He takes her by the shoulders and stares into her eyes with ferocious intensity. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. In the meantime—”
“No way, gangster,” she interrupts loudly, her face turning red. “No fucking way are you going anywhere without me.”
He glowers at her. “Sloane.”
“I’m coming with you. It’s not a negotiation.”
Her voice is flat, but her expression is murderous. Declan looks to me for help.
I hold my hands in the air. “If you think I can change her mind, I’m flattered. But once that horse is out of the barn, there’s no putting a saddle on it.”
Sloane scowls at me. “Where are you getting these stupid metaphors?”
“It was in the last manuscript I edited. I thought it was a good one.”
“It’s not.” She turns her attention back to Declan. “Here’s the deal. If you try to leave me behind, I’ll book a commercial flight and follow you.”
He growls, “I’ll order the men to keep you on the property.”
She lifts her brows. Regal as a queen, she says, “Do you really think they’ll listen to you over me?”
Declan’s face turns red. A vein pulses in his neck. His jaw is as hard as stone, and he’s grinding his molars again.
I think his head is in danger of exploding.
“Goddammit, woman—”
“End of discussion. Let’s get going.”
She wrenches herself free of his grip and heads to the door. He turns, glaring at her back.
I eat another Twizzler, anxious to see what will happen next.
Apparently Declan realizes he’s lost the battle. He drags his hands through his thick black hair. Muttering a curse, he stalks off after her.
“Hey!”
Halfway out the door, they turn and look at me.
“What am I doing? Are you gonna fly me home now?”
At the same time, the two of them pronounce, “You’ll stay here.”
“Here?” I look around the enormous bedroom in horror. “By myself?”
Sloane says, “You like being by yourself, remember?”
“Yeah, in my own place with all my own stuff. Not in the Bermuda Triangle Colosseum.”
Declan says sternly, “This is the safest place for you at the moment, lass. Nobody on earth knows about this location.”
The underlying message is that majorly bad guys would do majorly bad things to Declan and whoever’s in his vicinity if they knew where he was.
For the first time, I understand how dangerous Sloane’s situation is. She’s literally risking her life to be near him.
She’s risking her life for love.
I stare at her in disbelief. In a history full of reckless decisions, this one takes the cake.
She snaps, “You’re not leaving, Smalls.”
“But—”
“You brought your laptop so you could work from here. Right?”
I’m starting to get panicky. I do not want to stay here alone in this castle with only echoes for company.
I’m a city girl. My apartment at home is smaller than nine hundred square feet. This much open space creeps me out.
“Yeah, but I thought I’d be staying only a few days. How long will you guys be gone?”
Declan says, “I don’t know.” He points a finger at the floor, as if about to make a final, irrevocable declaration. “But until this situation is settled, you’re staying right here.”
Then they turn around and walk out, slamming the door behind them.
The bastards!
I look around the room in dread. “Oh, my god! I’m a captive!”
I leap to my feet and run to the door. Then I trip, because I still have the stupid heels on. Cursing, I kick them off, throw Spider’s coat on top of them, and run out the door and down the hallway in my bare feet.
I catch up to Declan and Slone in the sitting room, where it looks like a gangster convention.
Dozens of burly men in black suits mill around, muttering to each other in what I suppose is Gaelic and throwing dark glances at the windows. Spider’s there, too.
I say, “You guys, wait! This might be important!”
I can tell by her exasperated expression that Sloane thinks I’m about to argue with her again, but I’ve got something else on my mind. This Diego situation has rearranged a few things in my head.
I’m not sure if everyone else should hear what I have to say, though, so I wait until I’m standing right in front of them and keep my voice low.
“There was this guy, when I went to the ladies room at the restaurant. He thought I was a sex worker.”