Page 79 of The Quiet Witness

Humor it is. She dearly needed to lighten the load on her overreacting immune system. Lucien wasn’t the only one with secrets after all.

She held up the coffeepot in invitation. “Want some?”

“Yes, please.” Lucien dragged a chair back, flopping himself down in it.

“What’s got you so cheerful this early in the morning?” He held up a hand, shielding his eyes like a vampire in the blazing sun.

“Nothing in particular really.” She took a sip from the brown liquid, closing her eyes while she let it swirl over her tongue. Delicious. Opening them, she found Lucien staring at her, a watchful glint in his gaze. Noted how he waited for her to swallow before taking a sip of his own.

Does he think I’d poison him?

Wait, why hadn’t she thought of that before?

“Hmmm, curious.” There was indeed a hint of suspicion in his voice.

“Can’t a girl be in a good mood in the morning, hmm, night owl?” Kate tilted her head, shooting him a teasing smile.

“Not after last night’s happenings.”

Depends on the happenings you’re referring to.

“Yeah, well.” She poured herself more coffee. It splashed over the edge and dripped down the outside of her mug. “If I had to let threats on my life destroy what I have left… carpe diem, no?” Maybe she was getting numb to having her life in danger.

“That’s the spirit.” Lucien coughed, lazily rifling through the papers strewn across the table. “Talking about spirit, could you fill in for me today?”

Kate angled her head in question, eyes narrowing. “Fill in for what? I’m not exactly fit for the life of a murderer.”

He snorted. “You sell yourself short, sweetheart, but no worries. I’m supposed to give a self-defense lesson at the sanctuary, thing is, I’m needed elsewhere.”

Hah, he’s hilarious. Seems like humor will be in abundance today.

Kate laughed, rolling her eyes while she took another sip of her coffee.

“I’m quite serious.”

The mug stalled halfway to her lips. “Me? Me? Give a self-defense class. I don’t know the first thing about teaching.”

Lucien leaned backward in his chair, front legs lifting off the concrete. “Again, another huge underestimation. You’ve proven to be a swift learner, you’ve mastered the basics, and your instincts are solid. Besides, they’re no cage fighters.”

She couldn’t believe her ears. “Thanks for the compliments, I guess, but that doesn’t make me a teacher.”

A loud tsk-tsk echoed across the house, spooking Ghost from where he lay under the piano. Seeing the message wasn’t for him, he dropped his chin on the floor with a loud sigh blowing out of his nose.

Kate Withers giving lessons to a group of women staring up at her, waiting for her instructions. Her palms began to sweat.

“I think they’d love to have a woman take over for once. It could give them a boost of self-confidence when you show what y’all are made of.”

Kate rolled her eyes, huffing. “I can’t even beat your ass. What am I supposed to teach them?”

His answer came easily. “Perseverance, resilience, determination, not to mention the fact that you don’t freeze. That might seem normal to you, but most people would shut down where you pushed through Kate.”

Well damn. Was he kidnapped by aliens overnight?

“Besides,” a cocky smile played along his lips. “I’m not some untrained ’ass’ as you so eloquently put it. I’ve been training rigorously for many years, if you could knock me on my ass at this stage, I’d have a serious problem on my hands.” He winked at her, adding, “But give it some time, you’ll catch up… If you want to, that is.”

He sure wasn’t letting go of this one.

She grinned, rolling her shoulders. “Complimentary, aren’t we today?”