Declan (11 page)

The door swings open and I almost scream when Declan enters the room, gun held in front of him and his head scanning like crazy.

“What the fuck?” He shouts. “I almost fucking shot you!” He looks awful. There are shadows under his eyes and his face is covered in stubble that looks at least a couple of days old.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” I stammer out. “I just wanted to see you.” I start to shake when I realize just how close I came to being shot as an intruder.

“How did you even get in here?” Declan sounds exhausted. “I’m sure I locked the door?” He’s so tired he’s questioning himself.

I hold up the credit card that I used to jimmy his door lock guiltily. “My brother might have taught me how to break and enter when we were younger.” I confess.

“I almost shot you.” He repeats, his hand shaking slightly as he finally lowers the gun.

“Well. I’m glad you didn’t.” I try and hide my nerves with false cheer. It doesn’t quite work as even I can hear the tremor in my voice.

“I’m sorry.” Declan apologizes. He really does look done in.

“Are you okay? You look dreadful.” Way to go Holly I admonish myself. Knock a guy when he’s down.

“I’m shattered. I need to sleep.” He heads slowly across the room to his bedroom ignoring me. He pauses just before he opens the door. “Go home, Holly.”

I feel like I’ve been slapped. There’s no affection or emotion in his voice as he dismisses me. Fuck that. I’m not a child to be told to go home.

I hesitate before letting forth a tirade of abuse on him. He’s exhausted; any fool can see that and this fool needs to understand that.

I ignore his words and follow him into the bedroom. Without speaking I help him undress and he slides naked beneath the covers. I quickly remove my clothes as well and jump in next to him.

“I can’t, Holly.” He sighs, turning his back on me. I don’t understand. Just a couple of days ago we were enjoying hot sex together. What’s going on here?

I ignore him again, instead spooning against his back and wrapping my arms around him. “Shh, Declan.” I soothe. “Just sleep, I’ll keep you safe.”

My poor boy is so tired he falls asleep quickly without further protest. I lay behind him, gently tracing my hand across his chest. His breathing becomes heavier and soon I think he’s in a deep sleep.

The peace is soon broken when it’s obvious he’s in the midst of a horrific nightmare. He’s starting to thrash and toss in his sleep and crying out unintelligible words.

I’m fearful of waking him when he’s like this so I hold him tighter, whispering in his ear that I’m here, that he’s safe. I repeat this until he calms down and drifts back off to sleep.

I must nod off myself. I feel incredibly hot when I wake, and realize that it’s the heat of another body next to mine. At some point we’ve swapped positions and Declan is now spooning against my back. His arm holds me tightly against him, but I can tell from the gentle wheeze he’s making that he’s still asleep.

I reach a hand behind me, lazily tracing patterns on his leg. It’s enough to wake him, I almost feel guilty for disturbing his rest until I feel the hard length of his cock pressing into my back. Declan’s not the only one awake apparently.

“I told you to go home.” He whispers in my ear.

“I know. I ignored you.” I whisper back.

“You’re going to be a handful aren’t you, Holly.” He says. I can almost hear a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, turning to face him. Something’s changed between us and I’m not sure what it is.

“We can’t do this, Holly.” He gestures between us.

“What do you mean we can’t do this?” I question. “Your cock seems to think we can.” I point at his erection, which obviously missed the memo saying we couldn’t have sex.

“I’m dangerous for you, Holly. I can’t be with you.” He pauses, wondering how much he can tell me. “I have nightmares, bad ones and I hurt people when I have nightmares.” He looks broken now.

“I know you have nightmares.” I tell him. “You had one earlier.” He looks at me in surprise. His eyes travel up and down my body, inspecting me. His hand moves to touch my throat. “What are you looking for?”

“I… I hurt people in my nightmares. Why didn’t I hurt you?” He sounds so confused right now.

“Because I held you from behind and comforted you until it passed.” I tell him. “I hugged your nightmare away.”

“Really?” His voice is laced with disbelief.

“Really.” I reach over and kiss him on the nose. “Silly boy, you couldn’t hurt me.” The look on his face tells me he doesn’t believe that.

Slowly I work my way down his chest, kissing, nipping and teasing him. When I get to his erection I can’t help myself, I take him in my mouth. I love the sigh he makes when I do that. The little moans he makes as I move my tongue up and down his hard length excite me.

“Fuck me, Declan.” I release his cock from my mouth in order to make my request, taking it into my hand and pumping slowly instead. His cock feels so hot and ready for me.

He looks torn. “Please?” I beg. That does it.

“Holly.” He groans. “Turn over.” I do as he asks and Declan takes me from behind. The position forces his cock deeper than ever and I gasp and groan in pleasure as he thrusts in and out of me.

Without warning he slaps my arse, no one’s ever done that to me before, but it feels good. The sting is welcome and I swear I felt his cock harden even more when he slapped me. He slaps me again, on the other cheek this time and I’m right. His cock does get harder when he slaps me.

We rut like animals, this is wild sex and it’s fucking amazing. I scream out my orgasm. I can sense that Declan is close, so I surprise him.

“I want you to come in my mouth.” I tell him.

“Fuck, Holly!” He gasps. “Turn over.” I’ve barely got him in my mouth before he’s coming down my throat. I swallow the salty taste of him, lapping at his cock with my tongue, sucking every last drop from him.

His groan when he came is the most amazing sound. I love knowing that I did that.

“I think I’m going to fucking pass out.” He says, leaning against the headboard and over me. “That was… fucking awesome.” He stammers out.

His breathing is heavy, and we’re both coated in a sheen of sweat. Sex with him is just amazing. I’ve never slept with anyone like Declan before.

“Dirty boy.” I laugh at him, tracing my hand along his sweaty back. “You need a shower.”

“I sure do.” He smirks back at me. “Fancy joining me?”

“Well, it would be rude not to.” I laugh. “I’ll let you go warm it up first though.” I grin at him as I pull the sheet around me, covering me from the cool air in the room.

Declan laughs. It’s a great sound. I don’t hear him laugh very often, I get the impression he has a lot of hidden demons, so when he does it’s a beautiful sound.

He makes his way to the bathroom, and I can’t help commenting on the view. “Lovely arse you’ve got there.”

“Yep, and it’s all yours.” He shouts back from the bathroom door. “You joining me or not?”

I jump out of bed and follow him. Yummy. Shower sex here I come.

I can’t get over how good it feels with Holly. I came back from Melbourne determined to push her away, and yet here she is back in my bed.

The sex was amazing; the chemistry between us is the best I’ve ever felt. She says she calmed me down from a nightmare. I try to recall anything that would prove her right. I wish it was true, but I’m still scared that I’m going to hurt her.

If we’re to stand any chance together then I’m going to have to get help. I don’t want to admit I’ve got a problem, but it’s the only way I can see a future for me and Holly. I can’t be with her while I’m like a ticking time bomb.

Showering with Holly is fun, I’d love to wake up and start the day like this every day. There’s a lot of groping, fondling and washing each other down. There’s no sex as I think she’s drained me dry. I can’t believe she asked me to come in her mouth like that. Fuck, that was one hell of an orgasm.

Holly’s sat on the bed brushing her hair when my phone rings. It’s Chris. She seems oblivious so I take his call in the other room.

Chris has found the location of the drug warehouse. We need to act quickly. I tell him that I’ll arrange a meeting with the MC’s and brief them.

Chris tells me that he and the guys will be here this evening. I offer to put them up in the empty guest rooms out back.

“I’ve not started refurbishing them yet, they’re still pretty basic, but they’re clean.” I offer.

“Shit, Declan. They’ll be bloody heaven compared to some of the places we’ve bunked over the years.” Chris laughs. He’s right. We have been in some pretty basic accommodations during our service.

We end the call with Chris telling me he’s flying the guys in by private plan to a local airfield. He’ll arrange transport to the pub, but they’ll arrive after closing to help things remain discreet. That’s fine by me.

I put the phone back on the table and see Holly standing in the bedroom doorway. Shit. How much of that did she hear? The expression on her face tells me it was more than I wanted her to know.

“What’s happening, Declan?” She asks between gritted teeth.

“Nothing, I’ve just got some old friends coming to stay for a few days.” She doesn’t buy it.

“Why do you need to sit down with the MC’s and brief them? Who are you? What are you?” She’s firing the questions at me now faster than I can answer them. Not that I can answer them.

“I can’t tell you.” I plead with her to accept my answer.

“Can’t or won’t?” She demands.

“Both.”

“Fuck, Declan. You’re mixed up in some shit and you’re going to get hurt. I can’t do this. I can’t lose someone I care about again.” There are tears in her eyes now. I can’t stand knowing that I’m causing her pain.

“I told you I couldn’t do this, Holly. I can’t be with you right now, it’s not safe for me to be with you.” I’m backing away from her all the time I’m talking.

Shit. I don’t want to lose her, but I can’t see any other option right now. It’s not safe to be around me. I can’t promise her that I won’t get hurt. I can’t even promise her that her friends won’t get hurt. If that happens I know she’ll hate me.

“You don’t have to do this, Declan.” She pleads. “You can choose. You can choose me.” Her tears are getting heavier.

I turn my back on her; unable to say the words she wants to hear.

“Fuck you, Declan. It’s your loss.” She screeches at me as she slams out of my apartment, the door shaking on its hinges as she crashes it behind her.

I sit there looking at the closed door for too long. I just lost my chance to save any chance I had of a relationship with Holly.

Sighing I pick up the phone to call Angel. I might have lost Holly, but hopefully I can still save the people she cares about.

The meeting between the two MC’s was held at the Severed clubhouse. It was strange being inside the inner sanctum of an MC. There were parts of it that felt reminiscent of an episode of Sons of Anarchy, even though as a club Severed couldn’t be more different than the Sons.

The contrast between the two clubs is vast. Where I’ve always held respect for Severed and the guys there, the other club Carnal seems totally different. I get the impression these are more like the Sons than I’m comfortable with.

The meeting was small, just the main players in the room. There was a lot of resentment from Carnal that an outsider had been allowed in, and was giving them orders.

Angel did his best to convince them that I was an okay guy, but I could still sense the distrust when the meeting broke up.

Razor and Viper from Carnal worry me. They’re quick tempered and angry. They’re out for revenge and seem unconcerned about who gets hurt as collateral damage. They’re dangerous. They’re also fighting amongst themselves over who’s going to take over the reins at Carnal.

At one point I thought Viper was going to go out there on his own, all guns blazing but Razor managed to rein him in. Razor is holding onto the reins by the narrowest margin. As much as he distrusts me he knows that he needs the guys and me. Viper is a loose cannon. I’d be happier without either of them coming on the mission if I’m honest.

The two clubs agree that I’ll supply the firepower and my team, and that they’ll both only send limited number of men, I’ve tried to stress how dangerous inexperienced personnel will be, but I’m not sure they’ve fully grasped how serious and just how dangerous this is.

The meeting ends and the assault is planned for tomorrow evening. That gives my guys time to rest and plan.

We’ll spend the day going over surveillance photos and getting prepped. We can do this with our hands tied behind our backs. I just hope that the two MC’s don’t fuck it up and get us all killed.

It was good to see the guys again, I just wish in some ways it had been under better circumstances. It’s bitter sweet knowing we’re all only back in the room together because of this drug war I’ve landed smack in the middle of.

The guys are ribbing each other over silly little things, Luke still can’t get Jacko to open up about his vet nurse and I sense that there’s a story there. I make a mental note to do some digging when we get back from this op. If we get back from this op.

Jacko and Luke scouted out a command area for us and spent the afternoon getting the supplies we needed out there.

We’re going in fairly light, side arms, rifles, grenades and knives for the most part. We’re expecting most of the combat to be at close quarters and we’re relying on the element of surprise.

The decision has been made that we’ll go in and secure the building before we let the MC’s get involved. It’s safer for everyone this way. As much as we’d like to keep them out of it I know we can’t. If we try to do that they’ll just go in all guns blazing and we’ll end up with a load of casualties and no winners.

Cam and Chris have been on surveillance. The building looks derelict, it’s a clever cover, but there’s just enough traffic and noise to give it away if you know what you’re looking for. Thanks to Chris’s Intel we know the key players will be here this evening. It’s the perfect time to strike.

The weather is not being our friend this evening; the night sky is clear and bright leaving no shadows for us to hide in. I’d have been happier with cloud cover or even rain. We’ll just have to make the best of what we’ve got.

The MC’s arrive and they’re noisy as fuck. Lucky for us it doesn’t appear that the enemy has noticed them. I can’t tell if they look impressed or overawed by the weapons that we hand them. I think it’s a mixture of both.

“That’s a big building to cover.” Angel whispers. He’s right. There’s more than one floor and there are windows all around it.

“It’s not as bad as it looks, our surveillance has shown that the upper floor is empty, we’ve only got the ground floor to worry about.” I reassure him.

We’ve counted around thirty guards which means that we’re massively outnumbered, but I’m confident that stealth will see the odds reversed.

I manage to persuade the MC’s to let us go in and clear the perimeter and we’ll let them know when we need them to join us. Viper’s not happy about it, but the others soon convince him he has no choice.

Cam pointed out the trip wires and sensors to them. They’re not equipped to deal with them without setting off an alarm. We are, it’s that simple.

I can see the curiosity in the eyes of the MC members. They’re burning with questions, now isn’t the time or the place for them.

My team set off, shadows in the night. It doesn’t take them long to secure the perimeter. We made the decision that there will be no live casualties. Even my experienced ear can’t hear the sound of the approach, nor the throats being cut as each assailant is overpowered. So far, so good.

Once the exterior is cleared we lead the MC guys into the heart of the building. A few of the workers are huddled in one corner of the large room whilst Chris covers them with a gun. These guys aren’t a real threat, but they’re witnesses and they won’t see the morning.

The huge white spotlights create no shadows in the room, there’s no place to hide. The centre of the room is filled with long trestle tables where they’re mixing the drugs. The equipment looks expensive. Chris was right, they’re well funded.

In the centre of the room Cam has one of the leaders tied to a chair, a black bag over his head.

Cowboy and Angel are still taking it all in. I walk over to them and realise from their shocked appearance that I probably look a little scary right now. I’m covered in a mix of blood and dust.

“We’ve got it under control here. It might be better if you guys get out of here and let us finish it off.” I whisper, indicating the guy in the chair. “Plausible deniability and all that.” Cowboy looks like he wants to throw up.

“You sure?” Angel asks, relief in his voice.

They’re about to agree when the loose canon arrives in the room.

“Not so fast.” Viper interrupts. He heads for the guy strapped to the chair, asking if it’s the one who ordered the hit on his clubhouse.

“One of them.” I confirm.

Viper goes over and puts a bullet in the guy’s head. “Fuck”. I didn’t see that coming. We hadn’t finished questioning him.

Viper stands in front of the body, smirking. The idiot then gets his dick out and urinates all over the dead body.

“Amateurs.” I mutter under my breath. I finally persuade the MC’s to go home. I can’t risk them fucking up any more of the operation. Whilst we’re armed with guns they leave bullets, and bullets are evidence. I wanted to do as much of this as possible without using them other than as deterrents.

Viper looks pissed off when I won’t let him take the drugs with him. We’re destroying them. There’s no way I’m letting this poison ruin anyone else’s life.

The MC is just heading out when one of the drug gang rushes into the room shooting wildly. Fuck it all to hell. I thought we’d cleared that corridor. I react instinctively. One shot from me and he’s down – permanently.

I hear Angel swear and turn round to see him holding Cowboy. Shit. He’s been hit. Cowboy has passed out. Luckily it looks like the bullet went straight through, he should be okay, just sore for a few days.

I persuade Angel that they need to leave now. I’ll deal with the rest of it. I let out a sigh of relief when they’re gone.

Chris has gathered up the paperwork we were able to find, he’ll take that back with him and scrutinise it.

He passes us a couple of handguns to deal with the workers we’ve got tied up in the corner. The guns are registered to one of the cartels and can’t be traced back to us. With any luck there’ll be enough evidence left when we’ve destroyed the place to make it look like a battle between rival dealers. It’s a powerful enough cartel that it will encourage any other wannabes to stay the hell out of Severed. We hope.

The fuses are set on the dynamite we’ve set. All the loose ends are tied up apart from one. This one’s personal for me. When they attacked one of the women from Severed they stole a ring from her. It belonged to her late husband. I search each of the bodies until I find it. It’s jammed onto the fat bastards finger and wont come off. I make it come off, discarding the bloody stump of his finger on the floor beside his lifeless body.

Now I feel like we’ve finished our mission.

We watch from a safe distance as the warehouse goes up in flames, checking the ruins afterwards to make sure that none of the drugs have survived the fire.

It’s dawn when we walk away from the wreckage.