“Where was Brian?”
Shit. I hadn’t meant to rat Brian out. I try to brush it off, but Deklan grabs my chin and glares at me until I answer.
“He….he had to step out. Sean called him, and Brian said he would just stay in the car outside and watch over the place from there.”
“Motherfucker,” Deklan mumbles.
“Please, don’t be mad at him. It was my fault. He knows I don’t like him sleeping on the couch.”
“Mad?” Deklan lets out a hollow laugh as he releases my chin. “I’m a little beyond that.”
“He tried to call you.”
“He knows I don’t want you left alone—ever.”
“Well, what is he supposed to do if the boss tells him to do something, and he can’t reach you?”
Deklan doesn’t have an answer to that one. He leans against the counter again and scowls at the floor.
“How long?” I finally ask. “How long will it be this way?”
“I don’t know,” Deklan says. “I need to figure out if there was anyone else involved in your kidnapping aside from your father and Grange. There are still a couple of missing pieces.”
“Maybe I could help with that.”
“I don’t want you involved.”
“I’m already involved, Dek.” I stand up and move in front of him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I don’t want to fight about this.”
“I don’t want to fight with you either.” He places his hands on my hips and kisses my forehead.
“Maybe we can compromise?” I tilt my head and watch him carefully as he narrows his eyes, and an idea forms in my head.
“What kind of compromise?”
“Well, how about I come work with you?”
“Fuck no.”
“Deklan—”
He pushes me away and heads for the coatrack.
“Completely out of the question, Kera! There is no way I’d allow that!”
“I don’t mean doing…what you do.” I go after him and grab onto his hand before he can put on his jacket. “But I could still do something. I could translate like I did that one time or maybe help Teagan with the books or something. You could keep an eye on me yourself and not have to rely on anyone else.”
I can see by Deklan’s expression that I’ve made a good point. I look up at him hopefully.
“I don’t know.” Deklan shakes his head slowly, and I know I need to pounce quickly before he changes his mind.
“You know I could be useful,” I tell him, “and you wouldn’t have to worry about me—I’d always be close by.”
He takes in a deep breath, stares into the distance for a moment, and then looks back to me.
“I’ll talk to Sean about it,” Deklan finally says, “but I’m not making any promises.”
I smile broadly and stand on my toes to plant a big kiss on his lips. He kisses me back, then glares down at me again.