Page 29 of Trust No One

Dev had no intention of being eliminated by that despicable traitor. Or letting Mel be taken out by him. He and Mel? Hell, it’d be a SpecOps guy and the smartest person he knew versus Kingsley. Between them, he and Mel’d make sure Kingsley was locked up and the key thrown away.

He sat on his bed, computer on his lap, and pulled out the flash drive he’d kept in his pocket all day. It felt as if days had passed since Simon had given it to them, but it had been less than twelve hours ago.

Opening his computer, he plugged in the flash drive and pulled up the data Simon had put together. Transferring it to a Word document, he scanned the information.

Some of it was a paper trail of Kingsley’s accounts and properties. Simon had done a good job, but Mel’s had more details on it. Which made sense, since Simon had to be careful. He couldn’t afford any suspicion to fall on him.

There were names, too. People Kingsley had met with since Simon began watching him. Dev recognized some of the names. Every time he spotted one he recognized, he made a note beside it, a brief description of what the person did and what Dev knew about them. Maybe a third of the list was people Dev knew.

He had no clue who the rest of them were. But they’d find out more tomorrow at the library. Mel would probably recognize some of the remaining names, and they’d scour the web for information on the rest of them.

Then they’d get to work.

Mel’s bed squeaked in the next room, signaling that she’d also left her door open. Dev slid the computer beneath the middle pillow on the king-sized bed, then switched off the light and burrowed beneath the covers. He was awake for a long time, staring at the ceiling of his room.

The shape and feel of Mel’s body was imprinted on him once again. He’d felt every curve, every line of smooth muscle, every ragged breath she drew while laying on top of him. Pulling up those memories made his cock twitch with need. He wanted Mel with a sharp, visceral longing that was impossible to ignore. He wanted to walk into that adjoining room and slide into the bed with her. Make love with her all night long, until neither of them knew where he began and she ended.

It took a long time, but he finally fell into a fitful sleep. He was jolted awake when he heard a cry from Mel’s room. Grabbing his gun from the night table beside him, he clutched it tightly as he shoved into Mel’s room. Mel was sprawled in the middle of her own king-sized bed, eyes closed.

He yanked open the bathroom door. Cleared it, then opened the closet. Nothing. Dropping to the floor, he peered beneath the bed, holding his gun steady in his right hand. No one there, either.

He hauled the curtains aside for good measure, although he was pretty sure no one was hiding behind them. The room was empty except for Mel, and he stood next to the bed and watched her sleep for a long moment.

Finally he sat down beside her. Set his gun on the bed and murmured her name. “Mel. Wake up. It’s me. Dev.” He felt like an idiot identifying himself, but she was asleep. He didn’t want her to grab her gun and shoot him.

Nothing.

He edged closer to her and stroked her hair. Touched her mouth.

Suddenly her eyes flew open, and she lunged at him, struggling to pull her gun from beneath a pillow.

He circled her wrist, stopping her. “Mel. It’s me. Dev. You’re okay.” He stroked her wrist with one finger. “Open your eyes, babe. Look at me.”

Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared at him. He saw need in their green depths. Desire. He cupped her face in his palm, ran his finger over her lips.

For a moment, she leaned into him. Then her eyes opened fully. She stared at him for a long moment, then shoved his hand away. Sat up in bed. She wore a thin tee shirt that did nothing to disguise her hard nipples.

“Dev. What are you doing in here?”

“You cried out,” he said. “I thought something was wrong, so I came over.” He lifted his gun off the bed and showed her, then set it down again. “I was afraid someone was in your room, so I searched it. No one’s here. Guess you were dreaming.”

Mel took a deep breath, pushing her tee shirt harder against her nipples. His muscled tensed, ready to move toward Mel. He wanted to touch her hard nipples. Taste them. Roll his tongue over them. But he couldn’t allow himself to move. If he did, he’d be all over Mel.

She took another breath. Another. Finally said, “Thanks for checking on me, Dev. But I’m awake now. I’m good.” Her forced smile was more like a grimace.

He wanted to kiss her. To smooth his hands down her sides. Her back. Soothe her back to sleep.

Instead, he reached down and brushed his mouth against hers. “I’m close by. Call if you need me.”

As he pushed the connecting doors open wider, he glanced over his shoulder. Mel was watching him. Touching her mouth where he’d kissed her.

He wanted to turn around and go back to her. Slide into that big bed beside her and hold her while she fell asleep. Instead, he raised his hand, then eased his door closed until there was only a small space between the door and the jamb.

He lay on his side, staring at the door separating him from Mel, for a long time before he fell asleep.

Chapter 11

The next morning, after discussing using the library versus a coffee shop and deciding a coffee shop was too risky, Mel looked up the address of the main D.C. public library and its hours. They left fifteen minutes before it was scheduled to open. She kept her eye on the side-view mirror, watching for a car following them, but during rush hour, it was tough.

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