Roland Ashwood walked across the street in front of my car and waved. I waved back and scanned the area for his wife Pearl. She wasn't anywhere to be found. What was Roland up to? He wouldn't cheat on Pearl because he understood she'd take him out in a heartbeat. So where was he headed at this time of day?

"And what can I do to help you out in this situation?" I already had a list forming in my head, but I wanted to hear her preferred methods.

She shook her head. "I don't know. My friend told me I had to look up a private eye, so I googled, and you came up. I don't trust him right now, but how do I find out what he's keeping a secret?"

Roland crossed to the other side and glanced back at my car. I narrowed my eyes at him and waited to see which direction he turned.

"You probably shouldn't. Most men are bastard coated bastards. Cheaters. All of them."

"Really?" she whispered.

I blew out a breath. I was too young to be so jaded.

"No. Mostly, but not all of them. There's a chance yours is just a moron."

I lost sight of Roland, so I stuck my phone in the holder on the dash and slowly pulled back into traffic to follow Pearl's husband. No one got away with being sneaky in my town. Well, except me.

My new client picked her head up at that. "Really?"

Apparently, moron was better than cheater.

"It's just that I've been cheated on before. My last long-term boyfriend always made me feel like I was losing my mind," she continued. "He'd always say, 'You're crazy, Kylee. I'd never cheat.' So when Carl said those same words, I panicked."

"Like any reasonable person would in that situation." I jotted down her name-Kylee-on the back of my receipt from a prior dinner.

Roland turned on to the street next to the public access beach and cut into the parking lot. Where in the hell was he going? I pulled to the side and stopped the car again.

Oh, Roland. I mumbled to myself when I realized his destination was about thirty feet in front of him. The aging man stopped and did another sweep of the road behind him but didn't notice my car before he walked up to the order window at the ice-cream shop and spoke to the woman behind the window.

Kylee chatted on, giving me the details of her fiancé's misdeeds-all typical shady stuff. A minute later, Roland accepted a tall ice cream cone from an outstretched hand through the order window. He smiled down at the cone before taking a large bite. I shook my head and turned back to the conversation, glad I didn't have to set the bakery girls on one of our favorite residents.

"Do you think you can help me?" Kylee asked before sniffling. She'd done a good job holding on, but her emotions were getting the better of her. I understood.

"Yes, definitely. I have an in at the bed-and-breakfast where you said he's parked. Give me a few days, and I'll get back to you with my findings. Let me shoot over my PayPal and we'll get started."

We said our goodbyes, and I sent my PayPal information to her in text form. I'd spent too much time talking to her, and before Roland had another bite into his ice cream cone, I pulled away from the side of the road and headed to Ridge's office.

Clouds covered the sun, dropping the temperature five degrees by the time I made it to his building. The main door was glass with the words Pelican Bay Security etched on it in white. I pushed through that and smiled at the woman behind the receptionist's desk.

She raised her head long enough to glance at me before going back to filing her nails. "Ridge says you're not allowed in here."

"He invited me this time. Demanded is more like it," I said and started for Ridge's office. He didn't let me in his building often, and I would not waste the chance to get the inside scoop on where he kept things hidden. I planned to open every door I came to until I found his office, even though I already knew which one was his.

The door to his office opened, and a tall man with a deep laugh stepped out. The sound of his chuckle echoed down the hallway, and I planted myself at the end with my hands on my hips. Was everyone in this town plotting against me?

First Broadrick and now him?

Antonio-Tony-Franco turned toward the end of the hallway, spotted me, and came to a halt with shock in his eyes. He had on a long-sleeve shirt covering up his tattooed arms, but his hair was gelled back like normal.

I nodded at him in acknowledgment of him being so, so busted. "Tony. How interesting to see you here."

Tony had showed up in Pelican Bay in January saying he was here for only one job, but so far, he hadn't left. Seeing him in Ridge's office was extra distressing because Tony was my bounty hunter. Ridge already stole Broadrick from me by offering him a job after he left the military. He couldn't take my bounty hunter, too.

"What's up, princess?" he asked and took a tentative step toward me.

I crossed my arms and widened my stance. "Are you cheating on me with Ridge?"

Tony jerked his head back like I hit him. "What? No."

He said no, but his facial expression had guilt written all over it. Tony Franco was a big ol' liar, liar pants on fire.

My whole life was falling apart. What did Ridge have against me that he needed to steal all my good backup partners?

One second Tony looked guilty, and the next his eyes lit up as he confidently walked toward me, not even noticing my pissed-off stance. "Guess what?"

I didn't have the strength to reply with "chicken butt." "What?"

"I met this woman, Rebecca, from Clearwater. She's great. You're going to love her. A real hellfire cat. The two of you will get along wonderfully."

"Oh yeah," I said, nodding. "She sounds great."

Tony never got this excited about things. Unless it was sticking someone in cuffs and turning them in for his payday. He had to really like the woman to call her a hellfire cat and have his eyes all excited.

He carried on yapping about the newly found love of his life as I nodded along like a good friend.

"At Sunday dinner her grandma-"

"Hold up," I said, cutting him off. "You've already gone to family dinner with her grandma? When did you meet?"

Tony shook his head with an accompanying hand wave. "You don't understand. She wanted me to meet the family."

I'd dated Broadrick for years and still hadn't met his mother. His military career was a big reason for that but also because the idea terrified me. Who met a grandmother after only knowing a person like two weeks?

A Taylor Swift song rang out from Tony's phone, and he hurried to shut it off as his cheeks turned pink. "She picked out her ring tone. I've got to go, but we'll talk later."

Tony walked on past me without a glance back, and I watched him go with my mouth hanging open. Who body swapped the tough show-no-emotion bounty hunter, and how did I get the old one back?

Ridge's receptionist came up from behind me and walked past. "Don't keep Mr. Jefferson waiting."

She opened Ridge's office door and leaned her head in. "I didn't let her out of my sight, boss."

Liar.

I crinkled my nose at her as I walked past and entered Ridge's space before dropping into a seat on the other side of his desk.

"Vonnie," he said, giving the receptionist a head jerk.

I twiddled my thumbs and pretended to be aloof, even though the anxiety was slowly causing an ulcer. Hopefully, he just got it over with so I could get angry about whatever he called me in for and then get a cupcake on the way home. "What's up?"

Ridge leaned forward and placed his elbows on his desk. His short hair was combed to the side, and his thick arms stretched his black Pelican Bay Security polo. I saw the appeal in his face for why Tabitha might want to hitch herself to him, but the attitude was a real turnoff. Ridge was one of those guys who walked into a room and thought he owned the space. Totally annoying.

"I want to make you a deal," he said when we locked gazes.

"Okay. For what?" Any deal he tried to make would be in his favor. We were both aware of that. Therefore the odds of me saying yes were slim to none.

"You need a mentor to finish up your PI hours and become an official investigator. Correct?"

I narrowed my eyes and leaned back in my chair, giving myself more space. "Yes, what's that to you? You're not going to report me for still working without a mentor. Are you?"

Since my previous mentor, Mick Darcy died, I didn't have anyone to sign off my hours. That hadn't stopped me from working, though. I had less than five hundred hours remaining on my requirements. I was practically a private investigator already. The hours were mostly a formality at this point. If only the state of Maine agreed.

"I'll do it," he said. "I'll sign off on your hours and help you finish your requirements on one condition."

For half a second, my heart thumped in anticipation. If he meant it, I could finally be done with my requirements and be an official private investigator. But there were always conditions, and I realized before he even opened his mouth that I wouldn't like whatever he came up with.

But it didn't matter. My heart picked up again, and my palms grew sweaty. I'd do whatever he wanted: swim in the cold ocean, babysit their new demon pet... Hell I'd figure out how to summon a demon if that's what he wanted.

"Anything," I said, giving myself a second to be excited about my upcoming future. I was one step closer to becoming a private investigator.

Ridge's lips tipped up in the corners. "Leave town."