Page 29 of Devlin

Mia scoffed. "I never want that kind of heartache again. That’s probably why I’ve never been able to completely let it go."

Robert tilted his head. "I’m not talking about pain. I’m talking about the kind of emotion you must have shared for it to have hurt so much."

She pursed her lips. "You’re very wise. Also, a pain in my ass."

"Good," he said with a smirk. "Then I’d say my job for the day is done."

They were still laughing when they stepped into the storage center’s loading dock, where Farid and his assistant were already unloading another truck.

"If he’s got everything under control, let’s review the trucking schedules. I want to make my rounds this afternoon," Mia said.

"No time like the present," Robert agreed.

As he turned, Mia caught sight of Devlin approaching, his expression unreadable. His attention flicked over Robert dismissively before settling on her with a gentle smile. "Good morning, Mia."

"Good morning, Jim… um… Devlin." She inclined her head to acknowledge his companions. "Cole. Todd."

Devlin’s gaze never left hers. "What’s on your agenda for the day?"

"Robert and I are reviewing trucking schedules?—"

"Good. We need details on where the trucks come from, who owns them, where the drivers are from?—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Robert interrupted, hands raised. "That’s a hell of a lot of questions for someone who’s just here for security."

Devlin’s gaze turned sharp. Mia felt the tension thicken and quickly intervened. "They came in with Margarethe. They’re investigating shortages."

Robert’s expression darkened. "What shortages?"

"Some food doesn’t make it to the refugees," Devlin said evenly.

"I was askingher," Robert bit out.

"And I’m tellingyou," Devlin shot back.

"Oh, for the love of—" Mia threw up her hands. "Enough with the testosterone showdown! Robert, they’re trying to determine why food supplies aren’t reaching the people who need them." She sighed, thinking she had given up all hope of keeping her fears to herself. By now, everyone would know she had called in someone to discover what was happening to the food.

Robert’s jaw tightened. "Are you saying there’s theft happening here?"

"We’re trying to find out," Mia said softly. "Something systematic is happening with the food. We’re stretched thin as it is, but I refuse to let people go hungry because someone’s profiting off what they steal."

Robert exhaled heavily. "Alright. I have nothing to hide. Logistics in a camp this size is chaotic—we contract out trucks and drivers to whoever we can. But we can’t oversee every single truck, every single person, every single day."

Devlin crossed his arms. "Someone’s stealing."

Robert muttered a curse. "Point taken. But theft happens everywhere. Medical supplies, toiletries, even toilet paper. You can’t track it all."

"We’re not blaming you, Robert," Mia said gently. "But we need to figure out where the leaks are."

He sighed. "When were you going to tell me?"

"Dr. München has just found out from Margarethe. We wanted to keep things close. We don’t know who’s involved."

Robert nodded slowly. "Fine. One of you can come with me to my office. I’ll show you how we coordinate a few hundred trucks in and out every day."

"I’ll go," Todd volunteered.

"I’m heading over to Farid to check on the process," Cole added before walking off.

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