Page 50 of Devlin

Mia’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean a surprise schedule?”

“One that they don’t predict. It makes it harder for them to plan.” He rubbed the back of his neck, his dark eyes shadowed with worry. “That’s why we usually have unmarried men on the night shift. I mix up their nights so they can’t plan with one of the truck drivers.”

“That’s a good idea.” She nodded.

He gave a half-hearted shrug. “Sometimes my ideas are not born of genius but more of desperation.”

Mia studied him, sensing something deeper behind his words. “What do you mean?”

Farid hesitated before sighing. “A married man working the night shift could be more susceptible to taking a bribe to keep his family safe from a threat than a single man.”

Her chest tightened, a dull ache settling in. The fact that these were the kinds of decisions they had to make—choosing between integrity and survival—was a painful reality.

“If I haven’t told you recently,” she said softly, “I’m happy to be working with you.”

He gave her a tired but genuine smile before a sudden crash interrupted them. A crate tumbled from one of the stacks, scattering supplies across the floor. Without a word, Farid rushed off to deal with the workers, leaving Mia standing alone.

She turned just in time to see Devlin and Todd walking in.

Even before she spoke, Devlin was already moving toward her, his sharp eyes scanning her face. “What’s the matter?”

For a moment, she just stared at him, surprised by the instant recognition of her emotion. There was a time when all he had to do was look at her to know what she was thinking, to readevery shift in her mood without her saying a word. The fact that he could still do it, even after all these years, sent a warm peace through her.

Blowing out a frustrated breath, she finally said, “Food was taken last night.”

Devlin’s gaze flicked toward Todd. They didn’t exchange a single word, but something unspoken passed between them. With a nod, Todd turned on his heel and jogged outside.

Mia arched an eyebrow. “Was it something I said?”

Devlin smiled and shook his head. “We put up several security cameras in each of the food warehouses. We don’t have them everywhere or at all angles, but Todd’s going to check the footage and see what we can find out.”

Her jaw dropped slightly as her gaze shot around the interior of the building. “Why didn’t you tell me you had done this?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Because you might not have acted normally with your staff.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Do you not trust Farid?”

“Mia,” he said, his tone even but firm, “other than you, I don’t trust anyone here.”

She stared at him for a long moment, reading the conviction in his gaze. Finally, she murmured, “That sounds like the voice of experience speaking.”

He nodded slowly. “It is. You can’t work as long as I did in the military, for the reservation, or even for LSIMT, and not know what people are capable of.”

Mia exhaled, running a hand through her hair as she looked around the warehouse. Outside, life continued as babies cried, children laughed and played, and women gossiped in different languages while men shouted instructions to one another. The world outside this warehouse was full of movement, but inside, the weight of her job, of these stolen rations, pressed down on her shoulders.

“I don’t know,” she admitted, her voice quiet. “Maybe my predecessor had the right idea.”

Devlin frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

“The man who had this job before me didn’t use the main distribution warehouse much. There was talk about repurposing it for something else. Instead, he just used his office to direct where the trucks should take the food directly to the villages.”

She hesitated, then added, “But then when I took over, there seemed to be a lot of loss and mismanagement. I quickly realized that unless the food came to one distribution center first, there was no way of ensuring each village got exactly what they needed. Trucks would end up bouncing between villages, and it became a logistic mess. I talked to Dr. München, and he gave me free rein to set up the distribution my way. And for a long time, it worked. We weren’t losing food.”

Devlin gave a knowing nod. “You filled up a hole.”

She blinked, slightly taken aback. “I’m sorry?”

He stepped closer, his gaze intent. “Your predecessor was taking kickbacks.”

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