25. Declan
DECLAN
I fucked up. I told myself I wouldn’t go there with Skylar until I had her forgiveness, or at least some semblance of trust, and then I took that promise and smashed it all to hell. It’s what she had been asking for, and I couldn’t find it in myself to deny her anymore.
The entire moment is going to be burned into my brain for the rest of my life—the way she looked up at me from the floor, the blush that stained her cheeks when I taunted her, those first hesitant licks.
She wanted it rough, wanted me mean. I could think of a thousand psychoanalytic bullshit reasons why, but the truth is, it doesn’t matter.
Sometimes we simply want what we want, and last night we both wanted the fantasy.
We weren’t married or estranged best friends.
I never broke her heart, and she never left.
We were just Skylar and Declan hooking up in a dirty frat house bathroom, and it felt fucking amazing.
Now, of course, in the harsh light of day, I can’t help but feel a twinge of regret, the doubt piling up in my head like bags of sand. What if it was too much for her? What if I didn’t check in enough? What if my words were too harsh?
I’m also pissed Amelia hasn’t been honest about what’s going on.
I only got part of the story from Ash. We were grabbing some burgers and beers in Rocky Falls when he got the call from Allie that my sister was in trouble and they were heading to the party.
All he knew was that she had an ex who showed up to a party and was making her uncomfortable.
Fuck that. The whole thing reeked of my father.
He’s been threatening to set her up with one of his associates’ sons for months now.
I was so ready to lay into him that I called him as I rushed out to my car.
Straight to voicemail. I need to figure out exactly what’s been going down, but more importantly, my father needs to fucking disappear.
Unfortunately, patricide is where I draw the line. I think.
Either way, Amelia’s now avoiding me. She dropped my leather jacket on my doorstep, professionally cleaned, with a note taped to it.
Sorry.
She didn’t pick up when I called either. Why is everyone in my damn family ignoring me?
My phone vibrates in my back pocket, and when I lift it, I see that it’s an unknown number. I slide my thumb along the bottom of the screen, answering the call.
“Hey, what have you got?”
“Hello to you too,” the cheery voice on the other end says.
“I’m not paying you for pleasantries.”
He clears his throat. “Right, well, not much to report, but he is fucking his assistant.”
“The blonde one or the brunette?”
“Blonde.”
I chuckle. “Of course. What else?”
“That’s really it. The man keeps everything completely locked down. I mean other than his extracurricular activities, which he doesn’t seem to care who sees—”
It's ironic since he talked to me about discretion all those years ago. Now he doesn’t give a shit who knows that he routinely cheats on his wife.
“What about the arrest record?”
“Still nothing. That shit is sealed tighter than—”
I blow a breath into the phone. “Spare me whatever gross analogy you were about to make.”
“You got it, boss. I’ll keep digging.”
I end the call without saying goodbye. Chester is a good PI, some might even say the best, but he’s also a pain in my ass.
What he doesn’t realize is how informative his phone call was.
I’m not shocked my father is fucking his assistant, Nicole, but the fact that he isn’t fucking his other assistant, Claire anymore means that he screwed up.
Claire found out about Nicole or he pissed her off some other way.
None of them seem to care that the man is married, but when it comes to his other side pieces, they suddenly all get territorial.
Anyway, Claire is most likely angry which means there’s a good chance she’ll be more loose lipped than usual. Hell hath no fury and all that.
I know my father is involved in some shady shit, I just have to find out what.
If I can get Claire to admit to what he’s been doing behind closed doors, or at the very least, if she has any information about the arrest record, maybe I’ll have enough leverage to get him out of our lives once and for all.
Either way, it’s worth a shot. He may have been able to lock me away when he didn’t want to deal with me in the past, but I’m not a little boy anymore, and it’s time he knew.