Page 10 of Danger
“But they do,” Savage said. He pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled through a few screens, holding the cell out for her to see. “This was on the security camera last night before you showed back up here. Bowie and I took care of the guy, and we didn’t want to bother you about it, Declan.”
“You should have told me,” Declan said.
“Wait, by take care of the guy, what did you mean?” Danger asked. She had killed plenty of the “bad guys” during her career in MI6. But she never imagined having to do so when not on assignment.
“We knocked him out and returned him to Athens,” Savage said. “You’re not the only one with intel about where the Dead Rabbits are holding up. My guy on the inside took it from there. He said that he’d make up some kind of story about the guy being a traitor to the gang. The Dead Rabbits will actually take care of the guys themselves. We’re just helping that along.”
“Got it,” Danger breathed. “But from now on, I agree with Declan. You need to tell us when we have unwanted company. I can hold my own when it comes to taking care of myself. I’ll make sure that Declan is safe too. I’m a trained MI6 agent.”
“Former agent,” Declan reminded, and she could feel her cheeks heat with embarrassment. She had told him that in confidence, not that she’d remind him of that in front of anyone else. “And as for taking care of myself, I can and don’t need you to protect me.”
“Okay, you can both hold your own,” Lil intervened. “We promise to tell you when you are in danger, Danger,” she teased, flashing her smile at her. Lil was quickly becoming one of her favorite people. She was nothing like her brother. Declan seemed so serious—too serious, and that was the type of guy Danger usually tried to steer clear of. She had learned her lesson dating guys in the agency who were just like Declan. The last thing she needed was to get involved with an overbearing know it all, no matter how much her girl parts protested.
“I’d appreciate that,” Danger said to Lil. “When do we leave for the safe house?” she asked. “I’d like to call my mum back home to tell her that we’re close to finding Anthony. It’s four in the afternoon over in the UK, and if I wait too much longer, she’ll have dinner and retire for the night.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Declan asked. “What if the Dead Rabbits are watching your mum or tapping her phone?”
“I’m using a burner phone and so is she. I’d never call her landline,” she said. “I also have a friend from the agency keeping an eye on her and her place while I’m here,” Danger said. She hated leaving her mother alone while she went to the States to find her brother. Her mum was a tough old bird, but when it came to her kids, she was a complete softy.
“You two are leaving here in ten,” Savage ordered. “Will that give you enough time for a quick call home?” he asked.
“Or I can drive, and you can call your mum,” Declan offered.
“Do you even know how to drive over here?” Danger asked.
“I think that I can figure it out. I mean, it has to be a lot like driving at home, just on the other side of the road.” He looked her over as if daring her to tell him he was wrong. She would love to do just that, but calling her mum took priority over making Declan out to be a fool.
“It’s a little more complicated than that,” Lil cut in, “but, if I figured it out, so can you. Plus, where you two are going, it’s off the beaten path. You’ll have plenty of space to practice staying on the correct side of the road.”
“It’s settled then,” Declan said, “I’ll drive.”
Danger rolled her eyes and turned to look at him. “No, it’s not settled,” she insisted. “But I’ll let you drive the first leg of the trip so I can call my mum.”
“You’ll let me drive?” Declan repeated.
Lil sighed and stepped between the two of them. “How about you two save the fighting for the road trip? You’ll need something to do to pass the time. Right now, you need to grab your shit and get the hell out of here before the Dead Rabbits come snooping around again.”
“And you’ll keep us in the loop, right?” Danger asked Lil.
“Yep, cross my heart,” Lil promised, actually crossing her heart with her fingers. She almost wanted to laugh at Declan’s little sister, but she seemed so serious, she just couldn’t.
“Thank you,” Danger said. “I’ll be ready to go in a few minutes,” she said to Declan. Lil pulled her in for a hug, catching her completely off guard, and when she released her, Lil did the same to Declan. Danger had never had any girlfriends. Hell, she had very few friends that she considered herself close with. She was friendly with people from work—mostly guys, and that was about it. Anthony was her friend. Sure, he was her little brother, but she could tell him anything and Danger missed that—she missed him. With any luck, she was going to find him, even if she had to let the big, Irish oaf drive.
Danger waited until they were well on their way to the safe house before pulling out her burner phone to call her mother. She felt almost rude about making her call in front of Declan. But it wasn’t like she and Declan were having a stimulating conversation or anything. He hadn’t said two words to her since they left the bar over an hour ago.
She found her mum’s number in her saved contacts. It was easy to do since she only had four other contacts in her phone—Anthony being one of them. Her mother answered on the second ring and Danger let out the breath that she didn’t know she was holding. She worried about her mother all the time, even though she told everyone back at the bar that she had her mother’s safety covered. She thought that she could keep her brother safe, but she was very wrong. Losing her mother would destroy her.
“Bernadette,” her mother answered. She and Anthony were the only two people on the planet that still called her by her first name.
“Hi, Mum,” she whispered. She chanced a glance over at Declan and noted that he was pretending not to pay any attention to her or her phone call. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” her mother lied. She was basically trapped at her little flat in London until Danger could figure out how to get Anthony back. She didn’t want her mother to have a run-in with the Dead Rabbits, so she ordered her to stay put—something that her mother fought her tooth and nail over.
“You were never a good liar, Mum,” she teased.
“Well, I’m trying to remain positive,” her mother insisted, “which is not easy to do without you or your brother. Do you have any word on Anthony?”
“I have intel on where the Dead Rabbits are keeping him, but it’s going to take a bit more planning before I can get him out of there. I need to wait until it’s safe,” Danger said.