Free Winter's Fire (Welcome to Covendale #7) by Morgan Blaze Page A

“Good.”
    “But before we get to business, there's something...kind of personal I want to say.”
    Adam frowned. “Are you sure? We don't have to—”
    “Not that,” she said quickly. And had she imagined the disappointment in his eyes? Probably. But this was more important, something she'd wanted to tell him even when she'd been furious with him. “I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry about Ben.”
    He reeled a bit, shivered briefly. “Thank you,” he murmured. “I...still don't know what to think, what to do. It's like—well, it couldn't have really happened. I was there. I saw it, saw him , and I still don't believe it.”
    Something told her now wasn't the time to offer a clinical definition of shock. “I didn't know him very well, but he was a good friend of a friend of mine. And that tells me he must've been a good man.” She faltered as fresh tears threatened. “In fact, I was supposed to meet him here tonight,” she said.
    “Your friend?”
    “No. I was meeting Ben.” She folded her hands together tightly. “I don't know why I came, really, after...the accident,” she said. “It just felt like the right thing to do.”
    “You were going to meet Ben?” Adam said in a strange, hoarse tone. “Here, tonight?”
    She looked at him, brow furrowing. “Yes. He asked me to.”
    “At ten?”
    Her heart gave a painful thump. “Yes,” she whispered. “Why?”
    Adam shoved a hand in his pocket and came out with a folded scrap of paper. “He gave me this,” he said, handing it to her. “Last night at the party, just after you left.”
    Suddenly worried, she unfolded the paper and read the few words scrawled on it: Pete's Diner, 10 tomorrow night. An involuntary gasp escaped her.
    Ben had wanted to tell them both something important. Something secret—so secret that he hadn't even risked talking to them at the same time about meeting him here. And now he'd never be able to tell them. In that moment, any lingering suspicion she'd held toward Adam vanished.
    And she knew there was a lot more at stake here than some misplaced funds.
    * * * *
    Adam had barely begun to process that Ben had asked her to the same secret meeting for whatever he wanted to tell them, when Piper returned with his coffee and the rest of Winter’s order. He managed to exchange pleasantries with the waitress, all the while thinking about Ben’s final request—to keep Winter safe. From “people” who’d do “a hell of a lot” to keep her from finding out…something.
    It would’ve been real damned helpful if he’d been able to fill in a few details.
    When they were alone, he looked at her and sighed. “All right. Now what do we do?”
    “I have no idea.” She picked up her fork, shoved her salad around a bit, and then pushed the bowl aside. “This is definitely an onion ring problem,” she said, dragging the plate Piper had brought over to the center of the table. “Help yourself.”
    “Oh, I like the way you think.” He grabbed one, but didn’t eat it yet. “Maybe this is what we should do,” he said. “Pool our resources. What did he say to you, exactly?”
    She frowned. “Not much. Just that he knew what I was looking into, and he had information I was going to need.”
    “That’s it?”
    “Yes, and he asked me to meet him here,” she said. “He was very quiet about it, nervous. He seemed to think someone was listening.” Her mouth parted slightly. “Ethan Goddard was there, watching us. He didn’t look happy.”
    “Christ. I thought he left.” Adam fell silent, considering Ethan—and how to tell Winter what Ben had said to him. “I didn’t hear a lot from him either, but he was serious about what he did say.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “Ben asked me to watch out for you. He said what you’re investigating has been going on a long time, and he couldn’t stop it. And he thinks whoever’s behind it is out to get you.”
    Winter blinked rapidly and stared at the table. “He was