Page 63 of All Bets are Off

“What makes you think she is?” Logan asks the question foremost in my mind.

“One, because she’s gone all the time. Always taking extra shifts. Two, ‘cause they’ve been trying two goddamn years for a kid, and she still isn’t pregnant.”

Logan, Jase, and I exchanged looks. “So? Lots of people have fertility issues.”

“Sure, but I found birth control pills in her bathroom drawer hidden under a bunch of things. Which means she’s lying to my brother.” Ivan’s heavy, dark brows furrow. “If she’s fucking around on him, I want him away from her. And no way he’s leaving without some proof. I want you guys to get me that proof.” He blows out a puff of air, shoulders sagging. “The third and biggest reason I think she’s cheating is because she came onto me. One night—this was a few years ago-she came into my room—the guest room in their house. Said she was looking for a book, but she was wearing this thin nightgown I could see everything beneath, and Chris wasn’t at home. I rebuffed her without ever actually saying I knew what was happening, and that was that. I told myself maybe I was wrong, but now I have to wonder. Why is she picking up all the extra shifts? Why is she lying about the birth control? I want Chris to know the truth before he wastes any more of his life on her.”

I could see why Ivan would feel this way. One look at Logan and Jase told me they were for helping a fellow Marine, so I nodded my head. “Okay.”

“Really?” Ivan flashed his smile. “Great! I’ve got all the information written down. Their address, the hospital she works at and what floor, etc. How are you going to do this?”

“We’ll discuss it and give you a call. Are you going to be staying at your brother’s the whole time?” Jase asks.

“Until the third, when I have to report back to duty.”

“Okay. That gives us a couple of weeks where you can watch things on the home front while we concentrate on work.” Jase looks over the paper. “It says here she works out at Gold Medal Gym?”

Ivan nods. “Tuesday and Thursday nights at seven.” He stands. “And she’s a nurse in the pediatric unit of St. Mary’s. I really appreciate it, guys. I know you’ll find what I need.”

“We might find out that she’s not cheating on Chris,” I remind him.

“Maybe. And if you do, I’ll back off. But I’m pretty sure you’re going to find out she’s guilty as hell.”

After Ivan leaves, I turn to Logan and Jase. “Thoughts?”

“We could put Cara or Kasey on it. They could befriend Serena at the gym,” Logan suggests.

“I think you two should follow her for a while first before we try something like that. Maybe you’ll get lucky,” Jase says.

We agree to begin the following day.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Logan

“We’ve watched Serena for three weeks,” I say, staring out the window of West’s Nissan at the doors of Gold Medal Gym in Apex. At least West managed to park in the shade of a big oak, so it was fairly cool in the car. “If she’s having an affair, it isn’t a very intense one. No way she’s seen the guy since we’ve been following her.”

“She could be messing around with someone at work. They could duck into a closet for a quickie.”

“How romantic,” I say tonelessly.

West pats my knee. “An affair doesn’t have to be romantic. It could be all about the sex.” He winks at me.

“Why can’t it be about both?” I ask.

Removing his hand, he says, “I guess it can.” Tilting his head, he regards me curiously. “Is this a hint that you want me to send you flowers and love notes?”

Do I?I’m not sure what it is that I want. West and I have fallen into a pattern. When we spend time alone together, we usually walk on the beach or lie around in one of our bedrooms, talking or having sex. The sex has gotten really good. Not that it wasn’t before, but now that the awkwardness of new intimacy is fading, we’re feeling more free to learn each other’s bodies. I’ve never come so much in my life. Life is pretty good, but underlying it all is a need I can’t define.

“Here she comes,” I say, buckling my seatbelt while watching Serena, pink gym bag thrown over her shoulder, walk to her blue Mazda. She’s an attractive woman in her early forties, and so far, we haven’t seen one bit of evidence that she’s cheating on her husband.

“Ivan’s going to want a report,” West says.

“Well, we can’t tell give him something we haven’t got,” I say.

West starts the car and pulls out of the lot, keeping a discreet distance behind Serena’s car.

“She’s talking on the phone,” I say.

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