Page 20 of Danger

She and Anthony had spent two nights in a motel close to the airport. She didn’t let her guard down and was running on very little sleep, but she knew that she had to stay on her toes if she wanted to get Anthony out of Huntsville safely. She had intel that the Dead Rabbits had doubled their forces in town and Danger knew that they were hunting for her and Anthony. She needed to get them both out of town, onto a plane, and back home to her safe house. It was the only way. She just had a few loose ends to tie up before they could leave, and one of them was a big Irishman who was probably pissed off at her. She couldn’t blame him, but dealing with Declan was something that she wasn’t looking forward to. She just needed to bite the bullet and call him, because once she got home, she didn’t plan on reaching out to anyone. Having her call traced wasn’t something that she could risk.

Calling Declan would only end with him trying to talk her out of her plan, but she needed closure. Without it, she worried Declan would come after her and she couldn’t allow that. She had to keep her brother safe right now, and that meant letting Declan go—no matter how much doing so would break her heart.

“Ready to go?” Anthony asked. His face looked like someone had used it as a punching back and his right arm was in a sling, but the doctor said that he was going to be okay. “Are you sure that this place is going to be safe? What if the Dead Rabbits find us there?” he asked.

“It’s safe,” Danger assured, “I’ve had this house for ages and have used it many times to lay low when a case went sideways.” The house was nestled on a hillside, just outside a little town in Yorkshire. She found it years ago when she needed a place to lay low for a few weeks. It was for sale and the old man she bought the cottage from willingly accepted her cash offer and assured her that he’d tell no one where she was if anyone came around asking about her. The locals kept their mouths shut when it came to talking about each other to outsiders and she was now a local, even if she only spent a few months out of the year at the cottage.

“Our flight leaves in three hours,” Anthony said. Her brother was always a stickler for staying on a schedule and being on time for everything. “We should get going.”

“Agreed,” Danger said, “but, I have one phone call to make before we head to the airport. Can you give me just a minute?” she asked.

“Sure, I’ll be downstairs waiting, but don’t take too long,” her brother ordered.

“Got it, I’ll make it fast,” she promised, giving her little brother a mock salute. He shook his head at her and headed downstairs to wait for her as Danger pulled her cell phone from her purse, taking a deep breath before calling Declan.

“Where the hell are you, Danger?” Declan answered.

“Is that any way to answer the phone, Declan?” she teased. He was justified in his anger toward her, but she couldn’t let him get to her. Danger’s heart couldn’t take much more.

“Don’t fuck with me, I’m pissed off that you just took off and didn’t tell me. I thought that we were a team,” Declan said. He wasn’t going to make any of this easy on her, but Danger had to at least try to make him understand.

“I had to get Anthony out of there, and I did. We’re going someplace safe, and I don’t want you or anyone from Savage Hell following us. Tell your sister that I’ll be in touch when it’s safe,” Danger said.

“You’ll reach out to Lil when it’s safe, but what about me? Will you be reaching out to me too, Danger?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“You thought I was a good idea when we were living together. I thought that we had something, but I guess I was wrong,” Declan spat. She could hear the hurt in his voice, and it was breaking her heart.

“We did have something,” she insisted, “but, it can’t continue. I need to keep Anthony safe, and I can’t worry about anything else right now. You’re a distraction, Declan, and I can’t have any of those right now.”

“I see,” he breathed.

“This is hard on me too, Declan,” she insisted.

“I don’t think that’s true, Danger,” he said. “You see, I’m in love with you and willing to fight for us, but you don’t feel the same. As you’ve said, I’m a distraction for you, and you’re focused on keeping Anthony safe. I get it, but don’t lie to me and tell me that this is hard on you too, Danger.”

“Did you just say that you’re in love with me?” she almost whispered. The pause on the other end of the call made her think that she had heard him wrong, but she was sure that she hadn’t.

“I did say that,” he admitted, “not that it matters now.”

“You’re right, Declan,” she said, “it doesn’t matter. I have to go. We can’t stay here, it’s not safe.” She wanted to tell him that she loved him too, but that wasn’t something that he’d believe right now. Saying that to him would only cause problems, and she didn’t have time for problems right now. She already had enough of them. Instead, Danger ended the call, not saying anything that might give Declan hope. That was best for both of them.

Declan

It had been two fucking months since Danger walked away from him, leaving him with feelings that he had no idea what to do about. He had fallen in love with Danger, and telling her so didn’t help things at all. She was gone and telling her that he loved her didn’t stop her from leaving.

He had spent most of his nights down at Savage Hell with Cillian and the guys. He liked seeing his siblings, but living with Lil and her new husband was getting to be a problem. His sister was great, but the newlyweds were too lovey-dovey for him and didn’t help him forget the fact that he was missing Danger.

He planned on moving out as soon as he got up the nerve to tell his sister that he had purchased a house just down the street from her. She wasn’t going to be thrilled about him moving out, but he knew that she’d understand that he needed his own space.

Lil had spent countless hours trying to find Danger and he felt bad telling her that his sister was wasting her time. He felt the same way about finding Danger, but he also knew that it was a losing cause. Danger wouldn’t be found unless she wanted to be found.

Cillian walked into the bar and Declan knew the second he saw him. His older brother checked on him just about every evening. “You here again?” Cillian asked. He sat at the bar next to Declan.

“I could ask you the same. You do have a wife and kids waiting for you at home, right?” he asked.

“I do, but you’re my brother, and checking on you is also important. Viv agrees with me, and luckily for us both, she is a very understanding wife.”

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