Page 107 of Crave Me

“Declan’s new case,” she whispers as they step out of earshot. “The Kensington Strangler.”

The guy who murdered twelve young women over the course of five years. “Nice,” I say, not meaning a word of it.

The moment they round the corner, she leads me forward, shooting me a sideways glance. “Are you all right. You don’t look good.” I don’t bother to answer which I suppose is answer enough. “Wren,” she says, her expression as miserable as I probably feel.

“Don’t,” I reply, letting her know I’m ready to lose it.

She nods like she understands, probably because she does. She had her share of bad before Curran came into her life. But just like he saved her, she saved him.

We stop in front of a corner office, she knocks, opening it before Declan finishes asking who it is.

He straightens from where he’s leaning against his desk, the cuff links on his white shirt catching the light from his desk lamp. His short wavy blond hair is similar to Finn’s minus the ginger tones, but unlike Finnie, his is neat and styled to perfection just like the rest of him.

He frowns when he sees me, causing the woman with chocolate brown hair sitting in front of him to turn. She’s curvy, very curvy, and despite her chic and conservative dress, she resembles more of fifties pinup model than the Barbie dolls I’m used to seeing at Declan’s side.

“What are you doing here?” he asks me.

I press my lips tight, trying to think of something to say without giving too much away. Tess beats me to the punch. “I apologize for interrupting, Declan. Your secretary informed me your meeting had finished.”

“With opposing counsel, not with Melissa,” he says, rising and walking around the desk. “Mel, this is my sister, Wren. Wren, this is Melissa, head of Victim Services for the state.”

“Hello,” she says. She stands and offers me her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

I shake it, noting her speech is slightly altered. “Hi,” I say, my lack of conversation giving Declan more signals that this isn’t a friendly visit.

He looks at Tess. “Curran is on his way,” she says as a way of an explanation.

I don’t see the hearing aids Melissa is wearing, but based on the way she speaks, and how she focuses on the way Tess’s lips move, I realize she’s hearing impaired.

The door flies open and Curran steps through in full uniform, not bothering to knock. His face gives nothing away, but his presence does. Melissa frowns slightly and edges around me. “I’ll leave you alone to talk,” she says. “It was nice to meet you, Wren.”

I smile politely as Curran positions himself between me and Tess.

“Mel, wait,” Declan says.

Melissa doesn’t seem to like the “Mel” reference. In fact, Melissa doesn’t seem to like Declan at all which is odd. Declan’s looks and suave political persona have always made him popular, but it’s his keen intelligence and killer rep in court that launched him into celebrity status at a young age.

Apparently, it takes a lot more to charm Melissa. Her posture is straight and guarded, unlike most women who fall all over Declan. She’s wary of him, but I’m not sure why.

“You’ve worked hard on this case,” Declan tells her.

She watches him carefully. “I don’t mind. I’m happy to help.”

Declan smiles, and it’s real, genuine, and warm, unlike the smile he usually flashes; the one that schmoozes and guarantees he’ll get laid. “I know, but tonight, maybe you should go home and . . .” He takes a breath and motions with his hands, slapping his palms together and then pointing to her.

I have no idea what he said.

But Curran does.

And so does Melissa.

Her eyes fly open, scanning each of us as her fair skin burns bright pink. “You asshole,” she tells Declan. She whips around, her steps quick and forceful, sending her hair sailing behind her as she storms away.

Curran rounds on Declan when the door slams shut, his expression split between stunned stupid and ripping him a new one. “What the hell, Deck?”

Declan’s face flushes a furious red. “I told her, ‘to go to bed.’” He repeats the motions. “Doesn’t this mean go to bed?”

“No, dumbass,” Curran fires back. “This means go to bed.” He does something similar with his palms, but instead of smacking them together like Declan did he slides and joins them. “You told her to go fuck herself.”