Lauren smiled and her eyes held Evony’s still as she shook her head. ”No, you didn’t.”

The Morrigan opened her mouth to volley a retort, but nothing came out. She knew. God, of course she knew. Augh, Evony raged in her head. ”You are so irritating.” The doctor frowned in confusion. ”Does Bo get this annoyed with you?”

”I… don’t know,” Lauren looked to the ceiling for an answer and shrugged. ”Maybe.”

Sometimes Evony could be so incensed with someone, she’d be able to focus her power to a point of incredible intensity. The result when she would finally lift her hand was so swift and brutal, her victim barely had time to make a sound. This would be Lauren’s fate. It would have been.

”I guess once she finds out about us…” she trailed off for dramatic effect.

Lauren waved her finger in the air. ”There is no us.”

The Morrigan pouted. ”Aw, you mean it was all a lie?”

Lauren laughed as if she couldn’t believe Evony would think it was anything but. ”Yes,” she answered with a smile that almost hurt Evony’s feelings.

She grinned instead. ”But you didn’t fake it, either.”

Lauren touched her lips with her finger, looking off into the shelves full of information she had yet to touch. She shrugged again. ”It had to be believable.”

Evony’s smile grew wider, she knew she hadn’t lost her touch. ”I wonder what would Bo think about that?”

”She would understand my motives.”

”You’ve got an answer for everything, don’t you, Doctor?” Evony looked her in the eye, cherry-colored lips curving into a smile. ”Would she understand your motives with that human waitress?”

It was the blindsided reaction Evony wanted to see in her eyes when she mentioned Crystal. It was obvious she meant something to Lauren, but to what degree was still a mystery. The falter in her eyes was the only clue.

”Crystal was duped by the Fae, just like I was,” Lauren defended.

”Now hang on a second,” Evony interrupted, sitting on the edge of the couch. ”Crystal knew exactly what I wanted from her. I gave her the money to buy some sad-ass turn of the century farm and in return she brought you to me. So what if our methods varied.” At Lauren’s silence, she continued: ”And it was the Ash that duped you, not the Fae.”