessions Read Free

something happened before. Tell me. Talking it out might help."
    Sighing deeply, Teri let her shoulders sag a bit. Maybe Selena was right. As young as Selena acted some of the time, she could also be very level-headed and she was discreet. A few of her and Rico's arguments had been within Selena's hearing, and no one else ever found out about them. "Rico and I have had our problems in the past, but I kept hoping... Anyway I can't take any more."
    "I thought you said he was being all romantic and thoughtful?"
    "An act. All of it's been an act. I have been such a fool. Over and over." She felt tears well up and fought them back. "Ah, damn. It probably would do me some good to talk about it. And as long as you're willing to listen, I may as well get it out of my system."
    Teri had been keeping her problems to herself for so long, it took her a moment to decide where to start. "About a year ago, I asked Rico for a deposit slip for our joint savings account and his reaction was so defensive I just knew something was wrong. I tried checking the account on line—you know I avoid the computer if at all possible—but I couldn't access it. My password was invalid.
    "Rather than ask him about it, I went by the bank and had them reset my password for me. While I was there, I asked for a current statement. I was positive they'd made a mistake when it showed a balance almost thirty thousand dollars less than I thought we had."
    Teri's lashes lowered with remembered embarrassment. "I had them print out a copy of all the transactions for the previous two years. It was unbelievable. Money had been going in and out of that account as if it were an active business. Unfortunately, the balance column showed that whatever the business was, it was a losing one.
    "All that time I would give Rico a check and he would take care of depositing it because it was on his route. He always brought me back a deposit slip. I just didn't know about the withdrawals he made in between. He always said he liked taking care of the family bookkeeping and I was glad not to have to deal with it. Stupid, I know." She paused to take a sip of tea in an attempt to ward off the sudden chill she felt.
    "When I questioned Rico, he confessed—a real heart-wrenching, Academy Award confession. As he put it, my success made him feel unmanly. Since I wouldn't quit, he wanted to bring more money into the house. He thought gambling was the answer. He never meant to let it get out of control, but he kept thinking he could make it all back on the next race or the next number or whatever. He promised he was done with it as soon as he paid off the last losses."
    Selena leaned forward and covered Teri's hand. "I've heard gambling can be as bad of an addiction as drugs and alcohol. There's even a Gamblers' Anonymous."
    "Yes I know, but the addict has to want to help himself. I thought I was helping by putting my earnings in a separate account he couldn't access."
    "What did he do when he found out?"
    Teri sighed. "He went berserk. Mind you, he never laid a hand on me, but he smashed every piece of our good china before he calmed down. Afterward he was all apologies and promises again. That lasted about a month. Then he didn't deposit his check into our house account on payday."
    "So you had it out again."
    "You got it," Teri confirmed, making a disgusted face. "That time he threw a lamp through a window. He promised to get help, if I would just bail him out once more to the tune of twenty-five hundred dollars. I gave it to him, but with the warning that it was the last time. I thought he was doing okay, until three weeks ago." She shook her head still having trouble believing how easily he had fooled her. "I found out he had stolen a check from my business account and forged my signature."
    Selena's mouth dropped open. "This sounds more like a nightmare than a marriage. Can't you have him arrested for that?"
    "I don't know. After everything he's put me through, I don't love him anymore,