Declan laughs, and it sends sparks down my spine. “You’re a good wife, Nico.”
I chuckle as I tuck the blanket around him. “Fuck off.” I fold his jacket over my arm. “You got pain meds? You’re gonna need something for this monster headache you’ll wake up with.”
His eyes shut, he points to the wall behind him. “Bathroom. Medicine cabinet.”
Tossing his jacket on the dresser, I head into his en suite and grab the meds and then go back to the kitchen for a bottle of water.
When I get back to the room, I take a few pills out of the bottle and crack open the water. “Sit up,” I say. “Take these meds and then you can sleep.”
He rolls his eyes but does what I say and swallows the pain killers without protest. By the time I come back from putting the meds away, Declan is snoring.
Grabbing his jacket, I start to hang it in his closet, but a folded piece of paper flutters to the floor.
Curious, I pick it up and open it, my eyes almost bugging out of my head when I read the threat. “The fuck?” I mutter, reading the letter again, then one more time.
Almost without hesitation, I pull out my phone to shoot a text to Kai to let him know about the blackmail so he can tell Carter.
Then I stop. This is exactly what Declanwouldn’twant. Yeah, it’s irresponsible for him not to tell his family and even more irresponsible for him to refuse a guard when someone is threatening him, but I can’t tell him I’ll keep his secrets, then not keep his fucking secrets.
“Fucking dammit,” I curse, stuffing the letter into my pocket.
I won’t say anything to Kai or Carter, but I’m not gonna let this shit slide. When Declan wakes up, we’ll talk about this and why he’s being fucking reckless.
I send Kai a text to let him know I got Declan home, and I’ll be sleeping on his couch to make sure he doesn’t get sick during the night.
Kai: Thanks. Carter won’t say it, but he appreciates it too.
Me: Your husband is a dick.
Kai: I know. My dick.
Me: Disgusting.
Kai sends me a laughing emoji.I pocket my phone and go into the living room. Plopping on the couch, I lie back and think about that letter. Who is after Declan? It’s not the Fensters or anyone that did business with them; they’re all wiped out. So, this is a new threat.
Are they after only Declan or the entire St. Clair-Whitlock family? Nah, it has to be just Declan. The note saidyou’ll pay for what you did, not your family will pay. This is personal to him. Someone believes he did them wrong. Now they’re out for revenge. But who?
I scoff. “Whohasn’the hurt?” I mutter to myself.
Declan is reckless, so it could be any number of people.
When we talk tomorrow, I’ll help him get some clarity so we can tackle this together.
He might not want my help—Declan is closed off, especially after Hendrix died. But I won’t give him the option to tell me no. He’ll let me help him and then he can do what he wants with the information. Either way, I’m in this, whether he likes it or not.
Notseems more likely.
CHAPTER 9
NICO
The feeling of someone staring at me snaps me out of my fitful slumber.
I blink my eyes open slowly, looking at the exposed beams of Declan’s condo. I slept like shit last night, waking up a few times to make sure the fucker was still breathing. If he choked on his own vomit in the night, Carter would have sworn I had something to do with it and try to take my head off.
A family of fucking psychopaths.
Letting out a sigh, I turn to face Declan, who is sitting in an armchair, staring intently at me. His face is a mix of curious and annoyed, like he wants to know why I’m here, but is upset that I’m here at the same time.
