Catch Him(56)

This house, now that she’d had a chance to explore, was truly amazing. Two big wings, six bedrooms, gleaming hardwood floors throughout. She’d counted no less than five fireplaces. The red brick front too was impressive. It made her feel like she was staying in a castle of sorts.

A castle Declan had built for his sister. To keep her safe and protected while he went on his missions. She could see now how Declan could let himself get shitfaced drunk at a wedding he didn’t believe in. Knowing his sister’s fate was suddenly out of his control.

Shaking off those thoughts, coffee in hand she made her way through the house and found what appeared to be a library or study. Poking her head inside she saw Declan, standing behind a desk with another man, Jillian across from him.

Three of them.

“Okay, it occurs to me you guys named your fake company Tricorp Group. That’s a little on the nose, don’t you think?”

The other man with Declan, who Sinead assumed was Flynn, groaned and glared at Jillian. “I told you that was a stupid name when you came up with it.”

“It’s not as if we’re running marketing campaigns or TV commercials,” she countered. “Who the freak cares what our shell corporation name is?”

“Just saying. It is lame and I’m not the only one who noticed. Hi, Sinead. I’m Flynn.”

Sinead shook the man’s hand. He was taller than Declan and darker, with a buzz cut that made her think former military. Handsome in a different way than Dec, but still someone any woman would look at twice if she passed him on the street.

Okay, maybe three times.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Dec says you’re ours now. Welcome.”

Ours. That felt different. Declan told her there were few people in this world who knew who he was, what he did. She was starting to understand the significance of what being one of those people meant. It was a commitment to him. It was a commitment to all of them.

“Thanks. I assume you’re putting together a plan.”

“It’s fairly straightforward,” Declan said. “We’ve routed Garrett to a location where we’ll… deal with him. Then I’ll take you to my townhome in DC and show you the city. You’ll love the Smithsonian. Probably all of them, but if I had to guess, Air and Space will be your favorite. Then we’ll have dinner and start discussing our future.”

Sinead’s jaw must have dropped because Jillian instantly started to snicker.

“What’s so funny?” Declan asked her.

“You’re about to get crushed,” Jillian muttered.

Sinead wasn’t listening. The buzzing in her head was too loud. “Are you seriously suggesting that I’m going to sit here while you go deal with the guy who followed me to Mary? You do know I’m a cop.”

“Was a cop,” Declan reminded her.

“What I mean is, I know how to do two things, protect myself and shoot people. Particularly bad people. I’m not a civilian here.”

Declan walked around the desk and came to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. “My love, we’ve got this covered. This will be handled with very little drama and then I’ll be back.”

Sinead jutted her chin out. “I’m coming with you.”

Declan shook his head in a way that made Sinead want to deck him all over again. “There’s no need.”

“There is a need. For me. Declan, I’m responsible for this somehow. I have to see this through. How was I responsible, by the way? I know he didn’t tail me…”

“There was a tracker on the car,” Jillian told her.

“Shit,” Sinead said, mad at herself for not thinking of something like that. Except at the time all she’d really known was that Garrett was lying about what was in the safe. She wasn’t prepared for how big this whole game really was. Covert operations, international bad guys.

“Don’t beat yourself up,” Declan told her. “I didn’t even think to check myself until you mentioned that you hadn’t flown here, but had driven here instead. Jillian confirmed the presence of the tracker and moved the vehicle to a secure location. We’ll be there to greet Huntley when he arrives.”

“Right,” Sinead said. “We’ll be there. The four of us.”

Declan sighed and Sinead conjured memories of what that sigh meant. Sadness. Disappointment.

“Here it comes,” Jillian muttered to Flynn. “Wait for it.”

He turned his head to scowl at Jillian but then quickly focused his attention on Sinead.

“Love, Garrett and his father won’t be coming alone. They’ll have men. Professionals. While I appreciate your support, I’m not prepared to put you at risk. I just got you back. The three of us can handle this. Then we can put this matter behind us and think of our future.”