Chapter Thirty-Two

Declan sat at his favourite table in Bar-None. He nursed a vodka and soda as he waited.

The door opened and light flooded into the bar. Charlie walked in and went straight to Mickey, who took his car keys and handed him a beer.

"Good to see you back in here. I thought you must have taken offence at me hitting you with my car."

"It would take a lot more than that to keep me away," Charlie said.

"How about a plate of nachos on the house?"

"Sweet! I gotta start throwing myself in front of cars more often."

"He's in the corner," Mickey said.

Charlie made his way over to Declan.

Declan raised his glass and said, "Tonight we celebrate. Tomorrow, we'll be spending more time with the police. When Luke comes up for trial, it'll be a shit-show. Everybody will be out to protect their own asses, especially the cops. McKeckran just about had the case thrown out."

"What about Katherine and Michael?"

"I think they'll be fine. They weren't directly involved, although Michael will have to distance himself from Monarch if he wants to come out of this with a decent reputation. He was just a real estate agent trying to get a deal, and Katherine thought the sale would convince Ian to go back to England. They did nothing criminally wrong."

"And who is Monarch?" Charlie asked.

"Who knows? I don't think Michael has a clue who's behind it. Even Mr Attwal didn't seem to know. And I doubt Brick Wall will talk. Guys like him don't live to be his age by talking."

"That leaves Luke," Charlie said.

"I'm not sure if he knows anyone higher up than Brick Wall. These organisations survive by working in cells. You only know what you need to."

Charlie nodded. "Speaking of Luke… How are you doing? I mean…the two of you were… I'm sorry, it's none of my business."

"No. It's okay. I gotta admit, it took me by surprise. I keep asking myself if there was something I should have caught. Once he found out we were involved in the case, I was his direct line to any clues we might have discovered that could implicate him. I guess next time I'm attracted to someone, I have to use better judgement."

Declan drained his glass and signalled to Mickey that he wanted a refill. "How about you and Justin? You got pretty close."

Charlie blushed. "It was just something that happened in the heat of the moment. I don't think he trusts me, and my feelings are all mixed up right now." Charlie took a swig of his beer. "Why did Luke have to kidnap Justin? It makes no sense. He knew he wasn't involved in Ian's murder."

"Luke was driven by fear. All of the decisions he made were based in that. He was afraid that Monarch would destroy his father, so he agreed to help them convince Ian to sell. He was afraid that when Justin told him he'd seen someone outside Sheldon's house, that he knew it was Luke. He wasn't thinking when he took Justin to the bakery building. He hoped Brick Wall would be able to get him out of that mess."

Mickey came by and dropped off another round of drinks just as the Kid brought them a plate of nachos.

"So," Declan said. "I had a call from Mrs B just before you got here."

"How's she doing?"

"Still on the mend. She's sounding great, but she did have some bad news."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it seems she's enjoying herself down there. The weather's perfect, the dollar goes a long way and, from the sounds of it, she has a very attractive orderly who is paying her a lot of attention."

"So, what's the bad news?"

"She tendered her resignation. She said her heart attack showed her that she needs to spend more time enjoying herself, instead of taking care of me. So I guess I'll be looking for a permanent replacement for her. Do you happen to know anybody who would want the position? I mean, you only signed up for three weeks."

Charlie got a serious look on his face. "I can only think of one person who would be crazy enough to want to work for you."

"Do you think they'd say yes?"

"I'm pretty sure he's crazy enough to do that."

They raised their glasses in a toast to Mrs B and to Charlie coming on board full-time. The warmth of the vodka penetrated Declan's body. He was more relaxed than he had been in a long time.

"You know, of all the stories Luke told me, the strangest one involved you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He had this strong suspicion that you were attracted to me. Those weren't his exact words, but…"

Charlie blushed. "Now why would you believe a guy like that?" Charlie asked. "Maybe he was just testing you to see if you'd cheat on him if someone expressed any interest?"

"Maybe," Declan said with a smile.

* * * *

They left the bar and walked back to the office. When they got to the door Declan looked at Charlie. "I need to know—was Luke right about you being attracted to me?"

Charlie looked down. "Even if I were attracted to you, which I'm not saying I am, but it would not necessarily be beyond the realm of reason given…your looks… It would be inappropriate since you're my boss, and a relationship, if it were to develop into one, which I'm not saying it would, would not be in the best interests of our…working relationship…"

Before Charlie could finish, Declan leaned in and kissed him. Not a drunken one like before but a deep, passionate kiss. Charlie's body tingled with excitement as arousal took hold of every fibre of his being. He wrapped his arms around Declan, and pressed into him, wishing this moment would last forever. Declan came up for air, but Charlie wasn't finished. He grabbed a hold of Declan and kissed him again.

Declan laughed. "Well, I guess I got my answer." He paused then said, "I'm gonna regret this, but do you want to come upstairs?"

Charlie beamed, then the smile on his face slowly melted.

"What's wrong?" Declan asked.

Charlie backed away. "I want to, but I can't. Not yet. This is too important. I don't want to fuck this up."

Declan nodded his head. "I can wait."

As Charlie walked away Declan called out, "You're an exceptional man, Charlie Watts. I'm lucky to have met you."

Charlie turned back. "I'm the lucky one."

"See you tomorrow then?"

Charlie grinned. "You couldn't keep me away."

Charlie walked home in a daze. His life had changed so much over the past few weeks. He had a job he loved. He was finally away from his parents. And Declan… That was complicated. But there was no rush to figure that out. Charlie realised for the first time in his life he was exactly where he was supposed to be.