Page 69 of Trust No One

“You’d rather pace?” Dev said, frowning. “Get yourself worked up?”

“Walking helps. I’d be more worked up if I sat there like a lump on a log, waiting for my phone to ring,” she shot back.

Dev held up both hands. “Fine. Make yourself nuts. I’m going to scroll through my phone.”

As Mel paced, she watched Dev. He didn’t look rattled. Unsettled. He looked calm and in control.

Her breath shuddered out as she studied him. He was reacting the way an operations guy would. You ran into a snag? Wait it out. Scope out the surroundings, the alternatives, and wait for the right moment to make your move.

That was Dev in a nutshell. She wished she had his patience. His inner calm. But she wasn’t an action person. Her forte was sitting behind a desk, thinking things through.

Which was why she and Dev had been so successful at Blackhawk Security. Their skills were perfectly complementary.

She stared down at her hands. And until the moment she’d told Dev she loved him, their skills had been perfectly complimentary in their personal lives, as well.

After what seemed like hours, but was probably only fifteen minutes, her phone rang. Squeezing it hard, she lifted it to her ear with a shaking hand. This was it. Their best chance to take Kingsley down.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, she pushed the icon to put the phone on speaker, then accepted the call. “Hello?”

“Ms. Melbourne, this is Bradford Allen, the CIA Director. I’ve spoken to Diana Redfield and she vouched for you and Mr. Wolf and Mr. Smith. I can meet with you tomorrow morning at nine, in my office in Langley. The guards at the gate will have your names. Once you’re in the building, my office is on the seventh floor. There are two elevators that will take you to that floor. The guards by the elevators will have your names, as well.”

“Got it, sir,” she said. “Thank you.”

“I’ll see you at nine tomorrow,” he said, then he ended the call.

Mel set her phone on the table. “Did you both hear that?”

Gideon nodded. Dev said, “Nine A.M. tomorrow. Seventh floor at Langley. The director will smooth our way into the compound.”

“In a nutshell,” Mel said.

The room phone rang, and Dev and Mel stared at each other for a long moment. Finally Dev grabbed the phone. “Yes?”

“The pizzas you ordered are here,” a young voice said. Most likely the kid behind the front desk. But Dev never accepted ‘most likely’.

“Thanks,” Dev said. “I’ll be right down.”

Gideon stood up. “You want backup?”

Dev shook his head. “You stay with Mel. I’ll go get the pizzas. I won’t take the elevator, though. I’ll go down the stairs. Just in case.”

He grabbed one of the room keys, touched the gun on his hip, hidden beneath a jacket, and walked out of the room. A few moments later, Mel heard the fire door to the stairs close with a solid clang.

Mel frowned at the door. What was Dev thinking? That she needed to beprotected?

Ten minutes passed, and Dev hadn’t returned. Mel paced the room, worry gnawing at her. It didn’t take ten minutes to pick up three pizzas.

Finally the door clicked open and Dev walked into the room. He’d brought a handful of napkins from the bar and he set the three pizza boxes on the table, along with the stack of napkins.

“What happened?” Mel asked.

He looked over at her and his mouth curled into a smile. “I knew you’d figure something had happened.”

“What?” she demanded.

“The delivery guy insisted on handing me the pizzas himself. The desk clerk said he’d do it. Delivery guy said they’d had complaints about customers not getting their pizzas when the delivery was to a hotel. Company policy – they couldn’t leave pizzas with the desk people. I was watching through the cracked door, and they had quite the stare-off. But the kid at the desk didn’t back off, and finally the delivery guy swore at him and left.”

Dev shrugged. “Maybe the delivery kid was legit. Maybe thatwascompany policy. But why take the chance?” He smiled. “I gave the desk clerk a ten and thanked him. He was very appreciative.”

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