7
1011 Words
“I can’t tell you.”
“If you can hand me a loaded gun and tell me to shoot an old lady between the eyes, you can tell me what’s happening. We’re past the honeymoon stage. Besides, I can handle it, no matter how bad it is. Spill.”
I could swear that flash in his eyes is admiration, but it’s probably just an urge to wrap his hands around my neck and choke me.
And not in the good way.
“War is what’s happening, Tinker Bell,” he says ominously. “War and all the bloody business that goes along with it.”
“Oh, swell. You’re being cryptic. I just love an incomprehensible Irishman. They’re my absolute favorite.”
“Careful. You’ll exhaust yourself using your entire vocabulary all at once.”
“Can you tell from my tone how much I want to smash the butt of this gun into your face?”
“Can you tell from my face how much I want to smash the palm of my hand into your butt?”
“That was stupid.”
“Says the girl who jumped from a speeding car.”
“I would’ve jumped from a skyscraper if it meant I wouldn’t have to be near you.”
“If I’d known that, I would’ve taken you straight to the top of the Hancock Tower.”
I roll my eyes. “Just tell me the truth. I swear I won’t burst into tears. The last time that happened was before I’d even gotten my first period.”
He pauses, his gaze assessing. “Tell me how it’s possible that you’re not scared of me, or of this situation, or of anything else as far as I can see, and I’ll tell you what’s happening.”
I give it serious thought for a moment. “Honestly? I’m just badass like that.”
After a short, disbelieving silence, Declan starts to laugh.
It’s a deep, rich, sexy sound, beautifully masculine. I hate myself for liking it. And for noticing what nice white teeth he has. And how strong his jaw is. And is that a dimple in his cheek?
He stops laughing abruptly, looking as disturbed by the unexpected outburst as I am. Guess he wasn’t expecting that, either.
“Got that out of your system?”
Glowering, he says, “Aye.”
“Good. So who’s going to be shooting at us?”
“MS-13.”
More gangsters. I’m in up to my eyeballs. “Because…?”
“They don’t like me.”
I stare at him with my lower lip pinched between my teeth.
He says drily, “Thank you for showing restraint. It must be incredibly difficult.”
“You have no idea.”
“There’s another reason they’re after me.”
When he only sits there gazing at me in inscrutable silence, I prompt, “Anytime you feel like enlightening me, I’m all ears.”
“You.”
Surprised, I blink. “Me?”
“Aye. You.”
“I don’t know any Salvadorans. Of the mobster variety, that is.”
“Did you think your abduction would go over well with your friend Mr. Portnov?”
He means Kage, my bestie’s man, who also happens to be top dog of the Russian mafia.
From what Stavros once told me, MS-13 is the fastest-growing gang in the Boston area. Kage must’ve made some kind of deal with them to try to rescue me as soon as I got off the plane. But how would he know where Declan took me after the parking garage or where we might ultimately be headed?
Or even if I’m dead or alive, for that matter? Declan could’ve slit my throat the moment he nabbed me.
Then it hits me: Natalie doesn’t know if I’m dead or alive, either.
I sit bolt upright on the seat and shout, “Oh my god, she’ll be so worried! Give me your cell phone.”
“I’m not giving you my cell phone.”
“I have to let my girlfriend know I’m alive.”
His pause seems loaded. “Ah.”
“What do you mean, ah?”
“You and your girlfriend.”
“What about us?”
“You’re very…close.”
“Of course we’re close. She’s been my best friend since…” I trail off, frowning at his expression. Then I sigh. “Oh, for f**k’s sake.”
“I’m not judging.”
“Will you shut up already? We’re not lesbians.”
He looks unconvinced. “You did say you couldn’t keep a boyfriend.”
“No, I said I don’t keep boyfriends. You totally missed the emphasis. Boyfriends are like koi fish: a time-consuming and boring hobby. I have no interest in that kind of commitment. Are you getting this?”
“You also seem like you really dislike the opposite sex.”
I smile at him. “Only a deserving few.”
He ignores that. “And there is the matter of the way you handle pressure.”
“What about it?”
“You’re almost as brave as a man.”
“What a coincidence, I was just thinking that about you.”
He exhales a short breath through his nose and shakes his head. He doesn’t know whether to laugh or clobber me. “You’re really something else, lass.”
“I keep telling you, gangster. I’m charming. By the time this is all over, you’ll be head over heels in love with me.”
Blue eyes burning, he opens his mouth to speak, but his words are lost in the sudden, deafening noise of a hailstorm of bullets bombarding the side of the car.
5
Sloane
T
he first thing Declan does is throw himself on top of me.
It has the immediate effect of knocking all the breath from my lungs and the pistol from my hand. I lie flattened on the bench seat, stunned and wheezing, as Declan lies over me, an Irish gangster blanket weighing approximately ten tons.
- Writer
