Free TENDER DECEIT (Romantic Suspense Mystery Novel): First Love Series ~ Book 1 by H.Y. Hanna Page B

her stomach respond. It was a course of honey soy-glazed, seared scallops on crispy wonton skins, accompanied by iced asparagus. She speared a scallop with her fork and popped it into her mouth. The tender flesh melted like butter with a burst of flavour on her tongue.
    “It’s delicious,” she said, smiling shyly at him.
    Toran didn’t respond. He had taken his shades and the cap off at last, the latter leaving his hair slightly ruffled. Leah resisted a sudden urge to reach up and brush the dark strands back from his forehead. He was eating thoughtfully, his eyes on his plate. She had the feeling that he was preparing what he was going to say to her. Finally he raised those brilliant green eyes to hers and Leah felt her heart give a little tug again.
    “I’m sorry if I scared you just now.” He hesitated. “I was hoping to have the chance to explain everything to you first, but… well, things got taken out of my hands.”
    “Explain what?” asked Leah.
    He leaned back. “Have you heard of Bentley Warne?”
    The name rang a faint bell. “Bentley Warne?” Leah furrowed her brow, remembering the information from the newsreel. “The… Australian property billionaire? Wasn’t he the guy you wrote some articles about last year?”
    In the dark of the cabin, she saw Toran’s teeth flash in a wolfish grin. “Yes, I wrote about old Bentley. It was the work of months of careful research and networking with anonymous sources and witnesses. I was writing a column for the Oriental Tribune at the time and I’d already published a series of articles asking questions about Warne’s conduct. But last year, it was going to be a full feature that would have been the scoop of my career. Bentley Warne—one of Singapore’s wealthiest men and pillars of society—found to be guilty of corruption, extortion, bribery…”
    “But ?” Leah said.
    Toran’s eyes hardened. “But my editor suddenly got cold feet, my witnesses mysteriously disappeared, and the next thing I knew, Warne was threatening to sue me for libel.” He leaned back and gazed out of the cabin window. “I was fired from the newspaper, of course. No references, no appeal, constant public harassment; even my landlord suddenly decided that he was not renewing my lease. And I was facing possible imprisonment for criminal defamation. Bentley Warne is the master of the cover-up and he has friends in high places.”
    “You went to jail?” said Leah, horrified.
    “No. I have friends in high places too.” He grinned. “And low places.”
    “So what happened?”
    “I let things cool off. Lay low for a while. Moved to a new apartment. Did some freelance work for publications in other countries, wrote for some websites—”
    “But you didn’t forget about it.” It was a statement more than a question.
    He inclined his head. “I knew I was right about Warne. But the man is too powerful, too well connected. I had to find some foolproof way to get him that he couldn’t wriggle out of. Then, last week, a… a contact came to me with information. Something that could deliver Bentley Warne straight into my hands.” He leaned forwards, his green eyes intent. “There had been another cover-up. Only this time, what Warne was trying to cover up was murder.”

CHAPTER 9
     
     
     
    Murder . The word hung in the air between them, like a foul smell. Leah felt an illogical urge to laugh and had to bite her lip to stop the hysterical sound emerging. This was crazy, she told herself. Completely crazy. Bad B-movie was right. Any minute now, Toran would start climbing out of the cable car like 007 and shooting at metal-toothed villains in passing helicopters…
    She took a quick gulp of the champagne and immediately wished she hadn’t as the bubbles fizzed in her head. Toran was looking at her, his eyes hooded, obviously waiting for her to speak. Leah stared back at him, her mind whirling. What could she say?
    “Wh-who was it?” she asked finally.
    “A woman. A