Page 29 of Deadly Scandals

Mitch

Man, I needed a whiskey. But I couldn’t drink, not now. I had to be one hundred percent sober tonight. The cops had informed me that my kids were at a neighbor’s house. She had agreed to keep them until I arrived. I had to be on my best behavior.

Overdosed? April had fucking overdosed? The bitch didn’t even use at all, at least not when I was with her. I was no saint—I’d partied with the best of them. Hell, I’d brought the party most nights. Coke, speed, Molly. But never, ever around the kids. I didn’t even drink around them.

And why on earth would she overdose? Had it been on purpose? Because of Paul? She must’ve been fucking him. That motherfucker was lucky he was dead. If I’d found out that he had been screwing the mother of my kids, I would’ve killed him myself.

Not because I was jealous. Hell no. That bitch could fuck a terrorist and I wouldn’t care. But I didn’t want a shady motherfucker like Paul around my kids.

Ashley’s head rested on my shoulder. Her fruity shampoo was like a different type of drug for me. I couldn’t recall having ever been this attracted to a woman in my life. I had always had a thing for Mia, mainly because I’d loved how she’d treated Grant when they’d first started dating, but Ash was completely different. She was so put-together, so smart, so accomplished. She didn’t need a man. But I wanted her to need me.

Why had she agreed to accompany me to Vegas? I would have liked to believe that it was because she was crazy about me, but I wasn’t that conceited. Did she suspect me of Paul’s murder? Did she know something about April and Paul?

For once in my life, I didn’t have a clue what the fuck was going on. All I knew was that I was grateful I had this beautiful woman by my side to get through this mess.

I loved my kids more than anything. But honestly, I barely knew them. I’d been deployed so much. I would definitely need help, now that it looked like I’d have a chance to take custody of them, at least temporarily. I knew that Mia and some other Team wives would offer to watch them while I was at work if I could get permission to bring them back to San Diego. But if I had any hope of getting permanent custody, I needed to get my act together. Move to a bigger place in a good school district or maybe get base housing. I’d have to figure out the details later. For now, I just wanted to see my kids.

The Vegas lights came into view from my tiny window, and my hands began to shake. I was never nervous—not even when I was about to kill a man. My muscles quivered. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was about to get involved in something bigger than a drug overdose.

The plane touched down, and Ashley sat up straight in her chair.

I checked my phone for texts from April’s family—no improvement. She was still in a medically induced coma. Fuck. I may hate her, but I didn’t want her to die. My kids loved her. They needed their mother.

Ashley placed her hand on my thigh, sending a jolt to my cock. “Any news?”

“Nothing has changed. April is still in a coma.” I paused, unsure if I should tell Ashley about my suspicions. But she was about to investigate every aspect of Paul’s life. Paul was dead, and my ex wasn’t capable of speaking. I had to know the truth. “She called me today. Completely upset.”

Ashley’s eyebrow cocked. “Oh, really? Why? She’s friends with Dara, right?”

“Yeah. Best friends. But April kept asking if I knew what happened to Paul. I’m not going to lie. My first thought was that she was fucking him.”

Ash’s mouth flew open and then quickly closed. “Why did you think that? You knew Paul. You all used to hang out together with your wives. Did you ever see him flirting with your wife?”

I shot her a cold stare. “Ex-wife. And no, at the time, I never thought they were involved. But April has always been a flirt. She was always trying to make me jealous.”

Before Ashley could interrogate me more, we disembarked from the plane. A limo picked us up to take us to my kids.

Ashley leaned close to me. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, and she didn’t flinch at my touch. “Can I ask you why you got a divorce?”

Fuck. I had walked into this line of questioning. But I wanted Ashley to know. If I had any shot with her, I had to tell her the truth.

“We were young, had kids when we were kids ourselves. Being a SEAL certainly didn’t help. But I’m not going to blame the demise of the marriage on my job or on April. Hell no. I’d fucked up, too. Yes, she cheated on me during my first deployment. I never forgave her, even though I tried. But then I cheated out of revenge. Once we started fighting all the time in front of the kids, I knew we had to end it. I was raised in a fucked-up household. I wasn’t going to do that to my kids.”

I kept my next thought to myself. While I didn’t regret divorcing April, I sometimes thought that enduring all the drama would’ve been worth it because at least I would be able to see my kids every day that I was in-country.

Ashley gave me a sympathetic nod. I wondered if she immediately dismissed any chance of dating me, now that I’d confessed to cheating on my ex. A woman like her wouldn’t want to waste her time on a divorced single dad SEAL. These days, women used me as much as I used them. I was nothing but a good time.

But I craved something deeper.

We were stuck in traffic, and I counted down the minutes until I could hug my kids again. My mind started churning, making a list of things I had to do. But Ashley interrupted my thoughts by cuddling closer and hugging me.

I hugged her back, pressing her tight little body against mine. After a minute, she pulled away.

“What was that for?”

She smiled and squeezed my hand. “Even a big, badass Navy SEAL sometimes needs a hug.”

The driver finally pulled up to the house across the street from April’s. I raced out of the car, not even waiting for Ashley, but she quickly followed. I was getting ready to knock when the door flew open.