Chapter 21 Declan
Declan
Today is all about fixing our fuck-up at the warehouse meeting.
Dreary skies weep onto my black Hummer, matching my mood perfectly.
Irritation makes me squirm in my seat. I’ve never liked the feelings part of life, I bury them with a good fight or a good fuck.
Now I find myself unable to even seek out a random hook up; it creates this pit in my stomach. Like I said, fucking feelings.
I have been tailing Officer O'Brian all morning. Home, hardware store, back home, sneaking drinking in the garage while he fucks with some odd job or another. I watch and wait for my chance. It will come again. The best opportunity was when we were at the warehouse, but with all the chaos and Fallon… Well, catching the cop wasn’t exactly the first thing on anyone’s mind.
I knew the minute I had tossed her the keys that she could run. Maybe part of me wanted her to, despite the bravado I show my brothers. Maybe for the first time in my fucking life someone means more to me than my own selfish desires.
The image of her turning around and running back toward me without hesitation plays through my mind for the millionth time.
She could have left, she should have left, but instead, she chose to put herself at risk to help me.
I think it was the shock of that action that caused me to get distracted.
Or maybe the fear of her getting hurt. In comes the avenging angel, jacking my blade and…
Defending me? The man who treated her like shit.
The one who suggested killing her regularly. She chose me in that moment.
My skin crawls with the vulnerability that this image brings.
No one has ever chosen me before. Mom was too far gone, chasing that high to the point that she didn't even see me anymore. The guys and I banded together initially for survival, and then in revenge, but there was never a situation of someone choosing me. And yet, Fallon did. I have no idea what this feeling is inside of me, but I know that something has changed. Unsure of when the change started, I know when it solidified. The moment she turned around, when I met that fierce gaze, that determination, that was it. Now she matters to me. I’ll be damned if that hasn't made me…
happy? I didn't think I was even capable of that and yet here I am.
My phone ringing over the Bluetooth pulls me from my thoughts. I answer Akio’s call. “Yeah?”
“You busy?”
“Yes, and no. I have a minute.” I listen as I watch O'Brian move about his open garage.
“Look, I’m trying to keep this bitch out of our systems, but every time I put a firewall in place she finds a back door. I’m starting to think Fallon was right about her.”
“What, that she’s better than you?” I smirk. Akio rarely encounters a situation where he’s not the best, so of course this is mildly entertaining.
“Fuck you. No, but she did something interesting. I know she was able to access the house by linking to my phone that I used at Helix. But I just had to run interference on an attack on Lunar systems…”
I pause. Fuck. Did she figure out who we are?
No one has ever been able to do that. There is no way to keep the deal moving and take down Helix without the access to Lunar resources.
Looks like I will have to kill her. My brows draw together and I immediately reject that thought. That would hurt Poison.
“Dude, did you hear me?” Irritation colors Akio’s voice.
“Yeah, fuck, sorry. Look, keep doing what you’re doing and we’ll talk tonight about a plan for what to do about Quinn.” The roar of O'Brian’s ‘65 Corvette starting stirs my adrenaline. “I gotta go. I’ll think on it.”
“Think quick because this could really fuck things up.”
Yeah, no shit. I will have to get creative with this one since someone else's feelings suddenly matter to me. I disconnect the call and start tailing O'Brian. What could he be up to on a Friday afternoon?
I tail him for close to an hour through town.
One stop at a convenient store and a few circles of a rundown part of town has me wondering if he sees me following.
I pull back, knowing it is a risk. If he has seen me and I keep going, this could be a trap.
If I am too far back, I could lose him, and I really fucking hate a wasted day.
When he pulls into the Seabreeze motel, I realize that none of my worries were the reason for his behavior.
I can’t hold back the laugh as I watch him get out of his car, glancing around to make sure no one notices him, and heads straight for one of the rooms that line the outside of the building rather than checking into the front desk.
Seabreeze is notorious for being a place that can be rented by the hour, but at your own risk of catching all kinds of shit from the rooms that were only cleaned before inspection, and even then it’s a spotty job.
Reaching over to the passenger glove compartment, I snatch zip ties, duct tape, and my spare .
45, just in case. Loading up my pockets, I walk toward the door that O'Brian just entered. This’ll be a piece of cake.
I don't bother checking for cameras. We have gotten several clients out of sticky situations here so I know that there aren’t any.
Whistling the tune to Unholy – Poison has been on a Kayla King kick lately – I bust in the cheap door.
Flecks of red paint scatter as I stroll in, my gun aimed at O'Brian, silencing his scream.
“Alright, darlin.” I address the small blonde who had already started getting undressed.
“You can take whatever cash is in his wallet as long as you never saw me here.” Her blue eyes widen behind the clumps of black makeup.
She snatches his wallet from his discarded pants.
“Shit, I was never here.” Her raspy voice is unbothered.
Pulling several hundreds from the wallet, she gives me a small salute before leaving me with my prey.
Cracking my neck to the side, a deadly smile takes over my face. I am going to enjoy this part.
Akio
I knock on Fallon’s door to see if she wants to come down for dinner. With all of us continuing to work normal schedules and balancing the act of both running Lunar Security and moonlighting as Cerberus, Fallon has been left to her own devices over the past several days.
She answers, damp dark waves draped over her shoulders. She’s stunning. Gaze sweeping down, I take in the ripped jeans and black tank top. Even dressed so casual, her looks could kill.
“You having a stroke?” Her arched eyebrow and smirk playing around her mouth bring me out of my thoughts.
Leaning against the doorframe, I box her in, towering over her. She’s close enough for me to smell her hair. Rain and jasmine, my favorite. “Maybe a heart attack now that I’m with you.”
She rolls her eyes and laughs softly as she leans closer.
Her tits pressing against my chest has my brain short circuiting.
Her mouth reaches my ear, and my mind is thinking of other things she could definitely be doing with that mouth.
“Good,” her whisper has my dick standing at full attention.
No way she doesn’t feel it pressing against her.
“Means more food for me.” She slips past, leaving me gaping and trying to rearrange myself.
She tosses a glance over her shoulder. “You coming?” And what do I do? Follow right behind her, just like Hades.
As we reach the bottom of the stairs, I yell out into the house, “You hear that Teo? Siren is desperate to eat more of your food. Said she was willing to kil… ffff…iiiit.” Her hand claps over my mouth.
“Shut up! I did not say that.” Lowering her voice, she whispers, “I will kill you.” Her laughter says otherwise.
When we get to the kitchen, she sees the spread that Matteo created. Lemon garlic chicken, sauteed zucchini, squash topped with feta, and fresh bread with crunchy crust are all in dishes on the counter. Teo, having taken his plate to his office to finish his work, is nowhere to be seen.
“Sit.” I nudge her toward the table. “I’ll make the plates. Anything you don’t want on yours?”
“It smells so good. Don't tell Funshine, but I want all of it.” She rests her chin on one hand with her elbow propped on the table.
I shoot her a wink. “Your secret is safe with me.” I load up the plates and carry them to the table.
“Wine?” She nods and I head to the wine fridge Teo installed under the counter to pull out a white.
White goes with chicken right? Shit, I don’t know.
I take a chance and pour her a glass. Instead of sitting across from her, I take a spot right beside her.
Side-eyeing me, she takes a bite of the chicken and rice. The moan that leaves her lips jumps straight to my dick. Fuck, just when I got him under control.
“This is amazing.”
“I will give your compliments to the chef.”
“Dont you fucking dare.” She shoots a half-hearted glare my way. “Tell him it made me nauseous.”
I laugh. “I think that might be the only way to make that man cry.”
“So, what do you do for fun?” she asks. “I mean when you aren't kidnapping innocent women, getting your ass kicked by their hacker best friend, or getting shot at.” She pushes her plate back and takes a drink of her wine.
“Ha, ha, ha.” I roll my eyes at her, but my grin betrays me. “Actually, like any self-proclaimed nerd, I like gaming. But my real pride and joy is my Hayabusa.”
“Your huge pussy?”
I snort a laugh. “Shut up, you brat. It’s my bike. Zero to sixty in under three seconds. My baby flies.”
“Sounds terrifying.”
“No, it sounds like freedom.”
“I wouldn't know what that feels like.” She says it as a joke as she waves her hand at the fancy house that doubles as her jail, but I see the truth of that statement in her eyes.
“Well, what does a captive do when she is not a captive?” I finish the last of my chicken, turning to her with a grin.