Declan tilted up his beer bottle, guzzling over half. Once he was done, he looked at me and sighed. “Fair enough. What do you want to know?”
I couldn’t stop smiling even if I tried. “Everything. I’ll take whatever you give me.”
He hesitated for a split second as if contemplating what he should do. But then, he nodded toward the back door. “Fine. I’ll tell yousomethings about my life, but I can’t tell you everything. There are just some things Ican’ttalk about.”
“Hey,” I said, holding my hands up, “I’m good with that. I like you, Declan. You seem like a great person. All I want is to get to know you.”
His shoulders relaxed and his lips tilted up in a small smile. “Come on, then. Let’s go outside so you don’t miss your fireworks.”
We headed outside and I kicked off my sandals so I could sit at the edge of the pool and soak my feet in the cool water. Declan took off his shoes and did the same, which surprised me. His arm brushed against mine and I smiled, loving how my skin broke out in goose bumps.
“The phone call I got earlier was from my parents,” he revealed as he peered out at the lake.
“Why didn’t you answer?”
His jaw muscles clenched and he closed his eyes. “It’s hard to talk to them right now.”
My pulse raced even more.
“Why?” I asked, my voice just above a whisper.
Declan finally turned to me, his eyes conveying so many emotions that it made my heart hurt. “Because they know today is not easy for me. But I also know it’s not easy for them, either.” He shifted his focus back to the lake. “I lost my brother six months ago, Ayla. He was killed.”
My chest tightened and I sucked in a breath. That wasn’t what I was expecting to hear.
“What happened?”
Declan hung his head, sighed, and then met my eyes again. “He was shot while on one of our undercover FBI missions.”
“I am so sorry,” I murmured, mouth dropping in shock. “I’m an only child so I can’t imagine what that must feel like.”
He reached a hand into the water and glided his fingers through it. “Elijah was only thirty-four years old.”
I placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping to offer some semblance of comfort; it was clear he needed it.
“Were you there when it happened?”
Declan tensed and I could feel the walls start to build up around him again. “Yes. It’s a night I’ll never forget.”
When he didn’t elaborate, I just sat there and stared at him. I didn’t know what it was like to lose asibling, so there was no way I could relate to that. I was close to all my grandparents when I lost them over the years, but I had to imagine it would be worse to lose a brother or sister. Judging by the despair on Declan’s face, he must have been close to his brother.
What do you say after something like that? Declan was there when his brother died. He was shot, which meant it had to have been horrific.
“It’s strange to know you’re an FBI agent,” I said softly. “I’ve never known anyone like you.”
Declan shook his head. “I’m not anymore. I resigned after what happened to Elijah.”
I rubbed my hand soothingly down his arm. “Then you moved down here.”
“Yes,” he replied with a nod. “I was hoping to have an escape from it all.”
Slowly, I let my hand slide off his arm. “And here I am asking you to talk about it. I’m sorry for meddling. I just wanted to get to know you.”
Declan glanced down at my hand and gently wrapped his fingers around mine. They were warm and strong, and felt very protective. I could see him being an FBI agent and trying to save the world from the bad guys.
“It’s okay,” he said. “Iwantto let you in, but there are things I can’t tell you about myself.”
“Can’t or won’t?” I questioned.
