Page 16 of Too Lethal to Love

“Anything for my favorite genius. For now, we’re working under the assumption the stalker and Chavez are operating independently.”

Nic grabbed a handful of chips. “Soeven though we have no idea why Chavez didn’t steal Beth instead of the disco ball cake, we can assume the stalker watched it go down. Either that or Chavez’s been her stalker since the beginning.”

Chris shook his head. “But that doesn’t add up. The cartels aren’t into psychological warfare. They strike fast and draw blood.”

Kane agreed. It didn’t add up at all.

Ryan looked up from where he typed at the table. “You’re all set for pre-activation.”

Kane thought the passphrase to bring his weaponry online. Prior to a recent fiasco that almost caused VIPER to be disbanded, his weaponry could only be made live by headquarters. New protocols gave him the ability to bring his weaponry online quicker. If he was in a pre-activated state, all he needed to do was simply repeat his unique passphrase in his head and V-Strikes were at his command.

Seconds later, the chip at the base of his neck pricked and he twitched.

“Still sting?” Scarlett asked.

He gave her a side-eye. Fuck yeah, it still hurt to have a powerful current triggered in his body. Not as much when he was fully activated in phase two, and the current pulsed from his neck, down his torso, and into his leg, but enough to still cause a reaction.

Edgar pointed his key at him. “You only activate phase two if it’s life or death.”

“Understood, sir.” He prayed Beth’s situation wouldn’t come to that.

Scarlett tugged him down the short hall to the pantry as Edgar and Ryan packed to-go containers with leftovers. “You’ll take good care of my friend without taking her to bed, got it? Succumbing to what I see in your eyes when you look at her could be a matter of life or death.”

“Jeez, when did you become so intense?” And when had he let his feelings for Beth become so transparent?

From the moment I met her.

When he’d run into Scarlett’s house after her townhome was breached, her gorgeous friend with the bag of ice on her head, fear in her gaze, and her chin up in the air had stopped him in his tracks. Despite the pain from Beth’s head injury and the scare from the break-in, the anti–damsel in distress with the defiant nature clearly was just as attracted to him as he was to her.

Scarlett giggled. “How could I not become more intense when I’m surrounded by super soldiers?”

“Glad to see we’ve been a good influence, but your delivery would have been better if you’d thrown in a few swear words.”

“Fine. I’mfuckingserious.”

“Ah, there’s the potty-mouthed genius I’ve come to love.” He tapped her nose. “I already had this conversation with Chris. The only reason I’ll touch your friend is to push her out of danger.”

Scarlett stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t die, okay?”

“I’m a super soldier. You and your techy magic made me nearly invincible, remember?”

“Yeah, but there are some things science and technology can’t protect you from.”

Beth perched on the edge of her bed. “Kane cannot come home with me.”

Scarlett stood in front of her. “Why? Are you planning on falling in love with him?”

“You know I can’t do that, but if I could, it wouldn’t bewith someone like Kane. He’s pigheaded and bossy and thinks I’m helpless.”

But you are.

For the last two years, she’d armed herself with defensive techniques in case her stalker returned. She’d installed a top-of-the-line security system that was even more secure since she’d won a free upgrade a few weeks ago. All her precautions might be enough for a lone stalker, but an enforcer from a Mexican drug cartel?

“Overbearing and protective are VIPER prerequisites. Chris is the same way. I can’t wait to watch Nic and Linc fall for someone and get all caveman on them.”

“Kane isn’t my someone.”

Scarlett sat next to Beth on the bed. “He is for the time being.”

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