Page 12 of Devlin

The stubborn look on her face told Devlin she wasn’t going to cave in easily. She had a point—in some ways, they were strangers, connected only by a fleeting moment in the past. But he couldn’t cut her loose that easily.

Devlin wasn’t used to being told no, and he didn’t compromise. But for her, he’d make an exception.

“Fine,” he conceded, “then at the very least, I’ll assign one of my men to watch you.”

Krista began to argue, but a knock on the door interrupted her. She sat up, alarmed. Devlin raised a hand to calm her.

“Only a few people have access to my suite,” he assured her.

“A few people?” she asked, eyes wide with suspicion.

“Just my brothers and my second-in-command,” Devlin answered.

He got off the couch and put his clothes back on. Devlin could hear rustling clothing behind him. Krista was getting dressed as well.

Devlin opened the door only to see Carver standing there. Carver’s gaze flickered to Devlin and then to Krista, who was awkwardly sitting on the sofa, trying to fix her hair.

Carver raised one interested eyebrow, but waited for Devlin to speak first.

“Why are you here?” Devlin asked before Carver could draw his own conclusions.

“Galen said I’m needed,” Carver replied.

Devlin clenched his jaw. “I told Galen I’d handle the problem personally,” he gritted out.

“He seemed to imply that—”

“Nothing,” Devlin interrupted. “Galen was wrong.”

“I see,” Carver said slowly. “If you have nothing for me to do, then I’ll go back to my wife.”

Devlin reeled in his anger, recalling how Carver found his woman. Lucy had been a waitress, an innocent bystander, who happened to come across his brother questioning a traitor from their organization. Carver had ended up bending the rules for her. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he was obsessed with her. In a way, his youngest brother might understand his current position and his old history with Krista.

“I have it under control … for now,” Devlin had to add.

Carver nodded, his gaze briefly crossing to Krista again. “If you need someone to talk to, I’m here,” Carver offered.

“I appreciate that,” Devlin said.

Carver turned to leave, but not before giving Krista one last curious glance. Devlin watched him go, the tension in his shoulders slowly easing. He closed the door and turned back to Krista, who was now staring at him with wide eyes.

“What was that about?” she asked.

Devlin sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Family business. My brothers can be a handful,” he said.

Krista nodded slowly, her eyes still wary. “So, what’s the plan?”

Devlin crossed the room and sat down beside her. He touched her cheek and thought of her soft and tempting lips, her pliant body under his while she begged him for more. One taste and he was already intoxicated on her, hopelessly addicted.

It wasn’t just physical when it came to Krista, it was something more profound, something that tugged at Devlin’s very core.

At that moment, he couldn’t allow himself to name that emotion yet. Soft emotions made one weak. His father embedded that knowledge to Devlin and his brothers with his fists.

“I’m letting you go, but you’re going to accept my help,” Devlin decided, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Krista opened her mouth to protest, but he raised a hand, silencing her.

“As for the documents you promised your client, I’m going to have them altered before returning them to you. You’ll hand in the edited version and say nothing of meeting me to your client or Phantom, if they have questions,” he said.

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