Free A Killing Kind of Love: A Dark, Standalone Romantic Suspense by Ec Sheedy Page A

frustration. “I know Paul adored Holly, but damned if he can’t be a real son of a bitch sometimes.”
    Dan felt his lips twitch.
    Camryn put a hand to her mouth, looked up at him.
    “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Foot-in-mouth disease. It’s chronic.”
    “I don’t know. That’s what Holly called him from time to time. Said the description fit real well, considering his mother.”
    Camryn took her hand from her mouth. “Oh God, I’d forgotten. Granny . . . Gertrude Penelope Grantman. Holly called her a ‘certified nasty’ and took off every time she showed up at the lake. We spent a lot of time hiding in my closet, as I remember.”
    “Where’s Granny Grantman now?”
    “Dead.” She came near to smiling. “Gone, as Holly used to say, in full drama-queen mode, to justice and her everlasting reward, a universe where everyone wore bigger diamonds, everyone drove a newer car, and everyone called her Gertie, a name she hated. So you’re right, Holly didn’t like her.” She looked up at him, and her tentative smile wobbled as a wash of tears filled her eyes. She closed her eyes against them. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I’m finding this harder than I imagined. She was my friend, and I loved her.”
    “As did I,” he said, He wasn’t lying. There had been love, just not enough of it.
    She gave him a quick glance, then dropped her eyes. “Yes, this must be hard for you.”
    He had the sure sense she didn’t believe him, and for the first time he had the urge to defend his feelings for Holly, and would have if he knew what the hell they were. Luckily, Solari brought the car to within a few feet of the stairs in time to stop him from stepping into that quagmire.
    Sebastian got out of the car and walked up to them. “Ready?” he said to Camryn, his voice brusque. She nodded, and as she turned toward the car, Sebastian gave his attention to Dan, his expression unreadable. “I’m sure I should say something about your loss, Lambert, but I figure I’d be wading in a bit late. Unless I miss my guess, your real loss was months ago . . . about the time Adam Dunn started screwing your wife.”
    Dan took the hit—the equivalent of a sucker punch from Muhammad Ali wearing an iron glove—but it knocked out his word-making ability.
    Camryn spun to face them both, her eyes wide with shock.
    Solari’s expression was unrepentant. “You going to tell me you didn’t know?”
    Dan leveled off his breathing. “I’m telling you you’re out of line. Way, way out of line.”
    He snorted. “Yeah, well when it came to Holly and Adam, there were no lines. They never could keep their hands off one another. They’ve been on again, off again since college. And lately very much on. Which makes you a . . . what’s that word? Cuckold. Yeah, that’s it.”
    Dan took a step forward, his chest heaving with the effort to stop himself from taking a piece out of the asshole’s jaw. “Get the hell away from me Solari. Now!”
    Camryn pulled on Sebastian’s arm, but he yanked it from her grasp. “I’m going, but before I do, I’ll tell you this. Holly didn’t love you, Lambert, and she sure as hell didn’t love Dunn. She loved me . She was set to leave you both— for me. ” He poked his own chest, his eyes strangely bright, then said again. “Me! You got that?”
    “Stop!” Camryn said. “Are you crazy?” She towed Solari back, out of fist range. Her eyes, when they met Dan’s, pleaded for understanding. “Please,” she said. “He’s . . . grieving.”
    Strangest goddamn grief Dan had ever seen.
    “I’m not the crazy one, Camryn.” Solari’s eyes narrowed, fixed on Dan like fetid lasers. “The crazy one is either Lambert or Dunn. Because one or the other of them killed Holly when he found out about us. And with Dunn being nothing but a cowardly opportunistic bastard, my money’s on Lambert here.”
    “Now you’re accusing me of killing my wife?” Who the hell was this