Page 93 of Blake

“She loves me,” Devon corrected. “She tolerates you.”

“Whatever. I know the truth.”

“Which is?”

“She hides her true feelings to keep you from becoming jealous.”

She laughed, then winced when the movement tugged at her tender shoulder.

Blake’s smile disappeared in an instant. “Sorry.”

“I’m okay.” She reached for his hand. “Really.”

He threaded his fingers through hers, his thumb brushing slowly across her knuckles.

Devon studied the strong lines of his face and the dark stubble along his jaw. The faint bruise was still visible, but it was fading more and more by the day.

The poor man had been through hell, and for some reason . . . he was still here.

“So.” She cleared her throat. “How was your day? Did you guys find out anything new?”

Blake’s expression turned serious. “Actually, yeah. There’s something you need to see.”

A nervous flutter replaced the pleasant one in her stomach.

“Okay . . .”

He retrieved his laptop from the bag he’d brought home and opened a video file. The screen showed a crowded street filled with colorful banners, vendors, and people celebrating what appeared to be some sort of festival.

“Where is that?”

“Rio.”

Devon blinked. “As in, Brazil?”

Blake nodded, his gorgeous gaze becoming intense. “Emmett got a call from Jethro Barclay. He’s a trusted friend who helped us back when Janie was kidnapped.”

The mention of her best friend’s abduction threatened to conjure unwanted memories. But Devon pushed them away and kept her attention on the present instead of the past.

“I take it this Jethro guy found something?”

“He did.” Blake paused. “Actually, he found Billy Crawford.”

Her breath caught. Even hearing that name was enough to make her blood run cold.

“Where?”

Blake turned the laptop toward her. Pointing, he instructed, “Watch the man behind the reporter.”

Devon leaned closer as the video began to play.

A man in a dark shirt moved through the crowd, turning toward the camera briefly. It wasn’t long, but long enough.

Her stomach dropped. “Oh, my God.”

Blake paused the footage.

There was no doubt in her mind that the face on the screen belonged to the man who’d nearly killed her months before.