Chapter 1
Mel walked down the hall to her office, still smiling. She’d just dropped Bree off at the Helena airport, and her security agent would be in Chicago in five hours. Mel’s smile widened. She was happy that Bree had managed to pull her head out of her ass and realize she’d made a huge mistake when she walked out on Jameson. She hoped the two of them would find their happily ever after and was pretty sure they would. Once Bree wrapped her mind around something and accepted it, she was a dog with a bone. She wouldn’t let it go.
As Mel strode past Dev’s office, she heard his intimate murmur of laughter. Her feet stuttered to a stop as memories swept over her of the times Dev had laughed like that with her. That soft laugh, those teasing, flirty words, were almost always the prelude to sex.
Swallowing hard, she told herself to keep moving. To get away from that cracked-open office door. She didn’t want to hear anymore of those build-up-to-sex noises from Dev.
She knew he didn’t have a woman in there. But she’d bet a lot of money that he was heading into Helena tonight to get together with the woman on the other end of the phone.
“See ya tonight, darlin’,” he said, followed by the sound of his phone dropping onto his desk. Realizing that he could emerge from his office at any time, Mel forced herself to keep walking at the same steady pace.
When she reached her own office, she stepped inside, then closed the door. Locked it to make sure no one walked in unexpectedly. Especially Dev.
Dropping into her office chair, she swiveled and stared out the window. Against the backdrop of the Big Belt Rocky Mountains in the distance, a few of their agents were working out on the lawn of the compound. Sunshine poured down on them, but it didn’t make Mel smile.
Another agent was running on the track that followed the perimeter of the compound. But all the activity blurred together as Mel thought about what she’d just heard. Dev making plans with a woman.
Her heart ached, and her brain called her an idiot.
The woman she’d overheard him talking to wasn’t the first hook-up he’d had since they’d opened the compound. She’d seen him with women at the bar they’d all hung out at in Helena. She’d known he had his fuck buddies.
What the hell was wrong with her?
Back in Kabul, she and Dev had been sleeping together. Until he dumped her. On the night she’d told him she loved him, he’d made it clear he wasn’t interested in love. All he wanted was a series of hookups. He’d broken things off and walked away.
Mel sighed and tipped her head back, staring at the white tiles overhead. In spite of that, she’d been stupid enough to ask him to be her partner. She’d had good reasons. She, a master of intelligence gathering and technical tricks, could find out anything about anybody. She knew how to troll the dark web without leaving any traces and how to gather information from that ugly, disturbing rat hole. But she had zero experience in operations.
Dev did. That’s what he’d done in Afghanistan. And he was good at it. He’d devised diabolically clever ops that were almost always successful. And when they weren’t, he’d made sure that his agents were protected and safe. She’d wanted his experience for Blackhawk Security.
But maybe she’d asked him to partner with her because she was sure he’d come back to her. Admit that he loved her, too. And now, hearing him on the phone with his latest hookup, she finally accepted that wasn’t going to happen. Dev was a good-time guy who loved the chase. The dance. The sex. But once he caught a woman, he lost interest. Moved on to the next target.
She, on the other hand, hadn’t had sex with an actual person in two years. Instead, she’d been waiting for Dev to come back to her.
Huh. Hadn’t she realized what she’d been doing?
Maybe she hadn’t wanted to acknowledge it.
What the hell was wrong with her?
She was a fool.
She thought about Bree, who was probably in the air by now. Bree was taking a huge chance. Putting her heart on the line, laying it all out with no guarantee that Jameson would take her back. Getting on that plane to Chicago had taken a huge amount of courage.
And her? Mel was in business with the man she loved, but he didn’t love her back. He’d booted her out of his bed. Was fucking anything that moved. Clearly, the rat bastard had gotten over Mel just fine.
She’d always thought of herself as a strong woman. When had she turned into a door mat? What had happened to her strength? The steel in her spine? She wasn’t that woman anymore, but she wanted strong, fierce Mel back.
Spinning her chair back to her desk, she opened her computer. Pulled up the books for Blackhawk Security. Spent a long time studying their income and their expenses. Calculated how much the business would be worth if they sold it today.
Slumped in her chair. If she wanted to buy Dev out, there was no way she could come up with half of that amount. She’d saved a lot of money, but even every penny of her savings would fall far short of what she’d need.
Shoving away from her desk, she paced her office. Coming up with ideas, then discarding them. Finally she dropped back into her desk chair.
She needed advice. And the best person she could think of to ask was her sister Zoe. Her sister owned a successful business. She must have faced situations similar to this one. Mel needed Zoe’s expertise.
Making a decision, she texted Zoe, asking how Zoe felt about a visit. Zoe replied immediately. ‘Hell, yes! Come to Seattle whenever you want. Spence and I would love to see you.’
Mel breathed out slowly. Yes. She needed her sister. Needed Zoe’s unconditional love and acceptance.
Mel needed her sister’s big brain, too. She needed Zoe’s help figuring how to get Dev out of her life.
So Mel made a reservation on a flight to Seattle and forwarded it to Zoe, sent Dev a text telling him she’d be out of town for a few days, then slid her computer into her briefcase, locked up her office and packed a suitcase.
An hour later, with trepidation, determination and heartache twisting together painfully in her chest, she headed for the Helena airport.
* * *
When Mel walked into the lobby of Zoe’s building, she spotted her sister, pacing the area. Love for her sister swirled through her, along with relief and an ugly worm of anger at Dev. Zoe would have some ideas. Some suggestions. When she saw Mel, Zoe rushed to her and wrapped her in a hug.
“Annie!” She shook her head. “Sorry, I should call you Mel. I know that’s what people call you now. But it’s hard to remember, when you’ve always been Annie to me.” She gripped her sister’s shoulders and studied her for an uncomfortably long moment, her smile fading away. “What’s wrong?” she finally murmured.
Mel gave a tiny shake of her head. “Not down here,” she said quietly.
Zoe slung her arm over her sister’s shoulder and steered her toward the elevators.
“Spence is on a job right now,” she said as they walked through the lobby. “But he’ll be back in a couple of hours. His partner Nico is taking the night shift.” She touched her head to Mel’s. “You have me all to yourself for a while.”
Mel frowned. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”
Zoe rolled her eyes. “I’m the boss. I can work from home when my sister’s flying in from Montana.” She used a key to open the door to her private elevator and took Mel’s suitcase as they stepped inside. Zoe punched the button for the penthouse and then leaned against the back of the car.
“What’s going on, Annie?” she asked quietly. “I’m thrilled to see you, but I know something must be wrong. Coming on the spur of the moment? In the middle of the week? That’s not my bad-ass sister, mistress of her universe.”
Mel slumped against the railing around the perimeter of the elevator car. Sighed. “Yeah, something’s going on and I need advice. I know what I have to do, but I need your help figuring out how to do it.”
The twinkle disappeared from Zoe’s eyes and she stepped across to Mel and wrapped her in a hug. “You’ve helped me out plenty of times,” she said. “I’m happy to return the favor. What do you need?”
“Advice, mostly,” Mel admitted. “I’ve been a complete idiot and need to figure out how to fix the mess I’ve made.”
The elevator door slid open and Zoe grabbed Mel’s suitcase and stepped into her apartment. “Let’s dump your stuff in the guest room, then I’ll pour you a glass of wine and you can tell me what’s going on.”
Ten minutes later, sitting in Zoe’s kitchen, Mel spun the glass of red wine and stared into the deep red depths. “It’s about the business,” she began.
“Is everything okay?” Zoe asked.
“The business is doing really well,” Mel said, meeting her sister’s gaze. “It’s the people in charge that are the problem.”
Zoe leaned back in her chair and picked up her can of Spindrift sparkling water. “You’re in charge,” she said slowly. “And your partner Dev. So what’s the problem?”
Mel took a drink of wine and set her glass on the table. “Dev’s the problem,” she began. “You know we… dated when we were both in Afghanistan. We broke up before we returned to the states, then I found the compound and got the idea for Blackhawk Security. I needed a partner, both to help with the money end and because I knew I had good computer and investigative skills, but less experience in operations. That’s why I asked Dev to partner with me.”
Zoe leaned back in her chair and studied Mel with knowing eyes. “That wasn’t the only reason, was it, Mel?”
“No.” Mel slapped her hands on the table. “I think, down deep, I thought that working together would bring him back to me.” She shuddered out a breath. “I’m an idiot and that’s my problem. I haven’t moved on from Dev, but he’s moved miles beyond me. And I had a come-to-Jesus moment this morning when I heard him on the phone with a woman.”
Her fingers tightened on the stem of the wine glass. “I should never have asked him to be my partner. Yeah, we work well together. Yeah, our skills are complementary. But seeing him every day, listening to him flirt with women over the phone, is too hard. I need to do something. Need to separate myself from Dev.”
“Can you buy him out?” Zoe asked, leaning closer to her sister.
“That was the first thing I thought of,” Mel admitted. “But the company has really grown. We’re adding new agents all the time, but we still have more requests for bodyguards than we can fill.” She leaned against the back of the chair and sighed. “I ran the numbers this morning, and there’s no way I can pay Dev his share of the business. I don’t have that kind of money. I’d probably have it in a year or two, but I don’t want to wait that long. So I need some ideas of what else I can do.”
She reached for Zoe’s hand. Squeezed it. “You run a very successful business,” Mel said. “You were smart to start it on your own. Now you don’t have these kinds of messy issues to deal with. I was hoping you’d have some advice for me. How do I get rid of Dev without bankrupting Blackhawk Security?”
Zoe twined their fingers together and pursed her lips. “You could pay him his salary and his share of the profits from ongoing work and tell him to get lost.”
Mel shook her head. “That wouldn’t work. Contractually, I owe him half the value of Blackhawk Security if we break up the partnership. Even if I had that kind of money, it would put a crimp in hiring new agents, and we really need to expand. I don’t like turning down work. Gives the company a bad reputation.”
“Yeah, I get that,” Zoe said. She drummed her fingers on the table. “Have you thought about getting a loan from a bank to pay Dev off?”
“I did. But interest rates are so high right now that I’m afraid repaying a loan might put a crimp in my hiring plans, too. But I’m going to talk to one of the banks in town next week.” She drew a shaky breath. “You’ve done such a great job growing Computer Solutions. I was hoping you have some magic tricks I could try.”
Zoe shook her head slowly. “We have a different business model. We don’t have to send an actual person on any jobs. We sell software. We can sell an unlimited number of copies.”
She squeezed Mel’s hand and sat back in her chair. “I do have one thought, but you need to listen and not interrupt me. Can you do that?”
“Me? Interrupt my little sister?” Mel’s mouth twitched in a smile. “When have I ever done that?”
Zoe rolled her eyes. “So many times, bossy big sister. Just promise to hear me out, okay? Without interrupting.”
Mel sighed. “Of course I’ll hear you out. I’m looking for solutions and not finding any good ones.”
“Okay.” Zoe bit her lip. “How much do you need to buy out Dev’s share of the business?”
Mel drew a deep breath. “I’d have to study the books more, run some numbers, do a deeper analysis of what Blackhawk Security is worth to come up with the exact amount.” She swallowed. “But I think, to buy Dev out, I’d need around two million dollars.”
Zoe whistled. “Wow! That’s wonderful. Your business grew super fast.”
“Yeah, it did, which is great. But now that I realize I need to buy Dev out and get him out of the compound, it doesn’t look so great.”
“Yeah. I get that.” She shook her head. “I had to let one of my employees go a couple of months ago. He was one of the first people I hired, and I needed to give him a big severance package. But I had a cushion. My business wasn’t a start-up, like yours is.
“But here’s my idea. I’d like to loan you the two million bucks.” She held up her hand as Mel opened her mouth. “No interrupting. Remember?”
When Mel reluctantly nodded, Zoe smiled. “Thank you. You pay Spence, so you know exactly how much money he makes.” Zoe’s mouth curled into a smile. “I make a lot more. And as horrible as it is to say, the situation with Ethan’s obsession with me, the way he kidnapped me and ended up dying, has brought a lot of publicity to Computer Solutions. I hate that I’m actually profiting from his death. I’ve donated a lot of money to mental health causes, but I’ve made more money in the past year than I ever have before. And it would make me feel a lot better about that if I could lend some of that money to you.”
Zoe leaned across the table and took Mel’s hands. “It would make me feel as if something good came from Ethan’s death. Like in spite of that horror, something positive came from it.”
Mel shook her head slowly. “I appreciate that offer more than I can say, Zoe. I really do. But two million dollars is a hell of a lot of money. I don’t know how I…”
Zoe stopped her by squeezing Mel’s hands. “I wouldn’t offer you the money if we couldn’t afford it,” she said. “It’s just sitting in a money market account right now. The stock market has done well by us, at least so far. Spence and I make regular donations to mental health causes, but the money just keeps pouring in.”
After hearing Dev on the phone that morning and having her ‘what the hell’ moment, Mel had thought she’d never smile again, let alone laugh. But she found herself laughing at her sister. “So you’re telling me I’d be doing you a favor by taking two million bucks from you?”
Zoe grinned at her. “I wouldn’t go that far. But I’d feel as if that money was doing some good. You need to get Dev out of your life.” She sat back in her chair and studied Mel. “You still love him, don’t you?”
Mel stared at her hands, joined with Zoe’s, and nodded. “Yeah. I do. And I’m not going to be able to deal with that and put him behind me until he’s completely out of my life. I need to move on. Get me back.”
“Then take the money.” Zoe smiled, a mischievous devil in her eyes. “Take that horn dog out for a drink with the check and some paperwork for him to sign. And if he refuses? I’ll help you bury the body.”
Mel finally smiled. “He might try to refuse, but he can’t. I was smart enough to put a clause in the contract that I could terminate the partnership at any time, for any reason.” She laughed. “I know Dev well enough to know he didn’t read every line of that contract. So once I hand him that check and ask him to sign a receipt, he’s done.”
“That was brilliant, Annie,” Zoe said, nudging her sister.
“Yeah, well, I was still pissed off and hurt over the way he broke things off with me. I put that clause in the contract so I’d have an out if I needed one.”
“And now you need one,” Zoe said quietly.
“I do.”
Zoe slapped her hands on the table. “I’ll transfer the money to your account. Then you can either transfer it to him or write him a check.” One side of Zoe’s mouth curled up. “Me? I’d write the check. Makes a bigger statement than saying I transferred the money to your account. You know?”
Mel’s hand shot out and held her sister’s hand on the table. “Don’t you have to talk to Spence about this?” she asked.
Zoe sank onto the chair again. “We keep our money separate,” she said quietly. “Spence insisted. We both contribute a chunk of money every month for joint expenses, but we have separate savings plans. Separate accounts. So the money from Computer Solutions? That’s mine to spend.
“But I’ll talk it over with Spence if that makes you feel better.”
“It does,” Mel said.
Annie jumped up from the chair, beaming. “There’s Spence now. I’m gonna meet him at the elevator.” Her grin widened. “You might want to stay here. I don’t want to scar you with our PDAs.”
“Yeah, I’ll just wait here for you,” Mel said.
As Zoe ran for the door, Mel studied her hands. She felt guilty for accepting the money from Zoe. She didn’t want to be in debt to her sister. Didn’t want to upset the dynamic between her sister and her brother-in-law.
But it would be a huge relief to hand Dev that check and watch him walk out of the compound for good.
After he was gone, maybe she could begin to get her life back on track.
Get herself back.
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