Danger

A nthony seemed to be getting tired of being hidden away in their little cottage, but wasn't willing to let him back out in the real world. Her contacts told her that the Dead Rabbits were looking for him and if he wasn't careful, they'd find him.

"Tell me again why we can't take the train down to London?" he asked. "Country life is not agreeing with me." Her brother was used to big cities. He had a flat in London—or he used to before he was abducted by the Dead Rabbits.

"Because it's not safe," said. "We've been over this before, Anthony. The Dead Rabbits are looking for you and London is the first place they'll search for you."

"We can wear disguises. No one will know that it's even us," Anthony promised.

"I want to agree to your crazy plan, but I can't. We need to stay here until they stop looking for you. It's just not safe to go to a big city right now," insisted. "I just need you to trust me."

"I do trust you, Bernie," Anthony said. "I guess I'm just feeling a bit fatigued after spending so much time here. I'm ready for a change." She knew how he felt. was sick of being hidden away with no one except her brother for company. And then, there was the fact that she missed Declan more than she was willing to admit. There were so many times that she wanted to pick up the phone and call Lil to talk to her, but she knew that doing so would only put her friend in danger and she couldn't allow that.

"I am too, if I'm being honest, but it's just not safe. At least we have each other to commiserate with," said.

"Don't be offended but that really doesn't bring me any comfort. I'm going to take a shower and then, I'll probably read or something, "Anthony grumbled.

"I'll make us some lunch," she offered. Anthony grumbled about wanting to go out to lunch in London and shut the bathroom door.

She started pulling stuff to make sandwiches out of the refrigerator when a knock at the door startled her. It wasn't really a knock and more like someone banging on her front door. pulled her gun from the kitchen drawer and made her way toward the front of the house. Whoever was on the other side of the door was going to have a rude awakening.

pulled the door open and immediately regretted it. Declan, Lil, and Cillian stood on the other side of the door, and it was too late to pretend not to be there. Before could even say a word, Lilliana launched herself at her, knocking her back a few steps as she hugged her.

"I've missed you so much," Lil whispered. "We all have. You should have let us help you." Lil released and looked her over. "You look tired."

"Gee, thanks," drawled. "I've missed you too, Lil, but I had no choice but to come here. I didn't want to involve you in my mess—any of you." looked at Declan and noted the sadness in his dark eyes. She hated that she was most likely the cause of his sadness.

"You didn't need to protect us," Lil insisted. "You needed to trust us."

"All of us," Declan growled.

"Um, I think that might be our cue to freshen up," Cillian said. "Do you have a spare bathroom that Lil and I can use?"

"Sure," she breathed, "I have extra bedrooms too, if you need a place to stay for the night. I'm afraid that you won't have any luck finding a place in town to stay the night."

"That would be great," Lil answered before her brothers could protest.

"The extra bedrooms are to the left of the front door. You'll have to share a bathroom with your brothers, unfortunately," said. She tried her hardest not to look at Declan but was failing miserably. She had dreamed about him night after night, and he was finally standing in front of her looking completely pissed off and even more handsome than she remembered.

"I'm used to it. My parents' house only had one bathroom for all of us kids. By the time it was my turn to take a shower, there was no hot water, and smelled like that awful body spray that teenage boys overuse. Thanks for letting us stay the night," Lil said, pulling her in for a hug. "Go easy on Declan. He's missed you too," Lil whispered into her ear. nodded and Lil released her.

"Let's go, Lil," Cillian ordered. "I think Declan will explode if we stand here much longer." Cillian was right; Declan looked about ready to combust and worried about having to deal with him when he was like this. He was always so gentle and sweet with her. This Declan was angry at her, and she didn't know what to do to make it all better.

watched Lil and Cillian walk out of her family room and wanted to shout for them to come back, but it would do her no good. Sooner or later, she was going to have to talk to Declan. "You look good," she said to Declan trying to kick things off.

"Don't do that, ," he growled.

"Do what," she asked, "give you a compliment?"

"You're already avoiding the real conversation that we need to have," he said.

"And what conversation do we need to have, Declan?" she asked.

"I told you that I was in love with you, and you left," he said. Yeah, that was the exact conversation that she was trying to avoid having with him.

"I had to, Declan," she almost whispered. "I needed to get Anthony out of the country to keep him safe. We came up here to my cottage and haven't really left here since. It's not safe out there for him."

"I get that, but I could have helped you," Declan said. "Hell, I could have come with you, ."

"I wouldn't have let you come with us, Declan," she said. "It wasn't safe, and I wouldn't have put you in danger."

"And I didn't have a say in your decision?" he asked. "Did I mean anything to you or was I just a placeholder while we were laying low? You didn't have anyone else around, so you made do with me?"

"It wasn't like that, Declan," she insisted.

"Okay, then tell me how it was, ," he said.

"I wasn't using you to kill time," she spat. "I fell in love with you too, Declan. That's why I left."

"If you love me, why did you leave?" he almost whispered.

"I left you because I love you. I wanted to keep you safe," breathed. "I know that I broke your heart, but I broke mine too, and now I don't know how to fix things between us."

Declan closed the space between the two of them and pulled her into his arms. felt as though she was finally home when he held her, and she knew that she'd never be able to leave him again. "You don't have to fix things," he insisted. "We aren't broken. I just need you to realize that we're better together rather than apart." Declan was right—they were better together.

"Well," she whispered, snuggling into his body, "if I were to agree with you about us being better together, what happens next?" she asked.

"I was thinking about that on the way here. I knew that I wouldn't be able to leave you again if I was lucky enough to find you," he admitted.

"Wait, how did you find me?" she asked.

"It's a long story, but let's just say that Savage has some guys in the club who work for the CIA, and they were able to track you down for me. Cillian and Lil planned this trip and well, here we are."

"I'm glad that you found me, and I'm sorry that I excluded you from my plan. I will not make that mistake again," she promised.

"And I promise to have your back, no matter what crazy plans you come up with in the future," Declan teased.

"Hey," she grumbled, playfully slapping his chest. "I do not come up with crazy plans. So, what happens now?" she asked again.

"It's not safe for Anthony back in America," Declan said. "How would he feel about staying here for a bit longer?"

"He'll hate the idea, but you are right, it's not safe for him in America. It's not really safe for him here, either, but I think I can convince him to stay here for a little while longer. What about us?" she asked.

"I just want to be with you, . I don't care where we live. If you want to stay here, we'll do that," he offered.

"Please say that you'll come back to Huntsville with us," Lilliana begged. She stood in the corner of the room next to Anthony. "I was just talking to Anthony and we both agree that it would be safer for him to stay here, but he will need to be allowed to get out some."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," insisted. She knew that her little brother had a knack for finding trouble. Left alone, anything could go wrong, and she'd never forgive herself if that happened.

"You'll have to let me go at some point, Bernadette. I'll stay in touch with you every day and I promise to behave myself," Anthony promised.

"You'll be careful?" she asked.

"I will be," he assured.

"I'd feel better if you let me post someone from MI6 to keep an eye on you, Anthony," she said.

"I can't stop you from doing so, but I don't need a babysitter," he insisted.

"Fine, I agree to let you stay here, and I'll reserve judgment until I know that I can trust you, Anthony," said. Her brother walked across the room and pulled her into his arms for a hug.

"Thanks sis," he whispered.

"What do you say, ?" Lil asked, "Do you want to come home with us?" She looked back over her shoulder at Declan and immediately knew her answer.

"I'd love to," said. Lil squealed and ran across the room pulling from Anthony and into her arms. She couldn't seem to stop jumping around with joy and her happiness was infectious.

"Okay, sis," Declan said, separating from Lil. "You're going to break her before I get a chance to ask her to marry me." felt as though her world stopped spinning and time stood still. She looked into his dark eyes as tears welled up in her own and she nodded her answer. Declan picked her up and spun her around as Lil squealed around them.

"I'll marry you," she whispered as he sealed his mouth over hers. When he finally let her up for air, she knew that she was the luckiest woman on the planet.

"Okay, put her down, Declan. I have something to ask too," Lil insisted.

"You better not be asking my fiancée to marry you, sis," Declan growled.

Lil giggled and shook her head at her brother. "No, but I do want to ask you to be a member of the Royal Harlots, . We need a Sergeant-at-Arms and you'd fit the bill as a former MI6 agent."

"You want me to be a part of your club?" asked.

"Um, do you know how to ride a motorcycle?" Declan asked.

"I had to learn while I was at MI6. I went undercover as the girlfriend of a biker. It was sink or swim and I taught myself quickly how to ride. Is that a prerequisite for being a part of your club?" she asked.

"Well, if you want to go riding with the rest of us, yes. Do you have a bike?" Lil asked.

"No," admitted.

"We'll get you one," Declan said. "It will be my wedding present to you."

"So, how about it? Are you ready to go home? Joe and I have missed you," Declan said.

"I am," she agreed, "I've missed you both too. Let's go home." She didn't know when or how Huntsville, Alabama had come to feel like home, but it had. had a feeling that had less to do with the place and more to do with Declan and his family and friends living there. Declan was her home and now, he was going to be her whole life, and she couldn't wait to spend hers with Declan James.

Two months later

couldn't wait for her brother and mother's plane to get in. Declan had left an hour ago to pick them up at the airport, and he promised to text her when he had them both in his car. It was finally safe for Anthony to come for a visit to Huntsville, and she couldn't wait to see him and her mum again—it had been too long.

The Dead Rabbits had abandoned their post in Alabama. Her contact at MI6 confirmed what Savage had already told her—they had left the state, and she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Anthony was going to stay for a few weeks, just long enough to be her best man at her wedding. She couldn't think of anyone besides Anthony to stand next to her when she married the love of her life. Declan had agreed to wait for Anthony to be able to travel, and that made her love him even more.

Her mum wasn't much for traveling and promised to book her a flight back home just as soon as the wedding was over. Her mother seemed fine with that, but a part of longed for her mother to want to stay a bit longer. They had a lot of catching up to do. They would just have to squeeze as much family time in as possible before her mother went back home to London.

Lil had planned the whole wedding, which was fine with since she had no clue how to even start the process of throwing a wedding. They agreed to get married at Savage Hell, and was excited that all their new friends were going to be there for their big day.

First, she had something else to do and that was officially be patched into the Royal Harlots. She was going to finally be part of something bigger than herself, and she'd be hanging out with Lil and Viv, who were going to be her new sisters. She had always wanted sisters, not that she'd trade Anthony for anything, but it was going to be nice to be part of a big family. It had always been her and her little brother and the chaos of a big family intrigued her.

Lil walked into Declan's house and found her in the kitchen. "You ready for tonight?" she asked.

"I think so," admitted. "I mean, the tough part is over, right?" she asked.

"Yep, and you don't know how much I appreciate you being the Harlot's Sergeant-at-Arms. You're going to be great at it," Lil assured.

"I hope so," said. "I don't want to let you or the other women down."

Lilliana grabbed her hand, "You won't," she said, "I'm sure of it. Now, let's talk about your wedding. Everything is set for Saturday." couldn't believe that she was going to be Mrs. James in just three days. She and Declan had talked about her keeping her last name since it was the name that she went by, but he promised she'd be able to take his name and still be called . That's when Lil stepped in and came up with the idea that she could go by as her biker name. It was a perfect solution. She could legally be Bernadette James, and everyone would still be able to call her .

"Is there anything that I can help with?" asked.

"Absolutely not," Lil insisted, "it's your special day and I don't want you or Declan won't lift a finger to help. Between the Harlots and the Bastards, we've got this."

"I appreciate that," said. "I'm not sure how I'll ever repay you for doing all this for Declan and me."

"You never have to repay me for anything," Lil said, pulling in for a quick hug. "We're going to be sisters and that's what sisters do for each other."

"I think that I'm going to like having a sister," said.

"Good, now let's go and get you patched into the Royal Harlots. We need to make you official," Lil said. wasn't sure how she went from being an MI6 agent to joining a motorcycle club and marrying the man of her dreams, but she wasn't going to question it. Life had dealt her a winning hand, and she was going to play it.

The End

I hope that you loved Declan and 's story! Here is a sneak peek at book three of K.L. Ramsey's Royal Harlots Series—Sprite is coming soon!