Page 74 of Trust No One

They waited in the parking lot for fifteen minutes, but no other cars entered. No cars slowed down as they passed the hotel. Finally Dev said, “I think we’re clear.”

They went into the hotel, and Dev grabbed the scanner they’d left in the car. The first thing he did was scan his room and Mel’s. Nothing. Then he knocked on Gideon’s door. When Gideon opened it, holding his phone and staring at it with a goofy look on his face, Dev handed him the scanner. “Sorry to interrupt, but you should check your room. Make sure it’s clear.” He cleared his throat. “Hi, Alex,” he called.

Gideon’s face reddened, but he nodded at the scanner. “Thanks, Dev. I’ll check right now.”

“Good idea. You don’t want Kingsley listening in to you and Alex having phone sex.”

Alex’s laughter bubbled out of the phone, and Gideon scowled. “Right. Will do.” He closed the door in Dev’s face.

Grinning, Dev returned to his room and threw himself onto the bed.

A few moments later, Mel knocked at the connecting door to his room. “Come on in,” he called, sliding off the bed.

Mel walked through the door, leaving it open behind her. Frowning, her eyes weary, she lowered herself onto the couch and hunched over, her elbows on her knees. “What the hell, Dev?” she said. “What have we accomplished by coming to D.C.?

“We put a target on Simon and Caroline, landing Simon in the hospital. Yeah, we connected with Diana Redfield, and we know Simon and Caroline are safe now. We saved Graciella from Kingsley.

“We also talked to the CIA Director, but we might have made the situation worse. If Allen’s really in bed with Kingsley, now Kingsley’s been warned. He’ll be looking for us. And not because he wants to get together for a beer to reminisce about good times in Kabul.”

Dev edged onto the couch beside Mel. “Where’s this coming from?” he asked. “You’re usually the ‘we can do it’ half of our duo. I’m Donny Downer.”

“We came here to stop Kingsley,” Mel retorted. “But we haven’t done a damn thing about that,” Mel said.

“That’s not completely accurate,” Dev said, reaching for Mel’s hand. Her skin was soft and smooth, and he remembered how good it had felt to stroke her back. Her sides. He swallowed. Other, more intimate places on her amazing body.

“We don’t know what Bradford Allen is doing,” he said. “Maybe he’s taking steps. I’d expect him to at least talk to Kingsley. Get his side of the story. And the paper trail you found, all Kingsley’s properties, the money in the Swiss banks? That’s really damning.”

Mel shook her head. “Kingsley’s so glib, so used to covering up his crimes, that I’m sure he could talk his way out of trouble with Allen.” She jumped up from the couch and began pacing. “Unless Allen throws him into a cell, he’s still a danger to us. To Bree. To anyone who runs afoul of him. Or does him a favor, like Graciella.”

Dev stood up, and when Mel paced past him again, he gathered her into his arms. Tucked her head beneath his neck, like he’d done so many times before, then stroked his hand down her back, tracing his fingers over the bumps on her spine. She struggled to free herself, but eventually folded herself against him, wound her arms around him and sighed.

She was tense with nerves. With worry. But as he stroked his hand down her back, over and over, he felt her muscles loosen. Relax, and he smiled into her hair.

He’d forgotten how good it felt to hold Mel. How right it felt to be the person she relied on. Trusted.

He’d never wanted anyone to rely on him before he’d met Mel. He’d always run screaming from any woman who tried to maneuver him into taking care of her. Any woman who claimed she couldn’t live without him.

Every single one of those women had gone on living after he dumped them.

That was one of the reasons he’d broken up with Mel in Kabul. She’d turned to him for comfort. For reassurance. For help.

The kinds of things people did for their partners.

And instead of being there for Mel, of helping her through her problems, he’d run screaming away from her. He’d been an immature, stupid idiot.

Simon wouldn’t run from Caroline when she was in trouble. Gideon wouldn’t abandon Alex, either. Dev had watched several of their agents fall in love. None of them had fought it, at least not for very long. So why washebeing so stubborn about needing someone?

His mind flashed to a scene from his childhood. His mother, screaming at his father. His father, walking out the door instead of dealing with her.

Was that it? Was it because of his parents? How his mother’d needed his father and how his father always disappointed her? Had he learned the lesson that it was better not to need anyone? That if you didn’t need them, you’d never feel let down? Never be hurt?

He tightened his arms around Mel. Held on. Breathed in her scent, the fragrance he’d associate with Mel until the day he died. Held it in his lungs, as if he could make it part of himself. When he finally exhaled, his breath stirred the curls behind Mel’s ear.

“My mother and father fought constantly,” he said.

Mel stiffened in his arms. Tried to pull away, probably to look at his face. But he held her more tightly. If he was going to get this out, he couldn’t be looking at Mel while he talked.

“My mother always wanted more than my father was willing to give her. Or maybe more than hecouldgive her. And my father pushed her away whenever she gotclingy. His word.” He sucked in a breath, remembering the fights. His mother’s tears. His father eventually storming out of the house.

---