A Little Harmless Secret Read online

  “Okay,” she said, running off with her new friend.

  Devon carried her up the stairs, much like he had the day before. Had it really been only a day since they’d spent the night making love?

  “Devon, you can’t just order me into bed.”

  “I think I just did that, with the blessing of the nurse.”

  “You really should take me to my room.”

  “No.”

  “What?”

  He stepped into his room and walked over to the bed. Alicia noticed that the bed had been made and then the sheets turned down. Devon had apparently made sure the room was prepared for them.

  He set her down, again being gentle, then covered her up.

  “Don’t do that.”

  “I’ll do what I want.”

  “It’s hot, Devon. Remember, I’m accustomed to Seattle weather.”

  With a sigh he shoved the sheets aside.

  “There’s no need to be a complete jackass, Devon.”

  Every muscle in his body seemed to still. “What did you say?”

  “I said you’re being a jackass.”

  He said nothing and she looked up. When she saw his face, she wished she hadn’t.

  Rage tightened his jaw and anger darkened his eyes. “Let me get this straight.”

  She opened her mouth, but he held up his hand.

  “No. You will let me finish. I am the jackass? Not you, who ran off as if you didn’t have a care in the world, except for confronting your cousin.”

  “Yes, but—”

  “No,” he said, his voice a little more forceful. “You will shut up right now. You ran out there with the knowledge that the bitch might kill you. No thought to your daughter, no thought to me. You are a selfish, heartless woman, Alicia Hughes.”

  Then, he turned and stomped out of the room.

  She stared at the empty doorway thinking he would return, but he didn’t. Her vision wavered and she realized she had started to cry. The fear, pain, and anger came rushing back to her. Her body started to shake as she sobbed. Turning onto her good side, she buried her face in the pillow and cried.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Devon ignored everyone in the house and strode to his office. He slammed the door behind him, not caring if it made him an ass or not. He headed straight for the whiskey on his desk. After filling the shot glass to the brim, he downed it in one long gulp. It stung as it slid down his throat and he was happy for it. Rage still poured through him as the scene in his bedroom came back to him.

  She had called him a jackass. The man who had saved her from being killed, the one who loved her, father of her child…and she didn’t give a damn. Rage surge and pain twisted his heart. She didn’t even understand why he was so pissed or how he was feeling. And he hated to admit it, that hurt more than anything.

  She didn’t have the same depth of feelings.

  There was a loud knock at the door. He ignored it. He wasn’t in the mood for his sister agreeing with Ali or his brother-in-law telling him what he was doing wrong.

  There was another loud knock and he sneered at the door as he poured another shot a whiskey and downed it. Fuck them.

  Unfortunately, Sean Kaheaku was just as rude as he was. He opened the door and walked into the room. Devon shot him a dirty look.

  “Want to tell me what all the yelling is about?” Kaheaku asked.

  “She left.”

  “Yes, she did. But right now, what was all that yelling about up in the room? Bridget’s a little upset.”

  He sighed as guilt tightened his gut further. Great, now he was pissed and he felt guilty because he had frightened his daughter.

  “Do you want to know what she called me?”

  “I believe she said you were acting like a jackass.”

  Of course he heard that. Everyone heard it. The whole entire community of Kaneohe probably heard it.

  “The man who saved her.”

  “And you were acting like a Neanderthal.”

  He opened his mouth to tell Kaheaku to go fuck himself. That’s when he noticed the smile.

  “Don’t get me wrong. If Alicia was my woman, I’d have been just as pissed. Jackass would probably be too mild of word for my behavior in that situation. I wouldn’t care if she was an expert shooter—and she has been graded as such. She should have never left like that, but she wasn’t thinking straight. She was trying to protect Bridget, and she was trying to protect you.”

  “As if I couldn’t do that myself.”

  Kaheaku chuckled. “I’m sure if Alicia were here, she would point out that she finished her training and you didn’t.”

  He offered Kaheaku a one finger salute.

  “But I also hear her tone.”

  “Yeah, and what tone was that?”

  “A woman in love.”

  Irritated, he started to pace again. “I can’t believe she ran off like that.”

  “To confront the bitch.”

  “Yes. And she left me with a note,” he said, motioning with his head toward the note. It was sitting on his desk, and he was still pissed about it. “Who leaves a note when they are running off to kill a woman?”

  “Well, she is a Hughes,” Kaheaku murmured, as he picked up the note.

  “What the bloody hell does that mean?”

  The other man looked up, a smile curving his lips. “Now you sound like Alicia. And for the meaning, the family is legendary for putting country before their own safety.”

  “Well, I think that legend can be put to death,” he said, tossing back the rest of his whiskey. “Millicent took care of that.”

  “No one will ever hear about that, you know? The family will have a reputation that is as sterling as the queen’s silver.”

  “Thanks to Ali.”

  “Partially, but don’t think this has anything to do with the reputation of her family. Her running off like that was because she had some kind of stupid idea of protecting you and in turn, protecting Bridget.”

  Devon collapsed in his chair. “I am so fucking sick of all the riddles. It was why I was never going to be good in the CIA. I like to play with puzzles, but I need facts in my personal life.”

  Kaheaku was apparently in the mood to take pity on him. “She left you this before she went to kill Millicent?”

  He nodded. “Just leaves. Tells me to take care of our daughter and walks away.”

  “You’re a dumbass. So dumb, that I can’t believe I’m going to help you.”

  “What the hell do you mean?”

  Sean sighed. “You didn’t last in the Company, so you might not understand what this means. For someone like Alicia, this is…”

  “What?”

  “A lot of us don’t have a family like the Hughes. The UK has more of them in the business basically because many of them, like the Hughes, date back several hundred years. They have been serving God and country from the moment they are born. It’s expected of them, bred into the bones in a way. But, being in the business like this makes you very close knit. I never saw anyone who cared more about his family than her father. He adored her. With the death of his wife, Walter became fanatical, a bit warped. He obsessed about Alicia’s safety.”

  “So, he pulls her into the business?” Devon snorted. “Talk about warped.”

  “With years of service, no matter what Walter did, Alicia was always going to be in some kind of danger. It wasn’t as bad as he probably thought it was, but dangerous all the same. The one thing he left her was her ability to fight off any attack. He also taught her to be a bit autocratic. She truly believed she was better at handling the situation than you were. So, just as her father had taught her, she took charge.”

  He closed his eyes and tried not to see Millicent standing there with her gun trained on Alicia. When he opened his eyes, Devon found Sean giving him a sympathetic look.

  “And almost got herself killed in the process.”

  “Yep. Just like he did all those years ago when he started searching for th
e traitor. When he found out it was the niece he had helped raise, it was probably a big blow. Instead of turning her in, I bet he had set some meeting with her to get her to surrender. It’s probably why she killed him.”

  “And she was within seconds of killing Ali.”

  “That close?”

  He swallowed trying to force the bile down. “She had a gun pointed at her and was ready to shoot again when I shot her.”

  Sean shook his head. “That girl was always pushing the envelope. Like when she went looking for you without an assignment.”

  “I can’t complain about that one.”

  Sean chuckled. “Of course. But, you aren’t looking closely enough at this letter. Spies give away a lot of things. They give people their money, their peace of mind…even their souls to get the job done. We hardly ever give our trust.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Fuck, for being a genius, you are damned stupid.”

  Devon continued to study Kaheaku wondering if he could take the man. He was pissing him off and right now, Devon needed to expend that anger. Knowing Kaheaku’s background, there was a good chance Devon would get his ass kicked instead.

  “Well, shit, Stryker. You’re in love with her. Can’t you figure it out? For someone in our business, trusting is harder than loving. She trusts you. Naming you as the father of her child and leaving Bridget in your care shows just how much she does trust you. Probably the first person in a really long time. Don’t fuck it up, or you might just leave her completely lost to men.”

  Kaheaku didn’t wait for a response. Instead, he turned and walked away, leaving Devon alone to his thoughts. Just outside of the door his family milled. He knew that Dee was ready to know everything and right now. She never had much patience when it came to things like that. And, he could call Micah his family. He knew that no matter what, he could trust the man.

  And then there was Bridget. The daughter he hadn’t known a couple weeks ago. After the last few days, he couldn’t think of living a life without her or her mother in it.

  Ali. The woman made him insane. He did all kinds of things the wrong way when she was around. He slept with a woman he barely knew that night in Vegas. Just a few days, and he knew her inside and out. A backbone of steel and an attitude to go with it, hid a vulnerability that touched something deep inside of him he thought he’d lost. She made him so damned angry, but one look from her and his knees when weak.

  And he didn’t want to live without her.

  He stood and went over to the wall safe behind the books. He moved them aside and opened it. There were papers sitting inside of it, important things like a will and the trust fund he set up for Alana—that one was a secret because Micah would be pissed. He pushed those aside and found the velvet ring box. He pulled it out and opened it.

  Sparkling there in the middle of red satin was his grandmother’s engagement ring. She had left it to him with a note that he was to stop planning life and live it. Even all those years ago, his grandmother knew him. Thankfully, his mother had hidden it from his father or he probably would have never gotten it.

  Devon drew in a deep breath and closed the box. The decision was definitely made and he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

  * * * *

  Thirty minutes later, Alicia still didn’t have her emotions under control. She knew it all didn’t have to do with what went on between Devon and her.

  No, this was a cathartic release she needed. Since her father’s death, her life had spiraled out of control. She had held it together for herself, then for Bridget. She’d played the good spy. Knowing that the girl she played with growing up had caused all of this pain was a bit too much to take—even for a master spy’s daughter.

  She held her daughter close to her chest as she continued to cry.

  “Why are you so sad, Mummy?” Bridget asked her.

  Embarrassment heated her face. She wiped away the tears. “Oh, just a little sad, that’s all. I lost a friend today and I found out she wasn’t too nice.”

  She had never cried in front of her daughter, not once. The argument with Devon had pushed her over the edge, and she’d lost the fight with her tears.

  “Was Devon angry with me? Did I do something wrong?”

  The fear of disappointing Devon was easy to hear in her voice. She pulled back and looked at her daughter. She knew Devon would never do anything to hurt her.

  “Oh, poppet, no. You didn’t do anything wrong. Devon and Mummy had a fight.”

  “Oh.”

  Bridget didn’t understand. She was really too young to pick up on what the undercurrents meant. With just the two of them for all of her life, Bridget didn’t understand arguments. She sighed and slipped her hand over her daughter’s golden hair. She had important things to discuss, and she wasn’t quite sure how to approach it. Alicia was a woman who planned for everything, but this had never been on her horizon. Not until she decided to have a fun Saturday at the market.

  “How do you like Devon?”

  Bridget smiled. “He’s nice when he doesn’t frown. He has a nice smile.”

  “That’s true. He does have a very nice smile.”

  “His eyes are like Dee’s. But, they’re twins.”

  She drew in a deep breath, and slowly released it. “Yes, they are.”

  “And they’re like mine. I have eyes like theirs.”

  Leave it up to her daughter to pick up on that. Four years old. She shook her head. Her father had said she had been a precocious child, solving puzzles on a teenage level when she was barely seven. She should have known with a father like Devon that Bridget would turn out even smarter.

  “Yes, you both have the same eyes. Do you know why?”

  Bridget shook her head.

  “That’s because, a long time ago, Devon and I knew each other.”

  “You knew him before I was born?”

  Alicia nodded and decided to take the plunge. “He’s your daddy.”

  Bridget didn’t react right away. Alicia knew her daughter and knew she was putting the pieces together in her mind, trying to understand the situation.

  “What do you think about that?” Alicia finally asked.

  “Does that mean Alana is my cousin?”

  Alicia nodded. “And Dee’s your aunt and Micah is your uncle. What do you think about that?” she asked again.

  Bridget smiled. “That’s okay, but I don’t want to live here. I want to move back to Washington.”

  “I’m sure we can figure something out,” Alicia said.

  “Hey, do you think Devon would come live with us? He can stay in the guest room. I think he’s lonely.”

  Fresh tears burned the backs of her eyes. “Why do you say that?”

  Bridget shrugged. “You said you were lonely until you had me. Now he doesn’t have to be lonely.”

  She noticed a movement out of the corner of her eye and saw Devon standing there. His hands were in his pockets, his eyes filled with a vulnerability she had never seen.

  “I’ll see what he says. Why don’t you go play with Alana before she has to head home?”

  She leaned forward and kissed Bridget’s forehead. She scrambled off the bed and hurried out of the room. Devon stopped her before she left the room and whispered in her ear. Bridget looked back at Alicia, then she looked at Devon and nodded.

  She skipped out of the room.

  “Where have you been?” she asked, trying to keep things light. What the bloody hell did she say now?

  “In my office, drinking.”

  “Well, that’s good.”

  He smiled at her sarcasm and walked into the room. “I had a talk with Kaheaku. He seems to think that I am a dumbass.”

  She shrugged and instantly regretted it. Pain flashed in her arm and then filtered down to her hand. Dammit.

  “And I have to agree.”

  She frowned. “What are you talking about Devon?”

  He sat on the bed where her daughter had been and took her free hand in h
is. “There are times when we were growing up that Dee would tell me I was too smart for my own good. And I’ll admit it to you and no one else, she was right.”

  She was tired and in immense pain. She just didn’t have the patience to banter back and forth. For some reason, she felt the need to cry again, but she was strong enough to fight it for the moment.

  “You’re talking in riddles.”

  “Oh, now you know how it feels.” He pulled out the note she wrote. “You gave her to me and told me to keep her safe.”

  “I know what I put in the note.”

  “I get a lot of things. It’s weird being this rich and have people give you things. Some of the things are worth thousands.”

  “How nice for you,” she said.

  His lips curved. “But nothing, not anything I can buy and not anything I am given, is worth more to me than what you gave me.”

  The happy tears she had held back just a few seconds earlier spilled down her cheeks. He wiped them away.

  “From the time I saw you sitting at my favorite table in Vegas, you’ve had a hold on me. And now…I want you in my life. I want both of you with me, always. I was so pissed when you left earlier, you want to know why?”

  She shook her head.

  “Now that I have you with me, I don’t ever want you to go away. It scared the hell out of me just how much you had come to mean to me. And now, there’s Bridget in the mix…I love you both so much. Please, don’t ever do that again.”

  “I needed to know she would have someone there for her. She deserved to have someone who loved her more than themselves. I knew you would.”

  “And you picked me. You could have picked someone else, like Dee.”

  “Well, you’re her father and don’t think I didn’t see how you felt about her. It was so easy to see in your eyes.”

  He swallowed and reached into his pocket again. “Then, I am going to hold you to all of this, and use your vulnerability right now to my advantage.”

  He held out a small black box, which he opened. Snuggled securely in the red satin sat a ring. It was set on top of a white gold band.

  “It was my grandmother’s ring. I’ve had it for a few years now, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew it was yours.”