A Little Harmless Secret

by Melissa Schroeder

  Her daughter opened her mouth, but Alicia knew Bridget well.

  “He’s not going to get you a suit.”

  Devon chuckled. “Trust me, you don’t want me picking out your clothes. Ask Dee. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  She nodded. He stepped closer, as if to lean in to kiss her. It would be a normal thing for a husband and wife to do. Then, he pulled back, apparently just realizing what he was doing. He shook his head and headed down the stairs.

  It was just like that moment earlier. She knew if Bridget had not interrupted them, he would have kissed her. Alicia had seen it in his eyes, the need he had for her…and the intent.

  And she had wanted him to do it. Wanted to be touched.

  Alicia closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. She looked down at her daughter.

  “We better get you cleaned up before he gets back.”

  Bridget nodded and ran into the bathroom. Daydreaming about Devon wasn’t going to help her solve her problems.

  She had proven that once before, and the lesson had been one of the hardest in her life.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Devon returned in less than an hour. He was happy that Ali hadn’t fought him that much this time about staying behind. He knew she hadn’t even thought of going with him. She wouldn’t put Bridget in danger and, right now, that was her primary concern. It wouldn’t last of course. She just wasn’t a woman who could be tied down.

  Worse, he had to keep putting off the long talk he felt both of them knew they needed to have. It lingered in the back of his mind, a constant irritation that he couldn’t discuss with her yet. Too much was going on right now, and the safety of their daughter was just as important to him. The other factor was Bridget. Alarming her with a discussion of her parentage wouldn’t be smart. It also wouldn’t give him any traction with Ali. Still, Devon needed answers. Lots of them. After the rush to get back to Hawaii, things were settling down. Their protection was important, but his mind was capable of seeing past the danger now. It was time for explanations.

  Bridget and Ali joined him as he cooked the hotdogs he’d bought. It wasn’t the most nutritious meal, but he didn’t know what to buy. He had walked into the grocery store and almost had a panic attack. He didn’t know what girls her age ate. Worse, he worried he would pick something she hated and he would be judged by a four-year-old. Because, a bad ass computer expert was tied in knots over a little girl.

  Pathetic.

  “Hey, Devon,” Bridget said, as she walked over to the table.

  She was dressed in a Frozen nightgown and her hair had been brushed back from her face. She was so damned cute and precious. Devon had to resist the urge to brush his hand over the top of her head. Instead, he grabbed Hawaiian macaroni salad and some cut up fruit.

  “I hope you like hot dogs,” he said.

  “I do. Mummy doesn’t let me have them often.”

  He glanced up at Ali. “Considering the circumstances, I think we can indulge for one night.

  As they sat down, he saw Ali survey the area. In truth, he was pretty sure she didn’t even realize she was doing it. It was part of her training, probably from an early age—considering what her father did for a living. It was as second nature to her as breathing was for a normal person.

  He stifled a sigh. He hated seeing her that way. There was a fine edge to her nerves and he knew she was stressed. She never let on to Bridget, though. As they sat and ate, she joked with her daughter and talked of plans for Hawaii.

  Every now and then, he could pick up on her tension. A glance at her daughter, a sharp look when she heard a strange noise…she didn’t miss anything. Neither did Devon.

  “I think it’s time to head to bed, poppet,” she said.

  Bridget frowned. “I’m not tired.”

  Then, she defeated her own argument by yawning.

  “Let’s go, Bridget. We’ll have lots of fun tomorrow swimming. You need your rest though. What do you say to Devon for dinner?”

  Bridget gave him a sweet, sleepy smile and his heart turned over. How this little slip of a girl could undo him so easily was beyond him. Right now, though, he wanted to beat the shit out of the bastards who had scared her that night in Seattle.

  “Thank you, Devon. It was yummy.”

  Ali smiled in approval, then she stood and picked her up. “I’ll clean up as soon as I get her in bed.”

  He couldn’t talk yet. There was another freaking lump in his throat. He watched Ali take her upstairs and felt something loosen in his chest. Too many emotions were rushing through him, and he needed time to work through them. He had learned at a young age to keep himself busy while he thought out things that were bothering him.

  With that in mind, he decided to clean up the dishes.

  * * * *

  Alicia got Bridget into bed with a minimum of fuss. Bridget barely argued about it, even though she had a pretty long nap on the plane. Alicia sat on the edge of the bed and watched as Bridget’s eyes closed. She brushed a lock of hair off her face.

  It seemed so odd that they were in Devon’s house in Hawaii. Less than a week ago, he had been more than a passing thought. No, that was wrong. Every time she looked at her daughter, she saw Devon. Those eyes were unmistakable. If ever a time she thought she could forget about the man who fathered her daughter, Alicia just had to look at her.

  When she was sure Bridget was sleeping, Alicia made her way down the stairs to talk to Devon. He wanted answers and she couldn’t blame him. But…she still didn’t trust him completely. He was keeping things from her. Something went on at her house that he wasn’t telling her. Micah and Devon considered themselves good liars, but she could always spot them. It was one of the reasons she’d been trained for interrogation. And those two had not been telling her the truth. They had told her shades of the truth, but important things were missing.

  She made her way back downstairs to Devon. It would take her a long time to get used to the house. Everywhere she looked there was wood. It was open, airy, and seemed to be part of the environment. It was hard to tell where the house ended and the outside began. He was sitting at the kitchen breakfast bar. The dishes had been stowed away, the counters were pristine.

  “I said I would clean up.”

  He shrugged as his gaze followed her every move. The anger had dissolved, but she knew he didn’t trust her. She understood that. Trust was harder to earn than anything else.

  “I’ve been cleaning up my own messes for a while.”

  She didn’t miss the double meaning.

  He sipped at a golden brown liquid she assumed was whiskey. He said nothing, but kept watching her. Something tickled at the back of her throat as she waited for him to say something…anything. And, truth was, she was usually good at this. With all her training, she didn’t normally have an issue with a stare down, but this one was starting to get on her nerves. It made her uncomfortable in so many different ways, she didn’t know which way to move.

  “Stop that.”

  Cool amusement danced in his eyes. “What?”

  “We were both trained, and I know all the tricks. You want answers, ask. Otherwise, stop trying to play games with me, Devon. I promise, you will lose them.”

  “Is that the truth?”

  “Yes. Remember, I was raised by a master spy. I know all the games. I know the strategies to win and I rarely worry about who gets hurt in the outcome—unless it is Bridget.”

  He set his drink down on the counter and sighed. The sound was oddly lonely. She didn’t think a man like him lived a very lonely life. He was a millionaire, if not a billionaire. Those type of people always seemed to be surrounded by others.

  In the short time Alicia had spent with him, Devon rarely had handlers. He definitely didn’t have entourage unless she counted sister, brother-in-law, and niece.

  “You said you couldn’t find me?”

  Right to the point. This she could handle. She nodded.

  “But, you found me once. I assume
MI-6 sent you.”

  “Yes, I found you, but that was all me. I worked outside of the borders of MI-6. They didn’t know your connection to my father, and I was on vacation when I went looking for you.”

  He frowned. “Why?”

  Those frantic days came rushing back to her with such blinding force it left her a little dizzy. She rarely thought of them now, but whenever she did, Alicia’s stomach pitched. Desperation had been her companion as she wondered if she was looking for a dead man. She had been trained for every situation in a spy’s life, but that. Searching for her father had been out of the realm of her knowledge.

  “My father was missing. I’d been looking for three months before I found you.”

  “I still don’t understand the connection.” Confusion stamped his features as his brow furrowed. “For the life of me, I really can’t remember his name. Well, the name is familiar, but I know nothing else. At that point I’d moved on from the CIA and wanted nothing to do with them.”

  “I went through some of his notes. I could read his shorthand, while others couldn’t. He was trying to find you. He was almost desperate with it.”

  And he had never come to her. To this day, she wondered why he hadn’t. He was the one person she trusted in the world but after this, she had wondered if he hadn’t trusted her. That hurt almost more than losing him.

  “I told you I didn’t know your father.”

  “I believe you, now. Then, I didn’t know you at all. All I knew was that he was looking for you. I have no indication on why he was. It was right before he disappeared. I connected the dots.”

  “Doesn’t MI-6 keep track of their spies?”

  “Father was retired. Well, semi-retired. I know they consulted him a lot, but he wasn’t out in the field.”

  Devon frowned. “That young?”

  She found a smile then. “My parents had given up on children when I came along. They were both spies, and after a few years of trying, they gave up. Then, when Mum was thirty-eight and my father was forty-five, I surprised them.”

  “You loved them.”

  She blinked. “Yes. They were stodgy and set in their ways, but they loved me. I didn’t have a traditional upbringing, but I never doubted their love.”

  He said nothing as he sipped at his whiskey again. “So your father was looking for me.”

  “Yes. Father had been reviewing old cases and some old scenarios. We’d had a couple of embarrassing scandals right about that time, and the higher ups were worried something else would come back to haunt us. That’s all I knew about his work at the time.”

  “He didn’t confide in you?”

  “No. I don’t think he could. It would be a conflict of interest, and with me still being active, that made it difficult. Father would bend some of the rules, but when it came to me, he would not compromise.”

  Although, he should have told her. There was always a chance if he had told her what was going on, he might still be alive today. If Devon was thinking the same thing, he didn’t say it.

  “Did you ever find anything on his computer?”

  “Father didn’t trust computers, but he had put a password that even my computer genius cousin couldn’t crack.”

  “So, I was off to Hawaii and you were…what happened then?”

  “My cousin called. My father had been shot. He was home then, although I found that surprising because he hadn’t answered the phone when I rung him up.”

  “And he died.”

  She nodded. It had been one of the worst trips of her life, frantically trying to get back to England and failing. The grief had left her stunned, numb to everything around her.

  “I still don’t understand why you didn’t come looking for me.”

  “Because, he was looking for you before he disappeared. That’s all I knew then. How did I know that you didn’t have something to do with whoever ended up coming after him? After spending a night with you, I get a phone call he’s been shot. You’re nowhere to be found. What would you think?”

  He sighed. “That we’d set you up. I’m seeing that now. But, after you found out about Bridget…” Then he shook his head. “No, wait. When did you go on the run?”

  “The day after I buried my father.”

  It was his turn to blink. “That fast? Why?”

  “My father had an Aston Martin.”

  Devon chuckled. “Your father drove a 007 car?”

  She smiled. “It was one of his most prized possessions. I think he loved the irony of it, you know? He was known as one of the best spies England ever produced but he was far from what most people think of a spy.”

  “So, not a James Bond type?”

  She shook her head. “Far from it. I said my parents were stodgy and they were. Father always reminded most people of someone who served in Parliament. I guess that was why he was such a good spy. No one pays attention to the old guy who wears suits from the 1980s.”

  “You left quickly from England?” Devon asked.

  “Oh, yes. I was supposed to take the car into London for a debriefing, but the weather turned bad and I wanted to take my Land Rover. The grounds’ keeper, Edward, was going to drive it into the garage. It exploded.”

  “Just like that.”

  “No. It made this funny clicking sound and I heard it. I knew it. You don’t work in the business and not know. I was running towards it when it went off. I knew then that if I stuck around, I was a dead woman.”

  “It’s all starting to make sense now.”

  “Now, there’s something you’re not telling me about my house.”

  “I should have known you would pick up on that.”

  “Of course. I knew you and Micah both were lying.”

  “I didn’t lie.”

  Oh, the arrogance of men. They always seemed to think they could leave things out and she would just ignore it. First her father and now Devon. She needed information, even if it was bad.

  “You just didn’t tell me?” She settled her hands on her hips. “That’s a lie of omission.”

  He tapped his fingers against the glass. She knew he was coming up with some other diversion to get her off the topic. Her stomach clenched. If he was really worried about telling her, it must have been something really, really bad.

  “There wasn’t much damage.”

  “You said that.”

  “The only thing we found was a bullet hole in your pillow.” She was just getting that assimilated in her head when he continued. “And, there was one in Bridget’s pillow.”

  For a moment, she said nothing. Her heart had almost stuttered to a stop as she tried to come to terms with what he just told her.

  “You know what this means, don’t you?” he asked.

  She looked up at him. “They know about my daughter now.”

  “Yeah, our daughter has a big red target on her back.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Devon was up before dawn. It wasn’t something he did that often.

  Strike that. He was sometimes up before dawn, but mainly because he hadn’t gone to bed.

  Once a hacker, always a hacker.

  He smiled as he sipped his coffee and walked out to the lanai. Soft waves were lapping at the small dock at the end of his property. He set his cup on the table and settled back in the chair. As he watched the sun peek up over the horizon, Devon decided he needed to rethink his views on early morning rituals.

  He’d hoped to get some sleep, but he had failed. Exhausted, he had fallen asleep quickly only to awake less than two hours later. His brain was still drenched with the memories. Hell, he could still taste her essence and hear her moans.

  His cock lengthened. Fuck. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down. As soon as he did, images of having her in his bed washed over him. Damn. The woman was in his life again for less than a week and he couldn’t control himself.

  “How ridiculous is it that this is your view every morning?” Ali said from behind him.

  She was weari
ng a simple blue shirt and a pair of jean shorts. Her feet were bare. He’d barely gotten himself back under control, and he had to deal with this. He turned to look at her and felt another surge of heat roll through him. He thanked the Lord she was looking out at the bay and not at him. Drawing in a deep breath, he turned around.

  “Very, but I don’t live here all the time. I bought this to be near Dee. We spent enough time apart.”

  “And because you’re an uncle now,” she said, taking the seat next to his. He noticed she had a cup of coffee also. “Family is really important. I get that.”

  She was letting him know she equated her duplicity to his need to be near Dee. In a way, he could understand it. When he thought Dee was in danger, he’d kidnapped her. He would do it again in a heartbeat. Family was important.

  “How’s Bridget?”

  She smiled. “Still sleeping. I think it was a bit overwhelming for her.”

  “The granddaughter and daughter of a master spy is overwhelmed?”

  He felt her glance. “I’m hardly a master spy.”

  “I could have been talking about myself.”

  She laughed and there it was again. That happy sound moved through him. It did more to tangle up his libido than any words could. He knew that most of the time, she saved her happiness for Bridget. Their little girl was too happy not to have spent time with a mother who showed joy. The sound of her laughter was like a drug.

  “Not bloody likely. Let’s remember, you didn’t finish training.”

  Why did she need to keep bringing that up? “And you did.”

  She looked out at the bay, avoiding eye contact. He didn’t know if she was uncomfortable with the questioning or him. Or both.

  “I lived it. From the time I was twelve.”

  “Not from birth.”

  Her smile dimmed. “No. Before my mother…died…we lived a normal life. Well, normal for a two spy household. After that, my father became focused on keeping me safe.”

  Before he could ask her more, the sound of small feet came smacking against the wood stopped him. It was one he knew from the times Alana had spent the night with him.