Page 7 of Deadly Lies

I grabbed my phone and scrolled through the messages Ashley had left. I had to admit, she’d really stepped up for me. Dropping work, racing to Anaheim, and then to Vegas to see if she could help.

I called her back, and she picked up on the first ring.

Like an angel, her words warmed my stone-cold heart. “Hey, baby. I miss you.”

4

Ash

THE SOUND OF MITCH’S VOICE broke me. Just a few weeks ago, we were mortal enemies. My, how everything had changed. He went from someone I’d detested, to my bad boy lover, to someone who I was developing genuine feelings for. Of course, like any person with a heart, I had compassion for his situation with his daughter, but it was more than that. More than pity. I liked him for him. I missed him. I cared about him.

And I normally cared about no one. Not even myself.

“How you doing, baby? Did you find anything?”

I didn’t know what to tell him. I refused to keep anything from him. But I didn’t want to overwhelm him, tell him things that weren’t related to finding his daughter. He didn’t need to know that right now, I questioned Joaquín’s guilt. He didn’t need to know that I had a weird resemblance to his ex-wife. All of these things didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was Sienna. So, I would focus on what was relevant to finding his daughter.

“Well, I’m not sure if this is anything, but Mia went through some photo albums and noticed that April doesn’t look like her parents.” She looks like me. “Is she adopted? Does she have some biological grandparent somewhere?”

I waited for his answer on bated breath, stupidly wondering if somehow April was connected to my missing sister.

“She was adopted. But it was a closed adoption, and she had never met her birth parents. But definitely a good lead, babe. I’ll tell the FBI. Let me call the agent. I’ll call you right back.”

“Okay. Bye.”

He hung up. I relaxed back on the hotel bed. Mia was in a room across the hallway. We didn’t think it was appropriate to spend the night at April’s house, even though I had slept there a few nights ago with Mitch. But everything was so different then.

I needed some downtime. I wasn’t spiritual like Mia, so instead, I drew myself a long, hot bath, taking my phone with me just in case Mitch called back.

The hot water seeped into my soul, and I let out a long exhale. I rarely took time for myself. I was consumed with anxiety and guilt. If only I worked harder, if only I had dug deeper, I could find the truth.

But I was doubting I would ever find the answers I was looking for.

The phone rang. I picked it up, still in the bathtub.

“Hey, babe. What did they say?”

“They said they will look into it. April is in a coma, so I don’t know how far they will get. We can start doing our own work.”

“Yup. I have a hair sample from Sienna. Mia will be sending it to the lab. We can also enter the results on a genetics site. Try to get some answers.”

“Thanks, Ash. You’re the best.”

I pursed my lips. I didn’t feel like the best. I changed the subject. “What about you? Any new leads from the police? That sketch of the grandpa?”

“Nope. Nothing. Just an agonizing day of hating myself. If it wasn’t for Sam, I don’t know if I could go on.”

His words chilled me. Mitch was a proud man. A Navy SEAL. Invincible. Strong. Alpha male to the nth degree. “Don’t say that, babe. We will find her,” I lied. I had never found any leads about my sister. I could be possibly wrong about Joaquín. My word wasn’t worth shit.

“I want to believe that. I have to believe we will. No matter how much of a fuck-up I’ve been, I always, always had my kids. They are my world. I was a shitty husband to April. My career means nothing to me if I don’t have my kids. Everything I do is for them. When I was about to give up and quit during BUD/S, I pushed through because of them. If I don’t have them, I don’t want to live.”

Wow. I had no idea his heart ran so deep. I had always dismissed him as a cocky SEAL, a player, a jackass. But now I knew, not just from his words but from his actions, that deep down, Mitch was a great man. Loyal. Loving. And fiercely protective of the ones he loved.

I would do everything in my power to bring Sienna home, but I knew I couldn’t guarantee that.

But I could at least do one thing. For the first time in my life, I could tell a man how I felt about him.

“Mitch, I know this isn’t the time for this. But I need to tell you something.”