Page 70 of Declan

“I don’t want the details,” I say quietly. “I don’t need to know how.”

He exhales slowly, finally leaning back against the counter, eyes guarded. “So what, Lena?”

“You’ve risked your life for me. Twice.” It’s not a question. It’s a truth that lands with a sickening thud in my chest.

He sets the beer down and walks toward me. Each step feels heavier than the last. And then he’s standing in front of me, looming, warm, and overwhelming. I’m trembling, but not from fear.

From knowing.

“You love me,” I whisper, voice trembling as I look up at him.

His hands grab my hips and pull me close, his breath brushing against my lips. His eyes burn into mine.

“Yes, Lena Lennon, I love you,” he says, voice thick with conviction. “I’ve always loved you. I didn’t think I’d ever say it, but I swore that when you needed protecting, I wouldn’t hesitate. You weren’t mine then, but I loved you like you were. And when they touched you, it ended them.”

Tears spill down my cheeks before I can stop them. I knew. I’ve always known on some level what he was capable of. But I didn’t understand why. Not until now.

“I thought you did it because of Wesley,” I choke out. “Because I’m his sister.”

He shakes his head. “Wesley doesn’t know. He knows Jason hurt someone, but I never said who. As for Josh, no one knows. That was all me.”

My heart nearly shatters under the weight of it. “Declan, I love you too. I’ve always loved you.”

He doesn’t give me time to catch my breath. His mouth crashes onto mine with bruising intensity. It’s not gentle. It’s desperate. Possessive. His hands grip my body like he needs to remind himself I’m real, that I’m his now, fully, completely, irrevocably.

The world outside doesn’t exist. Not the lies, not the blood, not the chaos. Just us. Two broken souls clinging to each other like salvation.

This love is dangerous.

It’s twisted and messy and scary as hell.

But right now? It’s everything.

Chapter 20

Declan

I sit nursing a beer, waiting. We’ve got a fight scheduled tonight that’ll bring in a decent crowd, but I showed up early, needing time to think. I was hoping the silence would help me figure out what the hell to do next. Instead, I’ve just been sitting here, staring at the condensation sliding down my bottle, realizing I’ve figured out nothing.

Lena and I, this isn’t just sex. It hasn’t been for a long time. This is something. Something raw and real and terrifying. I fucking love her. God help me, I love her more than I thought I was capable of loving anyone.

It didn’t happen like it does in the movies. There wasn’t some slow realization or a single, shining moment that changed everything. I think I loved her before I even understood what it was. Before I had the guts to name it. Maybe I’ve loved her since we were kids. Maybe I was always meant to.

But nothing in my life has changed. Not really.

I still haven’t told anyone. I’m still avoiding Wesley like he’s the goddamn plague. I still haven’t said the words out loud to Lena when the world is listening, only when it’s just the two of us, tangled in bedsheets and secrecy.

And I hate myself for it.

It’s not shame. I’m not ashamed of her, not for a second. I love everything about her, from her fire to the way she sees straight through my bullshit. But Wesley, he’s my brother. Not by blood, but in every other way that matters. We’ve been through hell together. We built this life side by side. He’s trusted me with everything. Everything. Including the one thing he’s always protected above all else, Lena.

If he finds out, no, when he finds out, it’s going to wreck everything. There’s no reality where this ends clean.

I take another sip of my beer, trying to drown the guilt that’s been clawing at me for weeks.

“You look like shit.”

I glance up, and Lex Hayes drops down onto the stool next to me. Of course, it’s him. The guy has radar for emotional clusterfucks.

---