Page 4 of My Beautiful Sin

Of course, I could be wrong about the text’s meaning. But if it’s not about Devlin and the secrets that surround him, then I really am at a loss. And if it is about him, then he and I have much more to face than simply moving past the ghosts of our youth.

By the time he comes back to the room with two steaming mugs of coffee, I’m sitting up in bed with my arms around my knees. Since he immediately frowns, I assume my expression isn’t what he’d expected after a delicious morning in bed.

He puts the coffee on the table then sits on the edge of the bed. “What’s wrong?”

I hesitate, knowing that if I open this door, I’ll be fueling his fears that he and his secrets are a danger to me. But at the same time, if I stay quiet, whoever sent this has already won, simply by driving that silent wedge between us.

So I draw in a breath, meet his eyes, and say, “We need to talk.”

His mouth quirks, and that bisected brow rises. “Tired of me already?”

I laugh, and it feels like a pressure valve has opened. “I need to show you something,” I say, picking my phone up from where it sits beside me on the mattress.

His expression turns serious. “What’s going on?”

“I should have showed you this last night, but I didn’t want...”

I trail off with a shrug, knowing that he’ll understand. It was our first night back together. He has to know that I wouldn’t have wanted to bring anything horrible into this room with us.

But now I unlock my phone and pass it to him. As he reads the text, I watch his face, searching for a hint of worry or anger or confusion. But there’s nothing. And once again I’m reminded of who Devlin Saint really is. He’s an invention. An enigma. A man with a dark and secret past. A boy who had to learn how to hide not only himself but also his emotions in order to grow into the man he’s become.

And though I know he trusts me, I can’t deny the small stab at my heart when I see that right now, he’s hiding those emotions from me.

I can read nothing in his eyes when he lifts his face to mine. “I assume you don’t know who this came from.”

“No. I looked up the number but there’s no info. I’m guessing it’s a burner—I may see if Lamar can dig deeper,” I add, referring to my friend who’s a detective.

“No. I can handle it. I have resources.”

I nod, not surprised that he doesn’t want Lamar involved. Not only does Lamar not know about my past with Devlin, but whenever they’re together, I feel the undercurrent of tension. They’re both protective of me, neither fully trusts the other, and I’d just as soon not be in the middle of that any more than I have to be.

As for Devlin having resources, that makes sense, too. After all, his foundation not only helps with the rehabilitation of victims of all sorts of crimes, but it also provides support for and access to paramilitary organizations who can assist with rescue missions. So even if the DSF doesn’t have a department that can trace back the number, I’m sure he knows someone who can.

“Fine,” I say. “No problem.”

He reaches for my phone, but I pull it back. “I’ll give you the number on one condition. Anything you learn, you tell me.”

He hesitates, then nods as I text the number to him. When I look up, his expression is harsh, and he stands, running his fingers through his hair as he paces the large bedroom, an icy fury building around him.

“This is the way it will always be, isn’t it?” His voice is tight. Controlled. “My past following us. My secrets threatening to come between us.”

I slide out of bed as well, grabbing the T-shirt that he didn’t put on and tossing it over my head. I don’t know why I feel the need to be clothed around him right now, but I do. And once the shirt is hanging mid-thigh, I move into his arms.

“No.” I shake my head firmly “It’s an annoyance. It’s an intrusion. It’s a threat. But it’s not coming between us.”

For a moment, I see nothing on his face. Then the light of a smile blooms in his still-brown eyes. He’s not yet wearing the green contacts that are part and parcel of the man he has become. Right now, he’s a little bit Devlin and a little bit Alex, and I wrap my arms around him, holding tight to both sides of the man I love.

“I bet it’s from someone who doesn’t realize that I already know who your father is.” I tilt my head up, then see him nod slowly, as if considering that possibility. I’m almost positive I’m right, because what else could it be?

“I suppose it must be. But I honestly don’t know who.”

I haven’t got a clue either. “There must be people out there who’ve learned the truth about who you really are. Maybe they’re laying low and biding their time.”

I watch as his demeanor shifts from neutral to ice cold. And once again, I get a hint of how dangerous this man can be.

When he remains silent, I press. “Who other than Anna, Tamra, and Ronan know you used to be Alex?” Ronan Thorne is his best friend, with whom Devlin served in the military, having enlisted as Alex after he ran from his father.

As for Tamra Danvers, she knew his mother and sought him out after she died when Alex was still young and essentially held hostage by his father, a notorious crime lord known as The Wolf. She’s watched over him for years, even coming to Laguna Cortez when he did. She worked in community relations at the police department at the same time I was interning there during high school.