Chapter 17 Declan
DECLAN
Atight squeezing of my bicep pulls me from the darkness. The pressure continues, and I crack open an eye. A middle-aged woman stands next to me, taking my blood pressure. I’m in a hospital, that much is obvious. Between her scrubs and the beeping, there’s no other place I could be.
Why am I in the hospital? What happened? I was at the seedy massage parlor where Dean and his greasy friend caught me off guard—which has never happened to me before.
I remember killing them. I remember the walk to the church. Ewen being my actual angel. The sadness in his eyes hurt me the most though. Not the wounds from the knives, or the blood leaving my body. None of that pains me more than the sorrow I saw in those blue eyes.
Where is Ewen?
“Welcome back to the world,” the nurse says. “You got lucky Mr. Murphy. If Father Grayson hadn’t called when he did, you would have been a goner. A true priest doing God’s work.”
He did save me. But how? And what happened after I blacked out?
I try to speak but my throat is dry. A cup of water is held in front of my face. My gaze follows the arm to the person it belongs to. Ewen. He’s here, with me. Then I look over to see a small group of people I know and care about. Fiona, Ciaran, Uncle Shamus. Even that dorky doctor Caleb is here.
Reaching for the cup, my hand is swatted away. “Don’t. There’s a straw. Take it easy and avoid moving,” Ewen says, still holding the cup. I take a sip and the cool water quenches my thirst. It feels like I’ve been lost in the desert for days with nothing to drink.
Once I release the straw he places the cup on the table next to my bed.
“Wow, I get a tiny little papercut and the whole family comes to see.” I crack the joke, but no one laughs.
Caleb and the nurse exchange some words before she slips out. “Feel better Declan.” Caleb waves then follows after her.
Fiona practically throws herself at me, tears streaming down her cheeks. I feel her slight weight and flinch from the pain. She pulls back, looking ashamed. “Sorry,” she blurts out and then starts to cry. “You bastard. You almost left me.”
I grab her hand, trying to soothe her, and glance around the room. Everyone has the same depressing expression on their face.
Ciaran and Shamus walk up and stand on the other side of the bed.
“Dec,” Shamus says in greeting, “she’s not exaggerating. We thought you were a goner.”
I don’t think I’ve ever scared my family like this. I’ve never been in this situation.
Ciaran adds, “I’m just glad you were mugged not far from the church and the good Father was able to get you help.”
Fiona continues to cry. My precious sister, who has braved harder things than this, is crying over the possibility of losing me.
And my Aingeal, he saved me. He will be my true angel until my days are over.
“Hey Fi, could you grab Dec here some more water please, princess?” Shamus asks.
She nods, wipes her face, and takes the cup, leaving to get more water. I hope the doc is out there and hugs her.
Shamus pulls up a chair and sits down, Ciar standing next to him, ready for my tale of events.
“I will leave you be. Just holler if you need anything.” Ewen rises and starts to move away, but I grab his wrist, preventing him from going anywhere.
“No. Stay. You and I have no secrets.” He stares at me, and I see the wheels in his head turning.
The O’Sullivan men glance at each other and then back at us. They want to argue, but I won’t allow it. I’m more afraid of Ewen walking out that door than I am concerned with giving them the answers they want.
Shamus clears his throat. “Family business stays in the family.”
I turn to look at them without letting go of Ewen. I tug slightly, causing him to fall back into his chair. “He is a priest. He’s received my confessions. I keep nothing from him. If we must do this now, he stays. If you can wait, we’ll talk another time.”
They aren’t going to talk freely, not with him here. I respect that but I refuse for Ewen to leave.
“Alrighty then.” Ciaran gets the hint. “Let’s let Dec have a couple days to recover.” He leans in to hug me, whispering, “We know this was the Bianchi crew. We’ll make them pay.”
Shamus follows up with a hug and a wink. I can’t wait till I’m out of here and can get my revenge. Ciaran and Shamus will support anything I have in mind.
Peering over at Ewen once they’re gone, I want to pull him closer. He belongs to me.
“Declan, I need you to tell me what happened,” he says sternly. “You scared me. I need to know.”
“I got cocky and didn’t fully evaluate the situation I put myself in. Some sleaze snuck up on me. They stabbed me, gloating. I took them out before I got away. So, they’re of no concern anymore.” I reach for his hand, and he slides his into mine. I love his warmth.
His thumb draws small circles on my hand. “You really scared me. I know we’re friends, but I couldn’t stand the sight of you bleeding out.”
Gripping his hand tighter, I say, “We aren’t friends.
You’re mine. No label needed. But I refuse to let you go back to pushing me away.
If you thought I was persistent before, you can’t even imagine how I’ll be now.
I’m not a man of feelings, really. I know how to run a bar and kill people.
I won’t be stopping either of those things. Just get on board Father.”
“We can’t be anything other than friends.” Ewen whispers.