Page 47 of Too Lethal to Love

He scanned the area as he placed himself between Beth and the direction the shots had come from. Nothing moved in the barren trees surrounding the gigantic angel statue.Even the wind had died down. Holding his breath, he waited for another shot.

“Status?”Ryan asked.

“Gunshots. Both from the east.”

“I’ve got an aerial view of the location. You’re in a cemetery?”

The incredulous note in Ryan’s voice wasn’t lost over the brainwaves.“Yes. Hostiles?”

“Stand by.”

“Roger that,” Kane said aloud.

Beth tugged at him. “Who are you talking to?”

He silenced her with a harsh “shush,” not realizing he’d switched from talking in his head to talking aloud.

Poised to either fire or fight, Kane crouched over Beth, his breaths calm and controlled, torn between guarding her and going after whoever fired those shots. But he couldn’t leave her. It wasn’t luck that the shot hit his steel leg instead of flesh. Nor was it luck that the second one landed smack in the center of the wooden cross. Whoever made those shots was sending a message.

“Kane.”

The fear in Beth’s voice ripped through his heart, especially since he knew it wasn’t only for her own life but for his. “Hang tight, sugarplum.”

“Area is clear,”Ryan said. “Is Beth okay?”

“Affirmative.”Kane didn’t need to report his status. If his pulse rate so much as dropped a few beats while he was in phase two, his comms unit would alert headquarters.

“We’ve secured a safe house. Nic and Linc are activated and will meet you there. Stand by for details.”

“Good.”And not good. The activation of his teammates meant the threat wasn’t just credible but dire enough to mobilize Project VIPER. He tugged Beth up. “Let’s go.”

Kane hurried her to the truck and deposited her inside.Rounding the hood, he scanned the street as he climbed in next to her.

She curled into herself as he sped away from the curb. “I’ve never heard a gunshot with a silencer. It didn’t sound like a shot. I mean, when I go to the shooting range with Scarlett, and the night Danny…” An anguished squeak slipped from her throat. “It didn’t sound like that.”

“Breathe, Beth.” He touched her knee. It shook underneath his palm. He stole a glance at her profile as he held the wheel tight with his other hand. “We’ve got it under control.”

“We who?” She glanced back at the cemetery. “Who were you talking to back there?”

“Ryan.”

“How? Through mental telepathy?”

“Something like that.” He’d been wanting to tell Beth about the enhancements VIPER had built into his body and brain. To share with her how astounded he’d been when he’d woken up in the military hospital and been offered a second chance at his career, and his life. How he’d mourned his brothers who’d lost more than a leg that day and cried for the ones who would grieve for them. How he avoided commitment because he feared leaving someone behind, and how, since meeting her, he’d begun to question that thinking.

He scratched the back of his neck where the chip that networked his body and brain had been implanted. Sometimes, like now, when his adrenaline soared into overdrive, he could swear it sizzled under his skin like a bomb primed to explode. The scratching at his neck turned into clawing as the urge to tell Beth everything grew to a painful itch.

He wanted to explain how it felt to have lethal technology coursing alongside his blood. How going from clinically dead to somewhat inhuman made him feel invincible, yet scared shitless. How the chances of him not cominghome from a mission were significantly lower than before he joined VIPER yet astronomically high.

He couldn’t share all that, but she deserved to know at least a little bit of the truth. “There’s technology built into my body that lets me communicate with headquarters remotely.”

“Like when Edgar’s voice invaded your truck earlier and scared the crap out of me?”

“Yes, and that was pretty damn funny.”

She laughed, the sound off-kilter, but it was genuine, and he drank in every strained beat. “The technology also lets us communicate silently in our heads. We can also share information through this.” He held up his wrist. “Chris and Nic have their comms units built into their arms, but Linc and I have to wear them.”

“Is that why they teased you about having to wear jewelry the other night when we all met up for dinner?”

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