Declare (Declan Reede: The Untold Story #4)

by Michelle Irwin

  For us though, the evening was just starting. Since I was going to be in Darwin for my actual birthday, we were having an early bash for me. It had just made sense to get it all over with on the one day. Flynn had offered to get Phoebe settled so Alyssa and I could just relax and enjoy the night.

  We’d settled on having an intimate dinner with just a few friends around—my pit crew mates, plus Eden and Morgan. It was quiet and low key, but the drinks flowed readily and I had a good time. Once Phoebe was settled and Flynn joined the table, I thought he was going to have a heart attack; he was so fucking excited. The only moment that caused concern was when Alyssa asked whether Flynn was coming to my bachelor party. Unable to answer, mostly because I couldn’t admit what my bachelor party was going to consist of, I’d shifted the conversation onto another path. It wasn’t that I didn’t want Flynn there, per se, just that he would make my plans a whole lot more difficult.

  After a great night, people started heading home. Each of them wished me a happy birthday as they left, even though the majority of them would be with me for my actual birthday.

  Once everyone was gone, and everything was cleaned up, Alyssa and I headed up to bed. When we got there, Alyssa dragged a box out of the cupboard. It was a surprise because I hadn’t expected her to get me anything, let alone give me something before my actual birthday.

  “What’s this?”

  “It’s a present, silly.”

  “Well, duh, but I mean why now? Why don’t I take it to Darwin?”

  “It might be a bit big for your carry-on. Besides, I want you to open it now.” She was right; the box, wrapped in gold wrapping paper, was rather sizable.

  “If you’re sure?”

  “Yeah. I was going to give it to you earlier, but I didn’t want to in front of everyone else,” Alyssa said, twisting the end of her hair around her finger. “Just in case . . .”

  I furrowed my brow. “In case of what exactly?”

  “In case you don’t like it,” she whispered, looking at me with such vulnerability, I almost wanted to throw the box aside and take her as my present instead.

  “Why wouldn’t I like it?” I put the box on the bed beside me and pulled Alyssa onto my lap.

  She shrugged and rested her head against my chest. “Why don’t you just open it and see?” she murmured.

  I was starting to get worried about what she might have bought me, so I turned our bodies so I could reach around Alyssa to unwrap her gift. With my arms wrapped around her, I pulled the paper off slowly. The box was blank and gave away nothing about its contents.

  With my curiosity well and truly piqued, I gently opened the box. Inside was a genuine race spec helmet. It was the same brand that we used at Sinclair Racing, but so different to anything I’d seen before. It wasn’t the style or even the shape that was different though. Instead, it was the decoration.

  The helmet was completely black, rather than the usual red, and instead of the Sinclair and sponsors’ logos, I could see the top of two horses airbrushed onto the back.

  My arms were still wrapped around Alyssa as I eased the helmet out of the box and turned it from one side to the other to inspect it. One of the horses was airbrushed in pinks and purples of varying shades, all blending together seamlessly. The other was painted almost identically, but in greens and blues. The thing that struck me the most, though, was that it was an almost perfect duplicate of my tattoo. I brushed my fingers over the horses one at a time, surprised by how seamlessly they’d been integrated into the helmet. Alyssa stiffened under my silent appraisal of her gift. I needed to put her out of her misery, but I couldn’t find a way to speak.

  “Baby—” I couldn’t continue as my voice chose that moment to give out. I swallowed the emotion that was blocking my throat. “It’s beautiful.”

  “I thought of it after you told me about your visit to Emmie’s grave. I thought it would be a good reminder of why you want to get in the car each meet. But I wasn’t sure if you would want it or not though.”

  “I do. I would be honoured to wear this . . . if I am allowed.” I wasn’t sure whether Danny would agree to me wearing something that wasn’t team colours.

  “Danny will let you,” Alyssa whispered. “He actually really liked the idea when I suggested it.” She looked a little sheepish. “I’m sorry I went behind your back to ask him, but I just wanted to make sure the helmet was the right one, just in case you did like it.”

  “Like it? Baby, I love it.” I held the helmet in one hand and used the other to pull her tighter into me. “Thank you.”

  I felt her sigh of relief and stifled a laugh. She had given me something so personal, so perfect, how could I not love it?

  CHAPTER NINETEEN: WORK ON IT

  FLYNN SAT IN the car beside me grinning from ear to ear. I had never seen a grown man so excited. I was certain if I looked at his crotch—which was not going to happen—he would be sporting a massive hard-on.

  Even though Alyssa had begged me to give him this experience, and told me again and again just how badly he’d wanted it, I hadn’t really believed just how desperately until that moment. It might have started with a desire to grant a request from Alyssa—something she’d suggested and something I’d been more than willing to give him—but I hadn’t understood how much it meant to him. Now that I did, I was almost humbled that I could be the one to offer it.

  “Now remember,” I said, trying to break the silence, “no cameras and no recording equipment of any kind.”

  Flynn nodded and smiled stupidly back at me.

  “You’ll need to surrender your mobile phone until it’s over.”

  He nodded again.

  “And you’ll have to sign a non-disclosure agreement.”

  His grin stretched wider. “I can’t believe this is really happening!”

  I couldn’t help grinning back. “It’s really not that big a deal.”

  “Are you kidding me? It’s a huge fucking deal!”

  “It’s nothing,” I murmured again, suddenly embarrassed about how excited he was. I acted like it was nothing because, to me, it wasn’t that big a deal. It was something I did every day, and now I saw that perhaps I’d become a little too blasé about it.

  I pulled into the parking lot at work. “Okay, are you ready to do this?”

  His eyes widened as he looked through the windscreen as if he was looking at the gates to Heaven. “I was born ready.”

  I thought he might wet himself as we walked through the doors and I directed him to security. Once he had the temporary pass, I led him to Danny’s office. He spent the whole time glancing one way and another as quick as he could. It was almost like his head was on a stick, swivelling from one side to another. The grin on his lips didn’t falter at all.

  Danny ran through the formalities, getting Flynn to sign off on the NDA, and then they started talking about some new development that was installed on the ProV8 at the beginning of the year. I knew a thing or two about cars, and since my apprenticeship, a lot more about motors, but I had no idea about what the two of them were discussing.

  They spent about ten minutes talking about aerodynamics and downforce before Danny said, “You’ve got some great ideas, you know. Have you ever thought about relocating to Sydney?”

  Flynn grinned widely. “Once or twice.”

  “Well, if you do, send your résumé to this address”—Danny slid across a business card— “and we’ll see if we have something open in R&D.”

  When that happened, I saw they were finishing up their conversation, and I joined back in as Danny welcomed Flynn again and dismissed us from the office.

  “Oh, and Declan?” Danny called as my hand was on the doorknob.

  “Yeah?” I turned back to him.

  “Flynn knows your crew, right?”

  I nodded. “They met over the weekend.”

  “Well, get him settled in with them and then come back up to see me. I have something I want to discuss with you in private.”


  I nodded again. As soon as my back was to Danny though, I swallowed heavily. I had no idea what he wanted to discuss, but “in private” didn’t sound promising. Very few good things had followed his uttering those words.

  Still, I did as Danny asked and took Flynn to get him settled with my crew before returning to the office. I didn’t even get the chance to ask what he wanted before he waved his hand at a seat.

  “Sit.”

  It was an instruction, not a request, so I complied without argument.

  “I have some news for you.”

  I wanted to ask him to elaborate. At the very least, I needed to know if it was good news or bad news. I nodded in an attempt to get him to keep talking.

  “I’ve had a couple of sponsors call up recently, a couple of whom are very interested in getting behind you.”

  My heart stopped beating for a second or two as the implications of what he was telling me sunk in. His words from when he offered me the apprenticeship came back into my mind. “I can’t have you race for my team, Declan. Your latest series of stunts, whether true or not, have generated too much bad press. The sponsors that bring in the most amount of money are the family-friendly ones. You just don’t have anything to offer in that department.”

  “Who?” I asked timidly.

  He rattled them off quickly and I had to stifle my grin. One of them was a company that had backed me before everything had turned to shit. If they were willing to get behind me again, well, it boded very well for me. But I tried not to get my hopes up too much; it didn’t necessarily mean anything yet.

  “Starting at Townsville, your Micro Challenge vehicle will have corporate support.”

  I grinned. It may have been a small step, but it was a step in the right direction. It meant that I was getting attention again, positive attention, and that put me closer to the driver seat of a ProV8.

  Danny’s surprises weren’t finished yet. He slid a small pile of paperwork over to me.

  I picked it up curiously. “What’s this?” The question had fallen from my lips before I ever had a chance to think it through or read the first page.

  “It’s a temporary driver contract. By signing that, you are agreeing to drive one of our ProV8s during the endurance races.”

  “Holy fuck!” We’d discussed the possibility of me being the second driver in Morgan’s car, but seeing it printed in black and white made it real.

  “Take it home and read it over. If you’re amenable to all the terms, you’re in.”

  I practically jumped for joy. “I’m in?” I couldn’t believe how fucking happy those two words made me.

  Danny chuckled. “Indeed. And I can imagine there is now a phone call you want to make, so you’re excused.”

  I nodded and thanked him for giving me the chance to prove myself. I took the contract—I was going to hold that sucker tight until it was signed and returned to Danny—and ran off to ring Alyssa and give her the good news.

  FLYNN WAS almost as thrilled as Alyssa had been when I told him my news in the car. I had debated glossing over the subject, but then I decided if I was going to make a legitimate effort to be friends with him, I needed to be genuine. I needed to be open and honest, and that meant allowing him to both celebrate and commiserate with me.

  After I’d told him that, he asked me about the bachelor party. “I get it if you don’t want me to come, man, but if it’s ‘cause you think I’ll be uncomfortable in a strip club then don’t be. Just ‘cause I like dick doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the occasional fine female form.”

  Oh, God, how to explain it to him? He was still Alyssa’s friend after all. “It’s not that, seriously it’s not. I’m just, well, I’m not actually having a bachelor party. I haven’t told Alyssa ‘cause I don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable that she’s having a hen night.”

  He gave me a disbelieving look, but after a moment, his eyes widened and he laughed. “Oh, my God, the Declan Reede, eternal bachelor and ladies’ man, isn’t going to have a last hurrah before walking down the aisle?”

  I shrugged. “I had my last hurrah long ago, before I asked Alyssa to move in with me. I haven’t been interested in being the ‘eternal bachelor’ since then.”

  His nose wrinkled and I could have sworn he was about to say something along the lines of that’s so sweet, but I shot him a look to shut him up.

  “Fair enough,” he said diplomatically, as if he didn’t really understand it but wasn’t going to press the issue. “Thanks for today though. It was great.”

  “Are you going to send in your résumé?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe. Would you mind if I moved to Sydney?”

  “It’s your life. You need to seize any opportunity you want.” I took a deep breath and pushed the small niggle of jealousy I felt out of my mind. “I know the girls would love to have you closer.”

  He smiled. “You really have changed, you know?”

  Even though he didn’t really know the me I’d been, outside of the gossip rags at least, I appreciated the sentiment.

  “I’ll think about it, just don’t tell Alyssa yet, hey? I wouldn’t want to get her hopes up if I decide not to.”

  “Sure thing, just so long as you don’t tell her about the no-bachelor-party thing.”

  He laughed. “You are probably the only bloke I know who is worried about being caught out not wanting to see strippers.”

  I chuckled. Put that way, it did sound crazy. But I had my reasons, and I didn’t want to tip Alyssa off early.

  DESPITE HOW good my birthday bash had been, and how much fun we’d had in the lead-up to leaving for Darwin, my actual birthday weekend was fucking shit. It was stinking hot on the track all weekend, with the afternoon temperatures in excess of thirty degrees Celsius in the shade—in the pits, it was closer to forty. It was fucking June, for fuck’s sake. It was supposed to be winter.

  Hunter had given me shit from the moment I’d arrived in Darwin. I tried to put him out of my mind as best as I was able, but it was difficult because he qualified in pole position.

  Then he’d gone on to win the first race, which put him in the championship lead.

  My Saturday couldn’t have been worse, but at least it ended on a positive note. Eden, Morgan, and I had dinner together in my hotel room. I told Morgan in no uncertain terms that beating Hunter on my birthday would be the best present he could possibly give me.

  He’d laughed and told me that it was one birthday wish he was more than happy to grant. We had a few quiet drinks before I told them to get the fuck out of my room, because it was time to call Alyssa.

  She and I spoke for an hour before our call slowly became hotter and heavier. I palmed myself anxiously as she talked me through what she was doing to herself. Needless to say, I wanted a live-action replay when I got home.

  Hunter came into the pits early on Sunday morning with some dirty skank. He’d announced loudly that she was my birthday present and that he’d warmed her up for me all night long. The worst part was the chick actually thought he was serious and all but threw herself at me. I told her to get the fuck off me, but not before she’d managed to grope me with her fucking quick hands.

  Hunter thought it was fucking hilarious and had his phone in hand taking a series of photos as I tried to get the bitch to back the fuck up. A few months earlier, I might have been worried about Alyssa seeing the photos, but with her knowledge of Hunter’s sneaky tricks and the, no doubt, disgusted look on my face, I wasn’t overly anxious. She’d shown trust in me for much more incriminating things—like with Eden where there was a genuine care, even if there was no attraction. I was more concerned with the fact that Hunter wouldn’t just leave me alone to do my fucking job. It was going to cause me trouble in the long run, I was sure of it.

  Thankfully, Morgan had won on Sunday. His win, and Hunter’s fourth position, meant Morgan had wrestled back control of the championship.

  I could only see a handful of positives coming from the weekend. It was my las
t race meeting without my Mini until after the wedding. Morgan had retained the championship lead, and my stag night was just two weeks away—even though I wasn’t actually having one.

  CHAPTER TWENTY: SHE RIDES

  MY LEG BOUNCED nervously as I waited for my turn in Hell.

  I couldn’t think about what I was wearing or I would die of embarrassment. The lights from the stage alternated randomly from red to blue to yellow—a never-ending rainbow of illumination. The colours twisted sickeningly as they reflected off Morgan’s outfit, which gave me another reason not to look at him.

  As if I needed another reason.

  As if his outfit alone wasn’t enough to ensure that I didn’t even glance in his direction.

  I was still amazed at how easy it had been to get Morgan onside when I’d told him my idea. All I’d had to do was remind him what Eden would be doing at Alyssa’s bachelorette party, and he’d jumped right on board. But he’d surprised me when he’d suggested that he go alongside me—or more precisely, before me.

  Eden was a little bit more difficult to get onside, but she was the key to everything. I knew that unless I could win her over, I didn’t really stand a chance of pulling off my planned gatecrash. While finalising arrangements with Morgan, it became clear that she could give me an in, and would be more likely to accommodate me than Ruby would ever be. I hadn’t approached her until the Darwin races.

  When she was on a high about Morgan’s win, I struck. I’d sworn her to secrecy before I even told her what I was planning. But once I’d spilled the beans about what I wanted to do, she’d laughed. Then I told her that if I didn’t do this, Morgan would probably organise me a proper bachelor party . . . and who knew what would happen then?

  I wasn’t sure whether it was the thought of Morgan’s participation or my humiliation that caused her to agree in the end. Maybe it was both. I didn’t really care, because I got my wish. Although, I was seriously fucking regretting making the decision, but it was way too late to back out.