Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
“He was long gone by the time we got to the roof,” Cade Grimm announced flatly as he rushed back to the alley and stopped near Declan. The former SEAL sounded pissed.
Fair enough, Declan was certainly pissed, too.
“McQueen is still double-checking the building, just in case, but the place is hollowed out. Totally empty on our first sweep. The pool hall looks like it’s been closed for a long time.” Cade motioned toward the dead body. “What the hell are we gonna do with him?”
A siren’s wail cut through the night.
“That’s what we’re going to do,” James announced. “We’re going to let the police take care of the matter.” He’d been staring down at the body for a few, silent moments. As soon as he’d arrived on scene, he’d immediately searched for a pulse on the bartender.
Declan had told him it was useless.
And it had been.
“If your PI hadn’t spotted the shooter,” Cade’s growling voice continued, “then you could be the one on the ground, Declan.”
The stupid light kept flickering on and off.
“Is it safe for Declan to be out in the open?” James wanted to know as worry threaded through his voice. “I tried to force him into the limo with the PI, but he refused.”
“The shooter is gone.” Declan had suspected that outcome long before Cade made the announcement. “He stopped the bartender from talking. He did his job. Then he cleared out.”
“I’m not so sure his job wasn’t to kill you.” Cade crouched next to the dead man. He whistled when the light flashed on, and he got a good look at Keith’s bloody form. “The head and the heart? That’s a professional job.”
More sirens screamed. They were a lot louder. And closer.
Cade rose. “The bullets didn’t hit you, boss?”
“I’m fine.” His hands fisted at his sides.
“You don’t sound fine.”
They were huddled around a dead body. Excuse the fuck out of him for being not fine. “He’s playing with us.”
“Excuse me?” From James. He’d taken a step away from the body.
“He could have killed Keith before I arrived. He did that shit right in front of me. He’s trying to send me a message.”
“Uh, what message would that be?” James asked as his head cocked. The light kept flashing. On. Off. On.
“He thinks he’s in control.” Tension snaked through every muscle in Declan’s body. “He’s trying to show me how much power he has.”
“Well, he did kidnap you,” James pointed out. “And the shooting…shit, just how close were those bullets to hitting you?”
I felt them brush over me.
But once again, his guardian angel had saved his ass. “I want this sonofabitch,” Declan said flatly. “I want him dead in the ground.” I will put him in the ground.
The sirens were shrieking now. Car doors slammed.
“Uh, boss…” Cade cleared his throat. “Better not say things like that in front of the cops. And maybe this should be the point where we all put our hands up so none of the boys and girls in blue get nervous and start firing at us ?”
“Excellent idea,” James praised. His hands were already up.
Footsteps thundered toward them.
“Police!” A shout. “Hands up!”
“This is what I mean.” A murmur from Cade. His hands were up.
Declan stepped away from the body. His hands rose even as the uniforms rushed forward—rushed forward, then staggered to a stop as their flashlights hit the body on the ground.
There were a lot of other shouts then. A whole lot of confusion as the uniforms scrambled and their flashlights bobbed and?—
“Declan! Declan Flynn!”
Detective Parker Ellis was suddenly right in front of him. “What in the hell happened here?” Parker barked.
Declan kept his hands up. “I was interviewing your suspect.”
Parker’s flashlight swept over him. Lingered on Declan’s chest.
“Someone didn’t appreciate my interview,” Declan added with a roll of his shoulders. “Gunshots were fired from the roof of the pool hall.”
Parker’s flashlight didn’t lower. “Is that his blood?”
What? On the wall? The ground? “Yeah, his blood hit the wall and the ground.” And, just so they were clear... “I didn’t touch him after the shooting.”
“Is that his blood on you?”
Declan glanced down and saw that the flashlight was shining in the middle of his body—and that his white dress shirt was stained red.
“Fuck.” From Cade. “I thought you said the bullets didn’t hit you, boss.”
Declan blinked. “They didn’t.”
Parker moved closer. “So it’s the vic’s blood?”
“She tackled me when the shots were fired. I didn’t get his blood on me. I—” Declan shook his head. “ It’s her blood.” An overwhelming surge of fear and fury filled him. It burned through him. Twisted. Snaked. Exploded. He whirled for the limo.
“Freeze!” One of the cops shouted, “Mister, you need to freeze right now!”
Declan threw a glance back over his shoulder at Parker. “It’s Marley’s blood.” It had to be. He’d picked her up. Carried her against him. “She’s in the limo. It is bulletproof so I put her in there…I-I didn’t know she was hurt!” He had to get to her.
“Where is the damn limo?” Parker snarled. “And, Officer Masters, don’t even think of firing that weapon, got it? Stand down! ”
Then Parker and Declan were racing toward the end of the alley. Racing toward the limo that waited. Declan yanked open the side door. The interior lights shined brightly so he could easily see Marley as she huddled against the leather seat. And as blood utterly soaked her right arm.
“Hi.” She grimaced at him. “There’s, um…something I need to tell you…”
So much blood. Declan could not move. He could not speak. He could not breathe. Marley had been shot.
“EMT!” Parker bellowed. “We need an EMT over here, right now!”
Marley nodded. “That’s what I needed to tell you.”
“Why in the hell didn’t you tell me that you’d been shot as soon as it freaking happened?” Declan demanded as he sat by the hospital bed.
Her hospital bed. Their positions had been reversed. She’d been the one sitting in the chair and keeping watch over him not too long ago and now…
He glowered at her.
“I don’t think I need to stay the night. Serious overkill.” She had to wince at her own choice of words. Especially considering the dead body that had been in the alley. Don’t picture him. Stop seeing him in your head.
Only that was a very difficult task. Each time she closed her eyes, the image replayed. Only sometimes, it wasn’t Keith’s image. It was Declan’s. What if I hadn’t gotten him out of the way in time? What if the bullets had taken out Declan? Right in front of me?
“Marley.” Growled.
She blinked at him. “Yes?”
“Why in the hell didn’t you tell me that you’d been shot?”
“Because I was trying to keep you safe! Because it all happened so fast and…I think it was more of a really bad graze than anything else. Not like the bullet went into me.” She held up her arm. An arm that sported twelve stitches and a large, white bandage. “I lost a little blood.”
“Your blood was everywhere.”
“You heard the doctor. Wounds like this can bleed a lot at first. I’m stitched up. I’m fine.” She tried a sunny smile. Her arm was numb, and she’d been poked and prodded for hours. Sunny was the last thing she felt, but Marley could fake it for him. “How about you go get me some clothes so I can ditch this hospital gown, and we get out of here, hmmm?”
He’d hauled the chair right next to the bed. He leaned close, his fingers came out and curled around her chin, and Declan very firmly told her, “No.”
She blinked. “I don’t have to stay.”
“You fucking do. You were shot. You were covered in blood. You were shaking.”
He had made a few important points. “So, first, I was in shock. That’s why I was shaking.” No need to go into all the details about how the blood on her body had reminded her of another time, and it had sent her on a psychological spin that had made her dizzy and terrified and— stop. Marley sucked in a breath. “Wounds bleed. That’s the normal course of things. I’ve been stitched up. My vitals are good. Staying here is completely?—”
“Necessary,” Declan concluded.
Not exactly. “I was going to say unnecessary. You forgot the ‘ un’ part.”
His breath whispered out. His thumb slid over her lower lip.
A shiver skated down her spine. The shiver had nothing to do with the icy temperature in the hospital room and everything to do with the man staring so intently at her. “It was also unnecessary to tell the hospital staff that you were my fiancé.” Did her tongue touch his thumb? Yes.
The gold in the middle of his hazel eyes heated. “You’d already told the lie here once before.” His thumb brushed over her lower lip again. “I just repeated it so that no one would be foolish enough to try and kick me out of your room. I’m staying with you, all night.”
“I don’t need a billionaire to sit and watch me sleep.”
“Too bad. You’re getting one.” His jaw locked. “And don’t you ever, ever hurt again and not tell me.”
“It was a graze. It was?—”
“Marley. You don’t ever hurt without telling me, understand?” Then his thumb was gone from her mouth. And—and his lips were pressing against her. But this wasn’t like the rough and demanding kiss he’d given her in the alley. This was different. Soft. Careful. As if he feared hurting her.
“I’m not glass. I don’t shatter,” she whispered against his mouth.
“No, you’re my guardian angel. You don’t shatter. But you sure as hell bleed.” He pulled back. “Understand that he’s a dead man.”
Her brows scrunched as she attempted to follow along after that incredibly tender kiss. “Uh, Keith? Yes, I know he didn’t survive but?—”
“The man who shot you. He won’t go inside a jail cell. He’ll pay for hurting you.”
Marley could only shake her head. “That’s not the way things work.”
He sat back in his chair, but his fingers tangled with hers. The fingers of her left hand. “That’s the way things work in my world.”
His world was a very scary place. She stared into his eyes, searching for some hint of softness. Of—of something that would reassure her. But there was just cold, hard intent. A deadly focus.
She was staring at a man who was not afraid to kill.
“Do you see me now?” he asked quietly.
A rap sounded at the door. She jumped, and her head jerked toward the hospital door just as it swung open. Her helpful and bubbly nurse didn’t appear. Instead, Parker stood in the doorway. Looking extra grim. He shot a thumb over his shoulder in a quick, rough gesture. “I see you have two guard dogs in place.”
“Security,” came Declan’s easy reply. “For my fiancée. Can’t risk her being hurt again.”
Parker stepped inside and kicked the door shut. “Still singing that BS line, are you?” A tired shake of his head. His gaze zeroed in on Marley. “Didn’t learn your lesson the first time, did you? How many brushes with death will it take for you to realize that there are some people you should never, ever get close to in this world?”
The hospital gown was too big. It started to slide off her right shoulder. She hurriedly pulled it back into place. “I’m doing well, Parker. Thank you so much for your concern. Not in any pain. All stitched up. Ready to go.”
“She’s not going anywhere tonight.” Declan’s cold and dark promise.
Parker ambled toward the bed. His gaze swept over Marley’s face. Then to the large bandage on her arm. “Now you’ve got a bullet wound to go with the knife?—”
“ Did you find out anything about the bouncer?” Marley cut through his words. No sense in him airing all her personal business at the moment. “I assume you did follow up on the lead we gave you? Because before I was forced into that ambulance, I told you that Keith indicated the bouncer who worked last night’s shift at Abyss was possibly involved in everything that happened to Declan.”
“Yeah. I found him. Hugo Webb was dead along with an ex con buddy of his.”
She straightened in the bed. “Dead?” The oversized gown slid down her shoulder once again.
Before she could fix it, Declan was there. He grabbed the material. Started to haul it back up, but…
He stopped.
His fingers brushed across the small scar on her upper right collar bone. A scar that was normally covered, just as the others were. “Marley?”
Her head turned toward him. His eyes were on her scar. And he was pulling at the material of her gown, trying to see more.
“No.” She slapped a hand over her chest, holding the thin material in place. “This isn’t a peepshow.”
His gaze never left the old wound. “That looks like the scar from a knife.”
Apparently, the man had an eye for scars.
“ Who put a knife in you?”
Parker cleared his throat. “So, I just announced that I found not one, not two, but… three dead bodies tonight. Perhaps we should focus on that news for the moment?”
Declan’s eyes glittered at Marley.
“Dead body number one belonged to Keith Long, bartender extraordinaire at Abyss. Body two was that of Hugo Webb, one of the bouncers at Abyss. Hugo was the bouncer who called in sick tonight and who apparently gave Keith the special drink you ordered last night.” Parker was right beside the hospital bed now. “And dead body number three was Hugo’s former cell mate, David Berry. Thought you’d be interested to know that Hugo was shot in the forehead and heart. A professional takedown if I ever saw it. His buddy must have tried to flee the scene. David took a bullet to the back of the head. Crime analysis guys said it tore through the back of the skull and then erupted out the front of his head. His blood was splattered everywhere.”
“Who put a knife in you?”
Declan clearly had a one-track mind. But shouldn’t he be far more focused on the dead bodies than on her old wounds? She was certainly focused on the dead and trying not to be sick as Parker revealed his chilling details. “It wasn’t a knife,” she whispered. And it hadn’t been. Not exactly. But pretty close.
“If it helps you focus,” Parker offered, “I’ll tell you who left those marks on her. And it’s more than just one, by the way. If you knew your fiancée better, you’d realize she hides quite a few scars beneath her clothes.”
Declan’s head whipped toward him. His fingers remained brushing lightly over the scar on her collarbone, as if he could somehow take away the old pain. Silly man. There were some pains that never ended.
“It was a guy by the name of Sebastian Glass. A man convicted of killing three women and suspected of murdering at least four more. Sebastian developed a bit of an obsession with the Ph.D. candidate who was interviewing him…and one day, when the guards weren’t paying enough attention, he pulled out a shiv he’d carefully made, and he attacked the woman he wanted.”
Declan leapt out of his chair.
“Did that help?” Parker asked politely.
Declan’s hands were fisted at his sides.
“Or did it just make you want to kill someone else?” A careful question from the cop. “Got to say, I knew you were holding back on me, Declan. When we were in this very hospital, I could see it in your eyes. You remembered one hell of a lot more about your abduction than you let on, didn’t you? And like I said, the murders of Hugo Webb and David Berry looked very, very professional. As in, the kind of professional work that a hitman would do. I have to assume that someone with your…connections…would know exactly how to get a hitman to do your dirty work.”
Declan took a step toward the detective.
“And Keith Long? The shot to the head and the heart? Same technique, huh? What did you do…tell your shooter you’d drag the guy outside and have him in position for the attack? Then you could act like you were as stunned as everyone else by the gunshots.” His gaze flickered to Marley. “But you didn’t count on her getting in the way, did you? You probably thought she’d stay out of the line of fire. That she’d never see the shooter until it was too late. After all, she’s just a newbie PI. No real threat to you.”
Marley hauled the hospital gown back up on her shoulder. “Declan absolutely did not do that! Not any of it!”
“You see him as a victim.” Parker nodded. “Because that’s how you met. He was tied up and vulnerable, so you don’t get who he really is. But I know the truth.” He and Declan were practically toe to toe now. “Why don’t you ask him what happened to his dad, Marley? Maybe he’ll give you all the gory details, and you’ll realize he isn’t some lost lamb you need to help. He’s another sadistic killer, just like Broken Glass.”
Broken Glass. The nickname that the press had given to Sebastian Glass.
“And he’ll break you, too, if you aren’t careful. Thanks to him, you’ve already got a new scar to add to your collection.”
“Stop it.” She jumped from the bed.
Declan immediately whirled toward her. “What are you doing?”
Before she could take a step, he scooped her into his arms, holding her ever-so-carefully, and he put her back in the bed. “Do not get up again.”
Marley rolled her eyes. “My legs are fine, Declan. I just have stitches in my arm.” She glared at Parker. “Stop trying to turn us against each other. It’s not happening.”
Parker put one hand on his hip. “Because you trust this jerk?”
“Because Declan would have gotten shot if I hadn’t saved him! He had no clue what was happening. The shooter might have been aiming for Keith, but he didn’t care at all if the bullet went through Declan in order to make that kill shot. A paid hitman would have been a bit more careful about not eliminating the person who was giving him the cash for the job.” Her breath heaved out. “Obviously, someone was taking care of loose ends. The two men—Hugo and David—do you have pictures of them? Do they fit the descriptions of the men who pushed Declan into the van?”
“Big and brutal. Yeah, they fit.”
A quick nod from her. “They were the muscle. And Keith got eliminated, too, because he was involved. He admitted to trashing the bottle that he’d opened for Declan. Keith trashed the bottle because he knew there was evidence left behind in it that could prove his guilt. All three of those men were involved, and now all three are dead.” A shake of her head. “But Declan wasn’t behind their deaths. The man who planned Declan’s abduction was—and you know this. You’re just pushing and pushing at him because you think you can make him crack. News flash, it’s not going to happen. Declan isn’t the kind of man who does that. He doesn’t break.”
She felt Declan’s eyes on her. But he didn’t speak.
Marley slanted him a glance. “What? Want to say I’m wrong? Do it. I dare you.”
“You need to get away from him, Marley.” A fierce command from Parker.
Declan settled back into the chair beside her. His expression was cool, almost bored now, and maybe she would have bought that fake mask, if she hadn’t seen the emotion glittering in his eyes. “Marley isn’t getting away from me.” Declan’s cool and controlled voice. “She’s my PI. Our case isn’t over.”
His coolness set off alarm bells in her head. Declan is near exploding.
“Does she have to die before the case is over?” Parker asked softly.
Declan blinked. The set of his jaw hardened. “Marley won’t die. No one will so much as bruise her skin from here on out.” His head turned toward her. “There will be no more jumping between me and bullets for Marley. No more putting herself at any risk. Marley understands our arrangement.”
No, Marley did not. But she figured they could have this discussion in private. No need to set off more suspicions from the detective. He was already anti-Declan enough.
“She’s to act in an advisory role,” Declan continued silkily. “And, of course, as my fiancée, she will be receiving full protection from my security team. From here on out, Marley will be monitored twenty-four, seven.”
Um, she didn’t like the sound of that. And back to her shooting… “So, by any chance, has my small, really-only-a-flesh-wound injury been kept from the media?” Please. Don’t let that bit have been leaked to the press.
“No, it hasn’t been kept from them,” Parker immediately informed her. “The press knows about the murders and your connection to them. Any story that involves Declan Flynn is guaranteed to attract attention.”
Her shoulders slumped. “That’s unfortunate.” Her family would be pissed. But they were out of the country, so maybe her brothers wouldn’t hear the news. A woman could hope. Dealing with Declan was bad enough. Dealing with the worried twins?
After the incident with Sebastian, I thought they were going to lose their minds. And her brothers didn’t know she’d recently hung up her PI shingle. That would be another fun surprise for them.
They thought she was happily making pastries somewhere. Their mistake.
“Any other information you wanted to share, Detective Ellis?” Declan lounged back in the chair. “Or do you just have more accusations to hurl my way?”
Steam practically rolled from Parker. “You’re not cooperating with the investigation.”
Declan raised his brows. “The police were called to the alley. Not like I tried to hide things.”
Marley didn’t point out that she’d called the cops.
“You won’t provide me with a list of your enemies,” Parker fumed.
“That’s because the list would be far too long. And I actually don’t know anyone who has the balls to kidnap me and torture me.” Declan’s voice was still mild. Vaguely musing. “That takes a special kind of sonofabitch, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, it does.” Parker crossed his arms over his chest. His head turned toward Marley. “You could have died tonight.”
She was aware, yes. “But I didn’t.”
“The way I see it, you’ve already lost several of your nine lives. How about you stop tempting fate?”
She could make no promises.
The faint lines near Parker’s eyes deepened. “If the mastermind is eliminating loose ends, you get that you could be next, don’t you, Marley? Maybe you weren’t accidentally hit tonight. Maybe the bullet just didn’t go in your heart as planned by the shooter because you got lucky.”
Marley shook her head. No. The shooter had not been aiming for her. Parker was wrong.
He was also, apparently, not done. “Because if I were the perp…” A long exhale from Parker. “And I knew one woman was the reason why I had failed in my plan to kill Declan Flynn, then I’d be damn infuriated with her. The kind of fury that would drive me to kill.”
She fiddled with the sheet. “Good thing you’re not the perp, huh?”
Parker pointed at Declan. “Protect her. If you do nothing else… keep her the fuck safe.”
“If you believe nothing else I say, believe this—she will be protected at all costs.” Flat. Chilling. A vow. “You have my word.”
“The word of a killer. Great. Just what I wanted to feel all warm and reassured on the inside.” Parker spun away. Marched for the door and hauled it open. “How about we try to keep the dead bodies to a minimum, huh? Three was a damn big day.” He swept out.
Marley’s breath expelled in a rush. She hadn’t even realized she’d held her breath at the end. She stared at the closed door for a moment. Then her head angled toward Declan.
His eyes were on her. Glittering. Intent. So filled with a deadly determination that she had to swallow twice in order to clear the lump that rose in her throat. And even before he opened his mouth, she knew he was going to say?—
“Who the fuck is Sebastian Glass? And do you want me to kill him for you?”
Shock rolled through her. Okay, so she hadn’t realized he would say that last part.
Do you want me to kill him for you?