“No, I—”
“You took the fucking diamonds. Kurt’s box.”
“Yes, I—”
“You wanted evidence.That’swhy.” And I thought he’d done it for themoney. This isso muchworse.
“No.” His jaw clenches, a muscle twitching. “Originally, yes. But that’s not why—”
“You trying to tell me you’vechanged?” I laugh, bitter and full of scorn. “You trying to tell me you’veresigned?”
“I have, I—”
“You expect me tobelievethat? It’s not even fucking official! Is this aploy?”
Declan takes a long breath. Straightens his back. Lowers his shoulders.
“You fucking lying, backstabbing, son of a—”
“Raven.” His voice cuts across. “Sit your ass back down andlistento me. For one minute.”
“Why the fuck should I? What thehellcould you have to say to me that I need to hear?”
“Please.”
The raw need in his voice makes me falter. I cross my arms, glaring at him. I’m not going to sit down. “Sixty seconds. That’s all you get. You don’t even deserve that.”
He runs a hand through his hair, then leans back against the kitchen counter, gripping the edge of it, knuckles white. “Yes, I was an undercover FBI agent. Yes, I was sent to bring in Kurt Renner.”
Fuck. We are so screwed.
I have a gun in my waistband, digging into the small of my back. Can I kill him?
No… I can’t. Even if his sister wasn’t watching, I couldn’t bring myself to do that. It’s not me.
I don’t even know why I brought the goddamn gun.
“That all changed,” Declan continues, “andyou’rethe reason.”
I jerk like he’s slapped me. “Me?What’s that supposed to mean?”
“From the very first moment I met you, I was…pulledto you. Your ferociousness. Your spirit. You’re the most alive person I know. That raven on your back? That’s you, right there. Always diving, never flinching. The way you ride, the way you fight, the way you…” He gives a short laugh, then continues in a soft voice. “The way you doeverything.”
The way you fuck. My mind fills in what he can’t say in front of his sister.
But it’s all irrelevant.
“So what, I’m the reason for your crisis ofconscience?”
“I wouldn’t put it like that, but… yes.”
“You saw me, and couldn’t resist?” My tone is scathing. Like anyone could believe thatfor even a minute.
“I know I haven’t exactly…” He takes a breath. “I want the chance to show you who I really am, and it’s not DeclanMaddox, it’s DeclanHale.” His sister frowns as she listens but says nothing. “I want to go riding with you. Play pool with you. Hell, get into bar fights with you.”
“We’ve already done that.”
“Yes, and I want more of it. So much more.”
