Page 1 of Blake

PROLOGUE

George Washington University Hospital

Washington, D.C.

Six months ago . . .

Devon Brighton let her head sink back against the pillow. The room had gone quiet now that Janie and Emmett were gone.

Too quiet.

The television mounted on the wall across from her played silently, flashes of color shifting across the screen. Without Janie and Emmett’s voices filling the room, every other sound had suddenly become amplified.

The steady beat of the monitor beside her bed. The cool air whispering through the slotted vent overhead. The faint squeaks of rubber soles against the polished tile outside her closed door.

Muffled conversation drifted in from the hallway, but Devon didn’t bother trying to make out the words being said. She closed her eyes instead, praying sleep would take her again.

It wouldn’t take much, thanks to the medication dripping steadily through her IV.

Sleep had become a gift over the last few days. Thanks to the powerful meds, there was nothing to fear.

No killers. No pain. No danger, real or perceived. Just a silent, empty blackness where nothing could hurt her.

Devon shifted beneath the thin sheet and woven blanket. A flash of pain shot through her ribs, making her wince. Her ribs ached with every breath. The left side of her jaw throbbed from a hairline fracture. Every muscle in her body felt as though she’d spent a week straight working out at the gym.

In reality, the pain was the aftermath of the brutal beating delivered by a hired killer who’d used her as bait to trap her friend.

It had started with a missing White House intern. Janie had been investigating the young woman’s disappearance and asked Devon to do a little digging of her own. With Devon’s computer skills, finding information most people couldn’t was usually the easy part.

Except this time, the wrong people had noticed, and they sent a professional hitman to take care of the problem.

Billy Crawford had kidnapped, beaten, and dumped Devon on a mostly deserted D.C. street, knowing Janie would rush to the hospital the moment she learned what happened.

And that had been the whole point.

Devon hadn’t just been a target; she’d been bait. And Janie had walked right into their trap.

I’m so sorry, Janie.

A tear slipped down from the corner of her eye and trailed toward her hairline as she thought about her best friend in the world.

Janie’s okay. Emmett and his team saved her. She’s going to be okay.

Devon sniffled and opened her eyes. Her gaze shifted toward the mounted flatscreen. Maybe she’d get lucky and find something to distract her. A moment later, she was still flipping through channels when a soft knock sounded at her door.

She looked that way. “Come in.”

The door opened, and a man stepped into the room carrying an enormous bouquet. For several seconds, she couldn’t see his face because of the arrangement’s ridiculous size.

And there were so many colors. Bright pink. Yellow. White. Purple. Green.

The man lowered the vase several inches, and a set of light-blue eyes immediately met hers.

“Hey.” His mouth curved into a crooked smile as he took a hesitant step forward. “I’m Blake. Blake Savage,” he clarified. “You probably don’t remember me, but we met a couple of days ago, when I was here with⁠—”

“I remember.” Devon blinked, her gaze remaining locked with his. “You’re on Echo Team with Emmett. The tech guy, right?”

His head fell back as he brought a dramatic hand to his broad chest. “That’s it? ‘Tech Guy’? Man, I was really hoping I’d made more of an impression than that.”