Hidden in the Shadows by T. L. Haddix Page A

other man, I’d have helped her pack. I’m not the one who lied about how I felt, and what I was doing. I’m not the one who was unfaithful.” His voice increased in volume, but he didn’t bother trying to modulate it. “It was bad enough to find out my wife was dying, but then to find out she’d been screwing around behind my back? That it wasn’t just a one-night stand, but that she’d been cheating on me for three years? I know our marriage wasn’t perfect, but do you have any idea what that was like, finding out my entire life was a lie? Everything I thought I had, save my job, was false. I’m not the one who broke my vows.”
    His voice echoed off the walls as the words died, and they faced each other grimly. If looks could kill, Wyatt would have been on the floor.
    “What do you want from me?” Marsha finally asked.
    “I want you to tell me the truth about what happened with Julie, and tell me who all knows.”
    She took a few steps back to stand beside an end table, and with shaking hands, she gathered up the petals that had fallen off the flowers on the table. “And I will tell you again that I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She looked up and met his gaze in the mirror that hung above the table. “You’ve said your piece, and I think you need to go now.”
    He saw from the set of her jaw that she was finished talking. “Fine, but keep in mind what I said. I can’t help you if you won’t let me. And regardless of whether you believe it or not, I do want to help. I don’t like you, Marsha, but I at least owe Julie’s memory that much. You know where to find me.”
    As Wyatt drove toward town and his appointment with his attorney, he kept replaying the scene in his mind. One of the reasons he hadn’t entertained the idea of another relationship after Julie’s death was because of the way things had been between them. He knew he was a good cop. He thought he made a real difference in the community and served the citizens of Olman County well. But personally speaking? The sad truth was that he just hadn’t been the best husband in the world. He had tried to make Julie happy, but as hard as he had worked at their relationship, his efforts just hadn’t been enough.
    There was no use denying his attraction to Maria any longer. At least not to himself. He was tired of being alone, of going home to an empty house every night. Although he doted on Mix and Match, sometimes he positively ached for real human companionship. But when he remembered what his marriage had been like, he shuddered. He didn’t know if he could open himself up to that kind of vulnerability again, especially to someone like Maria.
    She was so much younger, so vibrant, so alive. Aside from the fact that she was in his employ and fraternization was frowned upon within the department, he couldn’t figure out what possible attraction he might hold for someone like her. Despite Ethan’s gentle teasing, Wyatt just couldn’t believe someone like Maria would be interested in him.
    When he reached town, he decided to park at the department and walk to John Hudson’s office. It wasn’t a long distance, but it would hopefully be enough to help him clear his head. God knew he had a lot to think about.
     

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Sixteen
     
    By six o’clock that evening, Maria was cursing her stupidity and clumsiness. She was stuck trying to figure out how to extricate herself from an embarrassing and potentially dangerous situation.
    Her task had been simple enough—retrieve one of the old surveillance cameras from the county storage facility where it had been taken after the recent departmental upgrade. As a senior staff member, she had access to the warehouse, which was located in a repurposed industrial park. The whole thing had turned into a hot mess with very little effort on Maria’s part.
    “How do you get into these situations?” she asked herself. The only answer was the loud buzzing from the