me. Several times. On the one hand I hate the idea of guilt by association. On the other…”
I trail off. Because, honestly, it really is all guilt by association. And isn’t that what the press is doing to Devlin right this very minute?
I gather my thoughts as I watch a couple stroll on a nearby path. A jogger overtakes them, his head turning to stare in our direction. I frown, because I’m pretty sure he’s the same jogger in red I noticed a few moments ago. I almost say something to Devlin, but the guy shifts his attention back to the path and continues on.
“Did I lose you?”
“Sorry. Distracted.” I draw a breath. “I guess I’m not being fair to Christopher. He’s been good to Brandy. Good for her, too. And, yes, I understand why he didn’t want to have his name associated with Blackstone. Who would?”
“Agree,” Devlin said. “Add to that the fact that the investigation after Anna’s death turned up nothing to suggest he was involved. To the contrary, Christopher testified against Joseph, remember?”
I nod. After Anna’s death, the investigation had revealed that Christopher had turned snitch against his half-brother on some drug-related charges years before. “I know. I just—”
“You don’t want to see Brandy hurt.” He puts down his coffee and takes my hand as an energetic Labrador that reminds me of Jake bounds by, chasing a frisbee. “Believe me, I don’t either. But Christopher was completely cooperative. Lamar said he passed the polygraph with flying colors.”
“I know.” I shrug, remembering when Lamar had confirmed that piece of information. “He’s just a guy from a bad family who came to the foundation to research a thriller and got sucked into the quagmire. Hell, it could be the plot for his next book.”
He shares my smile. “It really could.” He finishes his bagel, then tosses the wrapping into the can next to our bench. “How’s Brandy doing?”
“She’s good. Like you said, he’s never been anything but awesome to her. I think she was a little pissed that he didn’t tell her he was connected to Joseph Blackstone, but why would he? Blackstone was part of The Wolf’s world, and Christopher didn’t know that was a world you were part of.”
He frowns. “Did she tell him?”
I shake my head. “No. But I guess he knows now. The whole world does. Including Joseph Blackstone.” I suck in a deep breath. “Which means that he’s not the only threat.”
“No,” Devlin agrees. “Just the most identifiable one.”
I sigh and crumple the paper my bagel had been wrapped in. “Mr. Saint, you do lead a complicated life.”
“Fortunately, I have a very uncomplicated woman at my side.”
I almost spit the sip of coffee I’d just taken in an effort not to laugh. “You better not.”
“Fair enough. I have a complicated woman who I dearly love. And,” he adds, his eyes darkening, “about whom I worry.”
“I get that,” I say. “Honestly, I worry about both of us. But I still say that maybe this is a positive thing. No more hiding, right?”
He chuckles. “Baby, I was hiding for a reason. And, well, it wasn’t even really hiding, was it? I’m not Alex. I’m not Alejandro. I’m Devlin Saint, and he’s always been very much in the open.”
“Yes,” I say softly. “That’s true.”
“But that’s not something my enemies care about. There are men who lost the opportunity to take control of my father’s empire when I shut it down. And there are men who were friends of my father who want revenge against the man who killed him.”
“Even if they know you used to be Alejandro, they can’t know that you’re the one who killed The Wolf.”
“You know better than that,” he says, and he’s right. Daniel Lopez was killed, and Alejandro inherited. Then Alejandro disappeared. It’s a safe bet that The Wolf’s friends always believed that Alejandro killed his father.
But as there was no Alejandro to be found, no one could exact revenge.
Now Alejandro is back as Devlin Saint. And that means the target on his back just got bigger. But by how much, we still don’t know.
“What about Ronan and Tamra?” I ask as we walk down a sidewalk on our way back to the apartment. “Or Reggie,” I add, referring Regina Perez, the only other member of Saint’s Angel’s who I’ve met so far. I don’t know many details about her background, but I know she does undercover work. And as for Ronan, he’s as much of a bad ass as Devlin. Both