Page 36 of Beautiful Revenge

When the elevator stops, Mel turns to me. “We’ll be here all week. I’m sure we’ll see you around.”

I’m as happy for this woman as I am envious. I thoughttoday would be a new start. That I could count on this place to help me refocus and hide from the world.

Instead, I deflect, since I will not be here to see her around. “Enjoy your sail tomorrow.”

“See ya,” Silas mutters.

“Enjoy your stay,” Devon calls, making the lame attempt at being friendly.

I’m not sure if it’s Devon’s accent, but Mel beams. “You too!”

The moment the doors close, I shift to the other side of the elevator and drop the act. “You should’ve found another retirement gig. You suck at hospitality.”

“I’ve chanted that in my head more times than you know over the last week.” Of course, Devon ignores all elevator etiquette and turns to face me. “Now we can talk.”

Thank goodness this place isn’t a high rise, because the doors part. I push around him, desperate to put as much space between me and my roommate as possible so I can call Chrissie.

“Why did you do it?” Devon demands when the door to the suite clicks shut followed by the turn of the deadbolt.

It’s official, I lack all judgment of character and cannot be trusted with my own instincts since I’m locked in for the night with the man who I thought wasn’t a psycho.

I go to the kitchen for a glass of water without making eye contact. “If you could put a pause on your creepy intelligence hobby until I can skip town, I’d appreciate it.”

Devon flips on a lamp before he empties the contents of his pockets onto the dining table. “You calling me dried-up and creepy is not the way I saw this playing out when I looked into the whereabouts of your father.”

I take my water and go straight to my room before turning to him one last time. “Then you failed. You’ll never have to think about me again after tomorrow.”

And with that, I shut my bedroom door and turn the lock.

“Fucking hell,” I hear him growl from the other side.

The dresser looks like it’s survived two centuries and is still standing strong—there’s no way I’ll get that thing to budge on my own. I’ll just have to sleep with one eye open.

Hell, there’s no way I’ll get any sleep tonight.

Before I can worry about me, I dial the only person I can count on.

She greets me through a yawn. “I hope this means you’re alive.”

“For now,” I whisper. “Chrissie, we have a problem.”

CHAPTER TEN

NOT SO SECRET

Harlow

Just when we thought one family couldn’t be embroiled deeper in Secret Intelligence Service news, another Donnelly agent surfaces. Like his sister, Isabella Donnelly, whose name hit the news years ago for being framed in connection to terrorist activities in Spain, the new Donnelly on the street is not immune to conflict within the secret organization that fights crime in the UK and around the world.

Devon Donnelly, the MI6 secret agent is no secret any longer. His name was leaked to the media following the tragic death of a fellow intelligence officer during an operation gone wrong. Hugh Bancroft lost his life in the warehouse disaster that rocked London last month. Bancroft, whose tenure at the SIS added up to more than a decade, did not escape the fiery explosion.

During the internal investigation into Bancroft’s death, Donnelly’s name was leaked to the media. It turns out, Donnelly has generational ties to England’s most secretive intelligence agency. Not only did his grandfather and father serve the United Kingdom, but so did his sister. His father, Thorne Donnelly, is now a worldwide bestselling author with more than a handful of titles under his belt about his career as an agent. Devon’s sister’s career was cut short when she was embroiled in an international political scandal. Isabella Donnelly left SIS after her name was cleared. Her whereabouts are unknown, though it’s been said she moved to North America.

This makes Devon the latest in a line of Donnellys whose identityhas been made public after serving his country. Bancroft was serving on Devon Donnelly’s case when he was killed in the line of duty. From the information collected by the BBC, this is Donnelly’s first public appearance since the leak to the media last week. He’s shown entering Vauxhall with his father and a team of solicitors. Now that his name and picture have been reported internationally, it’s unclear if the intelligence career of the newest Donnelly to hit trouble will come to an end.

Ididn’t exactly sleep with one eye open, but that doesn’t mean I slept well.

I locked myself in the bathroom and talked to Chrissie for over an hour last night. She didn’t believe me at first. Like me, she thought our plan was airtight.