by Nina Croft
“You’ll be surrounded. There’s no way he can reach you.”
“You think I’m going to let you risk your life to keep me safe?”
Her brows drew together. “Of course you are. That’s what we’re here for. That’s why you employed us.” She stopped and stared at him, eyes narrowed. “Except you didn’t, did you? You knew there would never be any danger.”
He didn’t bother to answer; the question had been purely rhetorical anyway. “I’ll walk out of here so long as you are nowhere near. I’m not letting you take a bullet for me.”
“This is not negotiable,” she snapped.
“That’s where you’re wrong.” He folded his arms, leaned back against the table behind him. He wasn’t going anywhere until he was sure Jess was safe.
She stared at him for long minutes. Steve leaned in close. “We’re wasting time, Jess.” She gritted her teeth, but then shrugged, though her figure was tense. She pursed her lips, studied him, her gaze dropping to the tattoo on his arm. Then she gave a curt nod. “Okay. I’ll head out first. You follow once I’m away.”
“Good. I’ll see you at my place.”
She made to go past him, but hesitated, and wrapped her arms around his middle, laid her head against his chest. “Be careful and do what you’re told.” Then she was gone.
He kept his gaze fixed on her as she strode across the room, her hair a bright beacon in the dim light. As soon as she had disappeared through the far door, Steve nudged him in the side. “Okay, let’s go. Just walk casual as though there’s nothing wrong. The car’s parked out back in the alley. We’re going to head straight there.”
The skin down his spine prickled as he stepped out into the room. He searched the balconies around the edges, the pillars that created dark corners like the one he’d kissed Jess in. There were so many places a shooter could hide. But it didn’t make sense. They could never hope to shoot him in here and get away afterward. Maybe it was conceivable that Paul might be holding some grudge, but Declan couldn’t believe he was suicidal or that he’d risk spending years in prison.
Beside him, Steve was talking into his phone.
“Have they found him?” Declan asked as he finished the call.
“No. And they’ve searched the whole building. But this place is a warren. Too many places to hide.”
Maybe Paul believed he could shoot in the darkness and in the confusion no one would know where or who the bullet had come from. At least Jess was safe and away.
They were nearly out of the building now. Ahead of him, Steve pushed open the door and they were out into the relative quiet of the corridor.
“Let me go check everything is secure outside,” Steve said. The door slammed behind them and Declan jumped, then turned to see his father and Logan.
“What the hell’s happening?” His dad did not look happy. “They told me it was Paul.”
“We don’t know for sure yet.”
“I’ll fucking kill him.”
That was the dad he remembered. “They’re getting me out of here. I’ll call you later. Enjoy the rest of the party.”
Steve appeared in the doorway and beckoned for him to come forward. He followed him out into the alleyway. A black car was parked at the curb, the engine running, and next to the car stood Jess.
Why the hell wasn’t she halfway to his place by now?
His heart rate kicked up a notch. The air was tense, imbued with a heavy sense of anticipation he could almost feel. The night was still and sounds of intermittent traffic drifted down from the main street. He wanted to scream at her to run, but there was nothing to run from. He was being irrational.
Besides she wasn’t the one in danger. He was. She would be all right.
He forced his feet to head toward the car.
Something moved in the corner of his vision.
A figure stepped out from the shelter of a doorway, arm stretched out.
Steve was in front of him. The second bodyguard at his back. The man had a clear shot.
Everything seemed to shift in slow motion as though he moved through glue.
“Declan!”
Jess called out his name, but there was no time. He swung around, ready to dive, vaguely aware of Steve turning. A loud bang, then another and his body tensed, ready for the shots as something crashed into him, hurling him into the side of the car and then down to the concrete pavement.
More gunshots.
Then silence.
He blinked open his eyes. His view was blocked by a tall figure who stood over him, legs braced.
His second bodyguard.
A dead weight lay on top of him, and he felt the warm seep of blood against his chest.
“Jess!” He struggled to sit up, leaning his back against the car wheel, Jess cradled against his chest, her long blond hair spilling over his arm, and even in the dim light, he could see the spread of crimson across her white shirt.
Steve crouched down beside him, checked for a pulse and nodded. “Try not to move her,” he said. “There’s an ambulance on its way.”
Declan held himself perfectly still and stared down into her face, the lashes shadows across her pale cheeks. “Don’t you fucking dare die on me.”
…
In those few seconds, everything changed. The whole world took on a dazzling clarity.
She loved him.
And she wasn’t ready to lose him again.
He was hers. That was all that mattered.
She’d dived for him without conscious thought, felt the sharp jolt as the first bullet caught her in the side just as she crashed into him. Then a second had hit her in the arm, whirling her around. They’d crashed into the car, then the ground, her head smashing against something solid and for a few seconds everything went dark.
When she came to, she could hear a voice. Declan speaking urgently. She tried to make sense of his words, but her brain was fuzzy. Rain started to fall and the drops landed on her skin. In the distance she could hear a siren getting closer.
She forced up heavy eyelids. She had no intention of dying on him. But just in case. She squeezed his arm.
He must have seen that she was conscious. His hand stroked her cheek and he stared down into her eyes. “What is it?”
“I just wanted to tell you I love you.”
Chapter Fourteen
Oh God, she loved him.
She drifted in and out of consciousness on the way to the hospital, and she was aware that Declan never left her side. She didn’t know how badly she was hurt. She’d taken a couple of bullets. The one in her arm shouldn’t be a problem, but the first one…
She just wasn’t sure, and she couldn’t lift herself to investigate.
Once at the ER everything had moved too fast. Before she could tell anyone she was all right, the gas mask was on her face and she was being sucked under.
When she woke again, she was in a hospital bed, and the room was in semidarkness, though from the faint light filtering through the blinds, it was morning. Well, she’d made it through the night. She took stock. There was a dull ache in her arm, a sharper one in her side, but other than that she felt okay.
She rolled her head to the side. An IV drip was attached to her arm, and just beneath that, Declan sat slumped in an upright chair, long leather-clad legs stretched out in front of him. His eyes were closed, dark lashes resting on his cheeks.
He was so beautiful. Asleep, all the harsh lines were smoothed away and he looked almost like the boy she had fallen in love with all those years ago.
But he was no longer a boy. He was a man. And she still loved him.
In that moment of clarity, she had realized that it didn’t matter that it was the most stupid, self-destructive emotion she could ever feel. It wasn’t negotiable. It had always been there, pretty much from the moment she’d set eyes on him all those years ago. It had been hidden, buried beneath a mountain of hurt, but it had never gone away.
And Declan loved her.
He was wil
ling to give them a chance. And she wasn’t exactly a good bet. It took a brave man to be ready to take a chance on her.
She’d been trying to hold herself together, had papered over the cracks, and now, she relaxed and the paper holding her together dissolved into nothing, and the cracks widened and tore, leaving her broken all over again.
And for the first time, she accepted that it was inevitable.
It occurred to her then, that all those years ago, she had in fact mended all wrong. Like a limb that had been broken and badly set, she’d put herself back together again, but she’d never really functioned as a proper human being. She’d always been afraid to feel, to give any part of herself. To do that, those old mends had to be rebroken, so this time, she could heal properly.
Lying in the dim light she pieced herself back together, a little bit at a time, all the while keeping her gaze on the sleeping man. Her man. He’d told her he wanted to try. She did, too. She’d somehow fit into his world, if that was what he wanted. Though looking at him now, all bad-boy leather and tattoos, she suspected his world was about to change drastically.
She twisted a little and pain shot through her. She must have let out a gasp, because Declan’s lashes flickered open and he came immediately upright in the chair. His gaze flashed to her face. “You’re awake. Thank Christ. Are you okay, in pain?”
“A little.”
He pressed a button beside her head. “Before they come, tell me again.”
She knew what he meant. “I love you.”
“Shit, when you said that and I thought…” He ran a hand through his hair. “That was the worst night of my life. Say it again.”
“I love you.”
He rose to his feet, pushed back the chair, and came to stand by the bed. Unfortunately, the side with the IV stand, and he kicked it with his foot.
“Christ, I need to hold you and I can’t even get close.” He took a deep breath. “There was so much blood.” His expression hardened. “Why the hell were you even there? What the fuck happened to meeting me at my place?”
“I had this thought. It occurred to me that there was no way he would try the hit inside the club. He must have known that he’d never get out without being caught.”
“And couldn’t you have just called and told one of my babysitters that?”
“I did. But then I thought I’d better just keep an eye on things until you turned up, and then…”
“Yeah, I know what happened then. You took a bullet meant for me when I’d told you that was the last thing I wanted.”
She grinned. “Two bullets.”
The door opened at that moment and a doctor entered, together with a nurse, and behind them Kim and Dani, both carrying a big bunch of flowers and a couple of carrier bags.
Pushing past the doctor, they hurried across the room, coming to a halt beside her and opposite Declan. They took turns to lean down and kiss her very lightly on the cheek. “We couldn’t wait any longer.” Kim nodded toward Declan. “Your hot new bodyguard wouldn’t let us stay. He wanted you all to himself. But we’ve been getting hourly updates in the waiting room and we took it in turns to go out goody shopping.”
Jess peered into one of the bags. It appeared to contain black lacy underwear, chocolates, and a bottle of scotch.
“Thank you,” she said.
Dani bit her lip. “We’ve only been given thirty seconds, but we just wanted to say we love you and don’t ever do that again.”
“I won’t.”
“We’ll be back later,” Kim said.
“That’s if your bodyguard lets us.”
They both squeezed her good arm and then headed for the door. Dani spoke to Declan. “Look after her.”
“I will,” Declan said, reluctantly stepping back so the doctor could get to her. He leaned against the wall, arms folded across his chest.
“Are you in any pain?” the doctor asked.
She pulled herself upright, wincing as a sharp pain shot through her side. Then settled back against the pillows. “A little.”
He added something to the IV and seconds later the pain faded to nothing and she sighed. “Thank you.”
She closed her eyes as the nurse moved around, peering at the bandages, taking her blood pressure.
“How bad is it?” she asked the doctor.
“Not so bad. Both wounds are clean and we stitched them up. The arm one was simple; the one in your side a little more problematic. You’ll have an impressive scar, but the bullet missed any organs and went right through.”
“So can I go home?” Her voice sounded pathetically hopeful, but she really hated hospitals. Both her previous stays had ended up with just about the worst periods of her life.
“No.” The doctor and Declan spoke in unison.
“You lost a lot of blood,” the doctor continued. “We need to replace that and make sure you’re stable.”
She pursed her lips, but decided to wait until she felt a bit stronger before she started arguing her case. The truth was, she did feel a little light-headed. She hadn’t noticed while she was horizontal, but now she was sitting up her head was swimming. She gritted her teeth.
“Stop fighting it and relax,” Declan said. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Who’s going to stop me?” But she said it just for effect and snuggled back into the pillows. The pain was gone. She wasn’t dead. Declan loved her. Time to fight for her rights later. Now she just didn’t feel up to it.
As the doctor straightened from his examination, a tap sounded on the door. More visitors.
“Okay. You’re good for now,” the doctor said. “Ring if you experience any change.”
“Thank you.”
As he opened the door she caught sight of her next visitor. She really wasn’t up to this.
Rory McCabe strolled into the room, a huge bouquet of bloodred roses in one arm, a garment bag in the other. He placed the flowers on the table by her bed and stared down at her for a moment. Then lowered his head and kissed her on the cheek.
She resisted the urge to wipe her face; it was really too much effort.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?” she asked.
“I just came to thank you for saving my son’s life.”
“All part of the service.” She peered at him a little closer. His nose appeared swollen. “Have you been in an accident yourself?”
He smirked. “I came into sudden contact with Declan’s fist, last night.”
Shock widened her eyes. She turned to Declan. “You hit him? Why?”
“Why the hell do you think? Because he’s a bastard. And it’s been a long time due.”
“Thanks,” Rory muttered. He took a deep breath. “Jessica, I owe you an apology.”
“Yes.” She waited and he frowned.
“Yes, well, I’m sorry. It was wrong of me to offer you money to leave my son alone. But I love my son and I believed you were wrong for him. I still believe if the two of you had stayed together back then that it would have been a disaster.”
“Has anyone mentioned that you suck at apologizing,” Declan murmured.
Rory cast him a black look. “It’s a first, and I don’t expect to repeat the experience anytime soon.”
But she knew he was right; back then she’d been a mess. She wouldn’t have been able to cope with the pressures of the relationship. Because she had no doubt there would have been immense pressure. A seventeen-year-old girl with a low boredom threshold and a penchant for trouble, and Declan busy at college. She would have been in a strange country, without any family for support. Her sister wasn’t all that supportive when she was in the same country. On a different continent, Jess reckoned she would have just written her off.
Maybe they would have survived. Maybe not.
“Okay,” she said.
“Okay what?” Rory looked wary.
“Okay, apology accepted.”
“So you forgive me.”
“No. Don’t push your luck.”
&nbs
p; He laughed. “I like you, Jessica. You’ve grown up into an impressive woman.”
“Thanks,” she said drily. “Praise from Rory McCabe. My life is now complete.”
He laughed again, then tossed the garment bag to Declan, who was still leaning against the wall.
“What’s this?” he asked, catching it.
“A change of clothes.” He sank into the seat Declan had been sleeping in earlier. “In case you don’t get home before you’re due in court.”
Of course, she’d almost forgotten about the court case, and Declan could hardly turn up in leather pants and a bloodstained T-shirt. “So tell me about Paul? Why did he want Declan dead?”
Rory shrugged. “He didn’t. Not really—it was just a means of getting at me.”
“And why did he want to do that?” It was Declan who asked the question. “I thought he owed you big-time. You paid for him through college, looked after his mother.”
“His father was a bouncer. He was killed in a fight working in one of my clubs. It seems his mother blamed me, and brought up Paul to blame me. I took his father, he takes my son.”
“And was it your fault?” Jess asked.
He shrugged. “Maybe. But you do those jobs, you take the risk. Anyway, he’s been waiting for a chance at his revenge ever since and Declan provided it when he got involved with the money-laundering operation.”
“So the first attempt wasn’t Paul.”
“No, that was the real guys. I should have guessed there was something dodgy when they denied knowing about the letter bomb.”
“Yeah, you should have.”
He stood up. “Okay, I’ll leave you two alone.” He crossed the room, paused at the door, and a smile twitched the corners of his lips. “Your mother will be pleased.” And he was gone.
Declan came around and perched on the edge of the bed, took her hand.
“So what happens next?” she asked.
“I don’t know.”
“I bet that’s a new feeling for you.”
“It is, and it’s a good one. But you were right. I’m stepping down as CEO of McCabe Industries. I need to change my life. It’s just that right now I don’t know what I want. Except for you.”
She slipped her hand into his and squeezed. “You have me. And maybe we can just spend some time deciding what you want.”
