Page 66 of Cruel Ice

“You didn’t stay for the money.” Was that really the story James wanted him to believe?

“Well, it certainly wasn’t for the company.” James made a show of straightening his tie. “You’re generally pissy and disagreeable.”

Declan grunted. He was both of those things on a very general basis.

“And you seriously needed help with fashion. I shudder when I remember the ragged jeans you used to wear every single day.”James sniffed. “Someone had to keep you in style. Someone had togive youa sense of style.”

Declan glanced away from him. He stared into the fire that danced and swayed in the fireplace to the right. He wasn’t particularly stylish at that moment and didn’t give a flying fuck about that fact. He’d hauled on a pair of black jogging pants for this meeting. A black t-shirt.

“Someone has to stick close to you and be brave enough to tell you when you’re making a mistake.” Careful words from James. “All the other employees are too afraid. They know you’ll kick their asses to the curb if they dare to speak up.”

“And I won’t kick you to the curb?” Vaguely curious.

“No.” Certain. “You won’t. You haven’t.”

He kept watching the fire. “Tell me, do I scare you the way my father did?”

Silence. The silence that lasted a bit too long before… “Sometimes. When I think your focus is too dark. When I know that you’re slipping between the line that separates right from wrong.”

“It’s a thin line.”

“Is it?” A pause. “It’s not so thin for most people.”

But he wasn’t most people, and they both knew that.

“I think,” James continued carefully, thoughtfully, “that the line between right and wrong might be particularly thin for you.”

Declan’s focus remained on the flames. He liked the way the fire moved. Swayed. Teased. “Marley Jones is no threat to me.”

“Isn’t she?”

“She saved my life. Twice.” That didn’t make her a threat. As far as he was concerned, it made her his freaking guardian angel. Who would have thought that he’d ever have one? And, unfortunately, her saving him had also put Marley in the crosshairs of a killer. “She has a target on her back. The bastard who took me is eliminating loose ends. He’ll come for her.”

“And is that the reason you brought her with you to Chicago? Because he’s coming for her?”

Slowly, Declan turned his head until he had James in his sights. Step-uncle. One-time guardian. Employee. Annoying conscience. Some days. “What are you suggesting? That I brought her along as some kind of bait?”

James stared back at him. “Did you?”

“The freak kidnappedme.I’m the one he had tied up in his torture basement. He might be pissed at Marley for interfering, but I’m the end goal for him. He’ll come for me. And I’ll take the bastard out.”

James rose. “You mean, of course, that you’ll let the cops take him out. They’ll arrest him. They’ll put him in a jail cell. Justice will be served.”

No. “I meant exactly what I said. If you have a problem with the bloody aspects of my life, you shouldn’t have hung around so long.” He reached for the glass. Swirled the liquid with a roll of his wrist. “You didn’t want me to turn out like him, and yet, here you are, saying I’m doing the same shit he did.”

“Becoming obsessed with one woman? Moving heaven and hell to possess her? Yes, that is the same.”

“Hardly heaven and hell. I simply hired her to be my PI.” Declan considered the matter. “And then I made her my fiancée.”

James shook his head. “Not that lie again.”

“I can assure you, it’s not lie.”Or at least, it wouldn’t be for long.Declan fully intended to marry her.How can I possibly let her go?

“That—that was some bullshit story she gave to ride along in the ambulance and stay in the hospital with you. She’s not—she isn’t?—”

“As of now, Marley Jones is officially my fiancée. Feel free to spread the word to the proper PR places, would you? You’vealways been good about knowing who to contact in order to get the best press coverage. When it comes to charm, you are top notch, even when you’re working with the reporters who hate me.”

James didn’t move. “I repeat my earlier warning. This is a mistake.”

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