He opened his mouth but I didn't let him speak.
"Did you really think that I wouldn't wonder why both my mortgage and car loan were sold to the same lender? Or look into it?"
His mouth closed with a click.
"You were adamant that you weren't going to let Monica control your life, or Jacks' life. But now, here we are. You broke up with me because she threatened me. You didn't talk to me about it. You didn't give me a chance to make any decisions for myself about my life. And that's not okay, Brody."
"It wasn't supposed to be permanent," he replied.
I shook my head. "Wanting to back off until the situation was resolved, I would have understood. But you made a unilateral decision that affected both of us, without consulting me. And you know, you know, that's not how a healthy relationship works. I've heard Mom lecture you and J.J. both about how important communication is for a couple. Not just talking, but listening, too."
"If you're so upset with me about this, why are you here?" he asked, getting to his feet. "Do you think I wanted to do things that way?" He laughed, a harsh sound. "It wasn't just your house and car that she was holding over my head, Cam. She's trying to set me up so that I lose custody of Jacks. And I'm not falling in line like she thinks I am. I've made a plan and set things in motion to make sure that none of that happens." He shoved his hands through his hair and turned his back on me. "When all is said and done, Monica will only have supervised visitation because I don't trust her not to try this shit again. I always thought she was too lazy to go this far, but I underestimated how vindictive she would be."
"How's she setting you up to take Jacks away?" I asked. There was a lot of information in that speech, but I focused on the first thing that caught my attention.
"She sent some things home with Jacks after their vacation. I didn't think anything of it until she started threatening you and me." He turned to face me. "Want to know what I found?" His expression was haunted. "She bugged me. Or paid someone to do it. She sent a picture home with Jacks of the two of them together. Jacks insisted we put it in the living room. I found out later it was because Monica insisted on it. She wanted Jacks to put the picture somewhere where she and Daddy could both see it. She manipulated our daughter so she could spy on us. But that's not the worst of it," he stated.
Shit, how much worse could this get?
Brody's next words convinced me that it could get a lot, lot worse.
"Once I found the bug, I decided to check out everything that Monica sent home with Jacks. Clothing. Toys." He grimaced. "I found drugs hidden in a stuffed animal. I'm pretty sure that Monica's plan to have Jacks permanently removed from my custody was to call the police and claim she found it when Jacks came back for another visit."
My heart sank. "Oh, my God. Why would she do something like that? And where did she get the drugs?"
Brody shrugged. "I don't know how she got the cocaine, but she does live in Plano, so it's not as if she couldn't find someone."
"It's cocaine?" I asked, my voice high. What would have happened if Jacks found it? Or it busted open inside the stuffed animal? I knew next to nothing about illegal drugs, but I was pretty sure that situation wouldn't have a happy ending.
"The private investigator I hired is helping me document everything. We're getting ready to file for an emergency injunction and to report all this to the police. I know for a fact that Monica likes to dabble in this sort of thing, so I wouldn't be surprised if she has more at her place."
"What happens if she calls the police or CPS before you're ready?"
"She's negotiating with me for more money," Brody admitted. "My best course of action until everything is in place is to play along. That's why I ended things. Monica is smug. She thinks that she has the upper hand here. I have to keep it that way. At least for a while."
"You know, I would have understood all this if you'd just told me what was going on," I replied. "I would have agreed to a fake separation. I'm pretty sure I could pretend to be heartbroken quite well if necessary."
"Cam." Brody said my name as though that should be answer enough.
"I am so fucking mad at you right now," I stated. "And I hate being mad at people. It gives me a headache."
Brody reached out and took my hand. "I'm sorry."
"I can't even get my petty revenge because I don't want to hurt you more on top of what Monica is doing," I griped.
"Um, I'm okay with that."
I glowered at him. "Of course you are."
"Do you think you can get over being mad at me? Eventually?" he asked.
"I didn't know for sure when I realized what you were doing and why, but when I saw you today, I knew I could."
Brody's shoulders relaxed.
"But it could take a while," I continued. "Maybe even a few months. Or a year. Or two."
His body tensed again. "A year or two?" he asked.
"You fucked up big time, Brody. Not because you put Jacks first. I would never be mad at you for that. Not even because you decided the best thing to do would be to break up with me. Your mistake was not talking to me about it. What happens the next time Monica starts her shit? Or something else happens? If we go the distance, you know that I'm going to expect you to be open with me."
Brody didn't let go of my hand, even though my words made him look even more beaten down. "I'm almost afraid to tell you why I did it?"
I frowned at him but didn't say anything else.
"You're already mad at me and I'm a little worried that this will push you over the edge," he admitted. "I'm too young to die and I have a daughter to think about."
I rolled my eyes. "I wouldn't kill you. That would be letting you off too easily."
Brody's eyes flared with mirth but the expression disappeared quickly. "I've been a single dad for a while now, even before Monica and I separated. She never really had much to do with Jacks. She always hired nannies to take care of the day-to-day stuff. Then, when we separated, I promised to keep supporting her as long as Jacks came with me. She has a trust fund, but she blows her monthly stipend within a week of its release. I knew having a daughter would make it hard for us. And there's Monica. Just when I think I know her, she mutates. Like a virus. I was worried that if I told you what was really happening, you would leave me."
"You thought that I'd decide you were too much work?" I asked. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I'd loved this man since he was just a boy. How could he believe that about me?
"It's a little more complicated than that."
"Seriously?" I asked him. I jerked my hand loose and jumped to my feet, pacing back and forth in front of his desk. "Do I really strike you as that flaky?"
"No, of course not," Brody answered. "But I know it's a lot. I'm not a good bet. I have a daughter who will always come first. An ex who likes to make my life hell. And parents you despise. Three strikes, I'm out."
I threw my hands up in the air and made a loud sound of frustration. Why were men so dense?