Page 5 of Trust No One

Tearing off his clothes, which smelled of Brittany’s perfume, he tossed the jeans, shirt and boxers in his laundry hamper. But even as he lay in bed, the scent of Brittany clung to him. Finally, swearing, he rolled out of bed and took a shower. Stayed under the hot water for a long time. Then he had another beer and dropped into bed.

Mel would probably be back tomorrow.

But she wasn’t back the next day. Or the day after that. Where the hell was she?

As he sat in his office, staring at his computer but getting zero work done, he heard the tap of feet coming down the hall.Mel. He recognized the pattern of her steps. Knew how every pair of her shoes sounded on the wooden floors. He wanted to leap out of his chair and yank the door open. Demand to know where she’d been. But he knew Mel too well. Any demand would draw her icy gaze. Some sarcastic remark about how she didn’t answer to him.

So he let her go by. He’d stop by her office later with the information that had come in yesterday from Nico in Seattle. They’d discuss it like the partners they were. Figure out what to do about it

He didn’t see Mel until lunch. There were only a handful of agents in the compound, so the dining room was mostly empty. He waited for the other agents and the person in charge of the gym to sit down at a table, then Dev sat at a different table. Separated from the rest of the people, so he could talk to Mel by himself.

She finally came in just as the chef was about to serve. She headed toward the table with everyone else and saw they were deep in conversation. Swerved and headed over to his table. They tried to give their employees space, so he and Mel usually sat together at meals.

“Hey, Mel,” he said as she slid into a seat across the table from him.

“Dev,” she said with a nod of her head. “Anything interesting happen while I was gone?”

“Nope,” he said. “Diego took off for his assignment. Alex and Gideon went to Chicago. Said they’d be back in six weeks or so. Got reports from everyone else in the field. All’s going well. No problems.”

“Good to know,” she said, taking a bite of her chicken salad. “We get any new requests for bodyguards?”

“Not that I know of. Those usually go to you.”

“I was watching my email,” she said. “Didn’t see anything. Thought you might have gotten a request.”

“Nope,” he said, and realized he got very few requests for bodyguards. Mel did almost all of the screening and assignments of their staff. He shifted a little in his chair, feeling lazy. Like he was letting Mel carry the burden of the work. Why hadn’t he done more of it?

Because Mel was better with people than he was. She knew their bodyguards well. Knew who was good at what kind of assignment.

He did more of the physical training. He was the one their agents called when they needed help with a specific problem. When they were looking for suggestions on tactics.

“Good to hear everything ran well while I was gone,” she said, taking a deep drink of water. Then she finished her salad and stood up. “I have things I need to take care of. You free this afternoon for a meeting?”

“Sure,” he said, his shoulders relaxing. He enjoyed talking strategy with Mel. Enjoyed getting her take on problems their agents were having. “Your office or mine?”

“I was thinking we could get together at the Trailhead in Helena,” she said. “Have a beer and a glass of wine.”

He shrugged. “Sure. Sounds good to me. What time?”

“How about five?” she said. “Before the crowds but gives us time to get our work done.”

“Sure. Want to drive in together?” Dev said.

She shook her head. “I’ll meet you there.”

“Sounds good,” Dev said. He watched as she picked up her dishes and took them to the bussing bins, then walked out of the dining hall without looking back. Wasn’t like Mel to be so abrupt. So… businesslike. And she hadn’t mentioned where she’d been, either.

He didn’t tell her everywhere he went, he realized. Maybe they needed to be more careful to keep each other up to date. In case something came up.

They could talk about that this afternoon.

* * *

Mel made sure to get to the bar before Dev arrived. She ordered a glass of her favorite Francis Ford Coppola Diamond cabernet and a bottle of Dev’s favorite beer, Stella Artois, as well as water for both of them.

She reached into her purse and her fingers brushed the edge of the check. Spence had been totally on board with lending her the money, and Zoe had transferred it to Mel’s account immediately. Mel had written the check to Dev from her personal account. And it was nestled into the folded paper that dissolved their partnership in Blackhawk Security.

Her fingers lingered on the paper for a long moment. She loved this business. She’d even loved having Dev as her partner. Until she hadn’t. Their strengths were complimentary and were a perfect combination for a company like Blackhawk Security.

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