Page 30 of Shadow of the Moon

“If you follow her, she’s going to know you’re some flavor of government. I’m telling you, stay put.”

Amberly forced a smile, even as she planned how to kick Devlin in the balls while sitting down.

Zed and the other man weren’t getting along well, either, it didn’t seem like. Their faces were tense, and their body language was stilted. The woman had left them to iron things out and they appeared to be getting worse. She looked at Devlin and glimpsed the red-haired woman over Devlin’s shoulder. She was staring straight at Amberly, as if she was aware that Amberly had been paying too much attention to their conversation.

The woman stopped beside Devlin’s shoulder, propping a hand on one curvy hip. “Aren’t you two a cute couple,” she purred.

Devlin rocked back in his chair to look up at her and grinned. “Thank you, ma’am. I think she’s the cute half, though.”

Amberly grimaced. “Whatever,” she said slowly, exaggerating her slur a little. She leaned toward the woman a little. “Is there going to be a fight? It doesn’t seem like they’re getting along.”

The woman waved an elegant hand, tipped with bright red fingernails. “They will be fine. Just working out the bill.”

“I told my…” Amberly stuttered to a halt, her tongue tangling. “My…ex, friend, Dev, that I didn’t want to get in the middle of anything.”

“My ex friend Dev?” the woman repeated, eyes sharp on Amberly’s face.

Incredibly, color suffused her face. This should be an easy interaction, but for some reason her mouth wasn’t working.

“We haven’t seen each other for a few years,” Devlin interjected smoothly, drawing the woman’s attention back to him. “She’s my ex-wife, but things might be warming up,” he said, grinning as he covered her hand with his own. Amberly felt heat creeping through her cheeks again.

“Stop it, damn it,” she hissed.

The woman tipped her head back and laughed. “You both are twice the fool,” she said, shaking her head as she walked away.

Amberly looked at Devlin as the woman walked away. “Thank you,” she mouthed.

His only response was a wink.

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