Garret hated waking Tabitha. She looked like an angel with the white sheet wrapped around her sexy, naked body. Her tanned skin glowed in the moonlight, and her raven hair covered her flawless face. She’d barely peeked her eyes open before reaching up and giving him a good morning kiss that had he not overslept, would have led to the best morning he’d had in a long time.

Though waking up next to her had been a good way to start the day.

Garret pushed open the doors to the station house on the base just a little before seven in the morning. Becca Rivers sat behind the big desk to the right and greeted him with a smile.

“How’s the baby doing?” he asked.

“She’s a daddy’s girl, that’s for sure.” Becca had married Declan, a fellow senior firefighter less than a year ago. He missed working with her on the team, but after she had a baby, she opted to stay on administrative duty, versus going back to running into burning buildings. She currently worked as Ace’sassistant, and the station wouldn’t run smoothly without her organizational expertise and her ability to keep everyone in line.

“I bet she’s got Declan wrapped around her tiny little finger.” Garret always enjoyed seeing his friends with their families. Watching their kids stumble around, learning how to walk, or ride a bike for the first time. He’d be lying if he didn’t feel a pang of jealousy every time he went to a family barbeque.

Becca laughed, turning the frame on her desk around. “The latest picture says it all.”

In the image, Declan held his daughter, kissing her chubby little cheeks, while her arms were wrapped around his neck with a big smile.

Out of the corner of Garret’s eye, he saw Declan step from the conference room.

“I see my wife is showing off the cutest little girl in the world.” Declan slapped Garret on the back before taking the frame in his own hands. “I do make good-looking kids.”

“One kid and I think I might have had something to do with it.” Becca snagged the picture and placed it back on her desk. “She does look just like her mother.”

“But who does she call for in the middle of the night?” Declan asked with a grin.

“I trained her to do that,” Becca said, laughing. “I swear, Garret, I think if Declan could, he’d breastfeed.”

Garret burst out laughing, bending over, resting his hands on his knees. “That is an image I never needed in my head.”

“Are you attacking my manhood, honey? At work, no less.” Declan planted his hands on his hips.

She batted her thick eyelashes. “Not at all. I’m just letting our friend know what a great daddy you are.”

“Good to know.” Declan leaned over the desk, kissing his bride on the cheek.

Garret enjoyed the banter, but his mind kept wandering back to the woman he’d left this morning. Tabitha had been through the ringer the last couple of weeks, and now she was trusting him to help her find the truth behind her brother’s death and the story he’d been working on.

Garret worried he wasn’t up for the task.

“I’ll see you in the conference room.” Declan turned and headed back down the hallway.

Becca shook her head. “He’s all ready to have another one.”

“And what about you?” Garret asked.

“Oh, I want more. But I can wait another year. Just seeing Brodie and Harper with the twins is enough birth control anyone needs.”

“Those two are rambunctious.” Garret peered down the hallway, just as his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw Fletch’s number flash across his screen. “I’ve got to take this.”

“Ace isn’t here yet, so you’ve got time.”

Garret nodded, stepping back outside. “Hey.”

Fletch and his wife had lived down the street in Garret’s hometown. When he’d gotten the bug to join the Air Force, Fletch had been a great source of information. He would have preferred Garret join the Army, but Fletch had been supportive, and Garret had always looked up to him as a father figure.

Fletch didn’t like that much, balking that he wasn’t that much older, even though he had a good fifteen years on Garret.

“Do you have anything interesting for me?” Garret sat down on the stoop. The morning sun shone bright in the blue sky. Two fighter jets roared overhead, leaving a white trail behind.

“Depends on your definition of interesting. Turns out the cops first on the scene at the Moore party when Ashley died were the same officers that were the first to arrive at Steve’s break-in. But that’s not weird all by itself.”

“No, it’s not,” Garret agreed.

“But Officer Riley was the first on the scene at Sandra Creeco’s car crash. He was off duty and just happened to be passing by. He was injured in the rescue attempt. I did some digging, and it turns out he had some run-ins with the law as a juvenile, but he turned himself around in his early twenties after actually being arrested for assault with a deadly weapon.”

“How’d he go from that to being a cop?”

“A diversion program and according to his old case manager, he’s the poster child for voluntary systems. It’s all about reducing harm and risk and creating better relationships between the police and the citizens.”

“All aimed at developing trust.” Garret had heard of such programs and believed them to be a better alternative than simply tossing people in jail. But it didn’t always work. “What do you think about him? His record?”

“I’d say it’s questionable. There are a few marks on his career, but nothing that stands out as a huge red flag.”

“What about his partner? Officer Dani?”

“Boy next door type. On paper, those two are good guys. And based on the few people I got to talk to, exemplary cops, but Riley is a bit of a rebel and it should be noted that Riley is good friends with Assistant District Attorney Jeff Bellen’s wife, Lisa.”

“Why is that important?” Garret asked, rubbing his temple with his free hand. Too many players and nothing made sense.

“Besides being married to Ivan Moore’s daughter?”

“Yeah.”

“Not exactly sure, but I’m digging deeper.”

Garret let the information settle in the corner of his brain. It still didn’t add up to a conspiracy to kill Steve, but it did raise a few more red flags. “Anything else?”

“I’m sending a picture to your email. The image is of Ashley and Steve, but there are some people in the image that I don’t know who they are. Maybe your friend will recognize them and give me other places I can poke around.”

“I’ll be on the lookout.”

“That’s all I’ve got for now,” Fletch said.

“Thanks, Fletch. Say hello to the family for me.” Garret stuffed his phone in his back pocket just as his captain, Ace, pulled in.

Garret sat on the steps, letting out a long breath.

The only motive to kill Steve was wrapped up in Ashley, but so far, her death seemed to be an accident. That said, something scratched the back of Garret’s mind. Nothing added up, but with three people dead who knew each other, that sent up more warning flags with a dozen more unanswered questions.

“You look constipated,” Ace said with a slight chuckle as he joined Garret on the steps.

“My mind is all backed up.”

Ace laughed harder. “Good retort. Now tell me why.”

“My neighbor’s dead brother.”

“Ah, I see.” Ace was ten years older than Garret and when he’d first joined the team, Ace had been his crew chief. Now, he ran the station, and Garret couldn’t ask for a better boss.

Or a better friend.

“I hate to ask this, but you’ve got a buddy in IT, right?” Garret asked.

“Yeah. Ex-Navy SEAL, Tex. A good buddy of mine. Why?”

“I need someone to find out who an email address belongs to and maybe do some facial recognition magic. Tabitha’s brother got a threatening email to back off a story—”

“Wait, back up one second.” Ace stood. “I thought you’d gotten her to accept her brother died of an overdose and caused his own house fire?”

Garret shook his head. “I got her to understand if she’s right, and she pushes the wrong buttons, she’ll end up six feet under too.”

“All right then. I’ll get you Tex’s contact information. If anyone can figure out where the email was set up, it’s Tex. Now what about this facial recognition stuff?”

“I’ve got a buddy in Delta Force. He dug up a picture that has Steve, Tabitha’s brother, and his ex-girlfriend, Ashley, the chick who died at Moore’s house, in it, but he can’t trace the other people. Thought maybe Tabitha could, but if not, then maybe Tex can.”

“I’m sure he can,” Ace said.

“I appreciate the help.” Garret took the hand Ace offered and followed him back through the doors to the station.

“So, you really like this woman, I hear.”

“Yeah, she’s cool,” Garret said, trying to act nonchalant about how much Tabitha rocked his world.

“Oh boy. Do you have it bad,” Ace said, slapping his back. “Why is it that everyone on my team has to fall hard and fast and with drama?”