Page 148 of Always Be an Us

"Yeah," Cross answers. "He's at a coffee shop now making a bunch of phone calls."

"Good. Keep your eyes on him. And if he seems dangerous don't hesitate to shoot him."

I shoot Declan an alarmed look and he rolls his eyes and adds, "But somewhere nonfatal like in the leg."

"Sure thing boss." Cross sounds like he's laughing when he hangs up.

I shake my head at Declan who simply cocks an eyebrow unapologetically. I know he doesn't like Xavier, for a very good reason, but that doesn't justify having him shot in my book.

At least not yet.

For the rest of the ride, I zone out staring out the window. Declan turns up the heat in the car, but I still somehow feel a chill in my bones. The dark cloud has turned everything grey.

I don't know if it's the dismal weather or my own shattered illusions, but even the lake doesn’t seem as pretty anymore as we drive. In fact, it seems downright menacing, still on the surface with something threatening rumbling just underneath.

Just like my beautiful town.

I’m still hoping Declan is wrong but I’m scared that he’s not.

When we arrive at the police station, the eerie stillness seems to follow. Officer Jensen is once more the only officer in here, and he looks up as the door clangs closed behind us.

"Do you have it?" Declan asks and Jensen wordlessly nods and tosses him the now dry, dirty sack. It's the same one we found in the Pink Hotel Basement.

"Thanks," Declan says and walks to the cell holding Nate. I follow him two paces behind.

Declan holds up the bag. "You had a secondary reason for breaking into my office, didn't you? Did you lose something? Were you looking for this?"

Nate tries to school his features into disinterest but he doesn't do a very good job. "I don’t know what you’re talking about and I'm not talking to you without my lawyer present."

Declan grins savagely. "Alright. Then I talk, and you just listen. Here’s how I think the story goes. You and your gang or whoever, are hoarding Rainbow Pearls to sell on the black market. I don’t know how you find them or how expensive they are yet, but I do know they’re rare and that usually means that someone is willing to buy them. You were in my hotel at some point, probably looking for the renovation plans and then when you heard someone coming, maybe you hid in the basement. Then you dropped this as you made your escape, and unfortunately for you, Emma found it before you could go back to retrieve it.

“You wanted to get the pearls back, but you didn’t want anyone to know why or how you got them in the first place, so you couldn't exactly go to the police. So instead, you went to Emma's house looking for them and wrecked the whole place to cover your tracks. Is that correct?"

"I want my lawyer."

"Nate, who is it you're working with?" he asks. "Tell me, and I might consider sparing you in all this."

"I said I want my lawyer."

Suddenly, Declan pauses. His eyes flare open like he just realized something.

Gardening gloves,” he says. “I found gardening gloves on my first day at the Pink Hotel. Those were yours, weren’t they? Emma says that you used to do Poppy’s yard work. Did you tend to her garden? Is she the one putting you up to this?”

Declan's phone rings, interrupting his questioning. He frowns and holds it up to show me the caller ID. It's Monty.

He puts the phone on speaker. "What is it, Monty?"

"Boss," he says, his voice labored. "I fucked up."

"What?"

"They took your daughter."

Chapter Forty-Four

Declan

"It was my fault," Monty continues, between panted breaths. "I’m so sorry about this. Someone knocked on the door and told me Emma sent him over to get something she forgot. It was the guy from the Tiki Bar. And Amelia said he was good friends with Emma, which was the only reason I let him in. And then they ambushed me, hit me over the head. By the time I woke up, Amelia was gone."

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