Page 45 of Too Lethal to Love

“Forget I said that.” She fiddled with the stem of her champagne flute. “I shouldn’t have said anything, and I don’t really mean it. Must be the booze talking.”

Kane remained quiet. Silence was the best tactic when it came to getting someone to talk. And when you added alcohol…

“It’s just that…” She sipped her bubbly.

Kane bit back a smile.Keep talking. And drinking.

She tipped back her flute and drank half the contents. “Because of Beth’s unfortunate, shall we say, luck, she’s always had things handed to her without having to work for them. Like every time she kills a boyfriend, she gets a sympathy pass that gives her carte blanche for everything she wants without earning it. She’s like the perpetual homecoming queen with all the spoils while the rest of us wait our turn and work our asses off.”

Someone has a runner-up complex.

He hadn’t known Beth for very long, but from what he could tell, she was one of the hardest-working people he’d ever met. He’d read the glowing reports from her boss. Hell, she wouldn’t be involved in a groundbreaking project like Triple X if she wasn’t a hard, reliable worker. And she was smart, caring, and dependable. Scarlett wouldn’t be best friends with someone she didn’t respect.

Evangeline touched his sleeve. “Don’t get me wrong. I love Beth like the sister I never had, even though we lost touch for a while. And I’m happy for the success she’s achieved. She deserves everything she’s gotten.” She eyed him from head to toe again. “And she seems to have hit the jackpot with you.”

“I’m the lucky one in the relationship.” Kane rolled hisstatement over in his brain, surprisedrelationshipdidn’t sound so scary.

“I don’t know about lucky.” Evangeline leaned closer to him and brought her hand to the side of her mouth. “Aren’t you afraid you’ll be her next victim?”

“Not unless you, or someone else in this town, has a plot to kill me.” Kane forced humor into his words and winked. “If that’s the case, whoever tries won’t be standing for long.”

“Wow. Hot, funny, and deadly. Beth is lucky Scarlett introduced you to her. And speaking of Scarlett, can you ask her if she can put me in touch with her stepfather? I’ve been having trouble getting in touch with him since I got back from Dubai.”

That’s going to be tough since he’s behind bars.

But Evangeline wouldn’t know that. The feds were keeping his arrest quiet while they sorted through his network of terrorist connections.

Kane directed his attention back to the sugarplum on the dance floor as if trouble would descend at the mere mention of Scarlett’s stepfather. “Why don’t you ask Beth to get you in touch with Richardson?”

“I don’t want to put her in the middle. Scarlett doesn’t like me very much. I think she’s jealous because her stepfather took an interest in me.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks. How long are you two lovebirds in town for?”

“Until Christmas Eve.”

“I bet Beth wants to be back home in time for mass at our old church.”

“That’s her plan.” He’d been happy to ditch church this Christmas since Gran was out of town, but mass with Beth sounded appealing.

Evangeline tilted her head to his. “We used to play this covert hide-and-seek game in the church that wasso much fun. Last time we talked, Beth said she still played it with the kids in her science class. Does she still do that?”

Kane had no idea, but he nodded. It sounded like something a pastor wouldn’t approve of, but Beth would do anyway.

“She’s always been such a do-gooder.” Evangeline toyed with the plunging neckline of her jumpsuit. “Did she tell you about the necklace she’s wearing? The hospital fundraising board presented it to her at our last meeting as a thanks for her dedication.”

“She didn’t mention it.” But he remembered the sorrow in her eyes as she’d held the medallion between her fingers and told him about her boyfriend, who beat cancer but wound up in the graveyard anyway.

“Beth had attended the meeting virtually, so I sent her the token of appreciation. IfI’dbeen given a gift to recognize my service, I would want it sooner rather than later. I figured Beth would too. Does she wear it all the time?”

“She hasn’t taken it off.” Not since yesterday anyway. It seemed Evangeline’s jealousy started long before that though.

Evangeline smiled as a beep alerted him to an incoming mind comms call.

“Kane, do you copy?”Ryan said.

“Copy.”

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