Page 8 of Trust No One

Mel wanted to shove him away, but he was stronger than she was. She narrowed her eyes at him instead. “We have a number of very accomplished, very good agents working for us.” Her mouth tightened. “Forme,I should say. I’ll pick the one I think will handle the job the best. So I won’t be going after Kingsley and Larrimore by myself.”

Dev leaned against the car, as if he had the right to get in her face. The right to force a decision on her. “You know Kingsley better than any of the agents in Blackhawk Security. But I’m a close second. I worked with him, too. I watched him in Kabul. I knew he was bad news. A bad actor. I couldn’t pin anything on him, in spite of trying, but the little scheme he and Larrimore had going? That got some of my guys killed. Ineedto be part of bringing him down.”

“I’ll deal with Kingsley and Larrimore, and I won’t do it alone. You’re no longer part of Blackhawk Security.”

He pulled the check out of the inside pocket of his jacket and stuffed it in her bag. “As of now, I still am. And I’m not giving in on this. I know that snake Kingsley. We’ll figure out Larrimore together. No one else will do as good a job as I’ll do.”

She yanked the check out of her bag and shoved it into Dev’s pocket. The heat of his skin had warmed the jacket, and she wanted to yank her hand away from him. But she held Dev’s gaze as she pushed the check farther into his pocket and finally removed her hand.

Dev’s heat lingered, though. Just like all her memories of the two of them. Together.

Ignoring the blast from the past, she got in his face. Too close, because his scent surrounded her. But instead of backing away, she asked, “When’s the last time you were on an actual operation, Dev?”

When he didn’t answer, she said, “Not since Afghanistan. So why should I trust you to have my back? Why should I believe you’ll remember how to react in the field? You’ve spent the past three years training new agents. You haven’t been in the field since you left Kabul.”

He held her gaze, and she saw his anger, simmering just beneath the surface. “I’vealwayshad your back, Mel.”

“The hell you have.” She poked him in his chest, and he stepped back. “Remember Afghanistan? We were in the middle of the operation with Laila, and I was terrified for her. The country was in chaos, the government was teetering, and I lost track of Laila for a few hours. Once I found her, I had to send you, Jase and Cody out to pick her up.”

She began to pace beside her car, trying to keep her temper under control. “Several hours later, out of the blue, you announced you’d picked up fourteen people and were bringing them to Kabul. Families that needed to be extracted from Afghanistan. You call that having my back?

“And in the middle of all that? You dumped me.” She shoved him with both hands, and he stumbled backward. “I’ll never trust you again, Dev.”

“I don’t give a damn,” he said, his eyes drilling into her. “But I’m gonna be with you every step of the way on this op.”

“Not your call, Dev,” she shot back. “This ismyop. I’m doing it my way.” She elbowed him away from her car door, yanked it open and slid inside. Dev reached in to stop her, and she pulled the door shut. Since she didn’t hear him scream, she assumed he’d managed to pull his hand away in time.

Thank God no one had parked in front of her. She pulled through that spot, then turned and accelerated out of the parking lot. When she looked back, Dev was watching her leave, a plume of dust swirling around him.

By the time she got back to the compound, her heart had steadied and her breathing had settled. She opened the gate and pulled into the garage, making sure she closed the gate into the compound behind her.

Five minutes later, locking her office door behind her, she fell into her desk chair. Her heart pounded against her chest, and her face was hot. Damn Dev for not taking no for an answer. For not going quietly with that obscenely big check.

As she stared at the mountains in the distance, she shuddered one last breath in and let her breathing slow. When she felt in-control again, she opened her computer and got to work.

A few minutes later, her office door lock clicked open, and Dev stepped inside.

She clenched her teeth to keep the top of her head from blowing off. “I changed the combination on that lock. How did you get in here?”

“I guessed what it was. You’re kinda predictable, Mel.”

“Yeah?” She lifted her chin and stared at him. “What was it? And how many tries did it take?”

He held her gaze without answering.

“Yeah, I thought so,” she said. “You had someone unlock the door for you, didn’t you?”

Without answering, he threw himself into one of the chairs on the other side of her desk. “I’m doing this, Mel. It’ll make your life a lot easier if you just give in.”

“You think that’s who I am?” she said, wondering if Dev could see the smoke coming out of her ears. “That I just give in? Let you take over? Hell, no, Smith. Get your stuff and get out of the compound.”

“You gonna throw me out?” He leaned across the desk, holding her gaze. “You and what army?”

Dev glanced at the door. She followed his gaze and saw several people standing there. Listening to them. She stood up and kicked the door closed.

When she threw herself into her chair again, Dev reached across her desk and touched her face. She shoved his hand away with so much force that it felt as if she’d wrenched her shoulder.

“Look, Mel. Think about it. Put aside being pissed at me. The reality is, Kingsley’s a threat to you. None of our agents know him like we do. They don’t know what a snake he is. They’ll see this guy with graying hair, a soft body and the kind of face that’s completely forgettable and they won’t take him seriously.

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