Danger

S he wanted to protest, but knew that doing so would get her nowhere. Savage was being a bully and following his rules was really rubbing her the wrong way. Everyone around her agreed with the burly biker, and telling him that he was wrong wasn't going to happen. She'd just have to wait for him to look the other way and then she'd go to Athens to find her little brother.

"We can't stay here at the bar," Declan insisted. That was the first thing that anyone had said that made any sense all morning. They were all screwing around in the kitchen while she drank her coffee. She could hear them settling bets about whether or not she and Declan had slept together. They were barbaric and the only bright spot in any of the group was Lil. She seemed nice but had an edge that couldn't explain but knew well. Women like Lil lived on the edge, and could relate. And Lil did bet that she wouldn't fall into bed with Declan, so she had that going for her too.

"We've already thought about that," Savage's husband, Bowie said. "We have a safe house about four hours from here. You and will leave after the meeting to head out. You'll take my truck," he said, tossing Declan the keys, "and you'll need to leave both of your vehicles here. We'll take care of them so that they don't draw any unwanted attention, sitting in our parking lot overnight."

"Don't you think that we're being a bit too proactive?" asked. "I mean, the Dead Rabbits don't even know that we're here yet."

"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?" 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," 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, ," 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 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," 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," 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?" 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."

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?" 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," 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. 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 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.

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 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 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," said.

"Are you in danger, Bernadette?" her mother asked. Her job had put her into danger more times than she could count, not that she'd tell her mother that. Her Mum wasn't a fool, but the less she knew about 's job, the better.

"No, Mum," lied. "I'm far removed from any danger; I can assure you." Declan cleared his throat, and she shot him a look.

"Is someone with you?" her mother asked. The woman had the hearing of a twenty-something-year-old. She didn't miss a beat, and lying to her mother never ended well for her. Her Mum called her on her shit and didn't let her get away with anything.

"Yes," she said, "I'm with a friend who is helping me with Anthony."

"I'm glad that you have someone with you. You need a partner." Her mother loved to tell her how much she needed a "partner" in her life, but usually, it was more about the fact that she was still single than anything else. Her mother meant for her to have a "partner" in all aspects of her life, even though she'd protest and tell her Mum that she didn't have time for a relationship.

"Please don't start that right now, Mum," begged. "I'm exhausted from my trip here and I don't have the time or energy to explain to you why I don't want a relationship." Declan cleared his throat again, and she was sure that he was listening to her private conversation, not that he could help it with her sitting right next to him.

"All right, but I just hope that you're being careful," her mum said.

"I am, and I promise to call you in a few days when I hopefully have some more information," promised.

"Thank you, Bernadette," her mother said. She ended the call and did the same, slipping her burner phone back into her bag.

"That was a quick goodbye," Declan said.

"Yes, well, we aren't the kind of people who like to linger on a call when it's over," she said. "We say what we need to say and move on—short and sweet."

"You forgot to tell your mother that you love her," Declan said.

"No, I didn't," insisted, "she knows that. I don't have to say it aloud to her. Do you tell your mum that you love her every time you speak with her?" she asked. The sadness on Declan's face told her that she had made a careless error. She had asked a personal question that she shouldn't have. She knew better, but there was something about Declan that was familiar to her, even if he shouldn't be.

"I wish that I had the chance to tell my ma that I love her, just one more time. She and my father passed a while ago. I ended up having to finish raising Lil, but I'd do it all over again. It's what you do for family, but then, you know that firsthand."

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"Because you came all the way to America and are risking your life looking for your brother," he said. She hadn't thought about it that way. Finding Anthony and getting him out of the Dead Rabbits wasn't something that she thought about—she just did it.

"I guess," said. "My brother is my closest friend, not just my brother. I didn't think twice about getting on the plane to come here to look for him."

"Because family is everything," he said.

"Right," she breathed. It wasn't something that wanted to think about at the moment. Because if she thought about how important her family was to her, she'd end up fucking up her whole mission, and that wasn't something she could do. Anthony was counting on her not to fail.