Page 77 of Trust No One

“We already gave it our best shot by going to Allen,” Dev pointed out. “What more can we do?”

“Hell if I know,” Mel said, beginning to pace again. She pointed a finger at Dev. “And you know as well as I do that Kingsley’s eventually going to come after Blackhawk Security. Based on the fact that he bugged our rooms, he knows we’re in D.C. He knows we’re after him. Sooner or later, he’s going to try and eliminate the threat we represent.”

“I’m pretty good at eliminating threats,” Dev said. “That’s what I did every day in the CIA’s SpecOps group. I’d love to take Kingsley on.”

“No, Dev.” Mel stood up from the couch and grabbed Dev’s hands. “I don’t want you to do that. You’re not going to be the judge and executioner.” She swallowed. “That’s not good for your soul.”

“I thought I didn’t have a soul,” he answered.

Mel took a deep breath. Lifted her hands slowly and finally cupped his face. “You’re the best man I know, Devlin Smith. I don’t want you to have another killing on your conscience. So I won’t let you take matters into your own hands. We’ll do this the right way.”

“Theright waygoes through Bradford Allen,” Dev said. Mel saw a muscle clench in his jaw. “And if he’s dirty, too, we’re screwed.”

“Yeah, but maybe Diana Redfield and the FBI could do something about Kingsley,” she began, but she was interrupted by the ringtone of her personal cell phone. She reached for it and frowned. “I don’t recognize this number.”

“You gonna answer it?” Dev asked.

Mel took a deep breath and nodded. “We have too many balls in the air to let it go.” She pressed the red button and said, “Hello?”

“Mel Melbourne,” said a familiar, unexpected voice. “How are you?”

She turned to look at Dev. Mouthed ‘Kingsley’, then reached to put the phone on speaker. “Kingsley. How did you get this number?”

“You’ve been digging into my life for the past several days. You should be able to figure it out.”

“What do you want, you worthless piece of shit?”

Kingsley chuckled. “You always did have a way with words, Mel. I want to meet with you and Dev. Rock Creek Park. Tomorrow at ten A.M.”

“Gonna be hard to do that from Montana,” Mel said immediately.

Kingsley sighed. “I know damn well you’re in D.C.,” he said. “I saw that red hair of yours when you were running away with my employee yesterday.”

“You’re delusional, Kingsley.”

“We need to talk about some… mutually beneficial ideas,” he said, his voice smooth. “Ways we can help each other out. I’ve got a million bucks for you, and another million for your partner. Meet me in Rock Creek Park tomorrow at ten AM. Park in the lot just beyond the kids’ play area.”

“Maybe we’re not interested in doing business with you, Cliff,” Mel said.

“A million bucks is a lot of money, Mel. Think about it. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The call ended, and Mel pulled the phone away from her ear. Stared at it. “What the hell was that?”

Dev curled his hand around hers. “A better question is where did Kingsley get your phone number? Not from Simon and Caroline. Not from me or Gideon. So who else would have it?”

Mel lifted her gaze from the phone and stared at Dev. “That’s a good question,” she said slowly. “Who did I give my number to?”

“Did you give it to Graciella?” he asked.

“I only gave her the burner number. Not my cell number.”

She set her phone carefully on the table. “I didn’t give my number to Diana Redfield because Gideon handled arrangements with her.” She clenched her teeth so hard that a muscle in her jaw twitched. “The only person I called from my personal phone was Bradford Allen. Damn it all to hell.Hemust have given it to Kingsley.”

Dev grabbed her hand. “You’re not thinking clearly, babe. Other people in Allen’s orbit might have gotten hold of your number,” he said. “His assistant John, for one. Any of his other close aides.”

She wrapped her fingers around Dev’s wrist. Tightened her grip. “Allen’s the only one who could have been the source of my phone number. No wonder he was so reluctant to go after Kingsley. He’s in bed with him.”

“Not necessarily. Maybe Diana Redfield has your phone number,” Dev said.

---