Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
“You’re making a mistake.”
It was after two a.m. Declan had never been one to sleep easily. Marley was in his bed. Curled up. The dream he hadn’t even realized that he wanted. And he should be with her. But her words had haunted him.
Do you trust me?
He hadn’t told her everything about himself. But he wanted to.
James paced in front of the fireplace in Declan’s study. James had texted him about thirty minutes ago, telling him that he had news for Declan.
That they had to meet.
“You’re letting her get too close, but the woman is more dangerous than you realize.”
A glass of whiskey sat in front of Declan. He hadn’t touched the drink. James had come in and poured them both glasses. It was James’s favorite bottle. Aged twenty years. It would be a waste not to touch something so valuable.
Yet Declan didn’t touch it. Maybe because the last time he’d had a drink, he’d woken up tied to a chair in a damn basement. Experiences like that one tended to sour a man on alcohol.
“Declan.”
Declan looked away from the amber liquid.
“She’s wicked smart. IQ off the charts. Don’t let the fact that she’s bounced around doing bullshit stuff like dressing as a party princess or making fluffy pastries fool you.”
Anger swirled in his gut. “It’s not bullshit.” New rule in his world—no one would ever say a fucking negative word about Marley. “Working at the kids’ parties brought her comfort. The pastry making gave her peace and helped her to move forward. She needed that work.”
James blinked. “Sonofabitch, no, please tell me this isn’t happening.” He slammed down his drink. Drops of the liquid scattered across the desktop. “It can’t be happening. Not to you. I didn’t think you’d find someone who made you act—” But he broke off. Clamped his lips together.
“What?” Don’t leave me hanging, James. Say what you think.
The silence lasted a little too long, and then, in a rush, as if he had to get the words out quickly, James said, “You’re just like your father.”
Declan stiffened. “No.”
But James nodded. “I could see it in the hospital, that first night. The way you looked at her. The way you refused to leave her behind. Something about Marley Jones clicked for you, didn’t it?”
Clicked?
“That’s what your father said about your mom. That he saw her, and he knew she was supposed to be his. And when he saw something he wanted, nothing stopped Conor Flynn. Nothing and no one could ever stand in his way.” James swallowed. His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Until you did. Until you, son.” James lowered into the chair across from Declan. He suddenly looked very, very weary. The lines on his face etched deep grooves into his skin. “I certainly wasn’t ever strong enough to stop him.”
Declan’s shoulders stiffened.
“I ran.” Shame darkened James’s words. “I knew what he was, and I ran, and I left you with him, and no matter what I do, I can’t shake the guilt. It drags behind me like chains scraping against a grave.”
“You had no responsibility to me,” Declan said. No emotion entered his voice. When had he stopped letting the emotion slip out? Because he felt emotions. Anger. No, rage. Grief. And maybe even— no . He shut down the thought as fast as it whispered through his mind.
“I did. I owed you, Declan, and we both know it. I was the closest thing to an uncle that you had, and I ran. I suspected he’d done something to your mother, and I couldn’t stay. Dammit, I—” A ragged exhale. “I ran,” he said again, miserable as his shoulders slumped. “I ran like the coward I am.” He stared at the glass before him. At the spilled whiskey that dotted the desktop. “I was always afraid of him. From the moment he came into the house. My mom was telling me I should be excited, that I was getting a new brother.”
“Stepbrother,” Declan corrected. An important clarification. There was no blood link between James and Conor Flynn. James was nothing like Conor. “That was the third marriage for Conor’s father.” And it hadn’t lasted long. Liam Flynn, Declan’s grandfather, had burned through wives. Five total.
“Conor scared the shit out of me. I woke up on the second night he was in the house.” James’s cheeks hollowed as he sucked in, then blew out a hard breath. “He had a knife to my throat. Told me that I was going to do what he said. I’d jump when he wanted me to bounce. That he controlled me, and I’d never be free.” He licked his lips. “Even after our parents divorced, I was still scared of him. Still doing what he said. I took the job he offered me after college because I was too fucking afraid not to do it—and because the money was good.” His eyes squeezed shut. “There was so much money back then. Money makes you overlook a lot of things. You can close your eyes…” His eyes opened. “And pretend you don’t see so much. That you don’t see the pain and the evil that is right there in front of you.”
Declan still didn’t touch his drink. “You always thought he killed my mother.”
James nodded. “Yes.”
“And you ran because you thought he’d kill you next.”
“I gave her five grand.” A hoarse whisper. “I helped her to leave. I figured I would be next on his attack list, so I vanished. I hid. I stayed hidden and then…then Conor was gone. Dead. By your hand. You were sixteen. All the money was gone. The big monster from my past was gone. And you needed a guardian.”
“You were the closest thing to family I had.” There had been no one else.
“I either stepped forward, or you went into foster care.” James grabbed his drink. Drained it in a gulp. “I’d run before. I wasn’t going to run again.”
“You stayed by my side. All these years.”
He saluted with the empty glass. “Well, eventually, the money became good again.” He lowered the glass. It clinked on the table.
“You didn’t stay for the money.” Was that really the story James wanted him to believe?
“Well, it certainly wasn’t for the company.” James made a show of straightening his tie. “You’re generally pissy and disagreeable.”
Declan grunted. He was both of those things on a very general basis.
“And you seriously needed help with fashion. I shudder when I remember the ragged jeans you used to wear every single day.” James sniffed. “Someone had to keep you in style. Someone had to give you a sense of style.”
Declan glanced away from him. He stared into the fire that danced and swayed in the fireplace to the right. He wasn’t particularly stylish at that moment and didn’t give a flying fuck about that fact. He’d hauled on a pair of black jogging pants for this meeting. A black t-shirt.
“Someone has to stick close to you and be brave enough to tell you when you’re making a mistake.” Careful words from James. “All the other employees are too afraid. They know you’ll kick their asses to the curb if they dare to speak up.”
“And I won’t kick you to the curb?” Vaguely curious.
“No.” Certain. “You won’t. You haven’t.”
He kept watching the fire. “Tell me, do I scare you the way my father did?”
Silence. The silence that lasted a bit too long before… “Sometimes. When I think your focus is too dark. When I know that you’re slipping between the line that separates right from wrong.”
“It’s a thin line.”
“Is it?” A pause. “It’s not so thin for most people.”
But he wasn’t most people, and they both knew that.
“I think,” James continued carefully, thoughtfully, “that the line between right and wrong might be particularly thin for you.”
Declan’s focus remained on the flames. He liked the way the fire moved. Swayed. Teased. “Marley Jones is no threat to me.”
“Isn’t she?”
“She saved my life. Twice.” That didn’t make her a threat. As far as he was concerned, it made her his freaking guardian angel. Who would have thought that he’d ever have one? And, unfortunately, her saving him had also put Marley in the crosshairs of a killer. “She has a target on her back. The bastard who took me is eliminating loose ends. He’ll come for her.”
“And is that the reason you brought her with you to Chicago? Because he’s coming for her?”
Slowly, Declan turned his head until he had James in his sights. Step-uncle. One-time guardian. Employee. Annoying conscience. Some days. “What are you suggesting? That I brought her along as some kind of bait?”
James stared back at him. “Did you?”
“The freak kidnapped me. I’m the one he had tied up in his torture basement. He might be pissed at Marley for interfering, but I’m the end goal for him. He’ll come for me. And I’ll take the bastard out.”
James rose. “You mean, of course, that you’ll let the cops take him out. They’ll arrest him. They’ll put him in a jail cell. Justice will be served.”
No. “I meant exactly what I said. If you have a problem with the bloody aspects of my life, you shouldn’t have hung around so long.” He reached for the glass. Swirled the liquid with a roll of his wrist. “You didn’t want me to turn out like him, and yet, here you are, saying I’m doing the same shit he did.”
“Becoming obsessed with one woman? Moving heaven and hell to possess her? Yes, that is the same.”
“Hardly heaven and hell. I simply hired her to be my PI.” Declan considered the matter. “And then I made her my fiancée.”
James shook his head. “Not that lie again.”
“I can assure you, it’s not lie.” Or at least, it wouldn’t be for long. Declan fully intended to marry her. How can I possibly let her go?
“That—that was some bullshit story she gave to ride along in the ambulance and stay in the hospital with you. She’s not—she isn’t?—”
“As of now, Marley Jones is officially my fiancée. Feel free to spread the word to the proper PR places, would you? You’ve always been good about knowing who to contact in order to get the best press coverage. When it comes to charm, you are top notch, even when you’re working with the reporters who hate me.”
James didn’t move. “I repeat my earlier warning. This is a mistake.”
“It doesn’t feel like one.” It felt like the best move of his life. Unfortunately, Marley hadn’t actually agreed to be his fiancée. Something he would have to correct at the earliest opportunity. She could act like it was just a ruse, if she wanted. He’d go along with that story. For now. Soon enough, though, the fiancée bit would be real.
He would need to acquire one big-ass diamond for her.
No. Not a diamond. Marley isn’t ice. She was more like fire in his arms. Maybe a ruby? But how would she feel about a ruby engagement ring?
“I told you before, she’s dangerous to you.” James seemed even more worried. Typical.
“Right.” He put down the drink. Steepled his fingers beneath his chin. He could feel the rasp of his stubble. Declan made a mental note to shave. He didn’t want to hurt Marley’s skin.
Especially not when he had her legs spread, and his mouth was devouring her.
I pulled out at the last minute. Could have been too late already. Marley…what will I do if Marley becomes pregnant with my child?
And wasn’t he the selfish bastard because he’d known the risk was there? He’d been in her bare, and it had been the hottest sex of his life.
No one felt like his Marley.
“She can see evil, Declan.” James had his hands fisted at his sides as he delivered his grim and dark words. “Evil was her specialty. She practically has a Ph.D. in it.”
“I think her Ph.D. was almost in psychology but having a Ph.D. in evil does seem more fun.”
James just looked even grimmer. “The woman studied killers. Got up close and personal with them until one almost took her life. You think she won’t be able to see what you are? You can only hide from someone like her for so long. She will see the real you. It’s just a matter of time.”
“The real me? The monster that lurks just beneath the skin?” It was Declan’s turn to rise. And when he did, James automatically backed up a step.
He’s always feared me a little bit.
Because Declan was his father’s son.
“She’ll turn you in to the cops. You give her any reason…if she sees too much…a woman like her will run straight to the cops. Hell, she’s already been talking to that detective ex of hers for days.”
Anger hummed in Declan’s blood. “What?”
“Parker Ellis? She’s been calling him. Texting him. And he’s been calling her, too. Just so you know…” Another step back, as if James feared revealing this news. “She got him to access your father’s case. She already knows what you did to him. Hell, she could just be biding her time with you right now as she works with Parker. They could be trying to bring you down. Cops have been aiming to bring you down forever. And Parker? He has a special reason to want you to burn.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I dug into his past like you asked! And you’re not gonna like it, but that collateral damage your dad was so good about leaving in his wake? He did it to Parker Ellis, of all people. Now isn’t that one hell of a coincidence?”
It was.
“His father was a Fed. He was working undercover to bring down one Conor Flynn. Only the man was murdered. Did you hear what I said? Parker’s dad was found murdered . A bullet to the heart and to the head. Sound familiar?”
Yes, it did.
“Parker and his mom moved down to Georgia after his dad’s death, but I guarantee you, that cop hates you. And now he’s the one working your investigation. The one cozying up to your fiancée. This scene has trouble and betrayal written in big, bold, glowing letters.”
“Marley won’t betray me.”
“She may have already betrayed you! That cop wants you locked away.”
“No current charges are pending against me. I’m an upstanding member of the community.”
James snorted. “Bull. Everyone knows that the cops think you are?—”
“I fucking work with the US government on more contracts than I can count. I have more connections than you can dream of. Some local cop doesn’t worry me.” Not the total truth. The more he learned about Parker Ellis, the more Declan realized the man was going to be a problem for him. “How do you know she’s been in contact with Parker?”
“Because you wanted me to dig on her, too. I dug. I may have also…monitored her conversations a bit. Sue me.”
Declan strode from behind the desk.
“You wanted me to pull up everything I could on her. I did. I have. She and the detective have a history. A long one. They went to high school together. Dated briefly after her attack by Glass. The cop is actually the only guy she’s dated since the Glass attack. The woman went into hiding after that creep sliced her. A hiding that came courtesy of her brothers. And speaking of them?” A soundless whistle. “They are a whole other mess of trouble we don’t need. Pretty sure one of them might be CIA. The other is some adrenaline junkie who specializes in hostage rescue. True blue assholes who will not understand your way of life.”
“What about Glass?” Declan wasn’t concerned about the brothers. They would not be getting in his way. “Anything else I need to know about him?”
“He’s in Georgia, locked away in a maximum-security prison. Mostly kept in solitary confinement. The man is not some easy target.”
Declan inclined his head. He’d already known all of that information, but he still said, “Thanks for the intel.”
“I—what?” His brows beetled. “That’s it?”
“Glass isn’t a concern any longer. Mark him off your list.”
“Shit.” James raked a hand over his face. “What have you done?”
He needed to see Marley. “Why accuse me? Here I am, being an upstanding citizen—as I keep having to remind you I actually am. I’m in Chicago. You just told me Glass was in a maximum-security prison down in Georgia. I can’t possibly get access to him.” A roll of one shoulder. “But, sadly, prison riots happen all the time. And sometimes, even people who are supposed to be in solitary get pulled into the fray.”
“Shit,” James said again. Then… “Shit.”
“Is there anything else? Because I thought this doom-and-gloom meeting would yield more drama.” And more information that I did not already know. You’re slipping, James. The Glass intel had been disappointing, and Declan had actually already been aware of Detective Parker Ellis’s link to the Flynn family.
I am well aware of my father’s crimes. And sometimes, the ghosts of the past can come at you when you least expect them. Parker had stared at him with a bit too much hate that first night in the hospital. The glance had set off alarm bells for Declan. He hadn’t just left the digging to James.
Sometimes, I prefer to do my own dirty work.
James shook his head. “You’re going to crash and burn with Marley Jones.”
Now he smiled. “But won’t the fire be fabulous?”
The bedroom door opened. The faint sound had her eyes opening. Marley stared into the darkness.
The door clicked closed.
Footsteps padded silently toward the bed. Her back had been to the door. She’d awakened a short while ago. Gotten out of the bed to dress. Rummaged in Declan’s closet until she’d found something that worked and returned to bed. Then she’d rolled onto her side. Snuggled up against the pillow. And started to drift off again.
Declan hadn’t been in bed with her. But she knew that he was now walking toward her. In moments, the bed dipped a bit. Had he taken off some clothing? She’d heard a few rustles. Marley thought that perhaps he had. He slid into the bed. She could feel his warmth, but he didn’t touch her.
She wanted him to touch her.
“Do you see evil?” he rasped. Such low words. “I know you saw it with that bastard Glass. Will you see it with me?”
She held her breath. Was he about to make another big confession? Because if so…
She rolled toward him. Put a hand on his heart. No shirt. Bare skin. “I won’t pretend to be asleep this time.”
His hand covered hers. “Marley? What are you talking about?”
“I don’t see evil when I look into your eyes. I see you, Declan. You.” Enough of this. Touching him wasn’t enough. She threw off the sheet, and she climbed on top of him. Marley straddled him. She was wearing one of his over-sized shirts. He seemed to be wearing a pair of jogging pants. The soft material brushed against the sensitive skin of her thighs. No shirt for Declan.
And his dick bobbed eagerly toward her, shoving against the front of his jogging pants.
Tempting her to take him, to go wild with him but…not yet.
“I heard you when you said you killed your father,” Marley confessed. Time to just get that out in the open. If she didn’t want Declan to keep secrets from her, then she could not keep secrets from him.
His hands flew up and locked around her waist. “What?”
“I wasn’t sleeping. I heard you. And I’m still here. I didn’t go running. I am still here .” Her hands pressed to his chest. Such a warm, powerful chest. “I don’t think you’re some big, bad monster, Declan Flynn. I don’t care what the world says. I know you. The real you.”
He shook his head. Darkness covered the bedroom. Shadows. But her eyes had adjusted to the dark, and she could see him just fine. I’m not afraid of the dark any longer.
“You didn’t kill your father in cold blood.” She knew this truth with utter certainty. “I read the reports.”
“Courtesy of your friendly detective.”
Oh, was that a bite of jealousy? It just might have been. “Yep, courtesy of him. When your father died, he’d been attacking you. You had four broken ribs. You had bruises all over your chest. You had two broken fingers, plus a fractured wrist. And your father had taken his knife and sliced your face.” Her head tipped forward, and her hair slid over her shoulders. “I saw the pictures. I saw what he’d done to you.”
“Fucking Detective Ellis.”
“Your father was beating you, Declan. If you hadn’t stopped him, he would have killed you!”
He shot up. Rolled them. Had her beneath him on the bed. He braced his body on his arms as he loomed over her. His legs were between her spread thighs. His strong form dominating hers. “I wasn’t going to let him kill me.” Cold. Calm.
But he didn’t feel cold. The heat from his body practically singed her.
“I took the hits from him. I fucking took them like I’d always taken them. He liked giving pain. I’d done something that pissed him off. Gotten a ninety-five on a test when I should have gotten a hundred.”
Her lips parted.
“I had to be perfect. Nothing less was acceptable. Not for Conor Flynn’s son.”
Tears stung her eyes.
“So he hit me. And I took it and then…then I didn’t.” Flat. Still so cold. “I realized I wasn’t ever going to just take it from him again.”
There is nothing cold about Declan. I know it. The coldness in his voice is a lie. The colder he is, the hotter my Declan burns.
“He used his boot to break my ribs. He was getting ready to kick me again when I rolled. I caught his foot. I jerked the bastard to the floor.” A heave of Declan’s breath. “He fell. The knife slid from his fingers, and I grabbed it. In the next instant, I had that knife at his throat. His eyes went so wide. I swear, I think the bastard looked proud for a moment.”
She wanted to throw her arms around him and hug him but…
His hands had moved. They’d curled around her wrists. He pinned her hands to the bed. Almost as if he was afraid she would touch him.
“Then he started to bleed. Don’t know if anyone had ever made Conor Flynn bleed before that night. He didn’t like it. He told me to stop. Tried to shove me away. Only I was done being shoved by him.”
His words still held no emotion.
But I can feel his rage and his pain and I wish I could take it all away.
“He twisted and punched. I fought back. I used his knife, and I drove it into his stomach. Then drove it in his shoulder. He screamed for me to stop. He begged for me to let him go.”
Her body had gone taut.
“I didn’t. I didn’t let go. He tried to headbutt me. We shoved and punched and the next thing I knew…the knife was in his heart.”
“Declan.”
He brought his face close to hers. “I drove a knife into my father’s heart.”
“He was hurting you. You were sixteen! You had to protect yourself.”
“He begged me to let him go. Even as he begged, I knew I was killing him. I wasn’t ever going to let him hurt me again. Not me. Not anyone else. And you want to know the last fucking thing he said?”
What she wanted was to wrap her arms around him and never, ever let go.
“My mother’s name. And he smiled. He shouldn’t have smiled when he died. He should have been terrified. Hell was waiting, and he smiled. ”
Her wrists twisted in his hold. “Let me go.”
He jerked. “Marley, I—” Declan let her go. He backed up. Went to his knees on the bed. “I tried to warn you that I?—”
She shot upright. Her arms flew around him. Her body collided with his as she held him as tightly as she could. “I’m sorry.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek. To the scar that marked him. “I’m so sorry you were trapped alone with him for so long. I’m so sorry he hurt you.” Another kiss. “I’m sorry I didn’t know you back then because I would have helped you.”
His hands brushed her shoulders. “Marley?”
Another kiss on his cheek. Then her hands rose to press on either side of his face. “Declan Flynn, you saved yourself. You protected yourself. Do not feel guilty for what you did. Do not try and pretend you’re some big evil killer. You are not. I won’t believe it. Not you.” This time, she kissed him on the lips. Soft and sweet. There had not been enough softness in his life. She was certain of this. “I would have helped you,” she said again.
I would have driven the knife into him myself. And she never, ever would have believed that thought would race through her head. But the idea of someone hurting Declan…
When I saw the pictures of sixteen-year-old Declan, I wanted to kill his father.
Declan shook his head. “Marley…” The faint click of his swallow. “You don’t know the things I’ve done since then.”
“I don’t see a monster when I look at you, Declan. I don’t.”
“What do you see?”
“The man I want.”
This time, his mouth took hers.