Page 48 of Too Lethal to Love

“Yeah, ’cause they’re dickheads.”

Another laugh, this one not as strained, glided from her lips. “You guys take giving each other crap to a whole new level, like when you and Linc argue about whose relatives make the best moonshine.”

“My Uncle Pat’s is so much better than his cousin’s from Alaska. You’ll have to try some when we get home.”

Her laugh, this time, sounded like it came from the heart. He stared at the road, pleased with himself for making her smile, and prepared himself for her next question. He’d always wondered how much Scarlett had told Beth about VIPER’s competencies. Not much, he guessed. Both women respected the integrity of classified information, yet they were family. Just how super did Beth think he was?

One block flew by. Another. A turn out of town and still no sound from Beth. His respect for her upped a notch. Shewas shot at—twice—for fuck’s sake. She had every right to be a hysterical mess, but he was grateful she wasn’t.

As a seventeen-year-old boy, he hadn’t known how to handle his mother’s tears. As a man, he knew exactly how to comfort Beth. His idea of comfort, no matter how innocently intended, would lead to things he wouldn’t follow through with until they had a conversation.

He’d told her she wasn’t getting all of him until she confessed what gave her nightmares. Well, she had. As much as he wanted the whole damn box of sugarplums, not just a sample, they had to get something else straight before he sank his cock deep inside her sugar and devoured her from the inside out.

Did she really believe pretending to be her boyfriend would get him killed? He shook his head. Who was he kidding? The pretending had stopped almost before it had started. They were good together.

Damn fucking good.

So good that denying his feelings felt like trying to shoot a bullet back into a gun chamber.

Fruitless.

Impossible.

Lethal, because if he died in combat, Beth wouldn’t just grieve like his mother had. She’d blame herself.

“Kane?” She didn’t look at him. “You were just almost killed.”

He noted she hadn’t said “we,” as if the very real threat of her life being in danger didn’t matter. But it did, and he’d do everything he could do to keep her safe from the stalker, Chavez, and from herself. “Those shots weren’t intended to kill either of us. One hit my steel and the other hit dead center in the cross. I saw it when I rolled with you.”

“Oh my God.” Her hand flew to his thigh. Panic rose in her voice. “I didn’t realize you were hit. Does it hurt?”

He moved her fingers to where the bullet had gone through his pants. It wasn’t the first time he’d had a bullet lodged in his leg. It certainly wouldn’t be the last. “It feels like when you go to the dentist and you’re numb, but you still feel the pressure from the drill.”

He grazed his fingers over her left arm, her skin cold underneath his touch. “Did I hurt you when we hit the ground?”

“No. Just a few scratches, and I twisted my ankle when I ran from the truck, but the throbbing has stopped.”

“I’ll attend to your injuries when we get where we’re going.” He reached behind him and pulled her coat from where he’d tossed it in the back seat. “Put this on. You’re shivering. And no more jumping from vehicles.”

She nodded. “Lesson learned.”

“Good.” He slowed down as she took her seat belt off and shrugged on the coat. His hands relaxed on the steering wheel as she buckled back in.

“Kane?”

“Yeah?” He tensed at the heaviness in her voice.

“I can’t let you be number four.”

Abeep sounded from overhead. Beth jumped in her seat. How Kane didn’t, even though he was used to it, was beyond her. Then again, everything about Kane was a wonder.

“Status?”

Kane rattled off their location to Ryan. “Are we being followed?”

“No. I’ve cleared the way for you. You won’t be tracked by any surveillance cameras or satellites. The address for the safe house is coming up on your GPS now.”

Beth’s gaze flew to the video display on Kane’s dashboard. A map came up. The little dot representing their vehicle headed them away from her parents’ house. “Where are we going?”

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