“Will you excuse us?” he said to Hughes.
My boss pushed back and stood, but I knew he didn’t like being asked to leave.
“You, too, Casper,” Deck added.
The two of them went out the front door.
“What’s your take on Hughes?” he asked once the door closed behind them.
“Meaning?”
“Do you trust him?”
“I do.”
Decker nodded. “How are you feeling?”
“Back to normal, for the most part.”
“What does that mean?”
“My memory is back.” I flexed my hand. “No issues with movement.”
“What’s your plan?”
“I asked you a question, Decker, and you’ve yet to answer it.”
“It depends on what you’re going to do.”
I sat back in my chair. “I don’t know.”
“Are you going back to IMI?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
He shrugged. “I thought maybe you were ready to branch out on your own.”
“And what, join up with you?”
“Maybe.”
“I’m not sure Smoke would like that.”
Decker stretched his arms above his head and then leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “What makes you say that?”
“Don’t think you can play with me, Decker. I heard your conversation with Smoke.”
“Which one was that?”
I stood and walked over to the front window, surprised to see Hughes and Casper sitting in his car, having what looked like an animated conversation. Casper had a smile on her face, not something I’d seen very often. Rory was smiling too.
“Siren?”
“It doesn’t matter, Deck. My memory is back. I know that Smoke and I were never together.” What I hadn’t figured out was why my brain had gone there in the first place. We’d had one night of drunken sex, yet for some inexplicable reason, my mind believed we were in love. Jaysus. Nothing could’ve been further from the truth.
“He loves you,” said Decker, as though he was reading my mind.
I burst out laughing. “No. He doesn’t.” I tapped my temple with my fingertip. “I told you, I remember everything.”
He shook his head. “You must not.”
“Stop this, Ashford,” I snapped. “There is nothing between Smoke and me. Nothing. And there never will be.” Deck turned his head, and I followed his gaze. Smoke stood on the stairs, gripping the railing and staring at me. He looked hurt, but that was ridiculous. I’d heard him. As soon as my memory came back, he said he’d make sure we never saw each other again.
“Hey, Deck,” Smoke said, his eyes finally leaving mine. “Glad you’re here.”
Decker got up and met Smoke at the bottom step. “How are you doing?”
Smoke turned his head back to me. “Ready to go home.”
29
Smoke
I had no idea what the beginning of Siren’s conversation with Decker sounded like, but I’d heard the end loud and clear. She said there was nothing between us and there never would be. I’d endured indescribable pain to make love to her only a few minutes earlier, and yet she just said there was nothing between us and there never would be.
“Deck, Smoke and I need to talk.”
My friend turned to me, and I nodded once. “Don’t go too far.”
“Copy that.”
“Where are Casper and Hughes?”
Siren put her hands on her hips. “Why?”
I shook my head. “Just curious,” I mumbled.
“They’re outside. Talking. She looks quite happy, in fact. Shall I go and fetch her for you?”
“Stop it.”
“Something’s just occurred to me.”
I rested my hip against the kitchen counter top, wondering how much longer I could remain standing. “What is that, Siren?”
“That’s why you were so anxious to be rid of me once my memory returned, you and Casper—”
I stalked over to her and got in her face. “Quit it. There’s nothing between Casper and me. There never has been and there never will be. But I’m curious why you care when you just said there’ll never be anything between you and me.”
“You aren’t the only one who overheard a conversation, Smoke.”
I was beginning to feel lightheaded. “I need to sit.” She was furious with me; she had been often enough that I knew the signs. However, she still helped me over to a chair. “Sit down.”
“No.”
“Dammit, Siren. Sit the fuck down.”
“Don’t talk to me that way, Smoke! If that’s how you’ve talked to the other women in your life, then I can’t say I’m surprised you’re alone.”
I lowered my head. That one hurt.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured and took a seat.
“So am I.”
“This is what we do, isn’t it? We hurt each other?”
“Not always.”
“No? I don’t remember it being any other way.”
“Maybe not before you were shot.” She tried to stand, but I captured her wrist. “Before you were shot,” I repeated. “And then things changed.”
“Bullshit,” she spat, wrenching her wrist from my grasp. “It didn’t change; you just lied.”
“I don’t know what you thought you heard, but whatever it was, you took it out of context.”
She walked over to the window, folded her arms, and then turned back to look at me. “Like you took my words out of context? A few minutes ago, you told Decker you were ready to leave.”
As much as I wanted to, I didn’t have the strength to get up and walk over to her. “Siren, please.” I held my hand out to her, but she shook her head.
“Do you have any idea how devastated I was that day?”
“Tell me.”
She took a deep breath and looked out the window. “Decker asked what you were going to do.”
“About what?”
“Me.”
“And what did I say?”
“That as soon as my memory came back, you’d make sure no one ever teamed you up with me again.”
“There was more to it than that.”
“That was the only part that mattered.”
“And what did I say next?”
Siren was looking out the window; her head was cocked.
“What?” I asked.
“Uncle Gene is here. He looks upset.” She raced to the front door, and again, as much as I wanted to follow, I didn’t have the strength.
“Come inside and sit down,” I heard her say. When he came through the door, his face was ashen. I moved the chair with my foot and motioned for him to sit.
“Tell me what’s happened,” said Siren, sitting on the other side of him.
“I went to see Jimmy.”
She reached out and took his hand. “How is he?”
“Not well. He asked me to go to the shop and find the safe. When I got there, it was gone. When I told him, he went nuts, said they were going to kill him. He left the hospital, and no one knows where he is. This is all my fault.”
I looked up and saw Casper, Hughes, and Decker standing just inside the front door.
“Why would someone kill him over a safe?” Gene asked, looking between Siren and me.
“It’s what’s in it,” she murmured, and her eyes met mine. “Something tells me it isn’t the Irish Crown Jewels.”
I had to agree.
She stood. “We need to find him.”
“But where would he go?” Gene asked.
I looked over at Decker, who was already searching his computer.
“I can’t just sit here. I need to do something,” Siren muttered.
“Let’s craft a plan before anyone does anything.” Deck was looking at something on the laptop he pulled out of a bag. “There are some other things I need.” He got up, went out the front door, and motioned to Hughes, who followed.
Siren looked up at the clock hang
ing on the kitchen wall. “You need a pain pill, and I have to change your bandages.”
“Give me the pill. The other can wait.”
Siren shook her head. “You’ll get an infection.”
“It sounds like you care.”
“I do care about you, Smoke,” she muttered. “It’s you who doesn’t.”
“Wrong. And when this crowd disperses, I’m going to tell you what you didn’t hear me say to Decker that day.”
“What about me?” Deck asked, coming back inside with Hughes trailing behind him. The two of them proceeded to walk the rooms of the house, most likely looking for listening devices.
“He thinks my house is bugged?” Siren whispered.
“Precaution.”
Deck came back to where we waited. “We’re good.”
“If the safe is gone, I don’t understand why Jimmy is so terrified that someone is going to kill him. Whoever took it, got what they wanted,” said Gene.
“He knows its contents.”
“Wait,” said Siren, looking at me. “How did you know I was in Kinsale?”
Deck looked up from his computer. “That was me.”
“And me,” added Casper.
“Why?” Siren looked at Casper specifically.
“Someone at Interpol was tracking you.”
“Who?”
Every head in the room turned to look at Hughes, except Siren, who was looking at me.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Jaysus,” muttered Hughes. “It was me.”
“You were tracking me?”
Hughes shook his head. “I tipped the bastard off.”
Siren’s frustration was nearing a boiling point. I reached over and rubbed her shoulder.
“You need a pain pill.” She raced upstairs, and I let her go.
“It’s Byrne, isn’t it?” Hughes asked in a hushed tone.
Casper nodded.
“What did you tell him?” I asked.
“That Siren was off looking for the Irish Crown Jewels.”
“What else?”
“I mentioned she was going so far as trying to meet with Mallory’s grandson.”
“When was this?” Deck asked.
Hughes pulled out his phone, and Casper looked at the screen.
“The day Byrne sent the order for her to be tracked,” she answered.
“Byrne?” Siren asked, coming down the stairs. “He was the one tracking me?”
I nodded.
She handed me the pill before getting a glass of water.
“I think we can all agree that whatever is in that safe has nothing to do with the missing crown jewels.”
No one spoke, but everyone in the room nodded in my direction.
“Who do you think took it?” Siren asked.
“Whoever Byrne sent to Kinsale,” answered Casper.
“And you followed,” Siren whispered.
“That’s right.”
“We need to rethink our base,” Decker muttered.
“I can make arrangements—”
Deck interrupted Hughes. “Somewhere that IMI can’t track us.”
“Look, if you want me out—”
“I didn’t say that. I said we need to find somewhere IMI can’t track us. If you can’t work within those parameters, leave.” Decker looked from Hughes, who didn’t make a move to walk out, to Casper. “What’s Byrne’s twenty?”
“The quarterly meetings concluded last week, so he should be back in Dublin.”
“Then, you stay put for now.”
“Copy that.”
“The safe is likely still in Ireland.”
“You’re probably right, Smoke,” said Deck. “Either still somewhere in Kinsale, if not already in Dublin.”
Hughes was studying something on his phone.
“What’s up?” I asked.
He looked first at O’Brien and then at me. He walked over and handed me the phone; Siren looked over my shoulder.
“Have a seat, Gene,” I said.
“They found Jimmy, didn’t they?”
“They did.”
Gene put his head in his hands.
“We need to get Uncle Gene to a safe location,” suggested Siren. “I have to change Smoke’s bandages before I can leave.”
“You aren’t going anywhere,” said Deck, packing up his stuff.
“What do you mean?”
“The two of you are staying put.”
I took one look at Siren’s face and laughed, which made both she and Decker glared at me.
“Sorry, man, but if you think you’re gonna get away with that shit, you don’t know a thing about Siren.”
Evidently, that was the wrong thing to say to Decker. On the other hand, Siren was beaming at me, and that was all I cared about.
30
Siren
Endless questions raced through my head. What in hell was in that safe, and why in God’s name had I set this chain of events in motion? What had started as a silly whim to assuage my boredom, resulted in a man’s death.
What was Byrne’s involvement in all of this? I couldn’t bear the idea that he had anything to do with Jimmy’s death. It was Byrne who’d recruited me for IMI in the first place. I had to admit I’d often wondered why. As a candidate, I hadn’t exactly stood out among my peers.
“Uncle Gene? Does the name Daniel Byrne mean anything to you?”
He didn’t answer right away. “Not that I know of,” he finally said. “Why, lass?”
“Just wondering.”
“What are you thinking?” Smoke asked me.
I motioned for him to follow me upstairs and then thought better of it. “Are you able?”
“I’m steadier now that the pain meds have kicked in.”
Instead of leading, I followed.
“If you’re looking for a command performance, I gotta tell you, I don’t think I’m up for it yet.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Smoke, I can’t keep my hands off of you; that’s why I asked you upstairs.”
“Why did you?”
“I’m trying to connect the dots.”
He nodded.
“James Mallory Sr. worked for Arthur Vicars, the man responsible for safekeeping the jewels at the time of their disappearance. His son was one of my father’s best friends.”
Smoked raised a brow. “Your father?”
“Right. I’ll come back around to that. Anyway, Jimmy Mallory is deceased, and the man who is the current head of Irish Military Intelligence is having me tracked, and sent someone to Kinsale where Jimmy, a now-missing safe, and I all were. And finally, we all agree that none of this has anything to do with my original subject of interest—the missing Irish Crown Jewels.”
“Can you circle back to your father?”
I told Smoke about meeting Gene O’Brien in the Kinsale Cemetery while I was visiting my mother’s grave. “I was so frustrated at not being able to remember anything of her other than bits and pieces.”
“You had no other memories of your mother?”
I knocked my head with my knuckles. “Amnesia, remember?”
“But your memory was back.”
“What would make you think that?”
“That’s why you left the ranch.”
I shook my head. “No, Smoke. I’ve told you, I left the ranch because of the conversation I overheard between you and Decker.”
“What about now?”
“Do you mean my memory?”
He nodded.
“I believe the trigger was being flattened on the floor of a burnt-out building and having a ceiling fall on me.”
“That’s when it came back?”
“So it seems.”
“Come here.”
I walked closer to Smoke, and he wrapped me in his arms. “I need to tell you what you didn’t hear that day.”
“It isn’t important.”
He cupped my cheek with his palm. “It’s the most important thing of all.”
“That’s right.”
“What happened next?”
“What do you mean?”
“Decker and I were still talking.”
“Oh. I left.”
Smoke took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I thought he was about to speak, but instead, he kissed me. He cupped my face with his hands, and his mouth made love to mine. His touch was soft and gentle, slow and oh, so sweet that I felt my body and my heart melting into him. He pushed me back onto the bed and looked into my eyes.
“How does it make you feel when I kiss you?”
I turned away.
“I’ll tell you what I feel,” he said, gently turning my head back toward him. “I feel everything.”
I smiled. “Vague.”
“Things I’ve never felt before.”
“Such as?”
“Hope.”
“What are you hopeful for?”
Smoke laughed. “You aren’t going to make this easy on me, are you?”
“You could just tell me what you and Decker said after I left.”
“Okay.” Smoke took another deep breath. “I said that I was falling…that…you know…um…that I…uh…love you.”
“Did that hurt?”
Smoke put his hand on my neck. “No, the painful thing is that your response is to ask me that.”
“You asked me what I felt when you kissed me. Couldn’t you tell? Can’t you tell when I look into your eyes?”
“Siren—”
“When I woke with amnesia, my subconscious was certain I loved you and you loved me. Why do you think that is?”
“I don’t know.”
“I think it’s because deep down, we did love each other. Deep down, we both knew that, even though our conscious minds fought against it, resisted, and denied it. There were parts of our souls that knew from the very beginning.”
“How do you feel about me, Siobhan?”
“You make me feel things I’ve never felt before, either.”
“Such as?”
“Dependence.”
Smoked closed his eyes, took yet another deep breath, and opened them. “That doesn’t sound like a good thing.”
“For someone like me, it is. I feel safe with you, even when I’m feeling my most vulnerable. When Uncle Gene first told me he knew my father, I wished so much that you were there beside me. I imagined you were, and that was what gave me the strength to let him tell me more.”
Smoked Page 15
