Page 15 of Shadow of the Moon

7

Dev knew that something had changed in Amberly, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.

Fort Collins was a thirteen hour drive from Peoria. Dev didn’t mind driving it, but he let Amberly take a turn when she wanted to, even though he worried about her arm. She didn’t have the same range of motion, but she swore she was okay to drive. So, he let her, and he researched. Or caught up on his sleep.

Once again, he tossed the folder of information onto the back seat. He’d gone through it three times, and what he wanted wasn’t in there. It had been a secret, covert team of CIA that had given him his orders. The only group that had that kind of power was SAC.

The Special Activities Center was the special group within the CIA that did the serious covert and paramilitary operations. They were clandestine, usually only taking part in tasks the US did not want to be associated with. There were two groups within SAC, the Special Operations Group for paramilitary operations and a second group- the Political Action Group- that took covert political action.

Considering who Regent was, Devlin could see either SOG or PAG throwing him under the bus. It didn’t actually matter which group it was. It was all SAC. Which was why there was nothing about the orders in the folder. The SAC group had an incredible amount of leeway to do what they felt was right for the country. No matter who it hurt.

Surely they had been the ones responsible for moving Regent that night? And they would be just as responsible for losing him.

This time he would take him out, and he wouldn’t miss.

It seemed to take them years to get through Nebraska. There wasn’t much out there to look at, so Dev took the time to catch up on his sleep. The past three days had been nonstop running, trying to get to Amberly to keep her safe. And now they were on a wild goose chase, hoping that this school they were going to could tell them something. They had less than a week before 9-11, so they needed to get out there.

He was tired of sitting in the passenger seat doing nothing. After a few miles, a rest area sign flashed by. “Can you pull in there? I need to walk and stretch my legs.”

Without saying a word, Amberly did as he requested. They slid into a parking slot and Dev climbed out. If he had more time, he would maybe even consider jogging the area. But instead, he took off in a broad-stride walk, from one end of the lot to the other, then back again. Amberly leaned against the car hood in the sun, her short dark hair blowing gently in the breeze. She watched him, a gentle smile on her face.

After about twenty minutes, he visited the facilities, then returned to the car. “I’m ready. Mind if I drive?”

She nodded, handing him the keys. “I’m going to use the bathroom. Back in a minute.”

Dev watched her go, her body movements fluid in spite of the time in the car. He could tell she was guarding that left side, though. Locking the car, he crossed to the vending machine building and got them a couple of bottles of water, then returned to the car.

Amberly walked toward him, and it took everything in Devlin to remember that they weren’t together anymore. Had she gotten with anyone since they’d been apart? He supposed technically she could have, since they weren’t married, but he hoped she hadn’t.

As she settled into the passenger seat, he watched her move. There was a grace and a collectedness to her he missed seeing, even when she was in pain. She’d been the only one for him for a long time, and he had a feeling she still was.

He took the buckle from her and snapped her seatbelt in, then he motioned for her to open her hand. When she did, he dropped several ibuprofen into her palm. “There’s a fresh bottle of water there.”

Rather than watch her struggle, he twisted the cap off the bottle and handed it to her. She drank down the pills. “Thank you very much. It burns like fire right now.”

“I bet,” he murmured.

He’d been shot before as well, but sometimes a through-and-through was better than a long slash through flesh like she had.

Backing the car out of the slot, Devlin headed for the interstate. They were only about three hours from Fort Collins.

“I’m wondering if I should call Frank,” she said suddenly, turning the radio off.

“Callypso?” Dev glanced at her to clarify.

“Yes, just to let him know I’m safe and not dead.”

Dev didn’t say anything for a few long moments. He was aware that Amberly considered Frank her mentor, but he’d never really liked the guy. It was like he tried too hard to be personable, or something. “I suppose it’s up to you, but it’s an incredible risk. Right now, we’re flying dark. As soon as you reach out, they’ll tag us, you know that.”

Amberly scowled. “You’re right, of course. I just didn’t want him to worry.”

“I think he’ll forgive you once he hears the circumstances. Let’s check out a couple of things, first.”

“Okay,” she sighed. Then she shifted in the seat, her gaze focused on him. “Why did you try to take Regent out that night?”

Dev looked at her. There was a belligerent expression on her face, and he wasn’t sure anything he said would change her mind. “It doesn’t matter.”

Anger sparked in her silvery eyes and she swiped her hair back. “Yeah, I guess it doesn’t.”

---