The Secret Brokers Read Online Free Page A

their wedding a few weeks back. I know Billy would have loved to have had you there.”
    Dallas hesitated for a moment before he spoke. “I, ah, thought perhaps it would be best if I wasn’t there considering everything that has happened.”
    “Billy knows we did what was best for Nicci at the time. He may not have liked our decision to fake her death and give her a new identity, but he understands why we did it. As long as she’s safe, that’s all Billy really cares about.”
    They walked on for a bit in silence. Lance gave Dallas a once over with his green eyes and then stopped walking just as the two men reached the stairwell.
    “And she’s fine, Dallas. She’s as big as a house, bitching up a storm about her swollen feet, and buying up every pink scrap of baby clothing she can find.”
    “It’s a girl?” Dallas queried as the ache inside of his chest kicked into his gut.
    “They’re gonna name her Ellen.”
    Dallas gave Lance a weak attempt at a smile. “I’m happy for them.”
    Lance shook his head as he stared at Dallas. “I know how you felt about her—hell, we all knew—but trust me; watching the woman you love end up with a man that makes her happy is hard as hell, but it’s the right thing to do. The day I watched Nicci’s mother walk down the aisle to my brother, it damn near shattered my heart. But with time, I realized he was the better man for her. You’ll eventually feel the same way about David.”
    “What’s done is done, Lance. I can’t go back and change the past. She was always David’s,” Dallas mumbled as he turned back to the stairwell.
    “That’s what your lips may be saying, but it ain’t what your heart is telling you, Dallas.” Lance stepped over to his side. “It’s written all over your face. I’ve been where you are, and I know exactly how you feel, and no amount of booze or broads is gonna help diminish that hole inside of your chest. Just don’t make the same mistakes I did— don’t waste a lifetime preoccupied with what could have been when an opportunity for a different kind of happiness comes along.”
    Dallas smirked . “What different kind of happiness, Lance?”
    “It may not be the happiness you wanted with her, but it will be the happiness you need with someone else.”
    “And what has it taken, five different someone else’s to help you forget about Ellen?”
    “You’re not me, Dallas. Yours is that self-destructive kind of heartache —that’s why you bury yourself in a world where no one knows you and no one gives a damn if you disappear. But just because you stopped caring, don’t shut out the rest of us who still do care about you. You might miss your opportunity to discover that different kind of happiness when it finally does come along.”
    Dallas took a breath as he eyed the frenzied faces of travelers darting about the airport terminal. “Yeah, well, these days I’m more concerned about keeping everyone else happy. Between Carl Bordonaro and the mountain of problems Simon’s death created, there really isn’t a whole lot of time in my life for anything other than this world I have buried myself in.”
    Lance patted his shoulder and turned back to the stairs. “You never know, Ms. Right could be around the next corner, waiting to sweep you off your feet and send you headlong into your first divorce.”
    Dallas shook his head as he followed Lance down the stairs to the baggage claim on the lower level.
    “There is one thing I’m curious about, Lance,” Dallas commented as the two men emerged into the lower level of the airport. Dallas took in the large line of baggage belts sitting idle before him. “Why did Carl insist I handle this job?”
    Lance shrugged. “He knew I spoke highly of you. He knows of your reputation for getting the job done no matter what. And after everything that he did for us last summer, he figured you owed him. Carl prefers it when people owe him—he feels it keeps them honest.”
    Dallas leaned in