Page 67 of A Life Betrayed

Frances felt her chest tighten. “Has it?” she asked, the phone dangling from her hand.

Ethan tilted his head to one side, studying her. “I think you missed one,” he said gently and reached over to fasten the errantbutton in the middle of her blouse. Frances realized how she must have looked, and her stomach turned.

“Do you need a ride?” he asked.

“No,” she said adamantly.

“Let’s try that again, this time without the infuriating stubbornness,” he said, seeing right through her. “Do you need a ride?”

Frances nodded.

They rode the short distance to her neighborhood and parked on the street.

Ethan let her into her house like he still lived there. He looked around at the empty spots where his furniture had been. “I see you’ve gone minimalist.”

Frances pulled up a stool in the kitchen and sat down. “Keep going,” she goaded him. “How else have I proven you right? Cold, single-minded, career-obsessed… Am I forgetting parts of your breakup speech?”

Ethan sighed and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He wore a faded Wolf Parade T-shirt beneath his unbuttoned winter coat. “Frances, are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Just peachy.”

“And the bad guys?” he teased, the way he used to, equating her work with some cheesy superhero comic. “Still kicking their asses?”

“Good, bad—I can’t tell the two apart anymore,” she said, her voice curling bitterly.

It was true. The clarity that had always been there, propelling her from one investigation to the next, had abandoned her. She recalled the relief she’d felt when Rayan had appeared in the back room of the warehouse in Montreal. To think she’d been safer with him than at Kyle’s condo…

Ethan frowned. “What’s going on?”

“They’re shelving my investigation. Months of work up in smoke. I’m tanking, Ethan. You left. And my sister, she’s asking about kids, setting me up on dates. I can’t fail at everything. What the fuck do I have left?”

Ethan’s eyes softened. “You’re so much more than the work, Frances. I know that’s hard for you to believe—God knows we fought about it more than I care to remember—but it’s the truth. Honestly, the sooner you get that through your head, the happier you’ll be.” He stepped over, took one of her hands, and gave it a squeeze. “You win some, you lose some. And then you move on.”

“Like you did?”

Ethan gave a short laugh and withdrew his hand. “Yeah, I did.”

“What does she do?”

“She’s a vet.”

“Bit more work-life balance, I gather.”

He snorted, and they shared a look—one of their old ones. It felt like only yesterday they’d shared everything—secrets whispered in the dark, dreams for the future, a bed, a home.

“I think it took you leaving for me to realize you were the love of my life,” she blurted.

A pained look crossed Ethan’s face. “Frances—”

“And my job falling to pieces is so hard because it’s what I gave you up for.” They stood in silence until she managed a soft laugh to disguise her embarrassment. “But I’m happy for you,” she lied. “Really, I am.”

Chapter

Twenty-Six

“Surprised to find you here.”

Mathias glanced up to see Giovanni coming down the cemetery path with a newspaper tucked under his arm and the air of a grandfather who’d wandered off from his handlers. “Wouldn’t have pegged you for the sentimental type.”

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