Page 51 of Devlin

Mia’s lips parted, confusion flickering across her face. “What?”

“If there was a loss of food under him, and it stopped when you changed the system, then it means he figured out it was easier for smugglers to steal food when it was being delivered straight to the villages. He was probably getting a cut of it. You came in, saw something that didn’t make sense, and changed it. And it worked. You filled the hole.”

Understanding dawned, and with it came a heavy sigh. “And now, more holes have popped up.”

“All you can do is the best job you know how,” Devlin said, his voice steady. “You can’t contain or control other people’s evil.”

She didn’t speak for a long moment, simply holding his gaze, her mind racing with the implications of his words. Finally, she whispered, “Again, you’re speaking from experience.”

A shadow crossed his face. “In my job, we try to protect and investigate what others are doing. We’re not always successful. And because crime always exists…” His voice dropped slightly, edged with something darker. “I’ll always have a job.”

Just then, Devlin’s phone vibrated against his thigh. He pulled it from his pocket, his gaze flickering over the screen. Whatever message he read made his expression sharpen, his posture straightening with a new sense of urgency.

Before she could ask, he looked up, his voice decisive. "Let's go. Todd and Cole have some information for us."

Mia nodded, a renewed sense of purpose sparking through her. She turned, catching Farid’s attention with a wave, then gestured toward the door. He gave a quick nod in understanding.

"Okay, let's go," she said, already moving.

"Todd took the Jeep, so we’ll start walking and hitch a ride with someone," Devlin suggested as they stepped out into the sun.

The dusty road stretched ahead, heat shimmering off the hard-packed ground. Mia moved briskly, but with Devlin’s height, his natural stride was nearly twice the length of hers. She had to take almost two steps for every one of his, a fact that used to never bother her because he had always adjusted to her pace. Now, he hadn’t. Not at first, anyway.

Then as if realizing, he suddenly slowed. "Jesus, Mia, I'm sorry."

She laughed, shaking her head. "That's okay. Keeping up with you will get my steps in today."

His gaze swept over her, a quick but thorough assessment from her face to her feet and back again. Then he sighed, a quiet exhale that carried more weight than she expected.

Something in his expression made her self-conscious. She tilted her head, her tone light, but her stomach knotted. "What?"

He hesitated, then admitted, "I was going to say that you didn’t need more exercise but needed to eat more. But of course, considering where we are and what everyone else has, I knew that would be insensitive."

Mia’s hands instinctively smoothed over her waist and hips, as if tracing the loss herself. She knew she had lost weight… more than she probably realized. The long days, the constant stress, the lack of consistent meals had all taken its toll.

But the thought that maybe she no longer looked the same to him, that maybe he didn’t see her the way he used to, struck deeper than she wanted to admit. Before she could pull away from the thought, Devlin reached out, his knuckle lifting her chin gently.

He bent close, his breath warm against her skin. "Stop that," he murmured.

Her brows furrowed. "Stop what?"

"Wondering if you're still beautiful to me," he said, his voice low, unwavering. "Because the answer is hell yes."

Mia’s heart stuttered, her breath catching. Years and distance hadn’t dulled his ability to read her thoughts. He still knew her, still saw her in ways no one else ever had.

A slowing truck broke the moment. Dust kicked up around them as the old flatbed truck ground to a stop. Several refugees reached for her arms, steadying her as Devlin placed his hands at her waist and lifted her effortlessly into the truck bed. A second later, he climbed in behind her with the same ease. They smiled and greeted the others, finding seats among them.

The truck bounced over the uneven terrain on the short ride back to the administrative area. When they arrived, Devlin hopped down first, then reached up instinctively to help her. She took his hand without hesitation.

"Todd and Cole are in the warehouse," Devlin said as they started toward the building. "We can watch the video in your office."

Mia led him up the stairs and through her office door. The air inside was cooler, shaded from the relentless sun. Todd was already seated in her chair, his laptop open on the desk, while Cole stood nearby, arms crossed as he studied the screen.

"Here are the trucks that came in during the night," Todd said without preamble. "Four of them picked up food here and delivered specifically to Sweswe."

Mia moved behind him, peering at the screen as Todd fast-forwarded through hours of footage. The grainy black-and-white images flickered past—trucks pulling in, workers moving supplies, deliveries being made.

They watched as the food was unloaded into the central warehouse, the workers moving methodically under the dim glow of the floodlights.

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