Page 10 of Trust No One

Sending up a silent prayer for forgiveness, she dug into his finances. Simon and his wife, who also worked for the CIA, had invested in the stock market, but the money they’d invested wasn’t more than they’d earned. There had been one lump sum deposit about five years ago, but when Mel dug deeper, she realized it was an inheritance from Simon’s wife’s father.

Based on what she’d seen, she was almost certain that Simon was clean. That he hadn’t accepted any dirty money, or done anything illegal or unethical while he worked for the CIA.

Slapping her hand on her desk, she stood up and stretched. She’d send an email to Simon and ask if he’d meet with her in Washington. Another CIA agent was as good a place as any to start her search.

Chapter 4

Dev watched Mel walk into the dining room, a small, satisfied smile on her face. He tightened his hands around his fork and knife as he watched her pick up her plate of glazed salmon, roasted potatoes and salad and wander over to a table.

When she pulled out a chair and sat down, Dev snatched up his own dinner and plopped down on the chair beside her.

“You do know how to hold a grudge, Mel,” he said. “I always liked that about you.” Smiling at her, which he knew would make her crazy, he said, “So do I have the green light to join you on the Kingsley project?”

Without looking at him, she forked off a piece of her salmon and chewed deliberately. When she finally swallowed it, she stabbed a piece of potato. Holding it near her mouth, she said, “I’m thinking about it. Figuring out how I’m going to attack the problem of Kingsley.”

“Looks like you have some ideas,” he said around a bite of his steak.

“Some,” she said. “But I have to think this through. Make sure I’m taking the right approach.”

“You could run it by me,” he suggested. “Let me weigh in on it.”

Mel turned to look at him and raised one eyebrow, dismissing him. He hated when she did that. That single, cocked eyebrow was always the precursor to a devastating put-down.

He shifted in his seat. He’d been the recipient of Mel’s put-downs a few times, but he was honest enough to admit he’d earned her scorn on each of those occasions. This time, instead of retreating, he held her gaze. Dared her to try and shut him down.

Finally she dropped the fork. “Give it up, Dev,” she said. “I’m going to Washington in a couple of days to talk to someone at the CIA. Someone I know from when I worked there. I want to get his take on Kingsley. After I talk to him, I’ll decide if I want you with me on this job.”

“You’lldecideif you want me?” Dev scowled. “Who’s going to have your back with this guy you contacted? How do you know he’s not one of Kingsley’s buddies? That he won’t run to Kingsley and tell him you’re asking about him?”

“I don’t think he will. I checked him out. He’s clean as a whistle. He’s not one of Cliff’s buddies. I dug into his financials and he’s not taking money from anyone.” She resumed eating, as if she’d told him everything she thought he needed to know.

Anger stirring, Dev dropped his fork and knife on his plate. They rattled loudly against the thick, sturdy china, and Mel glanced at his plate. Turned her attention back to her food. “You don’t like the way I’m conducting my search?” she said before she took another bite of salmon. “Too bad. This is my job to do.”

Did Mel really think she could freeze him out? He shoved another piece of steak into his mouth. Chewed so hard that his jaw ached. No matter what she said or did, he was going to be with her on this.

He hated the way she looked at him, as if he was nothing to her now. As if she didn’t give a damn about what he wanted.

Once more, he dropped his fork onto his plate, realizing that she probably didn’t. Mel had made it clear that she was done with him. That he couldn’t give her what she needed. Or wanted.

Fine. There were lots of women in the world. But in spite of what he and Mel used to be, they’d been business partners for three years. She was still his friend, and he wasn’t letting her walk into danger alone. If she wouldn’t accept his help, he’d still be with her. She just wouldn’t see him.

Mel was the most damn stubborn woman in the world. “I don’t like the way you’re cutting me out. I’m part of this, Mel. All the way. If you’re going to talk to someone in the CIA, I’m going to be there, too.”

She finally looked at him. Raised that damn eyebrow again. “I know this guy because I worked with him. He doesn’t know you at all. He’s probably never heard of you. How can I expect him to be open? To tell me sensitive stuff about a fellow CIA employee? To share his suspicions with me? Because the guy I know is a smart guy. He’ll figure out pretty damn quick why I’m asking those questions about Cliff. But why would he say something in front of a complete stranger?”

“Because you’d tell him I’m your partner. That I worked with Kingsley, too. That I know what a rat the guy is, and that we’re going after him together.”

“Easy to say,” Mel said. “Harder to convince him to share the dirt on a fellow-employee to a stranger.”

Dev swallowed the words that wanted to spill out. Took a deep breath. Another. “Explain I’m not a stranger to you. That we know each other very well. We’re partners in Blackhawk Security.” He swallowed the urge to yell at Mel. Tell her to pull her head out of her ass. “We have to work together on this. You can’t go all rogue.”

She actually laughed as she rolled her eyes. “Says the person who went rogue in Afghanistan more times that I can count.”

“I did what had to be done,” he said, leaning closer to her. “Did what I needed to do in order to save lives. Sometimes you have to go off-script. Sometimes you call an audible. I never hesitated to do that.” He clenched his hand into a fist, then slowly relaxed it. “You know that. You know what it’s like out there.”

Mel arranged her knife and fork carefully on her plate, then lifted her gaze to him. “Yeah, Dev. I know what it’s like out there. And I know all about your ‘audibles’. Every one of them.”

Hell, no. No way could she know about that shit. When he lifted his gaze to hers, he saw the knowledge in her eyes. She’d known about the times he went off script. The times he’d taken stupid, crazy chances to save someone. The ones he’d saved. And the ones he hadn’t been able to help.

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