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“Of course I do,” Mel said, stepping away from him. “I want them all to be safe. But she’s the only woman I’m running right now. And she’s in an Afghan village. Teaching girls. She’s already on shaky ground with a lot of the men. If she’s suspected of doing something wrong? They’d act first and ask questions later.”
Dev ran a comforting hand down her back. Over and over. “You want me, Jase and Cody to pull her out?”
Mel took a deep breath. Let Dev’s presence settle her. “No,” she finally said. “If nothing’s wrong, you’ll blow her cover if you show up in Al Kamen. This is a top-secret op. The four of us, plus Evelyn, are the only ones who know about it. I don’t want to rush in and endanger it.”
“Kingsley doesn’t know about this?”
“No. Direct orders from Evelyn. Cliff’s not in the loop.”
“Why not?” Dev asked.
Mel shrugged. “Evelyn doesn’t explain her orders. She tells me what to do and trusts that I’ll do it.”
Dev’s mouth curled up in the smile that always weakened her legs. “That must piss him off.”
“Big time,” she said, smiling at the memory of the glimmer of anger in her boss’s eyes, quickly hidden. “But not many people would realize it. He’s perfected the role of the gray bureaucrat, following orders, doing his job and keeping his head down.
“He’s asked me four or five times, always phrased different ways. But the same basic line. The Station Chief needs to know what’s going on in his embassy.”
“Is he that much of a control freak?” Dev asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Yeah,” Mel said with a shrug. “That’s how he climbed the bureaucratic ladder.” She sighed. “Cliff has no idea who’s involved with this op. Or where he or she might be. Which makes me wonder why he’s so persistent with his questions.” She glanced up at Dev and melted closer. “Cliff’s an ambitious guy. And I have no desire to fuel that ambition.”
Dev watched her for a moment, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Have I ever told you how much I love your devious mind?” he said, bending to press a kiss to her mouth.
“Once or twice,” she said, patting him on the chest. “Go find something to do while I pace this room, waiting for Laila to call.”
He nodded slowly. “She’ll call. And after she does, come find me.”
A ribbon of heat moved through Mel as she saw the need in Dev’s eyes. The want. “I’ll do that,” she said quietly.
With one last, scorching kiss, he backed away from her. “I’ll see you later, Witchy Woman.” He lifted one of her red curls, let it twine around his finger. She intended to curl herself around Dev, exactly like that, when she knew Laila was all right.
She shooed him out the door and locked it behind him. Slid into her chair at her desk and pulled up the real-time satellite image. Searched for a sign of activity in Al Kamen. Movement. A swirl of kicked-up dust.
Nothing.
