Page 31 of Deadly Scandals

Ashley

The taste of Mitch still lingered in my mouth, and I felt like a giddy schoolgirl. That kiss was nothing like I had imagined our first kiss would be. I had pictured him slamming me up against a wall, our mouths exploding together in hunger, longing, and lust.

But our first kiss had been more special. It was caring, comforting. Almost respectful.

And now, my heart wouldn’t stop fluttering in anticipation of our next one.

I had sworn up and down that I wouldn’t even consider dating Mitch. Why was I entertaining the possibility? Was it because I wanted to use him to crack this case? Was I that cold and calculating?

Or, even worse, was I having actual feelings for him? God, I was such a mess.

I couldn’t think about what my heart did or didn’t want right now. I had to focus on what the little girl with Mitch’s dark eyes and long, wavy brown hair had said.

Paul had been here.

Mitch touched my hand. “I’m going to get them to bed. Make yourself at home, but don’t go snooping around without me. I’ll be down in a bit.”

A rumble grew in my belly. Damn, we hadn’t even eaten dinner. “Sounds good. Are you hungry? Can I cook you something?” My cooking skills consisted of grilled cheese, spaghetti, and quesadillas, which, ironically, made me capable of making meals for Mitch’s kids.

“Yup. That would be great.”

He walked upstairs. A sad-looking Chihuahua cowered in the corner. I bent over to pet him, and he snarled at me. “You must be Taco.” I opened the back door and let him out into the yard.

Despite being way past midnight, a hot breeze blew in through the window. There were toys everywhere, dishes piled up, and unfolded laundry in baskets. I was standing inside Mitch’s ex-wife’s house, surrounded by her things. My life was so different than hers. I couldn’t even fathom being a parent. Not now, maybe not ever. But seeing Mitch as a father forced me to look at him in a new light. I could tell he loved his kids deeply. Maybe there was more to him than the cocky son of a bitch I had assumed him to be.

I opened the refrigerator to survey my options when something caught my eye. A Coronado Seacoast Pilsner craft beer and a handful of wine coolers.

I thought back to a night when I had first been undercover as Autumn. I had sat at a table in The Pickled Frog and just studied the Team guys. Mitch, April, Paul, and Dara had been there that night. I remembered noting in my phone that Mitch had ordered whiskey, and Paul had ordered a craft beer in a bottle. It was a small detail, definitely nothing to make a big deal about. But combined with what Sienna had said, and Mitch’s description of April’s reaction to Paul’s death, seeing the beer made me certain that Paul and April were sleeping together.

News flash. SEALs cheat. Hardly groundbreaking stuff.

But Paul had been married to April’s best friend, Dara. Why had April overdosed tonight? Because she loved Paul and was devastated that he had died? Maybe he’d had plans to leave Dara for April. Entirely possible.

But April had two beautiful kids. Why would she throw her life away over a dead lover?

Unless she felt guilty. Deep guilt, and not just about the fact that she was sleeping with her best friend’s husband. Maybe she knew that Paul had been in danger.

I wasn’t sure about anything. But something wasn’t adding up.

I texted Craig and told him that I was following up a lead in Vegas. Normally, he texted me back immediately. When I didn’t receive a response after a few minutes, I considered calling him. But it was late, so I decided to let it go.

I grabbed tortillas, chopped up some precooked chicken, and sprinkled in shredded Mexican cheese. A lone, dirty nonstick pan beckoned me to the sink to wash it. After it was clean and dry, I tossed the tortillas in the pan and placed the ingredients inside them. Mitch finally walked downstairs. I flipped the quesadillas onto plates and handed him one.

“Sorry. I suck at cooking.” I let Taco back inside the house.

Mitch didn’t say anything, just gobbled down the food. This was so awkward. I barely even knew this guy, and now I was playing house in his ex-wife’s kitchen.

“Any update on April?”

He shook his head. “No. Nothing. Her sister said they found some OxyContin near her. But she never did drugs. Never. I can’t believe she would do this while the kids were in the house. Did she want Sienna to find her dead in the morning?”

Mitch was a street-smart SEAL, but he wasn’t an investigator. He was also clearly blind to how deep this whole situation could go.

But I had already imagined all the possibilities.

I hesitated before I blurted out my suspicions. “Maybe someone forced her to take the pills.”

He gritted his teeth. “What are you talking about?”