Danger

B ernadette wasn't about to give up chasing down every lead to her brother, and the big Irish bloke standing next to her was a major lead. Of course, her snooping was "Unofficial" since MI6 wouldn't sanction her going rogue looking for Anthony, but she couldn't let him go. He was her little brother and her best friend.

"You want to tell me why you've got a gun shoved into my side?" the sexy Irishman asked.

"Because I need to talk to you, Mr. James," she said.

"Well, that doesn't seem very fair," he said. "You seem to know my name, but I have no idea what yours is."

"Bernadette ," she said without pause, "but, you can call me ."

He barked out his laugh and she stopped to look him over, trying to figure out what was so funny. "Fitting," he said. "Your name is perfect for you, Ms. ."

"It's not Ms. , just ," she insisted. The guys in her graduating class had dubbed her last name as her moniker and they felt the same way about her nickname. seemed to find her wherever she was and now, it had caught up to her brother, Anthony.

"Okay then, ," he said, "what can I do for you?"

"You can help me find my brother," she blurted out. She had planned on waiting for a more private setting than a parking lot at a dive biker bar, but here she was, spilling her guts.

"I'm not sure that I follow," Mr. James said. "Who is your brother? Do I know him?"

"No," she breathed, "but, you know the people who have taken them. I've been watching the Dead Rabbits for months now, trying to get any intel on Anthony, and you seem to have quite a relationship with them, Mr. James," she said.

"I have nothing to do with those assholes," he spat. "In fact, I had to come here just to get away from them. They did this to me as a parting gift." He pointed to the bruises on his left cheek and his swollen right eye.

"They beat you up?" she asked. was sure that he was a part of the Rabbits with the way they kept going around his place.

"They did and promised to keep coming back until I gave up where my sister was living," he admitted. "So, I packed my bags and headed here, to warn her that the Dead Rabbits are looking for her and her apparent new husband."

"You mean, your sister is in there?" she said, nodding back to the bar. Lilianna James was one of the people of interest at MI6 and she might be able to get some information about Anthony if she got to talk to her. "Would she be willing to speak with me?"

Mr. James barked out his laugh, "If you're willing to leave your gun in your purse, I'm sure that Lil will talk to you. She's kind of strong-willed and won't take as kindly to you poking a gun into her side as I have."

"Would you have talked to me otherwise?" she asked.

He shrugged, "Sure," he offered. "I'd talk to anyone, but you made it very clear that I didn't have a choice." knew that she might be playing her hand all wrong, but she needed his help and if she could get his sister to help her too, then she was sure that she'd find Anthony. All she could do was go on faith and with a little luck, she'd get her way.

She shoved her gun back into her purse and took a deep breath, expecting the worst. "How about now?" she asked. "Are you still willing to speak with me, Mr. James?" she asked.

"How about you buy me a beer and we'll see how things go. I can also introduce you to my sister if you're willing to come back into the bar with me," he said. She really had no other choice. was at his mercy and if she wanted answers, she'd have to play by Mr. James's rules.

"I'd be delighted to buy you a beer," she breathed.

"Great," Mr. James said, "lead the way." started for the bar, not bothering to look back to see if he was following her. All she could do now was hope that he'd cooperate with her and answer some of her questions, otherwise, Anthony would be lost to her.

sat in the middle of some very pissed-off-looking bikers and Lilianna James, who everyone called Banshee. She seemed to be the leader of the women who each sat next to their men. It didn't escape her notice that Declan James had no woman by his side.

"So, do you want to tell me why you dragged my brother out of here at gunpoint?" Lil asked.

"I'll admit that wasn't my finest decision, but you have to understand that I'm desperate to gain any information that might help me find my brother. He's all that I have left in the world," whispered.

"As we've explained, none of us are a part of the Dead Rabbits," Cillian James reminded.

"Yes, you've said, but you have each had run-ins with them and I was hoping that you might have some intel as to where they might be based here in Huntsville. I've heard that they might be holding him here in town," she said. Before taking a leave of absence from MI6, she found out that Anthony might have been transported to Alabama and she knew that she had to try to find him. She even tried to persuade her boss to let her take a team to the States to search for Anthony, but he refused. He told her that finding her brother wasn't MI6 business, and she knew that arguing with him would get her nowhere. Her boss wasn't one to break or even bend the rules.

"I can ask around if it helps," Lil offered. "My husband, Cian, worked for them for a while. That's how I got mixed up with them. When he walked away from the Dead Rabbits, they threatened me, just like they did Declan. We need to stop them from coming for our family. Would you be willing to help us with that, ?" Lil asked.

"What makes you think that I'd be able to help you with the Dead Rabbits?" asked. "If I could do that, don't you think that I'd find my brother on my own?"

Lil shrugged, "Maybe, but I have a feeling that you're more self-reliant than you've been letting on. I mean, you've got a gun in your purse to prove my point." Shit, the last thing she needed was to have to admit that she was MI6. This wasn't even official business.

"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," 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. 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.