Page 53 of End Game

“Understood. Can I offer congratulations?”

“Are you kidding?” Her face brightened as if spotlighted by a ten thousand lumens. “The delay is just a precaution. In case, you know, anything goes wrong. But I’ve been dying to let folks know.”

He rotated his paper coffee cup clockwise several times. “Is Zeke . . . happy?”

“Amidst the worry, yes. Every evening, he kisses my stomach and says, ‘Good night, little agent.’” Pink flushed her cheeks, nearly matching the red in her hair.

The endearment surprised Ash, given how much Zeke hated the Bureau.

But he still fell in love with Liv, despite her being a special agent, at the time.

A petal of hope unfurled.

Until he realized Zeke could have been referring to asset recovery agent.

The petal wilted.

“I’m glad,” he said, shoving back his inner turmoil. “Zeke, both of you, deserve all the happiness in the world.”

Her hand closed over his and squeezed, and Ash felt the prick of tears. He swallowed hard, and slid his hand away.

A heavy silence fell between them, then she asked, “Was your meeting by chance?”

He had to shut down this line of questioning. Zeke would never forgive him if she found out the reason why his brother swallowed his pride and came to him. “No.”

“Did you talk out whatever’s still going on between the two of you?”

“No, but soon, I think.”

“What made Zeke turn into a cave man?”

When he didn’t elaborate, she said, “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

“There’s nothing to tell.” He took a drink of his coffee. “He asked me for a favor. I accepted. End of story.”

She didn’t look happy, and he couldn’t blame her. But he’d promised Zeke not to get Liv involved in the school board issue and he would stick to it. That didn’t mean he couldn’t use this opportunity to find out more about Kayla.

“Talk to me about the relationship dynamic between the Krownes and Governor Stokes.”

She spoke in a rush, as if she’d been waiting for him to broach the topic. “The governor and Jillian Krowne were tight, along with two of their classmates, Sybil Barclay and Elsie Henshaw. I believe they all went to the same boarding school or university.”

Sybil’s last name sparked a memory. “I met them the night of the murder,” he said. “Does Sybil have a son?”

Liv made a face, nodding. “Evan.”

He’d been too pre-occupied with figuring out how to get Kayla alone to make the connection at the benefit. “Don’t care for him?”

“I crossed paths with him once. That was enough.”

He wondered if Kayla was equally put off by Mr. No-Neck. Shaking off the twinge of jealousy, he prompted her to continue. “Didn’t mean to sidetrack our conversation. You were saying?”

“Kayla’s close with all of her mother’s friends. Even refers to them as the ‘aunties.’ However, I always sensed she had a closer bond with the governor. Maybe because Victoria was her godmother and took her role seriously.”

Godmother? Interesting.

“A seriousness she passed down to Kayla, who is Brodie’s godmother.”

“So I recently heard.”

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