Page 9 of Shadow of the Moon

Nodding once, Devlin glanced in the rear-view mirror before merging left to get around a semi. “And I’m glad she called, because you might have been dead if I hadn’t gotten there when I did.”

Amberly swiped a hand through her hair, tucking it behind her ear. “What else did she tell you?”

“That Regent was free again and about to wreak havoc. And that I, we, needed to take him out.”

Amberly blinked, wondering if that was actually what he’d been told. “What did she promise you?”

Devlin glanced at her, but she couldn’t see his eyes. “That my record would be cleared.”

Empathy clogged her throat because she knew how important the Navy had been to him, and it made her angry. She had no business worrying about his emotions. Not after he’d ruined their entire life. She’d been interrogated for weeks after his defection, and people still, to this day, looked at her like she had betrayed the team. She had done no such thing, but she’d been painted with Devlin’s guilt. It had made going to work hell on earth, feeling the stares and the hearing the snide comments as she walked by. It made her work that much harder to clear her name, and her record for solving cases and completing assignments had improved. She’d taken the chance to get out of the country as often as she could.

In the end, it had strengthened her, emotionally and professionally. Not that she wanted to live through it again. Fuck, if people knew she was with Devlin right now, she’d be under investigation again. The thought hollowed out her stomach.

“Do you really think it will? You do not know who this woman is, so you might be doing all this for free.”

Devlin’s jaw clenched and his skin flushed. “You may be right. But even if it falls through, I was there when you needed me.”

Amberly shook her head, wishing she could be anywhere but here. This entire situation was fucked, and she didn’t dare believe him that saving her was the most important thing. He didn’t care anything for her. And she didn’t understand why he was saying otherwise.

And had that actually been a CIA badge? She didn’t recognize the man’s name, Thomas Folazzo, but that didn’t mean anything. The CIA was a huge agency, and they had a huge turnover throughout the departments.

What the fuck was the CIA doing trying to take her out? She was trying to find Regent. Didn’t they all want to get the man dead before he killed innocent civilians?

Pulling her bag to her lap, she dug inside, finding a pill bottle. She shook out several Advil, then found the bottle of water in the side pocket. Cracking the seal, she washed the pills down, then drank down most of the bottle, her mind racing.

Maybe she should just go along with what Devlin wanted for now, because if he was going to take out Regent she needed to be there. And he needed backup.

How the hell did she get herself into these situations?

“Do you have any idea where Regent is?” she asked him, watching his face.

“Charley said upper Midwest. Montana, probably.”

“Charley is the woman,” she said to clarify.

“Yes,” he confirmed.

Amberly thought about what he’d told her. Montana lined up with the intel they had, as well.

Supposedly.

Now she was looking at everyone as if they had betrayal in their heart. But then, there was a corrupt faction in the CIA. In her division specifically. The fact that she’d been targeted attested to that. And the fact that Regent was still alive attested to that. Who had hidden that he was alive?

It could just be incompetent management, trying to advance their careers at the cost of public safety.

Maybe her investigation was making someone worry and they’d lashed out.

She hadn’t really done anything yet, though.

Her mind went in circles as she thought about the details she knew, and the holes she was aware of. Devlin drove like he could go for hours. And he probably could. The man had the determination of an ox. It was one of his greatest attributes.

Shit! Why was she thinking about his fucking attributes? The man had betrayed her. Period. He’d betrayed the country. Most importantly he’d betrayed his SEAL team. Those men had meant everything to him, because he hadn’t had a big family growing up. She remembered more than a few times, Devlin coming home tired and beat up, but shining in a way she couldn’t explain because his team had done well. And because he’d been able to protect his team. She’d asked him once if it was hard to kill random people. He’d looked at her for a long moment before shaking his head. “When it comes down to it,” he’d told her softly, “it’s my responsibility to make sure those kids make it home. It doesn’t matter what I have to do. I’ll make sure it gets done.”

Moon Devil. That’s what his call sign had been, because he preferred to hunt in the shadow of the moon. He was a damn legend in military circles.

That had been almost ten years ago now, back when they’d first gotten together. His answer had told her the kind of man he was. Which was why his later betrayal had shocked her to the core. Devlin loved his country and his team, and there was no way he would have betrayed them.

Her mind raced, trying to ferret out an answer that had been nagging at her. Before she could grab it, Devlin put the blinker on to exit the interstate. Damn. That was a quick trip.

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