Page 25 of Shadow of the Moon

10

Devlin was still shaking his head as he pulled into a local Wal-Mart for Amberly to run in and get a prepaid phone. She’d been dying to call in for the past two days, and he didn’t really blame her. If she thought there was someone at the agency or in her group she thought she could trust, he would have to trust her judgement.

It had been gratifying finally getting all that shit off his chest. But now it left him with a new problem. She’d been into the kiss, but only because he’d finally defended himself and given her a story she could believe.

Why hadn’t she believed in him without the story?

He understood she was the type that needed proof for everything, but sometimes there needed to be faith in a relationship.

When she returned from the store, she had a bag in hand. Quickly she powered up one of the phones and inserted the sim card, then charged the minutes.

“You know, as soon as you call in, they’re tracking you,” Devlin warned.

“I know. That’s why I’m calling Deputy Director Brown’s cell phone. It’ll take them a little longer to find me. And if he’s dirty, I want a record of his phone activity right now.”

Dev grinned at her. “Smart.”

Obviously, she had the number memorized, because she punched it in like she’d done it many times before. It rang twice before it was picked up. She punched the button for the speakerphone.

“Brown,” a man snapped on the other end.

“It’s Temple.”

She paused there to get his reaction.

“Where the fuck have you been?” The man exploded, rather dramatically, Dev thought. “This was supposed to be an easy CI meet and I’m somehow cleaning up bodies.”

“Yeah,” Amberly drawled. “Bodies with CIA identification. Why were they trying to take me out, Brown?”

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. “Are you serious? They weren’t CIA. One I ran came back to Georgia Department of Corrections, and the other I’m still looking for. These weren’t our guys. Who is the man you’re with? I know he’s not your CI. We found him dead in the restaurant.”

Amberly rolled her eyes toward him, mouth working. “He’s a witness. How do I know you’re telling me the truth, Brown? I’ve got people after me.”

He paused again, and sighed, which surprised her. It seemed like Brown’s mouth was always running and he never showed weakness. “I don’t know, honestly, so I’m going to tell you to keep going with what you’re doing. I assume you’re on Tango 11’s trail.”

“Yes.”

“Who did you tell you were going to Chicago?”

“Only the people in my group.”

“Okay. I’ll be starting my own investigation. If anything timely happens, I need to be apprised.”

“Agreed.”

And she hung up.

“That was interesting,” he said, finally.

“Very,” she murmured, looking out over the parking lot. “Let’s get a sandwich and a drink at the drive-thru, and we’ll get back on the road.”

As they pulled through the other side, Amberly tossed the burner phone into the trash receptacle.

They ate their food heading north on I-25 toward Sheridan, Wyoming. They were several hours out, but would be there by the afternoon. The miles sped by, but they talked little. It felt like they were each a little shell-shocked as their worlds recalibrated. Devlin was okay with that. They each had to get used to their new reality. A lot of emotional shit had gone down, and they had to deal with it their own way.

Then she reached over and grabbed his hand, letting them rest clasped on his thigh. His throat closed up, because this was how they’d gone everywhere together, hand in hand.

What an emotional minefield this was.

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