Page 38 of Deadly Scandals

Mitch

Ipiled the kids, the pets, and Ashley into my ex’s minivan. Make that my minivan. It was still in my name, but April used it since she had the kids. Not anymore. And I hoped that if things progressed with Ashley the way I wanted them to, I would be able to create a stable home with her for my kids.

Stable. Ha. What a joke. I was a motherfucking SEAL—the exact opposite of stable. But I craved that normalcy. My job was so erratic, deploying all around the world, killing terrorists, I wanted to come home to peace. All I wanted was a hot woman to fuck, someone who loved me and was faithful when I was gone. And though I had been scared to become a father at such a young age, I adored my kids. They were my reason for living, my reason for making it through war, the reason I came home. And I’d love to have a few more.

I popped a Disney movie into the player and prepared for the long drive to San Diego. I would drop the pets off at Grant’s place so he could watch them, then head up to Anaheim. We made a quick pit stop at the gas station to fill up and grab some snacks before leaving Las Vegas. Road trip, baby.

Ashley leaned her body against the passenger side door, and she stared out the window. Maybe I was paranoid, but I felt like she was trying to get as far away from me as possible. I reached out and gripped her thigh.

“You okay?”

“Yup. Just tired.”

Tired? Not likely. Yeah, I’d fucked her all night, but I had also let her sleep late. She was pulling back from me. Maybe I was overwhelming her with my kids. But I didn’t go slow, not at work and not in my personal life. I was one-hundred percent, full-on into her.

“Well, take a nap. We’ll be there in five hours.”

She didn’t respond and instead curled up in a ball away from me.

Man, I would never understand women. She had been totally into me last night. Even though I had kissed her, I’d had no intention of seducing her after I’d first said good night. Not that I hadn’t wanted to—I’d had every plan to get her in bed when we were still on our date in San Diego. But once I’d had to go to Las Vegas and she’d asked to come with me, I hadn’t wanted to make her uncomfortable. I had cherished our kiss and thought that would be that until we got back to San Diego.

But she had been the one to open the door, wearing nothing but her lingerie and heels. Like hell was I going to resist her, not after I had wanted her for so long.

I cranked up the rock music in the car, grateful that the kids had their headphones for their movies.

I still needed to figure out if Paul had been fucking April. And was I a sick fuck for being angry that April seemed more upset that Paul had died than she had when we had broken up? Probably.

I still hoped, for my kids’ sake, she pulled through.

Five hours later, we were back in San Diego. I dropped the pets off at Grant’s place and noted that Ashley didn’t get out of the car to greet Mia. I assumed Ashley still hated her guts. Well, she would have to get over it if we started dating. Grant was my best friend in the world and Mia was his wife. And I knew Mia was innocent.

I stopped by my place to get some clothes, swung by Ashley’s so she could pick up her things, and we headed up to Anaheim, with a pit stop at a drive-thru for the kids. It had been a long day, but my kids were so excited to go to Disneyland tomorrow that they didn’t complain. And I was just thrilled to be able to spend this much time with them.

We finally arrived at the Grand Californian Hotel and Spa. It was gorgeous—reminded me of my favorite hotel in Yosemite, with its rustic feel and craftsman theme. I had reserved a suite—I didn’t make much money as a SEAL but everything I had, I spent on my kids. They were exhausted, so they quickly went to sleep, eager to wake up bright and early so we could hit Magic Mountain.

After I put them down, I started a fire in the fireplace in the suite and sat next to Ashley. She was dressed casually in a red shirt and cutoffs. Without her business suit, she didn’t look like a badass NCIS agent. She could’ve been just another sexy Southern California blonde, but she was so much more than her looks.

Her gaze focused on the gigantic carousel wheel in the distance, and I could tell she wanted to be anywhere but here, with anyone but me.

But I didn’t give up that easily.

“What’s wrong, babe? Hate Mickey Mouse?”

“No, that’s not it. I actually have never been to Disneyland.”

“What? You’ve never been to Disneyland? You live less than two hours away.”

She sighed. “Yeah, I know. Never went as a kid and never had anyone ask me to go as an adult. I don’t know. It seemed frivolous to go alone.”

“It’s anything but frivolous. I’m here for my kids, but I love it. They’re building a Star Wars Land, too. I guess I’m just a big kid at heart. We’re going to have a great time.”

My last line caused her to smile, and she finally turned toward me. “You surprise me, Mitch. I couldn’t stand you when I met you. I thought you were a misogynistic asshole.”

“Misogynist? No. I love women. Love them. I was just bitter last year. But what about you? I mean, Autumn was the life of the party. I know she’s lurking in you somewhere. Let Autumn free.”

She shook her head. “Autumn was an act. I can’t turn my mind off. I want to, I do. But I’m obsessed. Consumed. By this case. By the Cruz case. By my sister’s case.”

And there it was. I knew what I needed to do to get her to trust me. But I wasn’t playing a game. I wanted her to fall for me.