Back Deadly Sting
Chapters (40)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Acknowledgments
  4. Chapter 1
  5. Chapter 2
  6. Chapter 3
  7. Chapter 4
  8. Chapter 5
  9. Chapter 6
  10. Chapter 7
  11. Chapter 8
  12. Chapter 9
  13. Chapter 10
  14. Chapter 11
  15. Chapter 12
  16. Chapter 13
  17. Chapter 14
  18. Chapter 15
  19. Chapter 16
  20. Chapter 17
  21. Chapter 18
  22. Chapter 19
  23. Chapter 20
  24. Chapter 21
  25. Chapter 22
  26. Chapter 23
  27. Chapter 24
  28. Chapter 25
  29. Chapter 26
  30. Chapter 27
  31. Chapter 28
  32. Chapter 29
  33. Chapter 30
  34. Chapter 31
  35. Chapter 32
  36. Chapter 33
  37. Chapter 34
  38. ‘Heart of Venom’ Excerpt
  39. About Jennifer Estep
  40. Copyright

Finn kept wincing, but he didn’t answer me. Roslyn and Phillip exchanged a puzzled look, but it was Eva’s reaction that caught my eye. She bit her lip and looked down at the floor, a guilty expression on her face if ever there was one. She glanced up, realized that I was staring at her, and let out a small sigh.

“Actually, it wasn’t really Finn’s idea,” Eva admitted. “I was the one who suggested it.”

“And why would you do that?”

She sighed again. “Because it’s been almost a month since Salina’s death, and you and Owen haven’t seen each other in weeks. You haven’t even spoken, as far as I know.”

She was right about that, not that I told her so.

“I agree with Eva,” Kincaid chimed in. “You and Owen need to at least start talking again.”

“About what?” I asked, turning to face him. “How I slit Salina’s throat right in front of him? Even though he asked me not to? Or maybe we should talk about how I told Finn to hold him back and how you helped with that? It’s easy for you to tell me to start talking to Owen, especially since it seems like he’s forgiven you, Finn, and everyone else for what happened—everyone except me, that is.”

This time, Kincaid was the one who winced at my harsh words. Still, he didn’t back down. “Salina’s gone, Gin, and I say good riddance to her. But you and Owen are still here. The two of you care about each other, quite deeply, from what I’ve seen. If I were you, I’d be doing my best to fix things between the two of you.”

I arched an eyebrow. “I don’t really think you’re in a position to be giving me relationship advice, Philly,” I said, using Eva’s childhood nickname for him. “Although I’m glad to see you’re here tonight with someone who’s age-appropriate. You are here with Roslyn, right? And not someone else?”

Anger simmered in Kincaid’s blue eyes, and his jaw clenched, making his chiseled cheekbones stand out more. Not too long ago, I’d told Kincaid that I knew he was not-so-secretly in love with Eva. Phillip had helped Eva and Owen when the three of them had been living on the streets as kids, and he’d told me that Eva was the first person who’d ever cared about him. That was why he loved her, even though he was my age, thirty, and about ten years older than her.

Eva looked back and forth between me and Phillip, her brow furrowed, obviously wondering what I was talking about.

I sighed. Just because my love life was on the skids was no reason for me to take my anger and frustration out on everyone else, especially my friends.