Reckless Marriage Unyielding Love

Chapter 184

"I was so lost in the sauce back then!" Lucas smirked.

Just then, the dude on water duty crashed in, throwing the door wide open, clutching two cups. Mikayla's cup was a store-bought drink.

Mikayla snagged it and tossed him a thanks.

"Captain Grayston, we're out of coffee for Salvatore, so I snagged this instead," the guy leaned close, whispering in Lucas's ear.

"No sweat! No need to go above and beyond for me." Even from a distance, in the quiet, Mikayla caught his words. Knowing she was knee-deep in a sea of dudes like these, she knew the options were limited. That was why she opted for plain water initially. Lucas's hand hung mid-air for a second before landing with a thud. "Out you go!"

Watching their exchange, Mikayla pondered their dynamic. Despite Lucas's prickly demeanor, he cut the kid some slack for his frequent flubs, a rarity.

"He's like me, focuses more on hustle at work, less on the everyday nitty-gritty." Lucas picked up on Mikayla's curious vibes. "That thing we hashed out earlier? He actually rang the bell on that while we were chatting. Made me widen the net, but chewed up some extra time. Things are clearer now, which is why I hit you up. Based on my intel, Kenneth's our prime suspect. Skipped town the day pre-car crash, still MIA. Buddy checked in, spotted hefty deposits into his account, especially around your mishap."

"Who's wire-transferring the cash? Can we trace them?" Mikayla probed.

sis, Mildred!" Lucas

just guesswork without solid proof, right?"

lock in rock-solid proof, it's

in the same ballpark. That surveillance tape was all backside, not painting the full picture. Kenneth bouncing before the crash could be just a fluke. Mildred tossing cash his way could be sibling love at play. It seemed like the stars aligned for some drama, but like Lucas said, without solid receipts,

at Carlos's digs, it was nudging 8 p.m. Josiah dropped Mikayla off

stepping into the living room and chirped, "Mrs. Ludwig, you are

Mikayla nodded at Dexter.

Carlos shut off the TV screen

his tall build in a soft hue, like a glow-up. His mug and his eyes were like magnets, pure mesmerizing! Carlos was a name etched deep in her brain. Peeping at the TV program he had on, national news on the loop, struck a chord.

guided her to the all-glass

don't gotta

gentle grin. "While the missus battles the world, why should the mister twiddle

she sized up

to go into overdrive." Carlos gave Dexter a hand with the dinner setup, finally landing a bowl of soup in front of her. Clocking her hesitant mug, he laid down the law. "Gotta sip it up." "How about we go halfsies?" She wanted to ditch this ordeal, but knowing Carlos wouldn't cut her slack, she

confused by Dexter's