Page 61 of Monsters in the Dark

That got a laugh out of me. “I think that we’re a long way from where we started out in the basement, baby.”

“Don’t you mean the bar?” she asked haughtily. “You knew who I was all along.”

“Yes, I did,” I admitted.

“Declan, once the novelty wears off, you’re going to find yourself in an uncomfortable position of trying to figure out what to do with me next.”

“You’re out of your beautiful mind if you think that I will ever get tired of you,” I replied, meaning every fucking word. “You can’t possibly know what you do to me, Keavy.”

“I’m tired,” she sighed. “Can we put the fighting off until later?”

“Not a problem,” I chuckled. “Besides, I have a feeling that our relationship will present lots of opportunities for future fights.”

“You’re not wrong,” she replied, her voice losing its luster.

“Let’s get out of here, so that you can get some sleep, baby.”

“For once, I agree with you.”

Chapter 36

Keavy~

Though I’d heard of this place, I’d never been here before. Honestly, since I worked nights in a bar, I didn’t mingle much with the daytime crowd or businesses. My life was lived after the city’s neon lights blanketed the night, so I’d never had a reason to walk into Belfast’s. Nonetheless, it seemed like a nice place to start your morning, if you were a morning-type of person.

“So, am I to believe that you know nothing about Cooper Donaldson’s assassination?”

After Declan and I had gotten out of the tub last night, he’d been kind enough to let me sleep, and though my shoulder had ached like a sonofabitch, I couldn’t lie and say that Declan holding me in his arms hadn’t helped. While I still wasn’t sure what all I was going to do about the man, it was clear that I was already emotionally invested in him enough to make him one of those complications that I didn’t like dealing with.

When we’d woken up this morning, it’d been to a call from Noah, saying that the police had finally contacted him, insisting on meeting with us. Declan had named Belfast’s as the rendezvous spot, and after a quick shower, a small bite to eat, and an outfit that would let me move without giving my wound away, Declan had driven us to the quaint café, Noah and the detectives already sitting comfortably at a table in the corner.

Refusing to let the police intimidate us, Declan had gone up to the counter, had ordered us each a tea, then had finally headed over to the table. Noah had tossed me a quick wink with his good morning, but the police had been less polite.

Now, a half an hour later, they were still questioning us like they didn’t believe us, and they shouldn’t. After all, Cooper Donaldson was dead because he had dared cross the line in O’Brien territory.

“Assassination?” Noah quipped. “What is he? The damn President of the United States?”

“He was a very prominent figure in this country, Mr. Murphy,” Detective Helensburgh replied primly. “Between his wealth, power, and celebrity, we find it hard to believe that this was a random act of violence.”

She sounded pissed, but I got it. Noah Murphy was sex on a stick, and it had to suck for her that he was one of the bad guys. Noah looked like he knew what to do with a naked woman’s body, and with no ring on her finger, she was probably finding it hard to concentrate with those turquoise-colored eyes of his focused on her. If his accent came out, I could see the poor woman swooning.

“Well, considering that no one reaches that level of wealth without acquiring a few enemies, it’s anyone’s guess on what Cooper Donaldson was up to,” Declan chimed in. “Still, whatever the man had been about, it has nothing to do with us.”

Detective Helensburgh exchanged a look with Detective Willard before Detective Willard said, “It’s just kind of hard to believe that you’re the type of man that shares, O’Brien.” A quick glance my way had my chin lifting defiantly. “A foursome is kind of hard to believe.”

“Which is why we didn’t end up going through with it after all,” Declan said. “Once we got back to the room, one look at my cousin entertaining his friend, and I took Keavy into the bathroom, and that’s where we stayed until everyone’s good time finally came to an end.”

“Why not get a room of your own?” Detective Helensburgh challenged.

“Because that would have required going back downstairs, then wasting time booking another room,” Declan replied smoothly. “If you saw the surveillance videos from the lobby, then you saw how my girl was dressed, so you could hardly blame me for not wanting to waste any more time.”

“We also saw Cooper Donaldson speaking with Ms. Collins at the bar,” Detective Willard added. “You’re telling us that you didn’t get jealous?”

“Jealous of something that already belongs to me?” Declan scoffed. “Hardly.”

Detective Helensburgh looked over my way. “And how does it feel to know that you’re up for grabs whenever Mr. O’Brien feels the need to share you?”

Refusing to cower, I said, “It was my idea, Detective.” I shrugged like it was no big deal. “We like to roleplay, and the idea sounded fun until it didn’t.”

---