She searches my expression for something, I don’t know what but it’s irrelevant. Gripping her jaw, I tell her, “Look at me. You will give this to me. Any worry, you make sure I know it and I will take care of it. Any thoughts like what happened today, you tell me them and I will take care of it.”
“Declan,” she whispers like she’s scared. Like whatever she’s about to say is a secret she’s afraid of speaking aloud.
“You can tell me anything,” I whisper and my chest spasms with pain as I will her to confess to me. “Whatever has happened, or will happen, I will take care of it and you. Nothing outside of us matters. You are mine. No matter what … happened.”
“Declan,” she murmurs and there’s such vulnerability in her eyes. “I didn’t do it. Whatever they told you, I didn’t do it. I swear. I would never do anything to hurt you.”
I hold it together, although something inside of me breaks. I know she’s the only source of the leak. I know that as a fact. But I caress her jaw and I kiss her tenderly. With my eyes closed and my lips close to her, I give her another white lie. “I believe you.”
I want to believe her. Everything in mewantsto believe her.
I cannot risk it happening again, though. Everything is in place to ensure she’s never given vulnerable information again. With that in mind, I pull back, staring down at her as she peers up at me like I’ve soothed every concern.
She will not be a liability because she will stay far away from all of that.
“No one will ever touch you again and you have no reason to be worried, my little pet.”
She reaches up to kiss me and I meet her lips but keep it short, petting her hair and then kissing her temple. Her skin is blazing hot.
“Now rest,” I whisper as I run a soothing hand down her back, then pull the covers over her. “I don’t want you sick.”
With a sheenof sweat along my forehead, I wake up in a panic, my heart racing, the screams still very easily heard. Every muscle is coiled and it takes me a moment to realize I’m in my bedroom and Braelynn is beside me. The night terror dims until I can barely remember what it was about.
Blinking it all away, I get out of bed and it protests the shifting weight with a groan.
The covers rustle and her soft voice cuts through the quiet night. “You’re awake.”
With heavy lids and her hair a mess, her bare shoulders peeking out from under the covers, she watches me. Out of instinct, I lean across the bed and cup her cheek in my hand and then test her forehead.
“Your fever hasn’t broken yet …” I glance at the clock and then back to her. “It’s three fifteen, go back to sleep and get better so I can have you as I wish.”
A soft smile graces her lips but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “It was hard to sleep. You sounded like you were having a nightmare.” I’m caught off guard and don’t react at first. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I tell her and perhaps it comes out harder than it should. Regaining my composure, I lean over and pull the covers up around her shoulders. “I didn’t mean to wake you, go back to sleep.”
She watches me intently, her eyes much more open than before. “Will you be here when I wake up?”
“Do you want me to be?”
“Yes.”
“Then I will be.”
Just as I’m answering her, shivers run down her shoulders and she holds her pillow tighter. Climbing back into bed, I put off the nightly routine when this shit happens. When I come home and can’t sleep, when 3:00 a.m. wakes me with messages of murderers, a bust, someone threatening someone else not paying. All of the bullshit of this fucking business that keeps me up with a strong hand and a hardened heart.
“Come here,” I tell her and pull her closer to me, holding her by my side. My brothers said they would take care of it. They told me to wrap up any loose ends and then they would take care of everything else.
My only task left this week is to decide what to do with Braelynn. Her feverish body is burning up as she nuzzles next to me. She’s far too warm to be seeking my touch for comfort but she presses against me as if she can’t get close enough. She’s mostly lying on her belly, but resting some on her side. With my arm around her I hold her close, splaying my hand against her shoulder.
With a single kiss to her temple, I tell her to sleep. I stare at the ceiling and reassure myself again as my thumb rubs soothing circles on her skin. My brothers will take care of work and I will take care of her.
It’s a first. They’ve never had to cover for me since I’ve stepped up to my current role. In over a decade, it hasn’t happened. Not since I was a fucking child. Every goddamn day there’s a fire to put out and I question if they’re capable of handling things like they used to be before they all settled down or if something will inevitably fall through the cracks.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” The softly spoken whisper brings my attention to the woman in my arms. My shoulders rise and fall as I take in a heavy breath.
“Is my fuck toy questioning me?” I smirk down at her and her concerned expression eases. “Does your ass not remember what happens when you push me?” As she blushes and writhes slightly in my grasp from the memory, I kiss her temple again and then nudge her nose with the tip of mine to kiss her lips.
She pulls back ever so slightly before saying, “I don’t want to get you sick.”