Page 14 of Trust No One

Having Bree at the compound would have the added benefit of keeping Bree safe from Kingsley. Mel wouldn’t put it past that asshole to go after Bree, now that he knew she was still alive.

Running through scenarios in her head, she grabbed her computer, opened her office door and stepped into the hall. Stumbled over Dev’s legs as he sat sprawled on the floor.

“What the hell, Dev?” She frowned. “What are you doing on the floor outside my office?”

“Figured you’d have to come out sometime. You’d run out of food or need to sleep. Wasn’t expecting you to emerge so fast.”

“Yeah, well, here I am,” she said as she stepped over him and headed toward her apartment. She needed to talk to him but wasn’t ready to face him. She needed to settle herself. Draw her armor more closely around her. Rebuild the wall she’d so carefully constructed to keep Dev out of her head.

Behind her, she heard him scrambling to his feet. He hurried after her. “Mel, we need to talk.”

“Later,” she said without looking at him. “I have things to figure out. Things to plan.” She’d reached her apartment and unlocked the door. Stepped inside. “Things I need to do by myself.”

She closed the door in his face. Maybe she’d be ready to talk to him tomorrow and tell him about Simon’s reply to her email. Figure out when they could leave.

She closed her eyes at the ‘they’. She’d already agreed that he could join her in her quest for justice. Part of her was even relieved that she wouldn’t be doing it alone.

Was Dev the ideal person to work with? No, he wasn’t. But she couldn’t think of anyone better who was available right now. And he did have the advantage of knowing her well. As well as she knew him.

The good and the bad, tangled up in the same person.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Blew it out, then drew in another. She was being petty by not talking to Dev now. Not telling him that Simon had agreed to hear them out.

She really, really hated petty.

So she opened her door and found him leaning against the wall opposite her apartment. Pushing away to stand up straight, he said, “You pull your head out of your ass, Mel?”

Ignoring his question, she waved him into her apartment. “I got an email from Simon. We need to talk.”

Dev wandered into her space, his gaze roaming her living room. He’d never been in her rooms at the compound – when they’d been together, they’d spent their time in his apartment – and his eyes flickered at the familiar art on her walls. Most of the paintings and photos had hung in her room at the Kabul embassy.

When he lingered, taking in all the details, she jerked her head toward a chair. “Sit down, Dev.”

He threw himself into the chair and she took the one opposite it. Opening her phone, she pulled up Simon’s email and handed the phone to Dev. He read it once, then again. Lifted his eyes and reached across the space to return her phone. “Glad he didn’t shut you down,” he said.

“Yeah, me too,” Mel replied. “First thing we need to do is figure out the best time to go.”

“Sooner the better, as far as I’m concerned.”

“Yeah, well, I have to find someone to run things here in the compound. I thought I’d ask Bree.”

Dev leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes. Finally nodded slowly. “Yeah, I think Bree would be a good choice.” He scowled. “If you can pry her away from Jameson Ford.”

“I’ll talk to her. See what she thinks. Even if she agrees, it’s going to be a few days before she can get here.” She nodded at his phone, which he held in his hand. “You have any preferences about which day we go?”

He studied the calendar, which was synced with hers. Another thing she’d have to fix to separate their lives completely, she realized with a stab of pain.

“How about a week from today?” he said, looking up at her. “Kingsley and Larrimore have been up to their tricks for a long time. A few days isn’t going to make a difference. And that’ll give Bree a chance to get here.”

Mel frowned as she studied the calendar. “It’ll have to do, I guess,” she finally said.

Dev rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward. “You always think strategically, Mel, so do it now. It’s a few days. Gives us…” He scowled. “Givesyoutime to get your ducks in a row. Get Bree here or find someone else if Bree can’t make it. Kingsley’s already done a lot of damage. What more can he do in a few more days?”

Mel scowled at him. “Sell a nuclear weapon to a terrorist group? Sell out a few more CIA agents? Go to ground if he gets wind that someone’s coming after him?” She leaned toward him. “Want me to continue?”

He waved his hand at her. “You’ve made your point. But what’s the alternative? Leaving the compound with no one in charge? Letting the inmates run the place?”

“I trust everyone we’ve hired, Dev. Don’t you?”

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