Chapter 15
Fifteen
B y the time Declan made it up to Eileen’s room, it felt like hours had passed. He’d ridden with her to the hospital, but she had insisted he get his knuckles looked at. They’d been bloody from hitting Comstock, and it had been worth it. While she had to have an MRI and be examined by the doctor, along with having evidentiary pictures taken of her injuries, he hurried to get his stuff done.
On his way up the first time, Eddie had stopped him because Declan had to make a statement about the attack. Now, he was more than a little irritated because he had told Eileen he would be with her. When he reached her floor, he found the twins outside her room talking to Wendy. When they showed up, Wendy had been on staff in the trauma center.
“Hey,” Wendy said, hugging him. “So glad you’re safe.”
He returned her hug, then stepped back. The twins were dressed in jeans and long-sleeved t-shirts. They both looked worried and pale.
“We heard you kicked his ass,” Zane said. His hair was shorter than Zac’s, which was the only way he could tell them apart.
He shrugged. “I punched him a few times.”
“I always hated that guy,” Zac said.
“Yeah. Always thought he was a douche. Definitely something off there. I should have realized it.”
The door opened, and an older man frowned out at them. “Boys, you’re making too much noise.”
They weren’t, but he saw the worry weighing on the man’s shoulders. The moment he made eye contact with Declan. Without a doubt, this was Eileen’s father. Just under six feet, he had a ton of salt and pepper hair, and he had her eyes.
“Is this him?” he asked his sons.
“Yeah,” Zane said.
He held out his hand. “I’m Declan Fitzoomph?—”
Mr. O’Reilly was hugging him so hard he thought he might lose consciousness. “Thank you for saving my girl. She’s tough, but I’m glad she had you there.”
“John, you’re smothering him,” someone said. When her dad finally released Declan, he could see the woman who had spoken. Small in stature, she wore her hair short no-nonsense, just like her daughter, and she smiled at Declan. Oh, damn. That was Eileen’s smile.
“Declan, Eileen has been worried about you. She didn’t understand what was taking you so long. I also believe she sent her partner a rather bad text that involved profanity. She’s agitated and won’t be happy until you get in there.”
He nodded. “Thanks.”
“No. Thank you for being there for her. Just a warning, she is quite cranky about having to stay overnight. She even tried to get Wendy to help her escape.”
He looked at his sister-in-law. “I reminded her that she wouldn’t help me when I had a concussion.”
“Thanks, sis,” he said. She had been like a sister to all of them, with the exception of Aeden, for years. Before he could finally get in the room, there was a bit of commotion down the hall near the nurse’s station. He turned and found his family. From the look of the grouping, the only people missing were Kaitlin and little Mike.
“There he is,” Emmet said, not using his indoor voice. Declan cringed.
“I hope you still think good things about me after you meet my family,” he murmured to Eileen’s mother.
They moved en masse down the hall, the buzz of their voices filling the once-quiet space. The moment she stepped in front of him, his mother grabbed him.
“Tell me you kicked that man’s ass.”
Yep, his mother could be bloodthirsty when one of her family had been threatened.
“He did,” Zac said as he stepped up beside him. “I heard from some of the cops that Eileen had to pull him off the bastard.”
Her gaze moved from Declan to Eileen’s brother. “You’re one of the twins.”
“Zac, and this is my brother Zane. And, of course, our parents, John and Rhonda O’Reilly.”
Introductions were made, but as everyone was talking, Rhonda took him aside. “Go on. My girl will feel better if she gets to see you.”
“Thanks,” he said, not needing to be told twice. He slipped into her room. She had a private room. All the lights were set to dim, and she appeared to be dozing, which he knew went against the concussion protocol.
He stepped closer and studied her, his anger rolling over him again. He knew she could handle herself, but the fact that she now had bruises on her neck made him want to punch Bryan Comstock again.
“Stop gritting your teeth,” she said without opening her eyes.
“You’re awake,” he said, then rolled his eyes. She had just spoken, so of course, she was awake.
“Kind of hard not to be awake with all that commotion. What’s going on?”
“My family showed up.”
Her mouth curved, and her eyelids flickered before opening. “They are rowdy, but then so are the O’Reillys.”
He walked forward, then sat on the bed beside her.
“Thank you.” Her voice was still hoarse.
“For what?”
“You saved me.”
“If you had been in a safe house, he might not have gotten to you.”
She shook her head. “One way or another, it would come to a head. I’m just glad you were there.”
He took her hand in his. Tonight, she looked even more delicate. “Me too.”
“They don’t want me sleeping long.”
“How long?”
“They want me to wake up every half hour, which I find excessive.”
He couldn’t stop the chuckle that bubbled up. This woman, she was it for him. She’d almost been choked to death and had a concussion, and she was fussing.
“Tell you what, love.” Her eyes softened. “You sleep, and I’ll ensure you wake up like they want you to.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I was afraid.”
“He wouldn’t have been able to kill you.”
“No. I was worried he would hurt you. He kept talking about killing you. I can’t lose you, Declan. I refuse.”
“I like that attitude.” He leaned forward and brushed his mouth over her forehead. “Now sleep.”
She sighed and settled further into her bed. Within moments, her breathing evened out. Declan pulled out his phone and set the timer for thirty minutes, then he sat in the chair beside her bed, her hand in his.
Two days later, Eileen was finally home. The doctors had been worried about the concussion, which was worse than they’d first thought. It sucked that she was stuck at the hospital and not interviewing Bryan. But thankfully, she was allowed to sleep for however long she wanted to.
When she and Declan walked into the kitchen, she stopped. The entire island was covered with cookies, muffins, and breads.
“That’s nothing. You should see what you have in the fridge.”
She glanced at him, her heart turning over in her chest. The fact that he had stood by her, taken care of her, and run interference when friends and family got to be too much had meant more to her than anything else. She wasn’t usually so antisocial, but all the noise still hurt her head.
When she opened the fridge, she found it stocked with all kinds of food.
“Your family, mine, my kitchen, and the Santinis all brought food. We’ll need to put some in the freezer, or they will go to waste.”
She nodded and shut the door.
“Want to tell me about it? Can you?”
Eddie had stopped by the hospital before she was discharged. Bryan had come prepared that night. He’d come with weapons and a cell jammer.
“Simon was always a problem. I never met him, but I heard he never made it up the chain because there was always something off about him. Never married. He was engaged once, but she broke it off. Simon liked to slap her around when he was drunk.”
She sighed.
“We don’t have to go over this.”
“No. I’m just trying to wrap my head around it. Six months ago, Simon died, and Bryan got the bulk of his uncle’s belongings, which included a storage locker.”
She swallowed, thinking about the pictures Eddie had shown her. “Simon was evil, and, apparently, when Bryan found all the proof that his uncle was a killer, he decided to go that route. It’s hard to believe, but now that I think back, there had to be a reason I never slept with him.”
“That killer lurking beneath the surface?”
Eileen nodded. “I know that when Bryan found out about his uncle, it was a trigger moment, but that instinct had to be there beneath the surface.”
She wondered if he would even end up in prison. He was on suicide watch at the moment. That was her past. She looked up at Declan. This man, he was her future. He was her everything.
“What?”
“I was just thinking that we haven’t discussed what would happen after all this.”
“Do you have to? I mean, do we have to decide?”
She shook her head, a smile curving her lips. “As long as you want to stick around.”
He snorted. “Try to get rid of me, O’Reilly.”
This man. He let her be tough, but he also let her show her soft side. He accepted her just as she was. Taking his hand, she led him out of the kitchen.
“Where are we going?”
She tossed a smile over her shoulder. His eyes turned darker, his need easy for her to see. It was the same desire sparking through her blood. She needed this, needed him.
He let out a whoop and picked her up bridal style. “Don’t ever let it be said that I didn’t do everything in my power to please you.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you.”
“I love you,” he said, then he carried her up the stairs and into the rest of their lives.