Page 60 of Trust No One

Dev glanced back at Simon, still sleeping on the hospital bed. Did he know what a lucky bastard he was? To have a wife like Caroline, who’d gone toe to toe for him with the Director of the CI effing A? Their boss?

He and Mel walked out of the room and let the door close behind them. Dev turned to Bethany. “Thanks for what you’re doing for Simon and Caroline. I just met Caroline last night, but I’ve known Simon for a long time. He’s one of the best.”

“Yeah, I know,” she said with a tiny smile. “That’s why I’m standing in this hallway.”

Dev bumped fists with her, then he took Mel’s hand. She shot him a sharp glance, but he shook his head. “Early warning system,” he murmured. “In case either of us sees anything suspicious. Easier and faster than saying something.”

“Okay,” she said. “Good.”

They used evasive maneuvers and didn’t spot anyone tailing them from the hospital to the hotel. Dev pulled into a spot behind the hotel and turned the car off.

They sat for ten minutes, watching. Dev opened his window to listen for unusual sounds. But silence surrounded them, other than the faint hum of car tires on the street in front of the hotel.

“If there was anyone on our tail, they might have parked in front of the hotel,” Dev finally said.

Beside him, Mel sighed. “Yeah. I don’t think anyone did, but we can’t rule it out. We’ll take a look, but if Kingsley’s smart, and we know he is, he won’t be using that silver Toyota.”

“Speaking of which,” Dev said, “we need to switch out this car.” He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “We’ve used it for too many days, and I gotta figure Kingsley had tagged this one already.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Mel said. “That’s the first thing we’ll do when we leave the hotel.”

Before they left the car, Mel opened her phone and found Gideon’s email. She scanned it, then slid the phone into her pocket.

“Gideon arrives in an hour and a half,” she said. “Plane took off thirty minutes ago.”

“Then let’s get checked out,” Dev said, opening his car door.

After making sure no one was lurking in a parked car, Dev guided Mel into the hotel, watching over his shoulder for any signs of movement. Once inside, he leaned closer to Mel. He couldn’t stop himself from inhaling her scent, but when she glanced at him, he cleared his throat and eased away from her. “Let’s pay our bill first,” he murmured. “Then we can walk right out the door.”

“Good plan,” Mel said quietly.

At the front desk, Mel murmured the room numbers. The manager’s gaze snapped up from his computer screen for a long moment, then he looked back at the computer.

Mel handed over the credit card she’d gotten before they left Montana. The corporate card was registered to Studebaker Investigations. The mailing address in Chicago was a virtual P.O. box at a neighborhood address.

It would be close to impossible to trace the person responsible for the card.

As Mel signed the receipt, she said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” the clerk said, not quite meeting her eyes. He dropped the credit card. Bent to pick it up. “I hope you had a pleasant stay,” he said, his Adam’s apple bouncing in his neck.

“It was fine,” Mel said as they walked away.

As they rode the elevator up to their floor, Mel frowned at Dev. “Was that clerk acting weird?” she asked. “He wouldn’t look at us. Dropped the credit card. And I swear I saw sweat sliding down the side of his face.”

Dev smiled at her, nudging her with his elbow. “He was a kid, Mel. Faced with the glory of you. All that red hair and your gorgeous face? You blew him away.” He grinned. “You have that effect on a lot of guys. The first time I met you, I couldn’t say a thing. Walked into a wall when I turned to leave.”

Mel rolled her eyes. “You’re so full of shit that your eyes should be brown.”

“You have no idea how fascinating you are. Men can’t resist you.” He curled his little finger around Mel’s little finger. He clung for a moment, then let her go.

She slanted her gaze at him. “You certainly didn’t have a problem brushing me off.”

“Yeah. I was a real jerk who didn’t value what he had. I made a mistake.”

Mel sucked in a breath. Swallowed. Glanced at Dev, but he was staring at the elevator door.

After a long beat, Dev said, “I vote we stop at the car rental place on our way to the airport. Switch out this car before we pick Gideon up.”

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