Chapter 21
NICO
Yesterday was pretty heavy for Declan. Talking about Hendrix, beginning to clean out his room, and telling me what happened with his mom, I think Declan was worn out. After a few minutes of him telling me about his mom, we went inside and Declan passed out almost immediately.
He was beautiful when he slept, his face relaxed and free of stress.
I want to give him more of that.
Kai leans against my door jamb as I get dressed. As I’m spraying on some cologne, he asks, “Where are y’all going?”
Carter is out with Gavin, so there is no chance of him overhearing. Even if he does, neither of us will use Declan’s name.
Even though I knew he’d keep his word, I’m glad Kai hasn’t even slipped up and said something to Carter. He and Declan are kinda working their shit out, but they still aren’t friends by any means, so Carter is none the wiser.
“Somewhere fun.” I look up at Kai with a grin. “Not like we can get an entire fair set up this late in the game.”
Kai ducks his head, a blush high on his cheeks. I give him shit for what Carter did for him, but it actually went a long way to showing me that Carter really loved him.
Kai mentioned offhandedly that he’d never been on a Ferris wheel while he and Carter were watching a movie.
Carter decided to have a custom fair built just for his husband so he could have a night of his childhood he missed out on.
Kai isn’t prone to gushing, but he gave me blow by blow updates as soon as he got back and for days after. He loved it.
I wish I could do something like that for Declan, but he’s more low-key than Kai and Carter. I just want to take him out for some fun so he can unwind.
“You have guards assigned to you two?” he asks.
I look up at him with a lifted brow. “I am a guard, Kai.” He rolls his eyes. “We’ll be fine. I think he’ll have some of his guys.”
Kai nods and pushes off the door. “You look nice. Have fun.” He steps closer, patting me on the arm. “I might not like the son of a bitch, but I see he makes you happy. I’m rooting for you two.”
“Don’t be mushy,” I say, pushing him away, though I can’t hide the smile that crops up.
Declan does make me happy, though he shouldn’t.
He’s so grumpy, always scowling and cursing people out.
There should be no reason the two of us work.
But we do and I’m not going to question why.
I could be killed tomorrow while I’m protecting Kai.
I want to live my life without regrets, and I don’t regret my feelings for Declan.
After I grab my wallet, keys, and my phone, I tell Kai, “I’ll be back in the morning. Gavin has me covered and Declan made the schedule to make up for my absence.”
“Good deal. We’ll be good here. Don’t forget, Carter and I know how to take care of ourselves. We just keep you fuckers around for conversation.”
“Fuck out of here,” I chuckle. “See ya later, boss.”
“See ya.”
The universe must want me to see Declan as quickly as possible, because I don’t hit a single red light as I make my way to his condo.
When he answers the door, he looks me up and down, appreciation reflected at me. “Where are you coming from?”
“The better question,” I say as I step past him, “is where are we going?”
“We?” He looks confused, as if he’s never heard the word before.
“Yeah, we. Me and you. Get dressed. I’m taking you dancing.”
“I don’t dance.”
Smiling, I step closer to him, placing my hands on his hips.
“You will tonight. Come on. You need a break. After the stress of your blackmailing.” I pause as I search his eyes.
“And yesterday. You need to get out, get some fresh air.” I lean closer, taking his earlobe into my mouth.
“And I want to feel your ass against my cock while the bass thumps.”
He growls before slamming his mouth down on mine. “Or maybe it’ll be your ass against my dick.”
“I can roll with that.”
He kisses me again, then turns away. “Let me shower and get dressed. This won’t be a normal occurrence.”
“Not at all,” I say, though I plan to pull him out of the house often.
Thirty minutes later, Declan is dressed in a black dress shirt with the top two buttons undone, showing his ink, black pants, and black loafers. The contrast against his blond hair and tan skin is sharp, making him stand out. He’s handsome as fuck and he’s all mine.
“Here.” Declan slaps something into my hand. I open my palm and see…a key.
“Are you asking me to move in?” I hold my hand over my heart and flutter my eyes. “Why, this is the best thing I’ve received in a dog’s age.”
Declan cracks a quick smile. “No, weirdo. It’s so you don’t ring my doorbell like a lunatic.”
I kiss him on the cheek, making him blush. “Thanks.”
“Don’t make it a thing.”
We head down to my car, and I open the door for him. He gives me a dry look but slides inside without question.
Before we pull off, I ask, “You want to call up some of your guards so they can have your back?”
He ticks up an eyebrow. “Aren’t you a guard? Or does my brother-in-law need to interview someone else?”
“You’re a dork.” I lean over and kiss him quickly, then put the car in gear and head to the club.
It’s close by, as I didn’t think Declan would be down for a surprise excursion out of state. If he gets pissed at me, he can catch an Uber home in a few minutes if he won’t let me drive him.
Instead of going to the front of the club and waiting in line with the rest of the partygoers, I take Declan through the alley to the back door. I knock three times, then pause. Then I knock three more times.
The door pops open and one of my contacts claps hands with me and lets us in. “Have fun,” he says as he pulls the door shut.
The main reason I didn’t want to go through the front is so we could keep our weapons. Since it’s just the two of us, we need to be prepared in case there’s trouble.
The music is loud and strobe lights almost blind me, but I lead Declan to the dance floor. He drags his feet and when I turn to him, he has this pouty scowling thing going on that makes me laugh.
When we get to the middle of the crowded floor, I pull him close. “Come on, D. Live a little,” I shout in his ear.
“If someone bumps into me, I’m going to shoot them.”
I cackle and wrap my arms around him, my hands landing on his ass. “Not if I shoot them first.” I swear I watch hearts dance in his eyes. He’s such a psychopath.
We spend the next few songs on the dance floor, rocking and grooving to the music. Declan is stiff in the beginning, his eyes bouncing around to every face, looking out for danger. Eventually, he relaxes, even smiling when I turn around and shake my ass against him.
I look at him over my shoulder and wink, watching merriment dance across his face as he laughs.
After about an hour, we’re both sweaty and thirsty, so I lead Declan over to the bar.
We order our drinks, first taking two shots of tequila back-to-back, then grabbing a beer.
While we drink, we look out at the dance floor, watching other couples move and grind together.
There are some same-sex couples, and no one bats an eye at them.
I was worried, since Declan is a loose cannon and really would shoot someone in a crowded club, but it looks like my fears were unfounded.
Well, not really fears, per se. Both Declan and I can handle ourselves. But it’s nice to have a night out without drama.
“How do you feel?” I ask, bumping his arm.
Declan grins at me, his entire face glowing. “I haven’t danced since…since my mom died.”
“We can go more often if—”
Someone knocks into Declan, pushing him into me.
Declan whirls around, staring the man down. The drunk bastard weaves on his feet, looking at D with cloudy eyes. “Watch the fuck out, man. I’m trying to walk—”
Without a word, Declan cocks his fist back and punches the man in the face. Blood explodes from the man’s nose as he falls down, curling into a fetal position.
Before he can get more hits in, I pull Declan away from the downed man, grinning at how in control he was, even when someone pissed him off.
“Let’s get some air, baby,” I say in his ear. Declan nods and I notice that his breathing didn’t even change. This time a few months ago, he’d still be raging that some asshole bumped into him and tried to test him. Maybe he did take some of my instructions to heart.
I push out of the back door, pulling in a deep breath of cool air.
Declan puts his back against the wall, resting his head on the bricks. “It was only one punch, Nico. I’m good.”
“I know.” I slot our bodies together. “And you were so in control. You were clearheaded, weren’t you?”
He nods slowly, a smile tipping up his lips. “First time that’s happened. I would have tussled if I had to, but I didn’t feel that surge of anger I usually do.”
“So, my handsome man knows how to follow directions?”
Declan barks a hard laugh. “I wouldn’t go that far. Don’t think I’m gonna sit around and be at your beck and call when—”
He breaks off his statement, his eyes widening as he looks over my shoulder. Before I can turn around to see what the hell has his attention, Declan pushes me away from him and his hand goes into his jacket for his Sig.
Unfortunately, whoever he was looking at brings down something hard on the back of my head and I go down like a sack of fucking potatoes. The side of my face hits the ground and my vision goes fuzzy. My head swims and I can barely get off the ground, my limbs heavy.
As I look up, I see two men in masks get control of Declan’s arms, pulling out his gun and tossing it across the alley.
In a muffled voice, the man that hit me says, “Get him to the van! Now!”
“No,” I rasp as the men that have Declan drag him away kicking and fighting. His hands are pinned, but his feet are trying to connect. Too impulsive, too uncoordinated. He’s not thinking. He’s not—
The man who hit me in the head kicks me in the face hard and pain explodes behind my lids. I can barely move, everything hurting, and my body so heavy, it hurts to breathe.
“Nice of you to bring our prize out in public,” the man says. “But we can’t have witnesses. You understand.” He pulls his gun out and I see my life flash before my eyes.
No regrets. My entire life, I’ve had no regrets. But this? This I regret. Bringing Declan here, being the reason he’s no longer with me. Being the reason people have him, taking him God knows where to do God knows what.
The man pulls the hammer back and I close my eyes, wishing I could have done more for Declan to ensure his safety. I should have called Austin and Donny myself to have them watch our backs. If I didn’t think I could protect him myself, no one would have been able to take Declan from me.
Before he pulls the trigger, the door to the club slams open, loud voices spilling out.
“Hey!” someone yells. “The fuck are you doing?”
“Saved by the drunk bitches,” the man says and runs off as footsteps pound toward me.
I reach out to Declan. Before he disappears into the back of the van, I see one of the men jab a needle into his neck and he goes limp.
“Declan!” I try to shout, but it only comes out in a rasp. “No. Declan!”
Then my world goes black.