Page 44 of Trust No One

“I had it all figured out. The minute she stepped onto the base, she would’ve been dead. But she never came back to the base. She resigned and flew back to the States.”

“That was a mistake, Larrimore,” Kingsley said, his voice low and threatening.

“You saw her after I did,” Larrimore retorted. “I never saw her after she left for Kabul. Until we saw her at that conference with her boyfriend.”

“That guy she was with at the conference? Ford?” Kingsley scoffed. “He’s not her boyfriend. She was his bodyguard.”

“How the hell do you know that?” Larrimore demanded.

“I researched the hell out of both of them. He’s some hot-shot tech genius. Has a program worth millions. There’re probably all kinds of people after it.

“And Gordon? She works for a security company. Haven’t had time to research them yet.”

Mel grabbed Dev’s knee. His fingers curled around hers, and he squeezed her fingers. It was surprisingly reassuring.

“You sure Bree Gordon was the guy’s bodyguard?” Larrimore asked. “I did some research, too. They caught the person who was trying to steal Ford’s program, but Bree’s still with Ford. Living with him. So maybe you were wrong, Kingsley. Maybe shewashis girlfriend.”

Larrimore took a step closer to Kingsley. “You need to stop doing research on them. Bree’s a smart woman, and her boyfriend has to be smart, as well. You keep poking at them and the boyfriend will know. You’re going to get both of us killed if you keep that shit up.”

“Everything will be fine,” Kingsley said, moving closer to Larrimore and patting him on the back. “Don’t worry about Gordon. I’ve got the situation covered.”

Larrimore fumbled in his pocket and drew out a gun. But before he could aim it and shoot, Kingsley, who’d kept his hand in his pocket all along, fired two shots through his pocket. The first, a direct shot to Larrimore’s heart.

Larrimore tumbled to the ground, landing on his face. With his booted foot, Kingsley shoved him over. He squatted beside Larrimore and put two fingers on his neck. After several moments, he stood up. Stared down at Larrimore> “Stupid shit.” He kicked him in the thigh, then turned and walked away.

Mel heard his footsteps retreating and really wanted to run the other way. Dev must have sensed her overwhelming anxiety because he put a hand on her leg, holding her in place. Squeezed gently.

When she glanced at him, he shook his head. Put his finger to his lips.

Mel nodded, but her foot jittered on the loose dirt of the ground. Across from them, blood seeped from Larrimore’s chest, staining the ground red.

Kingsley’s footsteps eventually stopped, and she wanted to jump up and run to their car. But Dev kept his hand on her thigh. Held her in place.

Finally, they heard the sound of a car starting. It retreated in the direction it had come from, and the sound from the car became more and more faint. Eventually it faded away completely.

Still Dev wouldn’t let her move. They sat for fifteen more torturous minutes, then finally he took her hand and drew her to her feet. But he pressed his mouth to her ear. “Don’t say a word. Walk as quickly and quietly as possible. Once we’re in the open, act like you’re a nature lover on a walk. Pretend to point things out to me. Stop and listen when you hear a bird singing.”

He must have felt her shaking, because Dev grabbed her shoulders and stared into her eyes. “You have to act like we just finished a hike in the woods. We’re interested in the birds. The trees. Got it?” She nodded.

“Don’t lose it until we’re in the car and driving away.”

“Are we going to check Larrimore? See if he’s still alive?”

“He’s not,” Dev said.

“How do you know?” Mel asked.

“I know what a dead man looks like.”

“We should call the police,” Mel said. “Get them out here.”

“No. We’ll call Simon. Tell him what happened. The CIA can take care of it.”

“And let Kingsley walk away? Larrimore might have been a bad guy, too, but Kingsley shot him in cold blood.” Mel swung around and stared at Dev, horrified.

“Kingsley’s not getting away with anything,” Dev reassured her. “We have to let himthinkhe got away with it for a while longer while we get our ducks in a row. We need to get the evidence – both of our recordings, showing the exact same thing – to the CIA.”

Mel took a deep breath. Another. Let her shoulders relax. “You’re right. Sorry I freaked out on you.”

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