Tease (Tease 1)

“Hey, Coop. How are you holding up?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I’ve been better. What’s up?”

“I found out something that might cheer you up. The coroner has ruled Melinda’s death natural causes. She had a stroke. There was nothing you could’ve done to prevent it.”

I leaned against the brick wall, overwhelmed with relief.

Thank fucking god.

“Coop? You there?”

Shit. “Yeah, I’m here,” I replied. “Sorry, I’m . . . speechless. How did you find out? I mean, are you sure?”

“I’m a lawyer. I know people.” He chuckled.

“How’s Nic?” I asked tentatively.

“She’s okay. Still a little shocked, but you know her. She’ll be fine.”

“Thanks for calling me.” I hung up the call and dialed Beth.

“Coop?” she said breathlessly.

“Yeah, why are you . . . never mind.” I chuckled. Some questions were better left unanswered. “Good news—Melinda’s death was caused by a stroke.” Shit, that sounded horrible. “The stroke was not good news . . . you know what I mean.”

“I’m glad you’re in the clear, Coop.” She paused.

“What is it?”

“I just wanted you to know . . . I had a journalist call here asking about you. Only the one, but I just wanted you to be aware . . . “

Fuck.

“Okay.” I sighed. “Thanks for letting me know. What did you tell them?”

“Nothing. I hung up on him,” she said.

“Okay,” I said again. “I’ll speak to you later.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

I paced the balcony, still in my robe, thinking about what to do.

First thing I needed to do was to contact my clients and fill them in. I grabbed my phone, thankful that I’d had the sense to copy their details onto it, and sent out a group text. I filled them all in on what was happening. If a reporter was sniffing around Beth, then there was a chance he might get on the trail of some of my other clients.

Shit! I opened the web browser on my phone and went to the news headlines. I needed to see what the latest was on Melinda. I skimmed the articles available, my throat constricting as I read.

Melinda Diveno dead. Stroke. Escort.

Nothing new. Yet.

Did I tell Mia, or did I leave it and see whether my name was leaked?

If I didn’t tell her, things would look bad if the truth did get out. On the other hand, I could potentially be ruining something wonderful by telling her. I laughed suddenly.

What the fuck did it matter? I couldn’t commit to Mia. This whole dilemma was fucking useless, because there was nowhere this could go. Even if she didn’t find out, eventually I’d need to tell her what I did for a living. Quitting? Not a fucking option.

I wanted to throw some shit at the wall. Smash a few plates. Something. I needed to do something to ease the ache inside me. I had so much frustration built up that I felt like I was going crazy. Everything, it was all too much. Why couldn’t life just be easy?