“Yes, I see,” Seb’s father answered, his voice cool. Luckily, he seemed to lose interest entirely when his phone buzzed. “I’ll take this,” he said dismissively, then walked out onto the back porch.
“You feeling okay this morning?” Declan asked once the door slid shut. His voice was rough and low, but there was still a tinge of kindness at the heart of it. “Manage to get any sleep?”
“Oh, yeah,” Seb lied. “I think I’ll be okay.” His hand trembled, and he grabbed the edge of the counter to hide it. “You?”
Declan creaked his neck, then stretched his elbows. “Just a little sore. Slept fine, though.”
The night before, he had made Seb promise not to thank him again, so Seb bit his tongue and turned to make a cup of coffee instead. “The extra security is already on the front of the house. I guess they’re not too worried about a repeat attempt.”
Declan nodded. “They’d be fucking fools to try something else right away. But I’m going to go for a little ride today, anyway.”
“A ride?”
He nodded as the coffee machine started to gurgle. “Just do a little asking around, see if anyone local has some information. I’ve got a nephew out here I should see anyway.”
“Oh, okay,” Seb said softly, his heartbeat suddenly spiking with anxiety at the idea that he would be alone in the house.
Declan must have caught the panic in Seb’s eye because he cleared his throat. “I’ll get going right away, so I’ll be back before the cleaning crews leave. Maybe your father and his security detail will be around for a while, too?”
Seb turned outside and saw his father on the deck, storming back and forth and screaming into his phone. “Hard to say,” he answered.
Declan caught the sight, then chuckled. “He must be pretty pissed about what happened, huh?”
“What? No, I imagine he’s upset about the price of oil or maybe a new regulation on one of his industries.” Seb spun his finger in the air, gesturing to the house. “He started forgetting about this the second he confirmed there wasn’t any serious property damage.”
Declan tightened his jaw, and the storm in his eyes felt like validation to Seb, like someone else was actually seeing the man his father was for once, instead of just sucking up to him for his money. “I guess we all have our priorities.” He rose up from the stool, then nodded Seb’s way. “I’ll get some breakfast on the road. Do me a favor, Sebastian. Stay inside and keep your head down until I’m back. Never hurts to play it safe.”
“Right,” Seb said. “Play it safe.”
A funny thrill warmed his chest, softening the pain he felt at Declan leaving. Just the fact that Declan cared enough to ask him to stay safe made Seb feel loopy and weird, like he had chugged a couple glasses of champagne.
When he saw his father take another phone call, Seb wandered into the bedroom and laid back down and finally caught a couple of hours of sleep.
DECLAN
Declan was still kicking himself when he arrived at his nephew’s joint.
Do me a favor. Keep your head down. Play it safe…
Who the hell did he think he was? It was his job to deal with any threats, not to talk to Sebastian like Declan was his fucking keeper.
Maybe it was just seeing what a dick his dad was that got Declan all worked up. His own pops had been a mess and a criminal, but at least the guy seemed to care whether Declan lived or died. Sebastian’s father was like every other corporate drone, so consumed with his own fortune he didn’t see what was happening right in front of his face.
Declan parked his car at the address Gray had texted, a run-down property outside Albany. His nephew’s place was only about an hour drive from Sebastian’s huge estate, and Declan had promised himself he’d find a way to visit while in New York, but the move on Sebastian had given him a kick in the ass.
“Uncle Declan?” Gray hollered. “Holy shit!”
He was standing in front of the squat brick building where he lived, bundled up in a big jacket and a scarf. Declan almost wouldn’t have recognized him, except the sharp lines of his face recalled so clearly memories of his mother, Declan’s sister. “Fucking hell, Gray. Look at you!”
They met in the middle of the driveway for a hug, slapping each other’s backs. Beside the house there was a sizeable garage and a worn old sign advertising the services of a mechanic. The house was far enough on the outskirts of the city that there was ample space from neighbors, and plenty of trees crowding the property line for privacy’s sake.
Gray slapped Declan’s back a few more times as he led his uncle inside. “I can’t believe you’re here. Last time I saw you was, what, ten years ago?”
“Twelve, I think,” Declan said, then chuckled when he thought back to his nephew, no more than seventeen years old at the time. Back then, he acted like a total firecracker. A bunch of the family had gotten together for Declan’s uncle’s wedding, and Gray had spent the whole weekend trying to steal booze from the adults. “You behaving yourself?”
“Does anyone in our family behave? Come on, a couple of my guys are in the back. I want you to meet them.”
They wandered through Gray’s house, which reminded Declan of a hunting lodge, but if it were owned by a metalhead instead of an outdoorsman. He spotted a few old pictures of their family around the place, but for the most part it seemed like a true bachelor’s pad.
