I woke the next morning in a haze. Mitch was no longer in my bed, which was a blessing since I didn’t want his kids to find us together, but his absence didn’t erase the fact that he had fucked me last night. All night.

God, what had I been thinking?

One night, Ashley. You can’t go one night without fucking him.

Bad boys had always been my weakness. Ever since Bobby Mancini had snuck me out of my house and fucked me in the baseball dugout when I was only fourteen, I’d known these rebels were my vice. I had tried to date good guys, but I would always get bored and break the relationship off.

But once I had graduated from college, I had sworn off men. I vowed to be completely and totally focused on my career. As a female NCIS agent, I had to be smarter, more professional, and harder working than my male peers in order to get respect. Equality was only a catchphrase. The absolute last thing I should be doing was fucking a witness.

Or . . . a suspect.

Oh, my God!

What the fuck was wrong with me?

Mitch was a suspect. He had found Paul. And now I had learned that Paul had probably been fucking Mitch’s ex-wife! Of course, Mitch was now a suspect. I had just slept with the devil. Had I been so high on his testosterone that I had completely ignored any clues? Maybe Mitch’s plan all along had been to fuck me so good that I couldn’t see straight and then I wouldn’t suspect him at all of murder.

And I had fallen right into the trap.

He had fed me all these lines about how he had always wanted me, but that wasn’t true. I’d been on the goddam Cruz case. He had been messing around with Mia. Flirting with her, not me. Well, at least not until the end.

How had I been so blind?

My body temperature rose, and self-loathing filled my soul.

I was sleeping with the enemy. It didn’t matter that I’d come more times last night alone than I had during my entire relationship with my previous boyfriend. It didn’t matter that Mitch was so ridiculously hot that I couldn’t get enough of his cock. It didn’t matter that he’d devoured my pussy like a starving man at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

All that mattered was that I’d probably just fucked a murderer.

I had to get out of here. I had to get back to work.

I grabbed my phone to call an Uber to take me to the airport, but I didn’t even know the address of this place. I hurriedly got dressed in last night’s clothes and prayed I could sneak out of the house before Mitch could find me.

I put my heels in my purse and opened the door. I hoped Mitch would be upstairs with his kids and I could sneak out and not see him for my walk of shame. But I never had any luck.

Mitch was making pancakes, and his kids were watching TV on the sofa. How had I not heard them this morning? Maybe he had drugged me in my sleep. I needed a toxicology report . . . stat.

He walked over to me and attempted to kiss me, but I turned my cheek. “Good morning, sunshine. I did my best to keep the kids quiet so you could get a good night’s sleep. You’ll need it. I plan to wear you out tonight.”

Oh, lord. Was he for real? Last night had been a one night stand. An itch I’d needed to scratch. It would not, could not, happen again.

He handed me a mug of coffee. Sienna bounded up to me. “Good morning, Miss Ashley.”

I spit out my coffee. I hadn’t even been introduced to them properly last night. Who had Mitch told them I was?

“Morning, sweetie.”

“Daddy, are the pancakes ready?”

“One second, Princess.”

Sienna obediently sat at the kitchen table while Samuel remained glued to the dog cartoon on the television.

I didn’t want to be heartless. These poor kids’ mother was in the hospital. But I didn’t know the first thing about children. And if I wasn’t going to get seriously involved with their dad, I needed to exit stage left. I didn’t want to confuse them.

Mitch flipped the pancakes, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw that they had chocolate chips in them and were made in shape of Mickey Mouse. I knew with his work schedule that there was no way he would be able to see his kids regularly, which was sad. He clearly enjoyed being a father.

He had been with me when his ex-wife overdosed. Was I his alibi? Just like I had been Grant’s alibi the night of Tiffany’s murder. Maybe Mitch had killed Paul and had sent someone to drug his wife so he would get custody of his kids. He did have a key to this place. He could’ve made a copy. Ugh, that seemed like a far reach, but nothing surprised me when it came to these SEALs. They were trained killers, after all. And he clearly hated his ex-wife. Was Mitch a sociopath?

Or was I just crazy? It was possible Mitch was completely innocent and wrapped up in this mess.

I abandoned my plan to flee. I needed to spend as much time here as possible to gather clues about April and her involvement with Paul. For now, I would play the part of Mitch’s fuck buddy.

He plated the pancakes, and I walked over to the refrigerator to grab the syrup.

“How’s April?”

Mitch shook his head. “No change. I called my lawyer. I have joint legal custody, so I’m going to take the kids home with me until she recovers. Well, if she recovers. I haven’t told them yet. I was going to take them to the hospital after breakfast, but I don’t want them to see her like that.”

I gulped. That was awful. “I’m sorry to hear that. I hope she gets better. The kids need their mother.”

“Yeah, this whole situation is so fucked up.” He turned to his son. “Sam, pancakes are ready.”

“Yay! I love pancakes.”

We all devoured the pancakes, which were surprisingly delicious. Fluffy, light, buttery, and not even a tad bit soggy. Mitch clutched my thigh under the table, and I did my best not to swoon, but I was so pathetic that I couldn’t control myself.

Samuel took a break from shoveling food into his mouth. Melted chocolate was smeared all over his face. “These are the best pancakes ever. I love you, Daddy.”

Mitch smiled. “I love you too, little man. But these aren’t the best Mickey Mouse pancakes ever. Do you guys know where they make the best Mickey Mouse pancakes ever?”

Sienna’s brown eyes widened. “Disneyland.”

“Yup. And guess what. We are going there tomorrow!”

The kids burst into screams, giggles, and hugs. “We’re going to Disneyland!” Sienna said. “Disneyland, Sam! Can you believe it? I’m going to meet Princess Ariel! Thank you, Daddy.”

I shot Mitch a look. “Disneyland? Their mother just overdosed. Do you think Disneyland is a good idea right now?”

“Yup. It will distract them and get them out to California. Even if April pulls through, I’m going to fight for custody.” He kissed my hand. “Will you come with us? I could really use another pair of eyes on them. They are a handful.”

He wanted me to go to Disneyland with him?

Ashley, you have slept with a prime suspect in a murder investigation, jeopardizing your career and the investigation. Tell her what she’s won. A trip to Disneyland.

No, absolutely not. That was completely out of the question.

“I have to go back to work. I’m in the middle of the investigation into Paul’s murder. You know that.”

“Yeah? Well, I also know that it has been classified as a suicide.”

What? I clutched my phone and checked the news.

Decorated Navy SEAL Paul Thompson Committed Suicide on the Naval Special Warfare Base. I skimmed the article which went on to say that “anonymous authorities” had told the reporters that the ruling was expected to come today.

Were they kidding? It had only been twenty-four hours.

I stood up from the table. “Excuse me. I need to make a call.”

I walked out to the backyard and called Craig. He still did not pick up. Where was he?

I quickly placed a call to my supervisor, Darrell Meeks. Luckily it was a Saturday, so at least I wasn’t a no-show at work.

“Hello, sir. This is Ashley Pierce. I’ve been trying to reach my partner Craig since last night, but he hasn’t been answering his phone. Do you know where he is?”

“Craig has been transferred. You will be assigned a new partner.”

Wait, why? “Why, sir? Craig is a great agent. Where did he go?”

“He was reassigned to Virginia Beach.” Virginia Beach was where the other SEAL base was. Was this a coincidence? But I had no right to question his transfer. I had to stay cool.

“Okay. With regard to the Paul Thompson case, I’m following up on several leads. I don’t think it was a suicide, sir. I request permission to keep investigating it as a possible homicide.”

“Knock it off, Pierce. You will not turn this into a conspiracy theory and invite bad press. You’re lucky to still have a job after your handling of the Cruz case. It was a suicide. Plain and simple. I forbid you from pursuing this. Case closed.”

Dammit. Why was he stonewalling me? Had he been paid off? Had Craig?

I had to come up with a plan. And fast. I was on my own. No agency to back me up.

But I didn’t need an agency. I was standing in the backyard of a woman who had overdosed after being involved with the very SEAL who had supposedly killed himself. Last night, I had slept with her ex-husband. I was knee-deep in an investigation.

And I never took no for an answer.

“I understand, sir. I was wondering since Craig was transferred, and the Thompson case is closed, if I could take a week off. I have over sixty days of leave I haven’t used.”

“Sure, Pierce. Actually, that’s a good idea. You can meet your new partner when you get back.”

“Thank you, sir.”

I hung up the phone and walked back into the house. Mitch was now on the floor playing Barbies with Sienna. I felt a sharp pang in my stomach. Clearly, my ovaries couldn’t handle the cuteness.

I knelt down beside Mitch. “I’d love to go to Disneyland with you.”

Mitch leaned in and kissed me in front of his kids. Was that normal? Would he do that if he only saw me as a fling?

“Thanks, babe. You’re the best.”