Page 64 of The Writer

“Where’d your mama go?” Declan mutters. “Bathroom?”

The cat tilts his head, seems to consider that, then goes back to licking his paw. His collar jingles with tags, trinkets, and who knows what else with every movement.

Declan gives Denise a few minutes, and when she doesn’t come back, he climbs out of bed and heads for the bathroom,scooping his underwear off the floor on the way. He does his business, uses her toothbrush, splashes some water on his face and through his hair, then combs his hair back with his fingers. When satisfied, he wanders through the large apartment. He finds Denise in the kitchen.

Her back is turned, so she doesn’t see him at first. She’s wearing nothing but his blue oxford shirt and looks so incredibly sexy, it takes every ounce of willpower he has not to walk up behind her, wrap his arms around her, and take her right there on the countertop. He can’t, though. They have too much to discuss, and the clock is ticking.

“It was only supposed to be your husband and Mia Gomez,” he says, his voice low.

Denise doesn’t turn around. She’s frying bacon in a pan with one hand while stirring shredded cheese into scrambled eggs with the other. All of it sizzles, pops, and smells delicious. “No such thing as two-card monte,” she tells him. “You taught me that.”

Declan steps past her to the coffee machine, kissing the back of her neck as he goes. She has this automated doohickey, the kind of machine you find in a high-end restaurant. He retrieves a mug from a hook under the counter, sets it on the machine’s tray, then scrolls through the options on the touch screen. He selects cappuccino and presses the brew button. A moment later, frothy milk steams out, followed by vanilla-scented coffee from freshly ground beans.

“When we go to Belize, I don’t mind leaving everything else behind, but not this coffee maker. The coffee maker is coming with us. The rest doesn’t matter as long as we have freedom,palm trees, and this coffee maker.” He slides the mug off the silver tray, brings it to his lips.

“It’s a coffee maker, Declan. We’ll order a new one.”

“This exact model.”

She rolls her eyes. “If you must. That complicated thing was David’s.” She pushes the bacon around the pan, lowers the flame. “All I need is a burr grinder, a French press, and Quimby.”

The cat comes jingling into the kitchen at the sound of his name. She abandons the range, scoops him up, and kisses the top of his head. “I could never leave you, my boy. Never ever.”

Declan sips the cappuccino. “You sure you can bring cats to foreign countries? There are probably strict entry requirements. Papers to be filed. Doesn’t that seem unnecessarily messy?”

Denise gives him a calm, dark look. “I have it handled. I’m not going anywhere Quimby can’t go. I could be convinced to leave you behind, though.”

There is a flash of time during which Declan thinks she might be serious, that this whole thing might be closer to the edge than he realizes. That storm in her gaze. Her cool, level tone. It’s gone just as soon as it comes, and she laughs.

“Oh my God, your face. Lighten up, Declan. I would never leave either of my boys behind. Here, eat some breakfast.”

He shakes his head and changes the subject. “Did Hoffman put up much of a fight?”

Her shoulders bounce in a dismissive shrug. “Not really. No more than I expected.”

She takes two plates from the cabinet above her head anddivides the food between them, then slides one of the plates with a fork across the counter to Declan.

“Can you do that again?”

“Do what?”

“Reach for something high up while wearing my shirt. You might be the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.”

Denise grins playfully and drags her finger from Declan’s chest to the waistband of his underwear. “Down, boy.”

“That’s not helping.”

Standing on her toes, she kisses him. A long, lingering kiss, deep and full. Declan doesn’t want it to end. It sets something off in him even stronger than their first kiss all those months ago, back when she cornered him about the Maggie Marshall case. She’d been sly about it; she didn’t approach him directly. Instead, she phoned in a tip on another case he’d been working and arranged to meet him at a restaurant downtown, a fancy-schmancy place he’d never go to on his own. A place his coworkers would never go to. She’d told him the tip was bogus.Would you have come otherwise?she said. He’d nearly gotten up to leave, but she put her hand on his and said the words that bound him to that chair:I know Lucero didn’t do it. And I know exactly whatyoudid. So how about we chat for a bit?

It was a veiled threat, and Declan respected that. He respected the fact that she’d come to him rather than taking it to someone else, so he heard her out. What she said scared the piss out of him because he knew it would unravel his life, but he couldn’t walk away from her. He’d never been one to believe in fate, destiny, or any of that bullshit, but he knew when he was falling for someone, and in the weeks that followed, he fell for Denise Morrow hard. Telling himself not to only made himwant her more. It started with talk of Maggie Marshall, what she had learned. That evolved into talk about him, his past, his upbringing, his father. It wasn’t until she opened up to him about her marital problems that he knew she was falling for him too. She was a strong, proud woman—the fact that her husband was cheating on her was not something she shared lightly. As far as Declan knew, she hadn’t told anyone else. Except Geller Hoffman. She’d told him only because Hoffman handled her finances and she needed his legal advice. She’d had no idea Hoffman had feelings for her, not at first. Hoffman made that clear later when he jokingly told her that even with the prenup, the only way for her to make a clean break from David was to kill him. It was a joke until it wasn’t. When Denise told Declan what the attorney had proposed, what he was willing to do for her, Declan knew that was their chance to be together.Let him, Declan told Denise.Let him do it and we’ll use it. Here’s how…

And Declan explained it to her.

Three-card monte.

One of the few good things his piece-of-shit father had taught him.

He knew it would end his career, but that was over anyway. Once IAU got wind of what he’d done, they wouldn’t let up. Not Harrison, no way. Didn’t matter what Declan did or didn’t do after that or what he told them. So they used that too. All of it.I’ll help you build a case against the city if you give me half, he told her one night after they made love.I don’t need the money, she replied, nuzzling against him.You can have all of it.Oh, man, and then the smile on her face when she finally said,This could work.

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