Page 74 of Dangerous Devotion

In a nonchalant move, Henner wiped his mouth with the napkin, twisting his head enough to catch the major general in his peripheral vision. The man was beaming at his companions and talking animatedly to the sommelier, who popped the cork of the pricey bottle for their table to share.

May let out a gasp. “You’re not gonna believe this,” she said out of the corner of her mouth.

He looked to her and took the phone once more.

The minute he saw the photo on file in a facial recognition program, he froze. “Forward that to Con.”

She answered with an imperceptible nod.

Their main dish couldn’t have arrived at a worse time, but at least they had something to pretend to be doing while they tried to ID the people Simpson was dining with.

May picked up her fork and twirled it in her pasta. He bit off the corner of a slice of homemade bread slathered in melted butter and fresh garlic but chewed so hastily that he barely tasted it.

At that moment, his phone vibrated. May’s eyes widened. “Don’t leave me to take the call!”

“Never.” He brought the phone to his ear and spoke in murmurs meant only for the speaker on the other end, who turned out to be Cobra.

“Con’s deep in some discussion with Commander Barrett again. Since you’re gone, I’m his acting secretary.”

“Did you see the photo I sent?”

“Yup. Ran it through a different software program to double-check, but the man is an art dealer, and the woman is his wife.”

“Anything more you can tell us?”

“They’re not dirty, if that’s what you’re asking. At least not on the surface. They have a legit art dealership with no public ties to anything notable.”

“Copy. Send anything else you find.”

“Will do. And Chickie?”

“Yeah?”

“Enjoy your romantic dinner, lover boy.”

* * * * *

“How the hell did he know that?” AJ muttered as he lowered the phone from his ear.

May eyed him. “Anything on the couple?” Her voice was so low that the murmur blended into the noise of their surroundings.

From the corner of her eye, she spotted the sommelier headed their way.

“Didn’t he just ask if we were enjoying our wine? What can he possibly want now?”

AJ didn’t get time to respond before the slender man with graying hair and a painstakingly tailored suit approached them again. In his hands was another bottle of wine wrapped in a towel.

When he edged up to the table, AJ held up a hand to stop him from whatever he was about to do. “Thank you, but I think we’re just about finished for the evening.”

His brow shot up. “The bottle is on the house. It’s one of our very best bottles. Surely, you’ll want to taste something of this quality and vintage.” He held out the bottle so May could read the label.

May knew enough about wine to know that was averyexpensive bottle.

AJ started to speak again, but May smiled at the sommelier. “I’d love to try some, thank you.”

She felt AJ’s stare on her but until they were alone again, she couldn’t share her belief about where that wine truly came from—Simpson.

He must have noticed them too.

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