A Little Harmless Secret

by Melissa Schroeder

  “Yes.”

  Dee stepped forward. “I promise I am. You can call my husband if you want an affirmation. He stayed behind to watch my little girl.”

  Disbelief moved over her features. “But you came out here pregnant. And he let you?”

  “Micah said something about Devon and me needing someone to bail us out after you had us arrested for trespassing.”

  Ali’s lips twitched, then she sighed. “Okay, but there are some rules.”

  Bridget leaned closer to Dee. “Mummy likes rules.”

  “Mind your manners, young lady.” Her words were tinged with a bit of that English accent he loved and the same authoritative tone he’d heard Dee use on many occasions.

  Bridget immediately pouted, but Ali paid her no mind. He’d seen his sister do the same thing. Micah and Devon were not immune to Alana’s pouts, but Dee didn’t put up with it.

  Ali pulled out her keys and looked from Dee to Devon. “Bridget, go up on the porch. You two, stay here until I have the door unlocked.”

  Devon wanted to argue with her, but Dee touched his arm. He looked at her and she shook her head.

  “Get rid of the gun, you wanker. You will not bring it into my house,” Ali said as she slipped past him. He nodded.

  They turned to watch Ali unlock the door, then stand in front of the security pad as she punched in her code.

  “Go in, Bridget,” Ali said. “Mr. Stryker has something he needs to put in his car.”

  She never took her gaze from his as she once again ordered him to get rid of his gun. He did her bidding, jogging down the driveway to put the gun in his glove box, then rejoining his sister.

  Ali looked from Dee to him. “One wrong word, one thing that sets me off, and you leave.”

  They both nodded.

  “Come on in.”

  They were walking up the path when Dee said, “Behave yourself.”

  He frowned but nodded. He would behave if need be so he could find out just what the hell was going on.

  * * * *

  Alicia sent Bridget to her room to play while she faced off with her unwanted visitors. Devon sat at her kitchen table, a brooding figure. A very sexy, brooding figure.

  Lord, where did that thought come from? She was really going mental if she was thinking about him that way. This was the man responsible for her father’s death. Even as she thought that, her heartbeat ticked up a beat. It wasn’t from fear.

  She was a horrible, horrible person. She was surely going to hell. Or at least purgatory.

  Dee sat beside him, smiling. Now that she saw them side-by-side, she could see the resemblance. They were twins. She had forgotten that. When she realized she and Devon were in a stare down, she decided to move this along.

  Refusing to sit down, Alicia walked across the kitchen floor and leaned against the counter. “I’ve no idea what you think you’re doing, but I’ll not have you scaring my daughter.”

  “Our daughter.”

  The two words sent a shaft of fear coursing through her blood. “You have no proof.”

  “Believe me, I can afford a DNA test, but she has my eyes.”

  She crossed her arms. “You’d have to get a court order before I would let you do that.”

  Devon’s face turned into a mask of anger. He opened his mouth, but his sister interrupted him again.

  “Let’s worry about that later on, okay? Why don’t we start with something easy? Are you Francine or Ali?”

  Alicia hesitated. Over the last few years, she had become good at avoiding direct questions, only skimming the surface of who she really was. Most people didn’t really want to know the truth, just the version that made them most comfortable.

  She studied Devon, gauging how much she should tell him. It seemed stupid to deny who she was with a man who had biblical knowledge of her body. Instantly, she was thrown back into that night, the sights, the sounds, the way it felt to have his body crush her body into the mattress.

  “Alicia. Alicia Hughes.”

  Devon grunted. “At least you didn’t lie about that.”

  She might have invited him into her house, but she would not put up with that attitude. If he knew her better, he would probably have kept his mouth shut.

  “And you were truthful? Running off and leaving me in the bed with a bloody note?”

  He opened his mouth to fire off a retort of some sort, but his sister stopped him. Dee groaned and covered her face, then she dropped her hands and scowled at her brother.

  “Oh, Devon, you didn’t leave her like that, did you? That’s horrible. No wonder she doesn’t like you. If I had been in the same situation, you would definitely be talking at a higher octave.”

  Devon scowled right back. “Dee, you don’t know the whole story.”

  “No, I don’t. And you left out the part of leaving a note. Have you broken up with women in a text?” She closed her eyes. “No, don’t tell me. You probably have. I share DNA with a jerk.”

  Alicia tried not to smile, but seeing Dee berate Devon was kind of nice. It had been a long time since anyone had stood up for her.

  “Yes, he did. Just a note saying he had an emergency. No number, nothing.”

  She opened her eyes and looked at Alicia. She saw the twinkle in Dee’s eyes. “Oh, wait until I tell Micah.”

  “Stop, Dee. That’s water under the bridge.”

  Alicia snorted and crossed her arms beneath her breasts.

  Devon narrowed his eyes. “What I want to know is when she found out she was pregnant, why didn’t she find me.”

  She could lie, but she didn’t. She did look for him. “You are not an easy man to find.”

  “That’s true,” Dee said. “Especially then, when our father wanted to kill us. But that’s another story.”

  Alicia blinked. “Okay.”

  Devon wasn’t happy with that answer. “That doesn’t explain why you ran away when I saw you two days ago.”

  The question brought her back to reality. This wasn’t a pleasant exchange between friends. This was a man who had caused her world to dissolve into a pile of crap. Anger wrapped in a thick coat of fear balled up in her stomach.

  “Why did I run away?” Alicia asked. Even she heard the slight edge of panic in her tone.

  He nodded, acting like he had no idea why she would want to be as far away from him as she could.

  “Because you had my father killed and tried to kill me, that’s why.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Why don’t I help you make some coffee?” Dee asked after a long silence.

  Alicia really didn’t know what she would have done without Devon’s sister there. She looked at the woman and smiled, but she was frowning at Alicia.

  “Oh, wait, you probably drink tea.”

  Alicia shook her head. “No, I’ve taken up the great American past time.”

  Dee smiled. “That’s good because I can’t make a proper cup of tea to save my life. I know English people are very particular about their tea. Americans just can’t make it right according to most of the English I know.”

  Devon said nothing. He just watched her. This was not the sweet, sexy man who had charmed her into bed. This was a stoic stranger who watched her like a predator.

  This was the man she expected to find in Las Vegas.

  “Just tell me where everything is and I’ll take care of it,” Dee said.

  She directed Dee to the coffee, then she faced off with Devon.

  “So, you think I killed your father?” he asked. There was no emotion in his voice, nothing that told her about his feelings. His face was a blank mask without emotions.

  “Not directly.”

  He ground his teeth together. “Explain.”

  “I am not your subordinate. I don’t take orders. And let me remind you, I made it through my training.”

  Anger flashed in the depths of his blue gaze. Oh, well, you don’t like that do you? Devon had disappeared during his training. For a man like him, it might be a littl
e hard to accept that he had failed. Truthfully, he hadn’t completely failed. Devon was definitely competitive. It was something that made him a success in the world of game development. For him to walk away from a challenge like that, there had to have been an incident.

  “So, you’re with The Company?”

  “No. I was with MI-6. I’m not with anyone anymore. Except Bridget.”

  Another beat of silence. “We will be talking about her later.”

  She didn’t respond to that. She didn’t know what to say. Fear and anger still clogged her throat and had her heart was tripping out a vicious beat. There was no doubt in her mind that he was the father of her child. With a test, he could prove the girl was his and with his money and power, the court case for custody would be huge. Alicia knew she was probably as rich as he but she knew that he had more connections in the American legal community.

  “So, you came to find me.”

  “My contact told me my father was looking for you before he disappeared.” She shrugged, not liking the way he continued to watch her. He was trying to unnerve her. He was, but she would be damned if she would let him know it.

  “And who was your father?” he asked.

  She cocked her head to study him. He sounded genuine, but again, he was trained by the CIA. She never trusted spooks, being one herself.

  “Sir Walter Hughes.”

  Again, he said nothing. It was as if he was trying to wrap his mind around the circumstances. “You’re royalty?”

  She shook her head. “My father has a title because of his service to the crown.”

  “What did he do?” Dee asked, as she grabbed some cups from the cabinet. Devon frowned and opened his mouth—probably to tell her it wasn’t important, but she answered before he could stop her.

  “That’s classified. I would give you the details now that he’s passed, but even I don’t know.”

  “Walter Hughes.” Devon muttered, his gaze unfocused. “Where do I know that name from?”

  “You and he crossed paths. Had to. It was in his notes I read. You were prominent in them. I saw your name there more than once.” Off in the corners, scribbled in her father’s handwriting. Whatever her father had been working on, Devon had figured prominently.

  “No. No we didn’t. He used my name I have now?”

  She nodded. Then it hit her. “When you were with the CIA, you had another name.”

  “The one I was born with, yes, so it can’t be anything to do with my research there. But…I do know your father’s name.”

  “Well, bully for you.”

  His lips twitched. “I collect a lot of information.”

  Yes he did. She had read his file, knew that his IQ was beyond genius level. The CIA had such high hopes for him. She’d only discovered a small part of his file. Devon’s ability to dance in and out of security systems undetected was unnerving. They had wanted to tap that skill and when he disappeared the CIA went into freak out mode. That kind of ability out running around was dangerous. Alicia knew at least one higher up had lost his job for it.

  “Yes, well, my father was very interested in you. There was a lot of information on you at his house.”

  “Why didn’t you ask him?”

  She sighed. “Because I couldn’t find him.”

  He studied her for a moment, as if trying to discern if she were lying. She wasn’t, but even if she was, she doubted Devon would know. She had been trained by the best.

  “Your father was missing? Did this happen often?”

  “Not that often, but he was in the business also. One thing you learn when you are raised in the business is that sometimes people disappear. But it was odd I couldn’t seem to find him at all. We had a few ways of getting in touch, but he never responded.”

  He drummed his fingers on the table. “So they sent you after me?”

  She could lie about that, easily. Devon might understand if she had been ordered to find him. But for some reason, she couldn’t lie about that. Not now and not to him.

  “No. I did that on my own. I was actually on my own without backup when I went looking for you.”

  He said nothing for a few moments.

  “You came to Vegas to approach me—and apparently thought I was dangerous—with no backup?”

  His tone told her he thought she was an idiot. She straightened her back.

  “I don’t think you would understand.”

  More fingers drumming on the table. “We’ll get back to that later. First, we need to talk about our daughter.”

  Her heart ticked up a bit. “What do you want to know?”

  “Why didn’t you contact me?”

  He was obtuse. She just told him why and he kept asking. “As I said, you are not the easiest person to find.”

  He waved that away. “But, still, you found me once.”

  She sat down in the chair opposite of him and sighed. “That morning when you left me, I got another call from my cousin.”

  “He’s in the business too?”

  “She, and yes.”

  He wanted to ask more. She wasn’t stupid. The man thrived on information. The thirst for knowledge shimmered just beneath the surface. He might be good at making everyone think he was just an average guy who came up with a great game. But she knew better. Alicia was okay with giving him a little bit of information, but not too much.

  “So, the call?”

  “Yes. The call.” Memories of that morning run to the airport, the rush to her childhood home, the disappointment and grief that she had been too late. “My father had been shot. I had to try and reach him.”

  “And did you?” he asked quietly.

  “No. He died about two hours before I made it back.”

  “Well, at least he died not knowing you whored yourself out.”

  “Devon!” Dee said. “Don’t you dare speak to her like that.”

  Dee walked over to the table and set two coffee mugs down. Then she gave Alicia a sympathetic look.

  “I apologize for Devon. From the time he could talk, our mother said there was a nasty streak in him. He doesn’t get his way and he strikes out. She always said I was the sweet one.”

  “Where’s my coffee?” Devon asked.

  “Over on the counter.”

  He tossed her a dirty look but rose to go get it. Dee shook her head.

  “He’s a handful at times.”

  Alicia knew Dee was being overly nice because she thought she could get some information. Still, Alicia couldn’t help but relax when Dee smiled at her.

  “How far along are you?” Alicia asked.

  “Just four months. I think we’re having twins.”

  “Micah isn’t here to freak out so you don’t have to say that,” Devon said as he rejoined them.

  Dee laughed. “It is fun to mess with him, considering his need for control. His face goes pale every time I say the word twins.”

  Alicia’s smile faded when Devon sat down with the same mean frown on his face.

  “So, where do we go from here?” Devon asked.

  “I don’t know where you’re going—except away from here.”

  “That’s unacceptable.”

  Anger surged. She opened her mouth to argue, but Dee stopped her.

  “I think loud voices will catch Bridget’s attention,” she said.

  Alicia nodded. “Especially for Bridget. We live a very quiet life.”

  “You are both angry and knocked off center by this.”

  Alicia ignored Devon and concentrated on Dee. “I don’t trust him. You have yet to give me any proof you didn’t have anything to do with my father’s death.”

  “Guilty until proven innocent?” Devon asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “In the business, that’s the way it goes.”

  “If we don’t come up with some kind of agreement, we will be here all night. And, I am pregnant. Not only do I have to constantly be fed, not to mention relieve myself, I have a very big, very protective husband wh
o used to be a bounty hunter.”

  The warning in Dee’s voice told her all she needed to know. Alicia had been right, but she didn’t blame her. If the roles had been reversed, Alicia would have done the same thing.

  “Okay, okay. I will agree not to leave.”

  Devon wasn’t happy. He crossed his arms. “Surrender your passport.”

  She snorted. “Not bloody likely.”

  Dee took her hand. “I promise that I won’t let him do anything stupid. Please…my brother had left the CIA by the time this was going on. He had to thanks to a homicidal family member—not me. I can promise you that he had nothing to do with your father’s death.”

  With a sigh, Alicia said, “I promise I won’t leave. We can meet again tomorrow.”

  Devon opened his mouth to argue, but Dee stepped in. “Take what you get Devon. She didn’t have to agree. And let’s be honest, there is a good chance she has several passports with different names.”

  Alicia couldn’t help it, she chuckled. Dee was probably as smart as her brother.

  He nodded—once.

  “Good, well, we better get going. Micah has texted twice, which means he’s getting antsy and you know better than to let my husband get that way.”

  Devon wanted to argue. She saw it in his eyes, but he relented for his sister.

  “Okay. But now that I know who you are, there will be no hiding. Not anymore, so running away will be useless.”

  “Oh, good Lord,” Dee said. “Dial down the big bad agent attitude.”

  She poked her brother, urging him on.

  As they walked to the door, Bridget came running down the hall. She was holding a piece of paper.

  “I made you a picture,” Bridget said, grinning. She handed it to Devon. “It’s of our house and me and Mummy.”

  Devon hesitated, then took the piece of paper.

  “That way you won’t forget about us.”

  He continued to look down at the picture, then he swallowed. The silence lengthened and Bridget looked at Alicia. Confusion stamped her features. Then she turned to face Devon again.

  “You don’t have to take it if you don’t want to,” Bridget said.

  “Thank you,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion. “I would never forget about you.”

  Bridget giggled and ran back down the hall. When he straightened, Alicia saw a flash of vulnerability in his eyes before his gaze hardened.