She didn''t want to bring up Soren Fawkes again. It felt too much like gossiping behind his back.


    She just wanted a clean break.


    Finn Lockridge offered a small smile. "I''m not going to ask about Soren."


    He already had his answer, so there was no point in asking anything else.


    Finn adjusted his sses on his nose and finally asked the one question that had driven him to approach Evangeline Whitmore in the first ce the one he''d been waiting for the right moment to ask.


    "Where is Theresa Carlisle?"


    At the question, Evangeline''s gaze drifted up to meet his, her expression cid.


    "That''s the real reason you got close to me, isn''t it?" she asked.


    Finn didn''t bother to deny it. He simply nodded. "Yes."


    "If you didn''t want to know the answer to that question, you never would have helped me. You wouldn''t have... yed along with me all this time." Her words were phrased as a question, but her tone was one of t certainty.


    "Yes," Finn replied, just as directly.


    Hearing the unhesitating response, a self-deprecating smile touched Evangeline''s lips.


    She had reyed this scenario in her mind countless times, and this was always the answer that made the most sense. The moment she''d learned of his connection to Victor Lockridge, she had been sure of it.


    She thought she had prepared herself for this moment. But hearing him confirm it still sent an unexpected pang of destion and grief through her.


    The music in the bar shifted, the beat growing louder, more aggressive.


    The sound pulled Evangeline from her thoughts. "I don''t know," she said.


    "Victor has the resources to find her easily," she exined. "So, to guarantee she could get away safely, she never told anyone her destination. She didn''t even know it herself."


    "We also made a pact not to contact each other until the day she decides toe back."


    "So, the answer you went to all this trouble for? I don''t have it. Your reason for getting close to me... it was a dead end from the start."


    She finished, her voice steady and quiet.


    Finn was silent for a few seconds, lost in thought, before giving a slow, contemtive nod.


    Evangeline''s lips quirked. "Right. I asked an extra question just now. Penalty on


    me."


    With that, she grabbed her ss and downed two shots in quick session. As she reached for a third, Finn''s hand covered hers. "That''s enough."


    "Two questions, two shots," Evangeline muttered.


    She couldn''t stop her fingers from trembling, her breath catching in her throat.


    *It''s cold,* she told herself. *The AC in this ce is just turned up too high.*


    "Your turn," Finn said, his voice softer now. He must have noticed the icy chill of her skin.


    He reached out as if to warm her hand in his, but she snatched it back before he could touch her.


    She shook her head. "I don''t have any more questions."


    She already knew everything she needed to including the most important piece of the puzzle: Finn''s real motive.


    No, wait. There was one more.


    All this time, he had done so much for this one answer. He had invested his time and energy, bought back her mother''s heirlooms, antagonized Soren for her, and even faked this whole rtionship.


    And now, he had his answer: she knew nothing.


    Evangeline swallowed, forcing the emotion down, trying to keep her voice even. She looked up at him, her voice eerily calm. "Finn... are we breaking up?"