Page 11 of Danger

“Are you in danger, Bernadette?” her mother asked. Her job had put her into danger more times than she could count, not that she’d tell her mother that. Her Mum wasn’t a fool, but the less she knew about Danger’s job, the better.

“No, Mum,” Danger lied. “I’m far removed from any danger; I can assure you.” Declan cleared his throat, and she shot him a look.

“Is someone with you?” her mother asked. The woman had the hearing of a twenty-something-year-old. She didn’t miss a beat, and lying to her mother never ended well for her. Her Mum called her on her shit and didn’t let her get away with anything.

“Yes,” she said, “I’m with a friend who is helping me with Anthony.”

“I’m glad that you have someone with you. You need a partner.” Her mother loved to tell her how much she needed a “partner” in her life, but usually, it was more about the fact that she was still single than anything else. Her mother meant for her to have a “partner” in all aspects of her life, even though she’d protest and tell her Mum that she didn’t have time for a relationship.

“Please don’t start that right now, Mum,” Danger begged. “I’m exhausted from my trip here and I don’t have the time or energy to explain to you why I don’t want a relationship.” Declan cleared his throat again, and she was sure that he was listening to her private conversation, not that he could help it with her sitting right next to him.

“All right, but I just hope that you’re being careful,” her mum said.

“I am, and I promise to call you in a few days when I hopefully have some more information,” Danger promised.

“Thank you, Bernadette,” her mother said. She ended the call and Danger did the same, slipping her burner phone back into her bag.

“That was a quick goodbye,” Declan said.

“Yes, well, we aren’t the kind of people who like to linger on a call when it’s over,” she said. “We say what we need to say and move on—short and sweet.”

“You forgot to tell your mother that you love her,” Declan said.

“No, I didn’t,” Danger insisted, “she knows that. I don’t have to say it aloud to her. Do you tell your mum that you love her every time you speak with her?” she asked. The sadness on Declan’s face told her that she had made a careless error. She had asked a personal question that she shouldn’t have. She knew better, but there was something about Declan that was familiar to her, even if he shouldn’t be.

“I wish that I had the chance to tell my ma that I love her, just one more time. She and my father passed a while ago. I ended up having to finish raising Lil, but I’d do it all over again. It’s what you do for family, but then, you know that firsthand.”

“Why do you say that?” she asked.

“Because you came all the way to America and are risking your life looking for your brother,” he said. She hadn’t thought about it that way. Finding Anthony and getting him out of the Dead Rabbits wasn’t something that she thought about—she just did it.

“I guess,” Danger said. “My brother is my closest friend, not just my brother. I didn’t think twice about getting on the plane to come here to look for him.”

“Because family is everything,” he said.

“Right,” she breathed. It wasn’t something that Danger wanted to think about at the moment. Because if she thought about how important her family was to her, she’d end up fucking up her whole mission, and that wasn’t something she could do. Anthony was counting on her not to fail.

Declan

They drove for what felt like days, not hours. The silence was enough to drive him mad, not that he had much to say to the sexy vixen who sat beside him in the vehicle. She hadn’t said much to him since leaving Savage Hell, and he wasn’t sure why that hurt his feelings.

Declan was never one for small talk, but talking in general helped to make him more comfortable around new people. Maybe the problem was that he wanted her and that was pissing him off more than anything. The last thing he needed was his cock messing things up for him. The best way forward was for Declan to forget what his dick wanted and silently drive to the safe house.

When he finally pulled onto the gravel road that supposedly led back to the house that Savage found for them, Danger was softly snoring next to him, and he couldn’t help but smile. She was so proper and put together that knowing she snored made him almost giddy and was yet something else that made him want her.

“Hey,” he breathed, trying to gently wake her. “We’re here.” She mumbled something in her sleep that he couldn’t quite understand, and began snoring again. Declan decided that he might need to use a firmer hand to wake her. He parked the car in front of the safe house and turned off the engine.

“Danger,” he said, “you need to wake up now. We’re at the safe house.” He gently shook her shoulder and she groaned. He hoped that was a good sign, but wasn’t sure.

“You can bugger right off,” she breathed, swatting his hand off her shoulder. Declan chuckled and Danger popped one eye open to look at him. “Why are you laughing?” she asked.

“Because you’re not only hard to wake up, but you’re pretty grumpy too,” he said.

“I am not grumpy,” she insisted, sitting up in her seat and straightening her hair. “I just don’t like people touching me when I’m sleeping.”

“I bet that the guys you date love that, honey,” he teased.

“I don’t date,” she breathed, “not that it’s any of your business.”

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