скачать книгу бесплатно
The Secrets She Kept
Brenda Novak
Exciting, emotional, intense. The thrilling follow-up to New York Times bestselling author Brenda Novak’s highly acclaimed The Secret Sister. The things that happen in families are always surprising and sometimes shocking!
The rich and powerful Josephine Lazarow, matriarch of Fairham Island, is dead. The police say it’s suicide, but Keith, her estranged son, doesn’t believe it.
Keith bears scars—both physical and emotional—from his childhood, but he’s worked hard to overcome the past. After walking away from his mother and her controlling ways five years ago, he’s built a new life in LA. He’s also accumulated a fortune of his own. But as soon as he learns of his mother’s death, he returns to Fairham. He feels he owes it to his grandfather to put the family empire together again—and he’s determined to find his mother’s killer.
Problem is…coming home to Fairham puts him back in contact with Nancy Dellinger, the woman he hurt so badly when he left before. And digging that deep into his mother’s final days and hours entails a very real risk.
Because the person who killed her could be someone he loves…
Praise for the novels of New York Times bestselling author Brenda Novak
“Completely engrossing with a twist at the end you wouldn’t dare dream of!”
—RT Book Reviews on The Secret Sister
“Great storytelling knows no genre… Exceedingly well written and told by a master of her craft.”
—Providence Journal on A Winter Wedding
“Another engrossing addition to Novak’s addictive [Whiskey Creek] series.”
—Library Journal on This Heart of Mine
“One needn’t wonder why Novak is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author. Just read Come Home to Me.”
—Examiner.com
“The past impacts the present with devastating but ultimately salutary results in this engrossing, character-rich story that takes a hard look at responsibility, loyalty, and the results of telling (or concealing) the truth.”
—Library Journal on Home to Whiskey Creek
“It’s steamy, it’s poignant, it’s perfectly paced—it’s When Lightning Strikes and you don’t want to miss it!”
—USATODAY.com’s Happy Ever After blog
“Gripping, frightening, and intense…a compelling romance as well as a riveting and suspenseful mystery… Novak delivers another winner.”
—Library Journal on The Perfect Liar
“Strong characters bring the escalating suspense to life, and the mystery is skillfully played out. Novak’s smooth plotting makes for a great read.”
—Publishers Weekly on Dead Right
“Well written, nicely paced, filled with appealing characters, and laced with a few surprises.”
—Library Journal on Dead Right
“Impressive! This is a sharp-edged, well-plotted story that showcases Novak’s superb storytelling skill.”
—RT Book Reviews on Dead Giveaway
The Secrets She Kept
Brenda Novak
www.mirabooks.co.uk
To all families who aren’t quite perfect…
Contents
Back Cover Text (#uaaf14ce8-b36d-591a-b96a-5b05d1ca97c1)
Praise (#u40824009-c171-5dc2-aedf-28df1b065afd)
Title Page (#ubf06cbc9-73cc-5af5-851c-9e158ab91379)
Dedication (#u7ec74988-fb88-5986-94ac-f02f62a2d4c6)
Chapter 1 (#ub0ba995d-e909-5193-81aa-9027f2744a1b)
Chapter 2 (#ubc84aa1c-596e-561d-a533-92d69020ae51)
Chapter 3 (#u299f5be6-7101-52ee-81a9-8df4568a22ee)
Chapter 4 (#ue05c0b49-daae-5063-a6ad-8f5996ff1bc4)
Chapter 5 (#u37821fee-5849-57f4-9657-6d85eb27a7cc)
Chapter 6 (#u0d0e84a8-0146-5c8c-b7cc-025328d98ca2)
Chapter 7 (#u964b8f98-a2fb-5b92-8f13-d2b1230be4be)
Chapter 8 (#ubaabf035-bf6a-591a-b6d2-64068c68eafb)
Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 23 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 24 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 25 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 26 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 27 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 28 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 29 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 30 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 31 (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Author’s Note (#litres_trial_promo)
The Secrets She Kept Reader’s Guide (#litres_trial_promo)
Questions for Discussion (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
1 (#u8ed10f00-acea-5fdf-aa03-d128a18c557a)
Los Angeles, California
THE CALL CAME in the middle of the night. Keith Lazarow was so deeply asleep that he probably wouldn’t have heard his phone if not for the attractive brunette who stirred in bed beside him.
“Aren’t you going to answer that?” she mumbled.
“No.” He was too exhausted. Five years ago, he’d replaced the drugs he’d once used to anesthetize himself against the demons of his past with daily cross-fit training. High-intensity exercise was the only thing that could command his full focus and calm his mind. It forced the anger and resentment back into the shadows so he could be functional instead of destructive. But once he’d left the gym, Dahlia Dooley—someone he’d met at a charity event downtown last week—had called and asked to come over, and after that, he’d put in a completely different sort of workout. After expending that much energy, he felt he could sleep for a week, which was nice, since he used to have trouble sleeping at all.
Dahlia rolled onto her other side and, seconds later, his phone stopped making noise.
He’d just begun to sink back into blissful oblivion when the buzzing started again.
Dahlia yawned. “There must be something wrong at work.”
No, he didn’t have anything to worry about there. He wasn’t a policeman or a medical health professional; he was in real estate. Over the last five years, he’d acquired quite a collection of large commercial properties—office buildings, warehouses, shopping malls and strip centers. But he had property managers as well as project managers to take care of his holdings. If there was a problem, those were the people who’d be getting disturbed after hours, not him. He handled acquisitions, which was the fun part, and he had nothing particularly important on the horizon—nothing that he might get a panic call about, anyway. Whatever this was, it could wait until he’d had his wheatgrass juice in the morning and was ready to turn on his computer.
Unless...
He shot up in bed and grabbed for his phone. Sure enough, it was his sister Maisey calling from South Carolina. They’d always been close, but these days she had her husband, Rafe, who did such a good job of loving Maisey, his daughter, Laney, and Bryson, the two-year-old boy they’d had together, that Keith never worried about them. He and Maisey spoke on the phone every week, and she’d flown out to visit him three or four times since he left Fairham Island—twice with her family—but she never called in the middle of the night.
Something had to be wrong...
His stomach cramped at the thought.
With a curse, he gazed at the LED screen while trying to collect his faculties.
When he continued to let it ring, Dahlia mumbled, “What is it?”
Suddenly wishing she’d gone home instead of staying over, he looked at her tousled head. “Nothing. Go back to sleep. I’ll take it in the study.”
Lord knew his house was big enough to provide him with plenty of privacy. Nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains overlooking Malibu, where he had a gorgeous view of the ocean, the ten-bedroom rambler had once belonged to Robert De Niro. The place was way too big for a man who lived alone, and coming here every night meant he added a time-consuming commute to his day. A condo downtown would’ve been more efficient and would’ve suited him just as well, since he rarely entertained. But he supposed he was still trying to prove to his megalomaniac mother that he really didn’t need the fortune she’d held over his head for so long.
Who would’ve guessed he’d be as adept at making money as his beloved grandfather?
No one. Until he’d walked away from the Coldiron empire and everything he stood to gain by staying, and started making it on his own, even he would never have dreamed he had it in him. After winning his first million as a professional poker player, which required no education at all—a good thing, since he hadn’t paid attention while he was getting his degree in communications—he’d invested in real estate, where he earned even more money—so much that he eventually quit poker, other than the odd charity tournament now and then.
Before he could pull on a pair of pajama bottoms and move to a room where he felt comfortable speaking to Maisey, the call transferred to voice mail. He waited to see if she’d leave a message, give him some indication of what was going on, so he’d be prepared when he talked to her. But she didn’t.
“Come on, Mais,” he muttered and called her back.
“There you are,” she said, sounding tense, breathless, as if she’d panicked when she couldn’t reach him.
He tried to control his own anxiety. “You’re surprised I didn’t answer right away? Gee, I wonder why I didn’t. Could it be that it’s four o’clock in the morning?”
“I’m sorry.”
He regretted his sarcasm when she didn’t come back at him with her own smart-ass comment. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I was joking. What’s going on?” Holding the phone that much tighter, he lowered his voice. “You okay?”
“I’m...fine, I think.” Her voice broke, telling him that she wasn’t fine at all.
His heart began to pound so hard his chest hurt. “Is it Rafe? Or the kids?” When Keith left Fairham Island, Maisey had been so in love with the building contractor and his blind little girl that Keith thought he could rely on his sister’s happiness indefinitely. The confidence he’d had in Rafe was the only thing that had made it possible for him to turn his back on South Carolina without the guilt that would otherwise have dragged him back.
