Read Online Behind Shadows: A Psychological Mystery Thriller (The Adam Stanley Series Book 1) by Netta Newbound - Free Book Online

shake of his head he went into the lounge to watch the news, but switched the television off after a few minutes. He couldn't concentrate.
    His thoughts returned to his wife. He had loved her, maybe still did in a way, but she frustrated the hell out of him.
    He'd tried his best to be faithful, but it wasn’t easy. Amanda was every red-blooded man's dream with her tall figure that was on the skinny side of slim—natural blonde hair and pretty face. But emotionally, he always found himself on the outside with no chance of getting in.
    There had been the odd bit on the side over the years—nothing more than most men got up to. But then he met up with Toni four months ago. He’d known her from school, but they hadn't seen each other in years. He found her in the supermarket car park shaken up and crying—she’d been attacked by a hooded youth who’d snatched her bag.
    Michael stayed with her while she waited for the police to arrive. Afterwards, he took her for coffee and waited with her until she calmed down.
    They'd been seeing each other ever since—and not just for sex, although she was a minx in the bedroom—or bathroom as Amanda had discovered. In the beginning, they'd meet several times a week at the park or playground. Initially, it was just for a chat, but after a while they began having wild, sexy romps every Tuesday and Thursday at Toni's house.
    He would drop the children off at the day-care—another thing Amanda would go stark staring mad about. She expected him to stay there with them when all the other parents dropped their kids off, but he'd felt like a weirdo hanging about the nursery.
    Now a detective had turned up on their doorstep, for whatever reason, and it had knocked her for six. What the fuck had she been up to?
     
    After making sure the children were sound asleep, Michael poured two glasses of wine.
    He was wary about confronting Amanda, knowing she'd want her own answers about Toni. However, the desperation to find out what had been going on with his ordinarily boring wife overshadowed everything else.
    Amanda was sitting with her feet curled underneath her on the sofa. She wore white pyjama bottoms and a purple T-shirt with a large white smiley face across the front. She seemed miles away.
    "Here you go, Mand, get this down you, love," he said as he handed her the wine and sat down next to her.
    "Thank you." She took the glass from him and placed it on the coffee table without taking a sip.
    "Right, Mand, are you gonna tell me what the police wanted?" The suspense was driving him mad.
    She turned towards him as if seeing him for the first time. "They're looking for someone...someone from my past," her voice seemed very far away.
    "Who?" He sat staring at her, waiting for her reply. He was about to ask the question again when she shuddered and looked at him.
    "Does it matter who?”
    “Yes, of course it does,” he said.
    “It’s just someone I haven't thought about in a long time and never intended to think about again.” She gave a huge sigh. “I couldn't help the detective so let's just forget it, shall we?" Her hands shook as she reached for her glass.
    "You're obviously still upset. What could be so terrible you can't tell me? I won't let you come to any harm, Manda. Who is it?" he urged. He couldn't begin to imagine what had got her this worried.
    "My dad," she whispered.
    He shook his head in confusion. "Who? Did you say your dad ?" His voice had gone up a few octaves.
    She nodded.
    "You said your dad was dead along with the rest of your family." He pushed himself back on the sofa, wanting to put some distance between them. "What the hell’s going on, Amanda? Why would you say something like that?"
    "Because I wished he was dead, that’s why,” she said. “He's a horrible, sick man who’s been in prison for the past ten years. I found out today that they released him six weeks ago." She slammed her glass down onto the table, the wine sloshing everywhere.
    She turned to face