Free 4 Arch Enemy of Murder by Vanessa Gray Bartal

You two might want to give it a try sometime.”
     
    “Is he the reason you and Jason are fighting?” Travis said.
     
    “Jason and I are not…” Lacy started to say, and then remembered their row from earlier that morning. “No.” Tosh was giving her a sideways glance as if he was about to probe further into the issue. Lacy looked around for a rescue and found it once again in the form of food. “Oh, look, our order is here.”
     
    The waiter arrived and began doling out their food. On the edge of Lacy’s plate was a bowl of what looked like sour cream with cucumbers. She tasted it and looked up at the waiter in surprise. Tzatziki!
     
    “Our secret,” he said.
     
    She nodded and smiled her appreciation. The act of kindness as well as the stimulating effect of food revived her good mood. She once again carried the conversational ball. Tosh joined in and seemed to be making an effort to be kind to Riley. In turn, she was being charming. Travis was duly charmed to the point that he was able to eat most of his meal and keep it down. And that’s when everything went awry.
     
    Lacy and Tosh had just started a debate over dessert—not whether they should get one, but how many.
     
    “I only want a few bites,” Lacy said.
     
    “You always say that, and then you eat the whole thing. Let’s each get one.”
     
    “But if we split dessert here, then I can have a cupcake at home,” she said.
     
    “That sounds great in theory, but we both know you’re going to eat all the dessert and have a cupcake anyway. Or maybe two.”
     
    “You two are so cute together,” Riley interjected. “I wasn’t sure what to expect after seeing Lacy and Jason together in New York, but I get it now. You’re like the old, comfortable husband. The one you’ve given up looking good for, the one who sees you inhale a carton of ice cream without your makeup on while wearing fat, stretchy pants. And Jason, well, Jason is the young hot lover you can’t keep your hands off of. Or at least that was my perspective that weekend when you were all over each other. Am I wrong, sis?” She turned cool eyes on Lacy and dared her to disagree.
     
    “Riley,” Lacy started, but then she noticed the way Tosh was white-knuckling the menu. “Tosh…”
     
    “Don’t,” he interrupted. “Just don’t. I don’t want to hear what I already know. I just…I have to go.” He stood and fled the restaurant while Lacy stared after him in open-mouthed surprise.
     
    “Hmm, you’re right. He is sensitive,” Riley said.
     
    Lacy turned furious eyes on her. “How could you do that to him? How could you hurt him that way? He’s kind and gentle and sweet, and you hurt him.”
     
    “No, you hurt him. I was just stating the truth.”
     
    Lacy couldn’t deal with her at the moment. She had to try and catch Tosh, to somehow make things better. She tossed money on the table at the same time that Michael finished his last song and came over to their table. “Not now,” she snapped as she eased by him.
     
    Behind her, he began to play “The Flight of the Bumblebee,” as Lacy sprinted for the exit and Travis stood and dashed toward the bathroom.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 6
     
     
    The phone rang, propelling Lacy from a fretful sleep.
     
    “I need your help.”
     
    “Tosh?” Was she dreaming? She had tried to call him, had walked to his house, had pinned a message to his door, and hadn’t heard a word in reply. And now he was calling at—she squinted at the clock—two in the morning? “What’s wrong? How can I help? What can I do? What do you need?”
     
    Those were a lot of questions, but she was eager to show him he could count on her for anything. She felt horrible, consumed with guilt on too many levels to count. For the first time, she was beginning to understand how much she had hurt Tosh, even though not hurting him had been her first priority.
     
    “It’s Pearl.”
     
    “Pearl?” Lacy repeated. “Is she