Page 23 of Danger

“Sure,” she breathed, “I have extra bedrooms too, if you need a place to stay for the night. I’m afraid that you won’t have any luck finding a place in town to stay the night.”

“That would be great,” Lil answered before her brothers could protest.

“The extra bedrooms are to the left of the front door. You’ll have to share a bathroom with your brothers, unfortunately,” Danger said. She tried her hardest not to look at Declan but was failing miserably. She had dreamed about him night after night, and he was finally standing in front of her looking completely pissed off and even more handsome than she remembered.

“I’m used to it. My parents’ house only had one bathroom for all of us kids. By the time it was my turn to take a shower, there was no hot water, and smelled like that awful body spray that teenage boys overuse. Thanks for letting us stay the night,” Lil said, pulling her in for a hug. “Go easy on Declan. He’s missed you too,” Lil whispered into her ear. Danger nodded and Lil released her.

“Let’s go, Lil,” Cillian ordered. “I think Declan will explode if we stand here much longer.” Cillian was right; Declan looked about ready to combust and Danger worried about having to deal with him when he was like this. He was always so gentle and sweet with her. This Declan was angry at her, and she didn’t know what to do to make it all better.

Danger watched Lil and Cillian walk out of her family room and wanted to shout for them to come back, but it would do her no good. Sooner or later, she was going to have to talk to Declan. “You look good,” she said to Declan trying to kick things off.

“Don’t do that, Danger,” he growled.

“Do what,” she asked, “give you a compliment?”

“You’re already avoiding the real conversation that we need to have,” he said.

“And what conversation do we need to have, Declan?” she asked.

“I told you that I was in love with you, and you left,” he said. Yeah, that was the exact conversation that she was trying to avoid having with him.

“I had to, Declan,” she almost whispered. “I needed to get Anthony out of the country to keep him safe. We came up here to my cottage and haven’t really left here since. It’s not safe out there for him.”

“I get that, but I could have helped you,” Declan said. “Hell, I could have come with you, Danger.”

“I wouldn’t have let you come with us, Declan,” she said. “It wasn’t safe, and I wouldn’t have put you in danger.”

“And I didn’t have a say in your decision?” he asked. “Did I mean anything to you or was I just a placeholder while we were laying low? You didn’t have anyone else around, so you made do with me?”

“It wasn’t like that, Declan,” she insisted.

“Okay, then tell me how it was, Danger,” he said.

“I wasn’t using you to kill time,” she spat. “I fell in love with you too, Declan. That’s why I left.”

“If you love me, why did you leave?” he almost whispered.

“I left you because I love you. I wanted to keep you safe,” Danger breathed. “I know that I broke your heart, but I broke mine too, and now I don’t know how to fix things between us.”

Declan closed the space between the two of them and pulled her into his arms. Danger felt as though she was finally home when he held her, and she knew that she’d never be able to leave him again. “You don’t have to fix things,” he insisted. “We aren’t broken. I just need you to realize that we’re better together rather than apart.” Declan was right—they were better together.

“Well,” she whispered, snuggling into his body, “if I were to agree with you about us being better together, what happens next?” she asked.

“I was thinking about that on the way here. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to leave you again if I was lucky enough to find you,” he admitted.

“Wait, how did you find me?” she asked.

“It’s a long story, but let’s just say that Savage has some guys in the club who work for the CIA, and they were able to track you down for me. Cillian and Lil planned this trip and well, here we are.”

“I’m glad that you found me, and I’m sorry that I excluded you from my plan. I will not make that mistake again,” she promised.

“And I promise to have your back, no matter what crazy plans you come up with in the future,” Declan teased.

“Hey,” she grumbled, playfully slapping his chest. “I do not come up with crazy plans. So, what happens now?” she asked again.

“It’s not safe for Anthony back in America,” Declan said. “How would he feel about staying here for a bit longer?”

“He’ll hate the idea, but you are right, it’s not safe for him in America. It’s not really safe for him here, either, but I think I can convince him to stay here for a little while longer. What about us?” she asked.

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