Page 125 of Devil's Dilemma

Christ.I think of last night, how we were joking and fooling around. If it were up to me, I’d wrap Mel in a protective bubble and keep her there. But it’s not my decision, this battle she’s taking on, is hers. I’m just behind and beside her all the way.

“I’ll speak to her, Demon,” I tell him at last. “See what she says. If this is something she thinks she can do, I’ll take her to Vegas. But I’m not just laying it on her, I’ll give her the choice.”

“Fair enough,” Demon replies. “Red’s managed to get seats reserved on this evening’s flight. Let me know soon if you’re able to go.”

He leaves, and I place a call to Mel, explaining what Red wants her to do. It’s not the first time she surprises me.

“Red offered Clare help, didn’t he, Ro?”

He had. I confirm it.

“I trust Red’s judgement. If he thinks this is something I should do, if it’s to help me and her, I’ll do it. I feel sorry for her, Pyro. She’s lost a man too.”

“Have I told you how much I love you, darlin’?”

She laughs, quietly as she’s at work. “A time or two.” Then whispers into the phone, “And I love you.”

The day passes both slowly and too fast. I try to throw myself into work to occupy my time, but equally, don’t want the moment of confrontation to come too fast.What’s Mel going to do?From what I remember, Clare’s tall, willowy and blond, the complete opposite to Mel who, while she finds it hard to believe, is exactly the type of woman who rocks my world. What she doesn’t need is to be faced with the woman Skull preferred. A woman with whom Skull actually wanted children.

But now, he’s lost her as well. Do I take pleasure in that? Fuck yeah. I hope their separation has hit the fucker hard.

Mel’s waiting when I collect her from the house, both of us having gotten off work early to catch the Friday evening flight. She didn’t say much before getting behind me on the bike, but her face showed her concern.

When she gets off the bike at the airport, I give her one last chance.

“You don’t need to do this. Not quite how I planned to spend this weekend.”

She takes a deep breath, then says, “I do, Ro. I need to.”

By the time we arrive at the Vegas clubhouse, it’s getting on midnight. After a full day at work followed by the flight, I know Mel will be tired, so we greet friends and then make our way up to the room we’ve again been assigned. Mel pauses at the doorway, her face pained. Then she grimaces and steps inside.

I hate that she’s remembering what happened last time we were here.

In the morning, after Rosa has ensured we’re fed, Meat says we’ve been summoned to Red’s office. Inside, Red’s seated behind his desk, and in front of him, on one of the three chairs he’s had brought in, is Skull’s wife, Clare, holding a cup of coffee in her hands.

She looks up when we enter, but no one speaks until we’ve taken our seats. I make sure to position myself between the two women. If this turns out to be unpleasant, I want to be a buffer between Mel and her.

“Mel,” Red kicks it off, his eyes examining her searchingly. “Thanks for coming. You too, Pyro.”

I raise my chin and notice Mel responds with a small nod.

Clare looks to Red as though seeking permission, then sits forward on her chair, placing her now empty cup on the desk. “Melissa, I’m so sorry. When I heard…”

Mel shrugs, but doesn’t say a word.

“I met Don when I was still at school. We were childhood sweethearts if you like, even made Prom King and Queen. Most likely to get married, and we did.” She frowns. “We’ve been, were, together seventeen years.”

Mel pulls herself straight, her eyes creased. “How old is he?”

“Thirty-one. Though he could pass for a lot younger, and, indeed has. That's part of the reason why he was asked to go undercover in the first place.”

Taking Mel’s hand in mine, I tighten my fingers around it. There’d never been a need for her to worry about what she’d thought was a large difference in age. But what’s one more crime laid at his door?

Clare resumes, “He was a cop, did some work with the feds, and was recruited from there. He’s worked undercover on and off. The longest before this time was a year. The feds must have thought this was a serious enough job to let him stay under for such a long time.”

Red interrupts and explains, “Undercover assignments normally last no longer than six months. They need reapproval after that time, and then again after each half year passes.” He looks at the woman sitting beside him, his eyes softening slightly. It was very different to how he’d viewed her when I last saw her in the club. “I’ve explained to Clare about prospects needing to serve their time. Skull, Donavan, would have known it was going to be a long commitment, that he probably wouldn’t find anything until he was patched.”

“And not even then,” I break in. “He found nothing, which must be why he was pulled out.”

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