Page 42 of Harmless Secrets

She nodded. It had been one of the worst trips of her life, frantically trying to get back to England and failing. The grief had left her stunned, numb to everything around her.

“I still don’t understand why you didn’t come looking for me.”

“Because, he was looking for you before he disappeared. That’s all I knew then. How did I know that you didn’t have something to do with whoever ended up coming after him? After spending a night with you, I get a phone call he’s been shot. You’re nowhere to be found. What would you think?”

He sighed. “That we’d set you up. I’m seeing that now. But, after you found out about Bridget…” Then he shook his head. “No, wait. When did you go on the run?”

“The day after I buried my father.”

It was his turn to blink. “That fast? Why?”

“My father had an Aston Martin.”

Devon chuckled. “Your father drove a 007 car?”

She smiled. “It was one of his most prized possessions. I think he loved the irony of it, you know? He was known as one of the best spies England ever produced but he was far from what most people think of a spy.”

“So, not a James Bond type?”

She shook her head. “Far from it. I said my parents were stodgy and they were. Father always reminded most people of someone who served in Parliament. A bit fussy, very gray around the edges. I guess that was why he was such a good spy. No one paid attention to the old guy who wore suits from the 1980s.”

“You left quickly from England?” Devon asked.

“Oh, yes. I was supposed to take the car into London for a debriefing, but the weather turned bad and I wanted to take my Land Rover. The grounds’ keeper, Edward, was going to drive it into the garage. It exploded.”

“Just like that.”

“No. It made this funny clicking sound and I knew the moment I heard it” She fought off the shiver that inevitably raced through her blood. “You don’t work in the business and not know. I was running towards it when it went off. I knew then that if I stuck around, I was a dead woman.”

“It’s all starting to make sense now.”

She said nothing else as she could almost hear his brain ticking away with all the information she had told him. One of the things she had read in the reports about Devon was he was a thinker. Not that he couldn’t act quickly, but he was a problem solver. And right now, she knew she could catch him off guard because his mind was occupied with something else.

“There’s something you’re not telling me about my house.”

His gaze finally focused back on him. “I should have known you would pick up on that.”

“Of course. I knew you and Micah both were lying.”

“I didn’t lie.”

Oh, the arrogance of men. They always seemed to think they could leave things out and she would just ignore it. First her father and now Devon. She needed information, even if it was bad. Had the story she just told him not make a dent in that big, stupid male ego?

“You just didn’t tell me.” She settled her hands on her hips. “That’s a lie of omission.”

He tapped his fingers against the glass. She knew he was coming up with some other diversion to get her off the topic. Her stomach clenched. If he was really worried about telling her, it must have been something really, really bad.

“There wasn’t much damage.”

She fought off a growl. “You said that.”

“The only thing we found was a bullet hole in your pillow.” She was just getting that assimilated in her head when he continued. “And, there was one in Bridget’s pillow.”

For a moment, she said nothing. Her heart had almost stuttered to a stop as she tried to come to terms with what he just told her.

“You know what this means, don’t you?” he asked.

She looked up at him. “They know about my daughter.”

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