She sighed and stepped back and he had the feeling that it was too little, way too late. He'd hurt her too badly all those years ago, and now she wouldn't risk letting him close again.
"Jess, I just want you to know-"
"Shh." She reached out and rested a hand against his chest. "Don't ask for anything tonight. Let's just be together, not worry about the future."
And why would she say that if she believed they had a future. Well, if all he had was tonight, he wasn't wasting it in the company of a whole load of people, most of whom he had no feelings for at all.
"Let's go then. To my place." She looked a little skeptical. "Come on, Jess, I have one more night to persuade you that we can make this work."
For a second he thought she wouldn't agree. Then she gave a brisk nod. "Let's get out of here."
As she turned away, she frowned and reached into her pocket, pulling out a cell phone. She listened for a few seconds, her eyes narrowing in concentration and then flicking to him. She took a step forward, rested her palm against his chest, and pushed him back into the shelter of the pillar, while her eyes scanned the room.
Steve and the other guard for the night appeared out of nowhere as she closed off the call and put the phone back in her pocket. "You've heard?" she asked Steve.
"Yes, we need to get him out of here."
Obviously, they'd discovered something, some danger, but what the hell could it be. He trusted his father-if he said the threat was fixed, it was fixed. But she'd learned something that she wasn't happy with. "What is it, Jess?" A prickle ran down his back. Then he remembered the letter bomb that had devastated his apartment. They wouldn't try anything like that here would they? Not with all these people … his family. "Tell me, goddammit."
"Jake just got some new information." She pressed a finger to her forehead. "Did your father tell you who was involved?"
"He said it was better I didn't know."
"So he didn't mention your assistant?"
A frown tugged at his face. "Paul?"
"Apparently the DNA from the letter bomb was a match."
That didn't make sense. He would have sworn Paul was loyal to his father if not to him. "So he was in on the money laundering all along?"
"Right now, we don't know. Jake's looking into it."
"Paul's here tonight."
"I know. I spotted him earlier, but I haven't seen him for a while. We have men searching the place and your father's people have also been instructed to keep an eye out for him. They'll find him."
She turned away and spoke briefly with Steve, then came back to him. "We're going to get you out of here. This place is too difficult to keep you safe. Not only that, but if anyone starts shooting in here, it could get very messy. So we're going to walk out of here."
"I don't think so."
"You'll be surrounded. There's no way he can reach you."
"You think I'm going to let you risk your life to keep me safe?"
Her brows drew together. "Of course you are. That's what we're here for. That's why you employed us." She stopped and stared at him, eyes narrowed. "Except you didn't, did you? You knew there would never be any danger."
He didn't bother to answer; the question had been purely rhetorical anyway. "I'll walk out of here so long as you are nowhere near. I'm not letting you take a bullet for me."
"This is not negotiable," she snapped.
"That's where you're wrong." He folded his arms, leaned back against the table behind him. He wasn't going anywhere until he was sure Jess was safe.
She stared at him for long minutes. Steve leaned in close. "We're wasting time, Jess." She gritted her teeth, but then shrugged, though her figure was tense. She pursed her lips, studied him, her gaze dropping to the tattoo on his arm. Then she gave a curt nod. "Okay. I'll head out first. You follow once I'm away."
"Good. I'll see you at my place."
She made to go past him, but hesitated, and wrapped her arms around his middle, laid her head against his chest. "Be careful and do what you're told." Then she was gone.
He kept his gaze fixed on her as she strode across the room, her hair a bright beacon in the dim light. As soon as she had disappeared through the far door, Steve nudged him in the side. "Okay, let's go. Just walk casual as though there's nothing wrong. The car's parked out back in the alley. We're going to head straight there."
The skin down his spine prickled as he stepped out into the room. He searched the balconies around the edges, the pillars that created dark corners like the one he'd kissed Jess in. There were so many places a shooter could hide. But it didn't make sense. They could never hope to shoot him in here and get away afterward. Maybe it was conceivable that Paul might be holding some grudge, but Declan couldn't believe he was suicidal or that he'd risk spending years in prison.