Page 50 of Trust No One

He turned his computer so that she could see the screen. “The Anchor. It’s a bar in Maryland. A SEAL bar. I figured that was a good cover, since both Simon and I used to be SEALs.”

Mel narrowed her eyes at him. “Is The Anchor one of those places that are dark and ‘atmospheric’,” she slashed her fingers through the air to form quotes, “which is code for a sleazy dump?”

“Absolutely not. When have I ever taken you to a dump?”

She rolled her eyes. “What do you call the Trail’s End in Helena?”

He shook his head. “That’s a townie bar. Big difference. The only choice in Helena, unless you want to hang out with a bundh of tourists.”

“So is this Anchor all guys? Do they stare at any woman who walks in the door?”

“I don’t think so,” he said, shaking his head. “I looked at their website. The pictures show just as many women as guys. Menu sounds good, too.”

“Okay, let’s give it a try. You want to call Simon? Or should I?”

“I’ll call him.”

Dev pulled out his phone and called Simon. The CIA agent picked up immediately. Mel heard him say, “I’ll call you right back,” then ended the call.

Dev dropped the phone onto the bed and looked at Mel. “You hear that?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Don’t like the sound of it.”

“I don’t either,” he said. “Gonna drive me crazy until he calls me back.”

Dev paced the room while he waited for Simon to call. He looked at his watch frequently. Mel’s foot jiggled, and she tried to stop it. But she was worried. Scared. What the hell was going on? Why was it taking so long to return a phone call?

Dev’s phone finally rang, and he stabbed the button to accept the call. Put it on speaker so she could hear. “Hey, Simon,” he said, and his voice sounded normal. Not stressed or concerned. How did Dev do that?

“Hey, Dev,” Simon said in a weary voice. “Sorry for the delay. I got home and someone was in my house. Saw him through the front window. I kept walking down the block and called my boss. He sent a team over, but whoever was in my place was gone by the time they arrived.

“The house had been searched, though. Thank God I kept that backup flash drive with me today. It’ll go in our safe deposit box tomorrow.”

Mel perched on the end of the bed, and now she glanced at Dev. She knew the worry and concern she felt was written on her face. He put his hand on her knee, and she should shove it away. But she didn’t. It was… comforting.

“What are you gonna do?” he asked Simon.

“The CIA will put us in a safe house tonight. But Caroline and I are going to get a hotel room tomorrow. Who knows how deep into the Agency that Kingsley has his fingers? We have alternative IDs. Figured they’d come in handy one day. And that day arrived.”

“I assume you didn’t keep anything in your house that related to Kingsley.”

“Nothing,” Simon said. “It’s all in that safe deposit box. At a bank we use only for that.”

“Smart,” Dev said. “Mel and I have some information. I was calling to see if you wanted to meet us at The Anchor. But it sounds as if you have a lot on your plate right now.”

“Actually, I’d like to meet with you. No offense, but I want to put this behind me. I don’t know if the search of my house is related to our meeting, but I don’t want to take any chances with Caroline being pregnant.”

“I totally get it. And having your wife join us is a good idea. Looks like two couples getting together. Less suspicious that a single guy meeting with a couple.”

“Yeah, you’re right about that. How about we see you there around seven? That gives us time to get to the safe house and settle in.”

“Works for us,” Dev said. “See you then.”

Dev ended the call and turned to Mel. “You heard, right?”

“I did,” she said, her stomach twisted into a knot. “I feel as if we’ve caused this problem for them. If I hadn’t contacted Simon, he wouldn’t have been targeted.”

“You’re probably right,” Dev said. He stood up and paced the room. “But Kingsley must have had him under surveillance. Otherwise, why would he have followed him to that pub in Virginia?” He frowned. “You think he had a tap on Simon’s phone?”

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