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СКАЧАТЬ to Donna? Are you kidding? That paint you use must be getting to your brain.” He caught the waitress’s eye and twirled his finger for another round. “She’s too busy playing with her latest conquest to talk about her daughter. You should know that by now.”

      Anise squirmed. Discussing Kenneth’s ex, no matter how irresponsible she was, had never made Anise comfortable and now, she was about to earn that label herself. She would be the “ex.” She flashed ahead five years and imagined Kenneth sitting in another booth with another woman talking about Anise. “She was crazy,” he would pronounce. She imagined him twirling that same finger in a circular motion only this time beside his ear. “An artist. A real nutcase…”

      “…damn business doing just about as bad, too. Robin’s driving me nuts. I don’t know what the hell’s happening with my life.”

      Anise blinked and came back to the moment. “Why is Robin upset? What’s wrong at work?”

      His lips tightened with anger. “I just told you,” he said, his attitude nudging its way past edginess and into impatience. “You weren’t even listening, were you? Some things never change.”

      “Tell me again,” she said.

      Staring at her, he downed the rest of his drink then picked up the second one the waitress had delivered, his irritation deflating as quickly as it had come.

      “It’s nothing,” he said with a wave of his hand. “It doesn’t matter.”

      Anise started to press him, then stopped.

      The problem he had was most likely the same one that he usually had.

      Kenneth was always broke.

      The whole time they’d lived together, Anise had supported them. The money he made seemed to evaporate. Sarah had continually tried to get Anise to make Kenneth cut back, but she had never been successful.

      He grinned, his mood shifting again as he put his arm on the back of the booth, his eyes falling on her face. “You didn’t come here to listen to me complain, did you? You came here to get rid of my sorry ass….”

      Anise returned his smile before she could help herself. He could be so charming when he wanted to be. “I wouldn’t put it that way….”

      “But…”

      “But I do need your signature on some things, Kenneth. It’s time. We’ve gone over the details enough and my attorney is ready to move on. He wants to file next week. You have to sign these papers before we can do that.”

      He leaned across the table and put his hands on hers. “I think you’re making a mistake,” he said. “I think we’re making a mistake. I still love you, baby. And you love me. We could make this work if we tried a little harder.”

      “That’s not going to happen, Kenneth, and you know it. Don’t do this.”

      He stared at her a moment longer, then he leaned back and pressed his spine against the soft leather booth, his gaze distant, his mood swinging this time to thoughtfulness. Kenneth usually stayed on a pretty even keel but he was making her nervous tonight. The idea crossed her mind that he might even be taking something. It wouldn’t be the first time. For another two seconds, he simply sat there, then he seemed to wake up. Thrusting his hand inside his coat pocket, he pulled out the black Mont Blanc she’d given him for their first anniversary. The irony apparently escaped him.

      “Where do I sign?”

      She removed the sheaf of blue-covered documents from her purse and pointed to the spots her attorney’s secretary had flagged. Kenneth scratched his signature on each line without comment then capped the pen. His gaze met hers. “So that’s it?”

      She nodded.

      He waited a beat and for some reason she thought he might kiss her but he reached for his wallet instead. Throwing some bills on the table, he slid out of the booth then held his hand to hers. Surprised by his readiness to leave but too grateful to question it, she stood as well.

      “Let me walk you to your car,” he said.

      “That’s not necessary….”

      “I know it’s not,” he answered, “but I want to.”

      She hesitated because of his erratic behavior then chastised herself. He was upset and had had a bad day but he was trying to be nice. What was her problem? “Sure,” she said. “That’d be fine….”

      “Great. I’ll just be a minute.” He headed for the rear of the restaurant where the restrooms were located, the crowd swallowing him. Before Anise could decide to wait outside or in, a cell phone started to ring. The sound drew her eyes to the table they’d just vacated. Kenneth’s black Motorola was still on the marble top. He’d forgotten it.

      She debated whether or not to answer, then remembered what he’d said about a phone call. It might be Brittany. She’d hate for the girl to think he was ignoring her. Misunderstandings like that fed right into Donna’s lies. Anise picked up the phone and hit the receive button. An angry female voice buzzed in her ear.

      “You aren’t going to get away with this, Kenneth. I know what you’re trying to do and it’s not going to happen. I don’t give a damn what else is going on, I’ve had enough. I’m ready for this to stop and I’m not kidding this time!”

      The venom behind the speaker’s voice shocked Anise into silence. She’d never heard anyone speak with such virulent rage.

      The caller continued, the malice only growing more intense. “I’ll see you dead first, Kenneth. I swear to God, I’ll see you dead. And that’s not a threat…it’s a promise.”

      CHAPTER TWO

      THE LINE WENT SILENT after that.

      Standing in the center of the now-packed bar, Anise closed the phone to stare at the blinking display. A single word filled the caller ID screen. Private.

      The next instant the hostess went by, a cadre of laughing women following her to the table Anise and Kenneth had just abandoned. Moving as quickly as she could, Anise waded through the crowd and stepped outside. The muggy air she’d cursed thirty minutes before suddenly felt good. She was chilled, she realized, even a little shaky.

      Who on earth would want to say such vicious things to Kenneth? What had he gotten himself into? Was his business situation that bad? She wished she’d listened closer even though it wasn’t really her problem anymore. Maybe his money troubles were more serious than she’d thought. The idea took her straight to Donna. Had it been her? Anise bit her bottom lip and tried to recall the voice but she’d been so surprised by the words she hadn’t concentrated on the speaker. She couldn’t discount Brittany, either. More than once, she’d heard the girl refer to her father by his given name. With the instinctive cruelty of a teenager she’d known calling him Kenneth would hurt him.

      But a death threat was pretty serious. Even for Brittany.

      Anise heard her name and turned in time to see Kenneth pushing his way out the door. “My God, it’s getting packed in there,” he said as he reached her side. “Where did all these people come from?”

      She СКАЧАТЬ