Page 41 of Playing with Desire

“This Sunday evening.”

In two days, since it was a Friday, Rick thought. “Send me your flight info and I’ll be at the airport to pick you up.”

“I will. Thanks.” Declan’s voice returned to being brusque. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Same,” Rick said, and disconnected the call the same time Declan did.

He tossed his cellphone onto the table and scrubbed a hand along his jaw, realizing he now had to break the news to Summer, who finally seemed like she was in a good spot in her life. Happy and cheerful and no longer depressed over her breakup with Declan. There was no doubt in Rick’s mind she still had feelings for his stepbrother, but at least she’d made the conscious decision to wake up in the morning optimistic and hopeful.

It had been three weeks since their night together and one week since she’d moved into the house and into the spare room opposite of where his was located. He’d given Summer her own space and respected her boundaries. Their relationship was strictly platonic—roommates, as she’d dubbed them—and admittedly he liked having the company in the evenings after work, and she seemed to, as well.

He exhaled on a few choice swear words. Enlightening Summer of Declan’s return was bound to throw a wrench into what had become a comfortable arrangement, despite Rick’s own lingering feelings for her, but she had every right to know what was coming. Especially since he suspected that Declan himself hadn’t called to tell Summer he was headed back to the States.

At six that evening, Rick’s normal time for arriving home after work, he walked into the kitchen, where Summer was removing a casserole pan from the oven. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to enjoy the delicious, savory scent wafting up to his nose since his stomach was in knots over what he had to tell her.

“Hey,” she said, greeting him with the bright smile he’d grown used to in one short week. “We’re having baked ziti Bolognese for dinner tonight.”

“First, I need a goddamn drink,” he muttered, heading to the liquor cabinet and pulling down a bottle of bourbon, along with a glass, which he filled more than halfway. He took a few gulps, letting the alcohol burn its way down his throat and mix with the apprehension in his belly before turning around and facing Summer.

She wore a concerned frown on her face as she glanced at the bottle of liquor, then back to him. “Umm, rough day at work?”

“No.” Work wasn’t the issue. He set his glass down on the counter and decided the best way to handle the situation was like ripping off a Band-Aid. Do it quickly and succinctly to get the shocking news out in the open, then deal with the fallout.

“I got a call from Declan today. He was shot out in the field while on an assignment.” Rick immediately saw the panic flash across Summer’s features and quickly finished. “He’s okay, I promise, but he’s coming home on Sunday.”

“Oh, thank God.” Her hand fluttered up to her chest as he watched her digest that information, her worry segueing into doubts and uncertainties. “I... umm... shouldn’t be here when he gets home.”

He watched her go into frantic mode, nervously wiping down the counters and doing busywork around the kitchen, and he could only imagine what was going through her mind and how she was feeling about Declan, a man she still loved, returning home without any real warning and under unusual circumstances.

“Summer, you have every right to be here because I say so. Declan leftyou, not the other way around, so he’s just going to have to deal with you being here until you find a place.”

Unease glimmered in her gaze. “If you say so.” She shifted anxiously on her bare feet, a hint of guilt in her eyes. “You know we have to tell him... about us... about our night at the club.”

He closed his eyes and groaned. He’d been dealing with that particular guilt swirling in his gut for the better part of the day, too. “I know, and I will when I pick him up.”

When he and Declan would be alone, because Rick suspected Declan was not going to take the news well, despite the fact that his stepbrother had essentially cut Summer off and told her to live her life without him.

He stepped closer, wanting to help her deal with the feelings that had to be twisting inside her. The shame sheshouldn’tbe feeling, despite the fact that he felt it as well. “No matter what we’ve done since he’s been gone, he has no right to get upset. You’re a grown woman who is single because he let you go, and you have nothing to feel guilty or bad about.”

“Then why do I?” She swallowed hard. “No, you’re right. He let me go.” She groaned and shook her head. “God, this is going to get complicated.”

Rick couldn’t disagree.

Chapter Fourteen

Rick picked upDeclan curbside at the airport Sunday evening at the designated time. He got out of the car to greet his stepbrother and to give him a hug, but it was immediately apparent to Rick that there was something very off about Declan’s demeanor and personality, when he was usually happy to be home visiting. Even as they started the drive home and Rick asked him mundane questions about how his flight had been, he was met with gruff, one-word answers that did nothing to stimulate conversation between them.

After a few minutes of silence, Rick decided to broach the more difficult questions he’d been thinking about since speaking with Declan the previous Friday at work.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” he asked, casting a brief glance at Declan, who was staring out the passenger-side window in a brooding manner.

He didn’t turn his head to look at Rick. “I told you on the phone.”

Rick gripped the steering wheel tighter in an attempt to remain calm. He reminded himself that Declan had clearly been through a traumatic event, which probably accounted for his cool, distant attitude. As much as he wanted to know about the ambush that had led to Declan being shot, that terrifying experience was something his stepbrother needed to share on his own and when he was ready.

Instead, Rick focused on the reason why Declan was home earlier than what his contract had stated. “No, you didn’t tell me everything on the phone,” he countered, keeping his tone even. “You said you had some shit to figure out, and you’d explain everything when you got here.”

Declan exhaled a harsh breath and finally turned his head to look at Rick, a muscle in his jaw ticking. “So, when the bullet went through my shoulder, it left me with some permanent nerve damage along my arm. Which, considering I’m a trained marksman who is required to have a steady hand, it means I’ve been relieved of my duties out in the field.”

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