Page 26 of Devlin

Devlin nodded once. “Not even at my worst.”

Todd muttered a curse under his breath, and Cole simply shook his head.

Devlin didn’t want their sympathy. He just wanted a chance—one goddamn chance—to fix what he’d broken. A knock on the door shattered the heavy moment.

“Come in,” Cole called, sitting up straight.

Jonan poked his head in, grinning. “I was about to grab breakfast. Thought you might want to join me.”

Without hesitation, all three men stood. Enough dwelling on the past. It was time to move forward. It was time to protect Mia. And it was damn well time to figure out who was behind the black market operation.

As they walked, Jonan fell into step beside Devlin, his voice low. “I have someone I want you to meet.”

Devlin glanced at him, noting the way Cole and Todd kept their attention forward but were clearly listening. “Who?”

“A nurse. Works under Doc Elaine.” Jonan paused. “He’s Congolese.”

That was enough to stiffen Devlin’s spine.

Before he could ask more, they reached the dining hall. His gaze swept the room automatically, searching for Mia. She sat at a table across the room, engaged in conversation with others, and he was glad to see Robert wasn’t present. Hustling through the breakfast line, he took a small tray and cup of coffee and started toward her.

Devlin's gaze landed on Mia as she turned and looked up at him. She simply stared with a thoughtful expression on her face. His breath caught in his lungs. For a moment, everything else faded. There was something in her eyes, something he couldn’t quite name. But whatever it was, it wasn’t hate. And right now, he’d take any damn positive step he could get. He gave her a small nod, a half smile playing at his lips before starting toward her.

Jonan interrupted as he nudged Devlin. "Come, sit over here."

Reluctantly, Devlin tore his gaze from Mia and followed Jonan. A man and woman seated at the table straightened as they approached.

“May we join you?” Jonan asked, a broad smile on his face.

“Of course,” the man said, his white teeth gleaming against his dark face.

Jonan made the introductions as the three Keepers slid into seats. “These are friends of mine. Alain Taty and his wife, Dena. Alain is one of the lead nurses here at the clinic, and Dena is a nurse’s aide.”

“Nice to meet you,” Devlin said as Cole and Todd echoed the same greeting. Dena was dark and pretty, her smile shy as she nodded at them.

“I told Alain that you would like to hear his story.”

Devlin wasn’t sure what information Alain had to impart but was willing to see what Jonan had for them.

Alain immediately nodded. “We are Congolese. I worked at a hospital in Goma, Congo. In the Kinshasa Providence?—”

"We know it," Devlin said softly, thinking of a SEAL mission he’d been on in the Congo years before.

Alain held his gaze, then nodded slowly. "We had… problems."

Devlin’s stomach tightened.Goma. The heart of the conflict.

Dena reached out, placing a hand on her husband’s arm. He covered it with his own before continuing.

"If you'd rather not talk here, we can go somewhere else. Somewhere more private," Cole offered.

"No, this is fine,” Alain said, shaking his head. “My story is not new, but I thank you all the same.”

Dena’s fingers twitched, and Alain rubbed her hand before continuing. "There is so much death and war in our country. At first, M23 insisted that we treat the wounded rebels first before anyone else who might have a need. Several of our medical team who disagreed with the edict disappeared.”

Devlin's chest ached for the man's plight. Alain was a healer, but being forced not to heal those who might've needed him the most.

"We had family in Beni, but there was little we could do to help them, being caught between the violence. My father hadalready died, then we received word that my brother was killed in the uprising." He and Dena exchanged another glance before he added, "We knew we needed to leave. So we asked to visit Beni to bring my mother back with us. The story was she would look after our children so that Dena could work as a nurse's aide, providing more help for the insurgency. Given permission, we drove to Beni but took our three children with us and had the car loaded with everything we could. We picked up my mother, and then in the middle of the night, we drove back down through the pass that leads through the National Forests. We got as close as we dared, then contacted another nurse who had made it into Uganda. He gave us directions, and we were sent to a boat where we loaded our possessions and family. We successfully crossed Lake Edward into Uganda. We went first to a refugee camp near there, then we accepted the offer to come to this camp where we would all receive assistance and, in turn, be able to practice medicine the way we always wanted to."

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