Page 4 of Danger
“If I had to guess,” Cillian said, “I’d bet that you were MI6, but that begs the question as to why you’d need our help,” he said. “I mean, can’t MI6 handle something as simple as a missing person?”
“I’m sure that MI6 is quite capable of handling a missing person case, but finding Anthony is something that I’m doing on my own,” she admitted.
“So then, you admit that you’re MI6,” Declan almost shouted.
“Keep your voice down,” Danger spat, “I’m not here on official business.” She stood and threw down a wad of cash to cover their bar tab. “This was a mistake,” she said, “I’m sorry to have taken up so much of your time.” She turned to leave, and Declan grabbed her arm.
“We’ll help you,” he said. She wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or worried that his help was probably going to come with strings.
“At what cost?” she whispered.
“At the cost of total honesty. You need to be one hundred percent truthful with us, and we’ll do the same with you. That’s the only way that we’ll get close enough to the Dead Rabbits to find out if they have your brother. Do we have a deal?” he asked, holding out his hand to her. She looked it over as though it offended her in some way and sighed.
“We have a deal,” she agreed, shaking his hand. Danger was sure that she was going to come to regret agreeing to his terms, but Declan James and his family were all the help she had, and God help her, she needed them.
Declan
Declan wasn’t sure how he was supposed to make good on the promise that he had just made to Danger. Yeah, he knew that getting involved with the sexy blond was probably a mistake, but she seemed so desperate to find her brother. He knew exactly how she felt since he couldn’t wait to get to America to make sure that his little sister was safe. The Dead Rabbits needed to be stopped, and if MI6 wasn’t willing to help Danger find her brother, he’d find a way to help her.
“Do you have a place to stay while you’re in the states?” he asked Danger.
“Um, no, but I can find a little motel in town or something. I don’t know anyone here, and I don’t want to leave Huntsville if my intel is correct, and the Dead Rabbits are keeping Anthony in town. I’d like to stay close,” she admitted.
“Well, then,” Cillian said from behind her, “I know just the man you both should speak with.” He patted a burley man with a gray beard and fierce eyes on the back and Declan looked his brother over as if he had lost his mind. “This here is Savage.”
Savage held out his hand to Declan and for a split second, he thought about rejecting it. Savage was the one who had promised his mother and father that he’d watch over Cillian when they moved back to Ireland. His promise was the only reason his parents had agreed to leave their oldest son behind. Savage should have done a better job keeping an eye on Cillian, but instead, he let him get into enough trouble to send him off to prison and Declan wasn’t sure if he could forgive the big biker for that.
“Don’t be like that, brother,” Cillian whispered as if reading Declan’s thoughts. “I’ve already told you that my going to prison was entirely on me. I was the one who made foolish mistakes, not Savage. He tried to stop me, but I was too stupid to listen.”
“It’s not all your fault, man,” Savage insisted. “I should have tried harder to stop you. If I would have just sent you back to Ireland, to be with your parents, none of that would have happened.”
“Bullshit,” Cillian said. “We’ve been through this, Savage. You weren’t to blame.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Declan breathed, shaking Savage’s hand. “If my brother says that you weren’t to blame, then I believe him. It’s good to see you again, Savage. I’m Declan James,” he reminded.
“I remember you, Declan, and while I appreciate the vote of confidence, I’m not sure that it’s warranted. Cillian and I will have to agree to disagree, as we usually do,” he said, glancing back at Declan’s big brother. “Cillian said that you needed my help.”
“Um, yeah,” Declan said, “I could use a place to stay for a bit, while I’m in the States.”
Lil crowded into the inner circle of men, just as she used to do back home when she didn’t think that anyone was paying attention to her. “Do you mean to say that you’re not staying here in America?” she asked. “You’ve only just arrived and you’re talking about leaving.”
“I’m not talking about leaving,” Declan insisted. “I just don’t know if I’ll be staying when all this shit with the Dead Rabbits is over. Ireland is my home, just as it was yours.”
“Right, and now, Huntsville is my home,” Lilliana corrected. “Just give this place a chance, Declan. You might actually like it here.” He nodded, not wanting to continue going back and forth with his sister on the subject with everyone else watching them.
“We can talk about all of that later,” Cillian said, saving him from their little sister’s prodding. “Right now, we need to get Declan and Ms. Danger into their rooms and then, maybe later, we can come up with a plan to figure out where the Dead Rabbits are laying low.”
“It’s not Ms. Danger,” she insisted, “just Danger.” Declan chanced a look over to where she was standing in the corner as if not wanting to be involved in their family matters but sticking close enough to hear every word that they were saying.
“Sorry,” Cillian said, “I stand corrected, Danger.”
She nodded and stepped forward from the wall that she was casually leaning against. Declan was beginning to wonder if anything could faze the woman. She was so calm and collected, he was sure that nothing would.
“As for a place to stay, I’d appreciate it, but I can find a place in town, if necessary,” she insisted.
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” Savage said. “You see, there’s a military base in town, Redstone Arsenal, and they are hosting some big summit this week. Everything in town is booked up. But you’re in luck since I have a room available and it’s yours and Declan’s, free of charge.”
“I’m sorry,” Danger spat, “did you say that the room is mine and Declan’s?” she asked.