a Touch of Revenge (Romantic Mystery - book 6): The Everly Gray Adventures Read Online Free PDF Page B

Mitch had used or the comfortable fragrance of pine logs he’d loved to burn in the fireplace. My heart ached for how quickly the memory of him had dissipated. I crossed the room to the refrigerator and wrapped my fingers around the handle. A vibrant picture of Mitch smiling, snagging a bottle of water, then turning toward me flashed on my internal screen. I remembered the moment. It had been just before he left on his final assignment, the one when I learned he was going to Honolulu and hadn’t asked me go with him. It had been my first big clue that something was very wrong with our marriage.
    The refrigerator was empty now. Of course super-fastidious Jayne had cleaned it out. I wandered into the bathroom, turned on the tap, and scooped handfuls of water into my parched mouth. No images assaulted my fingertips—not surprising, since Mitch had never lingered in the bathroom long enough to leave any emotional traces behind. Unless we were sharing the shower, but no way was I going to be touching anything in there. Nope. Definitely not letting the intimacy of those images rip my heart out.
    Time to stop procrastinating, Everly Gray Hunt.
    Mitch’s so-called government boss had sent someone to pick up his laptop, desktop, and paper files right before the funeral. I’d deliberately shaken the guy’s hand with the intent to trespass, but only learned that he was a bureaucratic underling who knew nothing. And there was no way for me to stop him from taking Mitch’s things, seeing as both the hardware and intellectual property belonged to the US government. Probably. Jayne had brought the guy up to Mitch’s lair, kept an eye on things until they’d left.
    A tingle of awareness spread through me. Hadn’t she? My memories from the days surrounding the funeral were vague and scattered. Maybe Mitch hadn’t been working for the government. Maybe he hadn’t known who he was really working for, at least not when it came to spying on me. I wasn’t his typical military assignment.
    Well, hell. Why hadn’t I thought about the possibility of Mitch having two different bosses months ago? I whipped out my cell and sent texts to Annie and Pierce. Annie should be able to trace every damn one of his assignments back to its origin. Computer geniuses could do that, couldn’t they? And Pierce had friends who knew stuff. Between the two of them, information should pop out of the bits, bytes, and those amazing blatant threats Pierce could deliver with a single glance.
    I tucked my phone back into my pocket and turned to the task at hand. If I were Mitch, where would I have hidden something I didn’t want to be found? I made a slow pivot, taking in all the nooks, crannies, searching for anything that seemed out of place.
    And there it was, on the top shelf of the bookcase behind his desk. One of the mysteries I favored had been tucked between books on photography and architecture, almost invisible unless you were looking for it. The color of the three hardcover spines blended so well it looked like one giant tome.
    It was too high for me to reach, so I shoved the desk closer to the book-lined wall, climbed on top, stretched, and snagged it with the tips of my fingers. It slid further back on the shelf, out of reach, so I went on tiptoes, tumbled off the desk, and banged my elbow on the edge of a shelf.
    Electric fire sizzled through my arm. Fortunately, my martial arts training ensured that I ducked and rolled, so I wasn’t seriously injured, but I’d definitely have some bruises to show for my stupidity.
    The fall knocked over an empty wastebasket, and the tedious back and forth rock of metal against the wood floor grated on my nerves. So careless of me, and I knew better. When the shock of falling faded from my muscles, I stood and stomped around the room rubbing at the pain shooting from my elbow to my fingertips.
    There was absolutely nothing amusing about smacking the funny bone, but the physical pain had jarred my memories into an