Gilded Craving - Olivia Jaymes Page 0,51

bookies in major metropolitan areas. He would make multiple calls a day, plus he was taking regular withdrawals and also transferring money. I'm going to need to ask Skip and Lilly if they knew about it."

"I can guarantee you that Skip didn't know his son was gambling with multiple bookies," Jack said. "He never would have allowed that."

"I still have to ask him."

Ryan sounded defensive and immediately the tension in the room zoomed higher.

This could go so badly.

"I'm just saying that there's no way he would have known."

Straightening in his chair, Ryan lifted his chin defiantly. "And I'm just saying that I have to ask him. It's literally my job."

Jack sighed and shook his head. "What kind of a job has you asking good people nosy and intrusive questions? They've lost their son and you're going to make it worse."

That tension had spiked to the point where there was almost a physical wall that Mariah could actually see between Ryan and his father. It had been going so well...

"The kind of job that puts the bad people behind bars," Ryan said, his tone hard. He was frowning, his lips a thin, unhappy line. "And that means that even good people have to be asked uncomfortable questions. How much did they know about Brad's life? I don't know the answer to that and to be honest, neither do you. If Brad was a gambling addict do you honestly believe Skip would have told you? There's no way that would have happened because appearances are all that matters to you guys."

"That's not true," Patricia said. "We just care about Skip and Lilly. We don't want them hurt."

"I don't want to hurt them either, but do you know what would be worse? To have a killer go free because I was too much of a wimp to ask a few questions. If Skip and Lilly really want to find out what happened to their son, they're going to have to deal with finding out some facts that they may not like. Now, if all they want is to keep up the happy and loving family façade, I can pack my suitcase and be on the red-eye back home tonight."

Mariah reached out to place her hand on his arm. She could feel the tension in the muscles under her fingers. "Ryan, calm down. I'm sure your father–"

"Right," he interrupted, his tone derisive. "He didn't mean anything by it. Of course, he meant it. He hates my job and he always has. He doesn't approve. End of story."

"We don't hate your job," Lilly said. "I guess we just don't understand it."

Jack shrugged, his own face a match to his son's. Neither was happy. "We've never said we didn't like your job, but it's true that we'd rather you did something else. Your mother was constantly worried that you were going to be hurt or shot when you were a police officer. Being in law enforcement is dangerous and you never thought about how your decisions affected everyone else."

Ryan threw his linen napkin on the table. "You mean that if I'd just done what you told me to, then everyone would be happy. That's everyone but me, Dad. I wouldn't be happy. I'm doing what I love and I'm trying to help one of your best friends. It's still not good enough for you. If I'm not doing what you want, you're disappointed in me. And now tonight you're even trying to tell me how to be a damn cop."

"I'm not telling you how to do your job, I'm just telling you that Skip wouldn't have known if Brad had a gambling problem. If he had, he would have gotten him some help."

Liza and Mike hadn't said much in the last few minutes and Mariah didn't blame them. When Ryan and Jack went down this road, it was best to let them do it alone. Even Patricia appeared to be done with the conversation. She looked like she had so much to say, but it was clear she wasn't going to say anything at all.

"I'll just repeat myself that I still have to ask him," Ryan ground out. "My job isn't to make everyone feel good about themselves. Sometimes I have to ask the hard questions that make people uncomfortable. Sometimes I have to be the son of a bitch that tells a wife that her husband has been cheating on her and now he's a suspect in his girlfriend's murder. That's just the way it