Mastering the Devil (Rush Series Book 4) (11 page)

She stared up into her partner’s tiger-colored eyes and exhaled deeply
, just as he’d done, as her heart clutched painfully in her chest. “It’s… complicated. Besides didn’t you say he’d gone back to PUERTO VALLARTA? He was
so
worried about me he took off the instant I left the hotel. I think he’ll be fine. He’s probably too busy to worry about me and my mother,” she said, sarcasm lacing her words.

A strange look crossed
his features. “Actually, he’s back at the Hyatt until tomorrow evening.”

Sighing
as exhaustion swept over, Devon rubbed a hand over the back of her neck and reached up to remove the elastic band which held her dark hair in place. “I… I’ll think about it.” With a dejected slump of her shoulders, she turned to go. Without looking back she said, “Let me know if you need anything else.”

Cash watched her walk out and wondered what’d happened between the two of them. It was obvious
- at least to him - they cared about each other. Love was certainly complicated… that’s why he avoided it like the plague. A lover of many, a keeper of none, as his old man used to say.

Devon had to search to find her mother. She finally found her standing in the formal living room clutching a picture frame to her breast as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Mom?” she asked as she wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

Her mother’s breath caught on a sob as she allowed Devon to see what she clutched within her trembling hands. It took Devon a moment to remove her eyes from the distress she saw in her mother’s and glance down to the picture. It was of her mother and father on their wedding day. She’d been so beautiful in her off-white suit and pill-box hat. Her father was tall and distinguished beside her, his jet-black hair in sharp contrast to his new wife’s much lighter tones.

“Oh, Mom!” Devon whispered as tears clogged her own throat. She pressed the picture back flat to her mother’s chest before wrapping her arms around her and together they cried at the loss of the man they’d loved.

Devon lay on the couch in the den with her eyes forcefully shut tight. She willed herself to sleep
, but her mind refused and spun in continuously circles. Was Cash right? Should she contact Alex? Maybe she did owe it to him to let him know she was alright and that she’d found her mother at long last. He’d always doubted her mother was alive. She didn’t actually harbor any resentment about that fact. She knew he’d only been trying to protect her.

Shame washed over her at the words she’d written. She’d just needed to protect
him
… still needed to protect him – had wanted to protect him from the very beginning. Because even though she’d told Cash she wasn’t sure what she was going to do about Miguel, she knew deep down, she’d go to her grave seeking revenge against him.

Chapter 6

Alex woke with a miserable hangover. What had he been thinking? He had meetings beginning at ten. With a groan, he scrubbed a hand over his face. He’d sat at the bar the night before and pounded drink after drink. What he’d wanted to do was find a woman and lose himself in her. He’d always found the easiest way to get over one woman was to simply find another. But he’d just not been interested. He refused to admit it was because of Devon. His life was not now, and never had been, tied up with her.

Groaning, he rolled
to his feet and slowly made his way to the shower. He stood beneath the spray and allowed the scalding water help revive him… somewhat. After dressing and tossing back two headache powders, he grabbed what he needed for his meeting and headed downstairs thinking he’d feel even better if he ate something.

He was waiting at the hostess station when he heard a familiar voice.

“We’ve definitely
got
to quit meeting like this,” Ensley Ingram said with a smile.

He returned her smile. “You
are
following me!” he declared.

“Or
… you’re following me. I can’t be sure. I go back and forth between Mexico City and PUERTO VALLARTA; as well as numerous other little places in between,” she replied, grinning ear to ear.

He genuinely liked the petite doctor. He chose to ignore the little warning bells going off
in his head that told him she felt a little differently – a little more - about him. “Well, since
you’ve
followed me all this way… you might as well join me.”

She grinned back. “I was hoping you’d say that. I hate eating by myself. I get propositions by the strangest people.”

“I have no doubt about that,” Alex said with laugh. “They’d be stupid not to.”

The hostess appeared and sat them at the very first table in the restaurant as Alex
had requested. He wanted to be able to keep a watch for those he was meeting in case they arrived early.

They placed their order and received steaming cups of coffee. Alex
nearly gulped his and burnt his tongue trying to get the much needed caffeine into his system.

Grinning at him, Ensley said, “I
know a sure-fire way to avoid a hangover. Do you want to hear it?”

“Is it that obvious?” he groaned.

“Well…” she laughed, “maybe a little. Do want to hear it or not?”

He leaned back in his chair and smiled at the obvious merriment in her eyes. “You’re really enjoying this aren’t you? Yes, I want to know. How do you avoid hangovers?”

“Limit your alcohol consumption.” Pointing a finger at him, she said with a smirk, “That is a proven medical fact.” She burst out with laughter.

Unable to resist her good humor, he grinned and
reached over to grab her finger which was still pointing at him and placed it effectively under his on the table. He was in the process of making a smartass retort of his own when another familiar face appeared in front of the restaurant. He pulled his hand away from Ensley’s as if it’d scorched him, and his easy smile melted away.

“Devon?” he questioned, wondering if maybe he’d really drank too much.

Devon shuffled her feet at the entrance of the restaurant. Her eyes glued to the spot where his hand had been over the other woman’s. She’d seen him right away when she’d first entered the hotel. She’d not even been aware, from the way his table was situated, that anyone one else was seated at the table with him. Shock at seeing him flirting so easily with a pretty blonde crashed her system momentarily and she faltered, not knowing what do… what to say.

Finally, blinking rapidly
, she fluttered one hand as indecision warred with the indescribable hurt welling up in her chest. She’d battled in indecision for most of the night about whether to contact Alex or not. Selfishly, most of the indecision had to with the fact she was afraid she couldn’t live with his rejection of her, or to see the coldness creep back into his eyes. But she’d never expected this. Hadn’t expected to find him having breakfast with another woman – a woman he’d probably just crawled out of bed with.

De
sperately needing to escape, she turned on the balls of her feet and began to make her way quickly to the automatic doors of the hotel’s entrance. She’d just gotten through the doors and had turned towards the parking lot on the left when strong hands landed on her shoulders jolting her to stop. She gasped sharply against the pain in her hurt shoulder. She knew Alex so intimately - she knew his smell, as well as his touch – and knew it was him behind her. The fear she had rolling around in her belly didn’t have anything to do being caught from behind – it had to do with being
left
behind. She wanted to jerk away from him, but the pain in her shoulder kept her still. Immediately, the hands loosened their grasp, but didn’t let go. When he drew her back against his body, she closed her eyes and concentrated on calming her rapidly beating heart and rising emotions.

“It was a mistake for me to come here. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your… your breakfast,” she finally gushed.

Forcibly calming his shredded emotions, slowly he released her shoulders and buried his hands in the pockets of his pants. Still staring at the back of her head, he cleared his throat and asked, “Devon, was there something you needed?”

She wanted to rage against him, she wanted to turn around and launch herself at him. She wanted to wail her fist against him until he hurt as much as
she was in the moment. But what had he done exactly? They’d never had a commitment to each other. Besides, she’d been the one to send him away. Swallowing hard, she clenched her jaw and inhaled deeply before turning around.

She glanced up into his
seemingly detached eyes before her gaze skirted off to take sudden interest in the traffic just beyond them. Glancing down at her hands, she finally said, “I… uh… Cash thought… well, I… um… I just wanted you to know I was okay and that I finally found my mother.”

A gush of air huffed from Alex’s
lips. “Oh my God!” he said, before laying a hand against her bicep.

She tensed against his touch involuntarily and immediately he dropped his hand.
She glanced up and watched something flit across his features so quickly she almost thought she’d imagined it before he firmly replaced his impassive mask. Clearing his throat once more, he said, “How is she?”

Hating his impassivity, she once again looked away. “She is… well, as good as can be expected. But she’s home now so that’s all that matters.” The air
was so fraught with tension, Devon could have choked on it. Darting her gaze up once more, she said, “I just thought you deserved to know, that’s all.” With a wave of her hand, she continued, “I’ll let you get back to… whatever,” she finished tensely.

“What about Miguel?” he asked quietly.

Slowly, she shook her head. “No, we didn’t get him.”

Alex stared at her bowed head for a long moment before saying, “So… it’s over?”

She knew what he was asking - could she let it go now that she had her mother back. With firm resolve, she lifted her head and finally met his stare. “Not as long as Miguel is alive… it’ll never be over.”

His impassive face slowly
became grim. Taking a step back, he said, “I’m glad you’re okay and got your mother back. Was there anything else you needed?”

Once again, she slowly shook her head, keeping her gaze levelly on his.

“Well, I should be getting back then. I hope you… find what you’re looking for,” he said tersely.

“You too, Alex, you too,” she said before turning and walking quickly to
ward her car.

“Devon,” Alex called.

She halted abruptly and took a deep breath before turning her head back to him. “Yes?”

“If you want to know where to find Miguel… ask Jacob.”

Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “What do you mean, ask Jacob?”

“It’s a game to them, Devon, I tried to tell you that. The agency has known, and probably still knows, where your step-father is.
I don’t know for sure, but he must be some sort of asset to them. ”

Disbelief clouded her features. Slowly, she turned and began to shake her head, “
No. That’s not true. There’s no way Jacob knew. He knew how important this was to me. He knew how cruel Miguel would be to my mother because of me. He’d never have let that go on. Why would you say such a thing?” she accused.

Alex’s jaw tightened
, and he jutted his chin in her direction, before he prodded softly, “Ask him.”

Devon’s mind swirled in chaos
at his nearly arrogant and self-assured posture. A sudden image filled her mind from the day she’d agreed to join the I.D.E.A., just a few days after Alex had gotten out of the hospital. The image was of Jacob sitting back so calmly, looking like the cat who’d just eaten the canary, while Alex stood outside on the balcony leaning against the rail, defeat slumping his shoulders. She’d remembered thinking at that time that the perfectly beautiful, sun-filled day seemed in direct opposition to what Alex betrayed in his mannerisms. It should have been overcast with ripping winds and surging tides instead.

While Alex had stood outside battling his inner storm,
Jacob had been sitting in front of her calmly refusing to
just
help Alex, instead, he’d forced her hand, knowing she wouldn’t allow Alex to suffer. Her muscles became nearly weightless and she began to tremble. All along, it’d been a game. The I.D.E.A had allowed her to search and fret; had allowed her mother to suffer unknown atrocities.

“Devon…” Alex began.

She held up a hand to stop him. “I… uh… I need to go. I’ll see you later,” she mumbled, as she turned and dug her hand into her purse to find her car keys. A thought struck her, “How long have you known about Jacob?”

He
faltered momentarily at the question and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “A couple days.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?”

His jaw tightened once more. “You wouldn’t answer your phone, remember? You didn’t want my help. Remember?”

Her shoulders sagged. He was right. She’d not given him an opportunity. Needing to sort through things on her own, she gave a shake of her
head before unlocking her car and climbing in. She drove off without looking back.