Page 96 of Trust No One

“Of course it is, Dev. Take as long as you need.” Her mouth still burned from that brush of a kiss, and she wanted to put her hand over her mouth to hold the sensation close. But when his gaze fell to her hand covering her lips, she let it drop to her side.

“See you in the dining room in the morning,” he said, and picked up his own suitcase. He stared at her for a long, heavy moment. Then he turned and walked away, disappearing around the corner.

Mel stood at the door to her apartment, her hand still covering her mouth until she heard the snick of his door unlocking down the hall. A draft of air wafted out when he opened the door. The finality of the door closing echoed in the silent hallway.

Drawing in a lungful of air that still held the faint woodsy essence of Dev, she pushed into her own apartment, shoved the suitcase to the side and closed the door. Locked it. Then leaned against it, pressing one hand against her aching chest. What was she going to do without Dev?

He’d been a part of her life for so long. It was hard to imagine not seeing him every day. Not being able to bounce ideas off him. Not rely on him to train new hires.

She could find other people to fill those roles. People she had no history with. No painful past to negotiate.

People who would be business associates and nothing more.

That was the smart way to run a business.

So why did it feel so… wrong? So unsettling?

Because that’s all she’d ever known with Blackhawk Security. She’d found the property and come up with the idea for a personal protection business, but Dev had been part of it from the beginning. They’d brainstormed ideas together. Made decisions together. Interviewed potential employees together. And unless they’d both agreed on a candidate, the person wasn’t hired.

Hauling her suitcase into her living area, she opened it up and removed all the dirty clothes. The faint scents of her and Dev rose from the clothing, and she blinked hard to focus her eyes.

Trying not to breathe too deeply, she sorted the clothes into piles, then dumped them into laundry baskets. Then she put her suitcase in the closet, stripped off her clothes and stepped into the shower.

The hot water beating down on her loosened her tense muscles. Warmed her. But it also churned up memories of her and Dev showering together in Kabul. Those showers had always ended the same way – with the two of them falling into bed. Or not making it out of the shower and into the waiting bed.

She turned the water off abruptly and reached for her towel. Dried off, then threw on a tee shirt and slid into bed. She was tired from the trip. Still a little hung-over from the shot Kingsley had injected into her arm.

But she lay awake for a long time, staring at the ceiling, her thoughts tumbling over each other.

Two days later, after mulling over all the details, she’d made a decision. She opened the safe in her room and took out that two million dollar check. Clutching it tightly, she stepped out of her apartment and walked down the hall to Dev’s. Knocked on the door.

A few moments later Dev opened it. His hair was messy, as if he’d shoved his fingers through it once too often. And it looked as if he hadn’t slept any better than she had.

“Mel. What can I do for you?” he said, his voice carefully neutral.

“May I come in?”

“Of course.” He stepped away from the door, and when she walked in, closed it behind her.

Stacks of papers sat on the chair. A few books were piled on the small desk. And neat piles of clothes covered the couch.

“Looks like you’re getting things organized,” she said, gripping the check tightly in her hand. The evidence of his departure stung, even though it shouldn’t have. After all,she’dtold him to leave.

She was giving him a huge check to buy out his half of the company. What did she expect? To find him lounging on the couch, watching television?

“I have your check,” she said, bringing it from behind her back and extending her hand to him. When he didn’t reach for it immediately, she frowned. “Don’t you want it?”

Holding her gaze, he said, “Do I have a choice?”

She cleared her throat, trying to get rid of the ball of anxiety lodged there. But her throat was thick and she couldn’t force out the words. So she nodded slowly. Cleared her throat.

“I was wrong to force you out. You’re my partner in Blackhawk Security, and you always will be. Regardless of what was between us in the past, the company is still half yours. I had no right to kick you out because you weren’t acting the way I wanted you to act. It’s up to me to deal with my own feelings.

“If you still want to be my partner in Blackhawk Security, I’d like you to stay.”

“I don’t want to stay here as your partner in the company,” he finally said. He held her gaze, his own, intense. What was he looking for in her eyes?

His words were a kick to her chest, sharp and painful. Sucking in a breath, pressing her palm against her sternum, she said, “So you’re leaving? You don’t want to be part of the business anymore?” She pressed harder on her sternum.

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