Page 66 of Monsters in the Dark

Declan rolled over on his side, making sure to keep my legs draped over his hips, then resting on his elbow, he looked down at me as he said, “A night that’s dangerous enough that I could lose you,” he pointed out. “So, yeah, one night in exchange for the rest of your life because I can barely function with the thought of losing you, Keavy.”

“Declan-”

“Yes or no, lass,” he said, interrupting me. “That’s all I need to hear.”

“And if I say no?” I asked out of curiosity.

“Then you’ll be back in the basement with ten guards on you this time,” he replied seriously. “If there’s anything that I’ve learned over the course of these past few days, it’s not to ever underestimate you again.”

“And if I say yes?” I asked, ignoring the truth of his words.

“Then we get dressed, call the guys over, then plan what to do next,” he answered.

Even though I didn’t appreciate the threats, it was a no-brainer. If I could get my revenge and also keep Declan, then I’d do it. After all, anything was better than having to kill more of Declan’s men.

“Alright,” I finally said. “You can have the rest of my life.”

Chapter 39

Declan~

I should have made her agree to marry me for the shit that she was putting me through right now. Just knowing that she was here had me feeling like fire ants were crawling all over my body, and I was probably going to get shot in the face with how distracted I was. However, looking at Keavy, she looked like she was taking a stroll through the park on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

After Keavy had agreed to trade her life for this fucking insanity, Noah had called me about some hiccup with our latest drug shipment, so I’d had ended up putting Keavy to bed alone, hating every single fucking minute of walking out of the house. Nevertheless, no matter what I felt for her, I had an organization to run, and if you let one person slide, then motherfuckers began to think that they could ice skate, and I didn’t get down like that.

That was also another thing that had been playing heavily on my mind since last night. Considering who I was and what I did for a living, it was going to be hard to keep Keavy locked inside a gilded cage. She wasn’t the type of woman to appreciate hypocrisy, so how could I come home with bullet wounds, yet still lecture her on being careful?

At any rate, after we’d taken care of the cargo attendant at the airport, Noah and I had stayed behind to discuss the cabin and who we could trust on this. While Tearney and Brody already knew about the cabin, it was the cellar that was causing me concern. No one outside the family could know about it because temptation came in all forms, and though I paid well, the stuff that Keavy had down in that cellar was worth a small fortune.

So, after hours of discussing all the pros and cons, we had decided to pull Tearney and Brody back in, letting them believe that this was revenge for shooting my girl. Only Noah, Lochlan, and I knew what we were protecting, and I’d get around to telling the others soon enough. However, for right now, James and Desmond were with us, making it eight in total, including Keavy.

When I’d gotten home this morning, I’d gotten a few hours of sleep, then had told Keavy the plan when I’d woken up. Luckily, she’d been onboard with all of it, and six hours later, all I could do was pray that we didn’t find Klive or any of his men.

“Okay, this map shows us the ranges five miles out, but I have other maps that will break up those ranges,” Keavy said as we were all surrounding the kitchen table at her cabin, which wasn’t easy. None of us were small men, and armed the way that we were, we took up a lot of space. “Now, if they’re going to be anywhere, it’d be these two sections to the east. There’s a creek there, which is ideal for long stretches of camping. These two sections over here are dense enough to hide in, but unless they’re making regular trips into town, there’s nothing there in the way of plant-based edibles. Of course, if any of them know how to hunt, then they don’t need to forage off the land.”

“They have to have a vehicle of some sort,” Noah reasoned. “It’s two hours into Port Townsend, and even if they’re not making regular trips there, it’s still miles to the nearest town or grocer.”

“If they have a vehicle, then my guess would be somewhere northwest of the creek,” Keavy replied. “Even a heavy-duty truck would have problems with the terrain if there’s no makeshift trail to help them along the way.”

“How do we get the drop on them without announcing ourselves with every broken branch or dry leaf?” James asked.

“We can’t,” she answered. “However, there are enough animals in these woodlands to camouflage us coming.”

“So, they’ll have their guns cocked and ready for us,” Desmond drawled out. “Lovely.”

“You can always stay behind,” Keavy replied, not caring that she was insulting an O’Brien.

“I’m not a little bitch, lass,” Desmond responded.

“Then quit complaining like one,” she fired back. “This is the deal, gentlemen. If you don’t like it or if it makes you feel uncomfortable, you don’t have to go.” Keavy eyed every single man surrounding the table. “Like I’ve told Declan before, I have no problem doing this by myself.”

Desmond cocked his head a bit. “Relax, lass,” he told her. “It’s not that big of a deal. Plus, you’re out of your mind if you think that I’m going to let my future sister-in-law do some crazy shit like this on her own.”

Before Keavy could respond to that, James was saying, “Yeah, what kind of shit is that anyways, Dec? How in the fuck are you going to let her come along?”

“Because you win all the arguments in your house, James?” I asked pointedly, arching a brow.

“He’s got you there,” Desmond snorted.

---