Page 87 of Too Lethal to Love

Kane nodded to himself as he fired a V-Strike into the lock on the door handle. It took less than five seconds for the metal to melt. He could assume Beth and one of the Chavezes, or maybe a guard, were in the second room. They’d be stupid to leave her alone.

Unless she was dead.

No.His sugarplum was strong. She’d not only survived but flourished when most would have deteriorated into a shell of the person they used to be. Instead, she’d become the person he’d fallen head over combat boots for.

The tempo of the gunshots from the front of thebuilding slowed but didn’t stop. If this had been any other mission, he wouldn’t have appreciated hiding outside while the others engaged with guns and V-Strikes, but he’d do whatever it took to achieve his goal.

Tell Beth he loved her.

Marry her.

Make supersmart babies.

If Ryan’s intel was correct, his new life plan of serving his country while he loved the most incredible woman in the world was only two rooms away.

He pushed the outer door open with his boot far enough to enter. A woman hung from the ceiling. The blinding light from above cast her in a flaming, distorted aura. His flesh-and-bone knee buckled. His super leg held him up.

No.

He ripped off his helmet. Nausea tore through his gut. Tears blurred his eyes as the wind whipped through the open door. The body shifted. Straight blonde hair, not brown curls, came into focus. He breathed again.

Evangeline.

He ran to her as an image of Jenna’s beaten, lifeless face morphed into Beth’s. For so long, he’d feared leaving someone behind if he died. He didn’t like the tables being turned.

He checked her pulse. It beat steady beneath his fingers.“Evangeline is bound and unconscious in the rear room. Heading into the second room.Status?”

Ryan confirmed there were still two heat signatures as Kane skirted around Evangeline and headed for the door. As he gripped the handle, Evangeline moaned behind him.

He spun and froze again.

A slim man in black held Evangeline by the throat. His knife pressed into the hollow of her neck. Kane didn’t need to ask how he’d evaded the thermal imaging. He recognizedthe head covering and tight clothes that cloaked heat signatures.

Kane itched to take him out with a V-Strike, but if Beth wasn’t in the room behind him, he needed him to talk. “Stop hiding like a pussy and tell me where the Black Widow is.”

The pussy pulled off the head covering. Dark hair spilled out in waves. “Why don’tyoutell me about whatever it is you did last night at the safe house that nobody can explain?”

Kane didn’t answer. He just stared at a miniature, feminine Chavez. “You must be the other dead twin.”

“I’m very much alive, but if you hurt me, she’ll be dead.” She pressed the tip of her knife into Evangeline’s neck. Evangeline moaned but didn’t open her eyes.

Kane shook off the shock. “I don’t care about her.”

The female Chavez laughed. “But you do care about thecazampulga,and she’s on the other side of that door with my brother. Answer my questions and maybe I’ll?—”

Fire!

The V-Strike Kane aimed at her shoulder found its mark. She dropped her knife and howled in pain.

He spun to the door to the second room and lunged for it. As it swung open, another surprise rooted him to the ground.

Beth spun and kicked her stalker square in the gut. As he sailed across the room, she squeezed the trigger. The bullet plunged into the center of his forehead. She held her breath as the life left his eyes andhebecame number four.

“Beth.”

She spun to the voice that sounded sweeter than church bells.

Kane was here.

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