When everyone was showered and changed, they sat in the living room. Lachelle helped herself to a drink and chips with dip in the fridge. “Hey, you want anything, Nessa? How about a beer, Declan?”
“I’m good.”
Lachelle brought three beers and her snacks to plunk them on the coffee table. “Don’t be a party pooper. Let’s continue the fun.”
“Leave it alone, Lachelle,” Janessa told her. “Declan only drinks like once a month, if that much.”
Lachelle’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding? Boy, I need to teach you how to have a good time. We should hit the clubs. Wait, do you know how to dance?”
He grinned. “I was born for it.”
Lachelle whooped in delight.
Janessa snorted.
Her sister looked over at him. “You’re saying he’s lying, sis?”
“Yes, he’s lying. Don’t fall for that mess. Declan’s innocent about a lot of things.”
“Oh, I like training them.” Her sister gushed, obviously happy with the news of Declan’s limited experience. Janessa regretted the admission.
Declan chuckled. “Remember when we met, Nessa?”
“Now that was innocence.”
“What was?” Lachelle looked from one to the other. “Tell me. I don’t remember hearing about how you guys met. No, wait a minute. It was at a supermarket, right? He tried to pick you up?”
“If only it was that.” Janessa shook her head in amusement. She grabbed a chip and slathered it with french onion dip. Holding the snack up, she explained, “See this? Declan didn’t even know about a simple recipe like dumping some onion soup powder in sour cream.”
“You’re kidding? That’s an ancient hack.”
“You’re exaggerating,” Declan grumbled.
“I am not. You were so hungry. Poor little Declan.”
He narrowed his eyes at her like would attack if she didn’t stop maligning his character. “It was a simple question.”
“What question?” Lachelle demanded. “Start from the beginning.”
Janessa continued to ignore Declan’s warning glances. She could hardly keep herself from busting up at the memory of their meeting. “Declan came over to me at the supermarket and asked if a package of chicken breasts should be cooked in the plastic or if it should be taken off first.”
Lachelle’s eyes bugged. “No he didn’t. Nessa, you’ve got to be lying.”
“I’m not. I thought no one could be that ignorant.”
Declan grumbled. “It was an honest question. Some microwave dinners say to keep the plastic on. Others tell you to poke a hole or uncover the veggies but not the meat. Back then, I had never made a home cooked meal for myself. Ever.”
“Uh huh.” Janessa patted his arm. His skin turned crimson. “I thought his question was a clumsy way of asking me out.”
Lachelle agreed. “Had to be. Next question was ‘let’s have dinner,’ right?”
“Nope. I told him how to cook the chicken, and then he walked away.”
“He was shy,” Lachelle claimed.
“Does any part of Declan’s personality strike you as being shy?”
“Wow…just wow.”
“After he walked off, I figured he lost his nerve. Then I saw him a few days later at the grocery store. I waited to see if he would approach me. Girl, do you know he acted like he didn’t even see me?”
“Ouch.” Lachelle wrinkled her nose. “Maybe he changed his mind and didn’t think you were cute.”
“Shush.”
Her sister laughed.
“I figured I would approach him and get a conversation going. Declan’s behind said hello and how’s the weather or something. Then nothing. He left the store. It took weeks for us to strike up a friendship just from running into each other in the area.”
“I bet it was a hit against your pride when you realized this dude didn’t see you as a woman.”
“Girl.” Janessa shook her head in disbelief.”
“Maybe he’s gay?” Lachelle’s eyes sparkled. She took a few swigs of her beer and slid over next to Declan to hang onto his arm. The woman had no shame about leaning in so close to him that her boob mashed against his arm. Lachelle raised her chin, lips parted as if in offering to him. “I can help you with that.”
“Lachelle!” Janessa snapped.
At the same time, Declan protested.
“I assure you I’m not gay.”
“Hey, dude, I’m not mad at you,” Lachelle told him. “I’m just saying I like challenges.”
Her sister was so aggressive she ticked Janessa off. She couldn’t tell Lachelle to leave Declan alone without revealing her own feelings, so she left them in the living room and found an excuse to putter alone in the kitchen.
Declan appeared at her side as she wiped down the counter, and he laid a hand over hers. Goose bumps popped out on her skin. He stood so close and brought his face within inches of hers. She thought she could hear his heart beat.
“Okay?” he whispered.
That’s one thing she could say about Declan. He might have been clueless to what she thought at the beginning, but he never failed to pay attention to her after they were friends.
“Me? What about you? Did we hurt your feelings teasing you?”
He snorted. “I’m not some weak little boy.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I don’t care. Tease me all you want if it entertains you.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “I know how to give as much as I get.”
“Yikes.”
He laughed, and she chuckled with him.
His hand chilled hers, and she laced her fingers between his, giving him warmth. They were weird. She knew that, but for the most part she didn’t care. Declan was a part of her life, integrated into it. If they dissolved the business, she had the feeling they would still be close. It has enough.
“Nessa, tell me exactly what the client said to you.”
“We’re back on that?”
“Yes, it’s important.”
She looked at him. “Why, Declan? What makes you so worried about it?”
Chapter 5
Declan drove to the appointment. He had insisted on picking Janessa up, and she didn’t argue. Not that she wasn’t in the mood to argue. After she questioned him about his worries he clammed up. She was so mad she sent him home.
Over the following days leading up to the client meeting, Declan phoned her, but she refused to talk to him. If he was going to be secretive and juvenile, so was she. Of course it meant she was tense, had a headache, and wasn’t in any kind of mood for soothing the client to confirm his business. So be it.
“You’re not speaking to me this morning?” Declan asked. She heard the annoyance in his tone and kept looking out the window rather than at him.
“I said good morning when you picked me up. Did you feel like I should keep saying it? Or maybe you want light conversation on the way there.”
“Never mind.”
Janessa keyed the client’s address into her phone’s GPS and hooked it into the dash holder. Declan glanced at the screen, and his jaw tightened.
“What? You don’t know how to follow GPS? I should have driven.”
“I’m not that ignorant. I have a great sense of direction even without GPS.”
“Excuse me.”
He sighed. “I was just observing that he lives within the state lines.”
“And that’s a problem?”
“No.”
Clearly it was.
“We’re not meeting at his place. He lives on a ranch, by the way. So cool. I wish we were meeting there. He let slip that they’re holding the wedding at the ranch. I don’t suppose we’ll get an invite once our job is done. Anyway, we’re meeting at a restaurant. I think his distant cousin owns the restaurant.”
Declan’s countenance darkened even more.
“What is your problem, Declan?”
He smiled, and the darkness disappeared. “No problem. This will
be great. I’ll charm him, get the job, and finish it with a bonus. Don’t worry.”
“Great. I’m glad to see you more cheerful. And I don’t want to argue either. We do better getting along.”
“We do. And also...”
“Also?”
He reached for her hand and squeezed it then let go. “I turned Lachelle down.”
“What do you mean?”
He looked over at her. “You didn’t want me to go on a date with her, did you?”
“I-uh-I… Makes me no never mind.”
“She asked me out, and I said I’d rather not get involved with family. She tried to change my mind, but I insisted. In the end, I convinced her.”
Relief flooded Janessa. “Well, it’s probably for the best. She wants a baby, and you don’t want kids.”
“Right.”
“But, Declan, did you turn her down because of me?”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No. I mean did you do it because you thought I wouldn’t like you seeing her?”
“Maybe.”
He shrugged, and she rolled her eyes at him. A second later, she dismissed the annoyance. Her days always went better when she and Declan weren’t fighting. Staying angry at a person took too much energy—especially when she loved said person.
A few miles down the road, when she was relaxed and expecting good things to come, Declan slammed on the breaks and swerved to the shoulder of the road. He barely missed causing the car behind them to crash into them.
“What in the world?” She grabbed the handle on the ceiling to keep from knocking her head against the window. Her heart felt like it was coming out of her chest.
Declan threw the car in reverse like he was about to do a U-turn. “Forget this guy. We’re not taking the job.”
“Say what? Are you crazy? We haven’t had a job in a few weeks, Declan. Cash is tight. Why would you suddenly have a problem with him when you haven’t even met him?”
“I can’t explain.”
“Oh you’re going to explain alright.”
He stared down the highway in the direction that they had been headed. The look in his eyes scared her. Fear, rage, determination, and a whole range of emotions flitted over his face.
“My instincts were right,” he grumbled.
“Huh?”
He looked up at the sky through the windshield and turned the car off before jumping out. She followed from her side and ran around the car. Declan frowned at something in the far distance. She squinted but she couldn’t make sense of the black dot.
“What’s that?” She rubbed her eyes and looked again. Whatever it was seemed to be headed their way, but she figured it was some type of bird. “Why are you interested in birds all of a sudden? We’re going to be late for our meeting.”
“We need to get out of the area.”
“Declan.”
He shuffled her toward the car. “We’ll stop for something to eat, and I’ll explain.”
“You don’t sound convincing.”
“Let’s go, Nessa. Now.”
He was never stern with her. Something had freaked him out, and she had to believe it was a legitimate concern. If nothing else, she would give him the benefit of the doubt and wait to hear what he had to say.
“You’ve never been psychic, so I don’t know what to think. Alright, let’s go.”
They found a restaurant much closer to home. The parking lot was almost abandoned, which didn’t give her much hope the food was good. So close to lunch time, business should have picked up. Not at this place.
Declan ignored the sign to wait to be seated and found a table for them. She followed and dropped into the chair across from him. Her legs ached as well as her shoulders with all the tension. After they ordered food she had no interest in, she waited for her friend to speak.
“His name was familiar,” Declan began. “I couldn’t remember where I met him.”
“Oh.” She touched a hand to her chest. “That makes sense. You scared me for a second. So he’s not what he says he is? How did you know him?”
Declan hesitated. The nerves which had settled a second ago charged up again. He offered her an easy smile and touched her fingers. “Suffice it to say he’s not someone we want to work for. Isn’t that enough?”
“No. Come on. Open up to me, Declan. I thought we trusted each other. I’m beginning to wonder.”
He started to speak, but his eyes widened, and he looked toward the door. She turned around to check as well, but no one came in. Two other customers at two different tables were their only companions. Out in the parking lot, she assumed the few cars belonged to the employees and the other diners.
A sound brought her attention back to the entrance. A man strolled into the restaurant. He must have walked because he sure didn’t drive there. Tall, handsome, and well-dressed in a suit, the man appeared to be in his fifties, maybe early sixties. He looked good for his age, and fit.
Declan jumped to his feet, staring at the man, who approached their table. Every eye in the place watched him, although Janessa wasn’t sure if it was because of his good looks or because of his presence that drew the attention. She felt the same way about Declan, but she knew Declan. This man rattled her, although she couldn’t pinpoint why.
The stranger smiled, revealing perfect teeth. “Well, hello.” He unbuttoned his suit jacket. “Fancy meeting you here?”
Janessa took her time standing. She didn’t like feeling below both these men, even though they dwarfed her standing or sitting. The stranger easily matched Declan’s six foot five frame.
“Um, I’m sorry,” she said. “Do I know you? Oh…”
Shock hit. She recognized his voice. This was their client, the one Declan said they shouldn’t meet—the one who they basically ran from. Regardless, the man found them. Here he stood pretending the meeting was a coincidence.
Okay, calm down, Janessa. There’s no way this isn’t just luck.
“Leave,” Declan growled. “We’re not interested in working for you.”
“Declan!” Janessa forced a smile. “I’m sorry, Mr. Sevelle. We had car trouble. I was just about to call you and see if we could reschedule the meeting.”
“No problem at all. We can talk now. And call me Patrick. Everyone does.”
Patrick prepared to sit down at the table, but Declan stepped in front of him. They stood face-to-face, a challenge in two sets of silver eyes. Neither wanted to appear weak or give in to the other.
Janessa took a sip of her water, trying to moisten her dry throat. “Patrick, Declan says he knows you. I didn’t realize that was the case when you asked to meet my partner. Come to think of it, I don’t remember saying any more than his first name.”
Neither man paid her any mind. She searched for something to say that would ease the tension. For all she knew they were about to go at it. This didn’t make sense. Why would they fight? Declan said he hadn’t met the man in years, didn’t he? But under what circumstances?
“Come, Declan,” Patrick coaxed. “There’s no need to be that way. We’re all friends here, right? How have you been? Adjusting to being on the ground?”
Declan paled. Janessa couldn’t imagine why such an odd question would get to her friend. Maybe he was asking if Declan was more grounded with maturity. Yes, that must be it. Declan might have been wilder in his younger days.
She grumbled under her breath for having to speculate. “Let’s sit down, everyone.”
Infusing her voice with pleasant tones, she jerked on Declan’s arm. He gave in and sank to his seat. Patrick followed suit with an amused light in his eyes. He seemed to find it entertaining that she could influence Declan, and it put her back up against him.
“Can I order you a drink, Patrick?” she asked.
“Don’t trouble yourself.” He signaled the waiter and soon held a glass of wine. After the first sip, he frowned and set the glass down. “Not the best, is it? If you two had come to meet me, we could have enjoyed top
quality wine and food. I don’t mind bragging on my cousin. He runs a first class establishment.”
“I don’t drink,” Declan growled, which was a lie. Well, he didn’t drink much anyway.
“Can’t handle it?” Patrick insisted on antagonizing Declan. He nodded knowingly. “Some of us can’t. Alcohol dulls the senses, and we always want to be ready.”
“Ready for what?” Janessa’s head spun. She knew there were subtle messages being passed between the two men, but she was hard-pressed to decipher it. Her mood plummeted by the second. Politeness and trying to salvage whatever she could out of this situation flew out of the window. “Look, if you’re not going to hire us, we shouldn’t waste our time or yours.”
“I have every intention of hiring you.”
“No.” Declan was so tied up into an angry knot he scarcely laid eyes on Patrick after they sat down. “We’re booked.”
Patrick ignored him to focus on Janessa. “I need someone to look into my son-in-law to be. I don’t trust everything he’s told me and everything we’ve been able to find out.”
Patrick’s gaze slipped toward Declan.
Janessa rushed to reassure him. “Perhaps I can be of service. If you’re worried he might not be faithful or you think he can be swayed in the wrong direction…”
Patrick hesitated.
“Maybe you think I can’t tempt him. I have women I work with who can get the job done.”
Janessa had a friend she hired sometimes. The girl worked as a stripper. Blond and slender with double Ds, she could turn a guy’s head with minimal effort.
“It’s not faithfulness I’m worried about.” Again, Patrick, looked at Declan. “I’m concerned about his loyalties to my people.”
“Your people?” As far as Janessa could see, this guy was white upper class American. What people could he mean? His family? Was he originally from some other country, one that identified the groups in clans or tribes?
“As you know, Declan,” Patrick continued, “loyalty is everything. Anyone who betrays your loyalty might as well be dead.”
Declan launched himself at Patrick and smashed a fist into his face. The man went flying backward, and his chair collapsed beneath him. A scream rent from Janessa’s throat before she could catch it. Everyone else in the restaurant turned to look at them.
Liar For Hire Page 3
