Taste Me Deadly (Sensory Ops) Read Free Page B

story and all that remained was proving or disproving whatever he’d concocted in his head. This had to end before Aidan said too much—like how celibate Liam had been and for how long.
    “We met a few years ago in Vegas.” Grey thought the vague answer would be enough. She definitely didn’t know Aidan.
    Liam captured his brother’s stare and, with a protective hold on Grey’s waist, took the plunge. “She’s my wife.”
    Aidan blinked, scrubbed his left hand’s index finger over his forehead, stared. “Your what?”
    Doubt surfaced in the light of Aidan’s surprise. He should have told everyone about Grey before she showed up.
    The question, two stumbling words, conveyed volumes of confused irritation. It was a reaction Aidan normally had toward Lana when she got into a new story, seeming to always be drawn to the dangerous ones. Aidan wouldn’t accept the truth easily because for all his bluster, he was a traditionalist.
    Protectiveness turned to defensiveness.
    Flattening his hand on Grey’s back, reassuring himself more than her, he said it again. “My wife.”
    “Since when are you married?”
    “Since the Behavioral Analysis Conference I attended two years ago, but what’s important right now is that Grey needs my help.”
    Aidan shifted his stare to Ruby, and, though he stood still as stone, Liam knew his brother was working to bite back questions. Most days Liam looked forward to swapping verbal spars with his twin. Today was not like most days.
    Aidan’s shoulders lowered beneath his leather bomber jacket. When he turned his attention back to Liam and Grey he seemed more relaxed. Their mother had always said Aidan carried the hellraiser genes and Liam the peacemaker ones, but since getting engaged to Lana—hellraiser extraordinaire—Aidan was mellowing. The change was especially appreciated at the moment.
    “Looks to me like Ms. Donovan’s the one who needs help.”
    “Which is why I’m here.” Grey cocked her head defensively and moved to stand between Aidan and Ruby.
    Pride burst in Liam’s chest. It wasn’t everyone who could stand up to Aidan when they didn’t know him, but the woman he’d impetuously married had a spine he hadn’t seen. Getting to know her could be fun.
    “How are you going to help her? You a doctor?”
    Grey did not back down from Aidan, instead she made sure she stood tall, which wasn’t especially easy given her height. “I’m her sister. She needs a kidney.”
    “Hold up.” Liam interrupted any response Aidan may have had and crossed quickly to Grey. “ That’s why you’re here? To donate a kidney?”
    “Know your wife real well, I see.”
    Grey smirked, clearly enjoying her moment. “Guess Micah didn’t tell you everything.”
    “Who’s Micah?”
    Liam waved Aidan off, not that it would work. His brother was a bulldog. Hell, the whole team was and any one of them would come up with some questions.
    “How did you hope to protect yourself if you’re under anesthesia?” Liam’s demand sounded harsher than he’d intended, but he couldn’t ease it any more than he could slow his racing heart. “What if I hadn’t been here waiting? Would you have called me? If you’d needed help, would you have reached out?”
    “I told Micah I would.”
    “Which isn’t an answer.” Liam knew an evasion when he heard one, and he knew the primary reasons for them—uncertainty and to avoid a lie. He didn’t know Grey well enough to know which reason was hers, but he didn’t care.
    “That’s not an answer.” If they were at an interrogation table he’d be standing, towering over her. They weren’t, though, and he was struggling to keep his cool. She was dealing with a lot, but she wasn’t the upfront woman he’d thought her to be. “Would you have called?”
    “I don’t know.”
    Aidan moved to the chair Liam had spent the night in and settled. He would have plenty to say about Liam being married but he’d wait and learn more first. It’s what