Page 2 of Shadow of the Moon

Dev snorted and shook his head. “I don’t want my life changed, Charley. I’m content doing what I’m doing.”

On the other end of the line, Charley sighed. “I thought you might say that, and I’m glad you’re doing so well, but I don’t know that the world is going to fare as well.”

Dev clenched his jaw, hating that this nameless, faceless woman was trying to guilt trip him. “I did my time in the Navy. Someone else can take care of 11. He’s the CIA’s responsibility.”

“Hm, yes, that’s what we’ve been told as well, but he’s too dangerous to leave free. We’ve already gotten reports of missing shipments of components. One of his former compatriots is also missing, and we assume they’re together. It’s only a matter of time before he wreaks havoc and kills again, we assume around the September 11th anniversary.”

Dev rocked back in the chair, anger surging through him. “Why the fuck are you even calling me? 11 is not my issue anymore. The CIA made that very clear when they burned me after I went along with their crazy extraction plan. I’m done. The man can blow Washington off the map for all I care.”

He said it off-hand, but Washington probably would be Cole Regent’s target. It had been his focus for many years, and he’d been blowing up smaller targets to prepare for his main target, the heart of evil, as he called it, Washington, D.C. Honestly, Dev kind of agreed with the guy, but it wasn’t his responsibility anymore.

When Dev’s team had gotten the call to escort the homegrown paramilitary extremist from CIA Headquarters to the airport, Devlin had thought little of it. It was just another job. Then two men with CIA badges had approached him. Actually, looking back, he thought it had been the Special Activities Center that had approached him. They were the black ops side of the CIA, doing the especially dirty stuff that the government would disavow if caught. They wanted Devlin to shoot Regent, but they wanted him to ‘wound’ rather than ‘kill’, because Regent had information to share on a wider network of international collaborators, the Russians specifically. They wanted it to look like a legitimate kill, though, to throw off those international friends that were watching Regent. The operatives would remove the target from the scene and make it look like the informant had died. Then Regent would be housed in a secret facility while the Agency tapped the info he had. Once he’d been interrogated and the information extracted, then Regent would quietly disappear. Devlin assumed that they would take him out themselves, and clean up the mess when they were done extracting information.

But it sounded like the team had botched the job.

Of course they had.

The two men had presented Dev with a doctored recording of his own voice making a deal with some international conglomeration for half a million dollars to take out Regent, and it was at that point he knew he was fucked no matter what he did. If he cooperated with the CIA extraction story and took the shot, they would dishonorably discharge him. If he didn’t cooperate, an ‘informant’ would offer evidence that Amberly was dirty, and she would go to prison for the rest of her life for helping kill Regent for money.

That was the deal breaker. Amberly was his weak point, and he’d known he would go along with whatever they said in order to keep her safe.

The CIA had sworn to him that his sacrifice for the country had been noted, then they’d burned him, reporting that Devlin had gone rogue in some kind of revenge killing. Since the killing worked in their favor, the CIA would not be pursuing charges. That was actually what they’d told his commanding officers, that they’d taken his record into account and that he should just be dishonorably discharged.

The shame that had come from that two-month period would follow him for the rest of his life. Over and over again, he’d had to bite his tongue in fury at not being able to lash out at the sneers and jibes, at not being able to defend himself. His supposed friends had all abandoned him. And Amberly… Well, she’d done what she needed to do to protect herself.

“What if I told you I could get you reinstated, retroactively, and your back pay reimbursed to you? All charges would be struck from your record and the discharge would be noted as honorable.”

Dev laughed bitterly. “I’d say you’re full of shit, just like every other bureaucrat out there. I couldn’t care less about the Navy anymore. They have nothing for me. You all can burn in hell for all I care.”

“Does that go for Amberly Temple as well? Because she’s about to walk into a shit storm, and right this minute you’re the only one that can save her.”

Amberly Temple… yeah, she was his Kryptonite. And even this long after she’d left him in the cold, he would go to her in a heartbeat if she called. “And why is that,” he asked, trying to sound as disinterested as she had. “Amberly is a big girl, able to make her own decisions about her life. She certainly doesn’t want me involved in any part of it.”

“That may be true,” the woman agreed, “but she’s digging into things that could get her killed.”

Yes, his gut clenched, but he forced out a laugh. “It is not my job to look after my wife. I gave that up three years ago when she kicked me out of the house.”

He hated even responding to the woman on the phone, but his pride demanded it. If Amberly had stood by him, it would have been one thing. But she hadn’t even blinked, as she’d told him he needed to get out of the house before she shot him. He’d packed a bag with the bare essentials and walked out, knowing, hoping, that she would be protected if he took the fall.

At least that had been the plan. If Regent was on the loose, obviously the plan had gone to shit. Whoever the two men had been had fucked up. Regent was never supposed to hit the streets again.

“She works for the CIA. I think she’ll be fine.”

There was a silence on the other end of the line, as if she were waiting for him to catch up. “Why do you think she’s in trouble,” he asked, in spite of himself.

“Because she’s about to stumble onto a very dangerous piece of information that is going to get her killed if she approaches the wrong person with it. She needs backup, and there’s no one in her department she trusts. And very few that she should.”

Dev knew that feeling well. For the past few years, he’d been on his own, rebuilding a life that didn’t revolve around the Navy and killing people. If Amberly was out in the cold…

Fuck me running…

“So, what exactly are you calling me for? To get me to kill 11 or backup Amberly?”

“Why can’t it be both,” Charley asked, her voice low. “Plus, you’ll have an incredible payout in the end.”

“I don’t care about money,” he snapped.

“Then maybe you’ll care about reestablishing your good name? You had an incredible record in the SEALs. Your kill count still stands in your team, and people still talk about some of your shots.”

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