Brother's Keeper I: Declan

by Stephanie St. Klaire

  Lydia looked to Declan, unsure how to answer. She wanted her little boy to enjoy his time in Portland, distracted by fun so he didn’t pick up on the danger surrounding them. But she also had a hard time trusting that they were invincible and untouchable in that building. He shrugged his shoulders, leaving the decision to her because he knew it was the only way she would be comfortable with it.

  She couldn’t help smiling at a hopeful duo, both Jax and Reagan staring her down with cute smiles and batting eyelashes. “Go pack your jammies and something to wear when you wake up! And don’t forget your toothbrush!”

  Lydia liked her simple life in McKenzie Ridge. It had been a drastic change from growing up in New York to living a pampered life in Miami but a welcome one. Sitting on Declan’s balcony, having just watched the sunset to the west and city lights of Portland wake the night life, she couldn’t help but feel at home.

  Portland gave her that city life she missed but in simpler terms, something she could absolutely get used to – especially if Dec were part of the plan. How quickly her life had changed from one where she resisted the idea of him, to envisioning a life with him, in only a handful of days.

  With the fire table in front of her turned on, her attention was directed to her right where Declan stood with a thick blanket over his shoulder and two mugs in hand.

  “What are you out here thinking about?”

  “Nothing…” she stalled, considering her answer, and it wasn’t entirely truthful. “Everything…”

  “That isn’t confusing or anything,” He teased.

  “I like it here,” She admitted, her gaze locked on the city lights and how they reflected off the river and its many bridges, linking east to west, for miles.

  “Portland? Yeah, it’s a cool town, little bit of everything,” he shrugged.

  “Yeah, but I mean here.” She waved her fingers around to indicate the space they were in. “Watermark, out here with you. It feels…safe. I’ve been able to relax for the first time since our first night running. I guess I didn’t realize that until we got here. Even when I thought I was safe, I didn’t really feel it, not like this.”

  Declan pulled her closer so she was leaning with her back against his chest, and she pulled her legs up under her. “Nothing can get to us here. Nothing. That’s why I brought you here.”

  “I know. To keep us safe, and you have,” she said while he kissed the top of her head. “I like your mom. I’m also a little afraid of her.”

  He laughed. “As you should be. She likes it that way. Nah, she really liked you, too; I could tell. Jax was the one who really won her over though.”

  “How do you know…that she liked me?”

  “She didn’t call you scrawny and already expects you at Sunday dinners,” he laughed.

  “Would you mind if Jax and I went?” she asked shyly.

  “I already planned on taking you,” he insisted.

  “Well, isn’t that presumptuous?” she teased.

  “Didn’t you just say that you wanted to go?” He paused, waiting for her to answer. She nodded, and he finished. “So not very presumptuous on my part then.”

  “Touché,” She conceded; he had her there. “And if Tom is still out there?”

  Declan grunted, a sound she hadn’t heard in ages but one that brought a smile to her face, nonetheless. “It’s a few weeks away still – we’ll have him by then. And if not? God help him if he steps foot in Colleen O’Reilly’s Pub and interrupts her Sunday dinner.”

  They both laughed at the idea – Lydia didn’t doubt that for a minute. Colleen O’Reilly was a force to be reckoned with; that was certain.

  Taking a serious tone, he took the opportunity to tell her what he needed her to hear. He promised to repeat himself as often as needed, and this was one of those moments. “I told you I know what I want, especially after yesterday. You were only missing for a few minutes, and my heart sank. My life, without you in it…it’s not a whole life. I meant it when I said I’m not leaving again – this is it for me, Lydia.”

  “I feel the same way…” She smiled, looking up to him, happy to accept the kiss he was offering.

  “I knew you still wanted this…us.”

  He pulled her up, and kissed her again, deeper this time, with more passion. The words he had been waiting to hear just fell on his ears, and he couldn’t be happier. She wanted him as much as he wanted her.

  The emotion he felt was overwhelming, more than he imagined. It was like everything was suddenly falling into place. He had the girl, a family really, even a dog. It was one thing to dream about it, to dream about her, but to have it, right there in his hands…there were no words.

  Despite the chilled air and the rain coming down, feeling her against his body, in his hands, her mouth to his…he was sweltering, the heat nearly unbearable.

  When she turned her body to face him, she stalled to pull her shirt over her head before straddling him. A bold move, a sexy move. His hands drifted from her waist, slowly making their way up and down her sides. It was like time hadn’t passed, her feel so familiar he could almost taste her.

  For the first time, Declan had a half-naked woman and didn’t know what to do with her. He was afraid to push too much, do too much too soon and ruin it all. What they had felt fragile in that moment. He needed her to show him this was what she wanted, too.

  On cue, like she read his every thought, she reached behind her back, and unclasped her bra, letting it fall. When he didn’t move fast enough, she grabbed his hands and dragged them back up her body. Her head fell back when his palms held her full breasts…a feeling she had missed, a feeling she had craved.

  When she lifted to her knees, trying to match his height, her breasts were at perfect height for his taking. It was the only invitation he needed. He wrapped his hands around her back and pulled her perfect breasts to his mouth where he licked, sucked and tweaked his fill.

  She arched and moaned, driving him crazy, leaving him hard and hungry for more. She slid down him and rocked against him, her breath catching, her moans sharper. He laid her back, sitting at an angle. She braced herself on the love seat with one hand while he continued to suck and pull at her pebbled nipples, sliding his hand under her leggings and feeling her hot, wet core.

  She cried out, the position awkward but the sensation intense. She missed him this way, wild and primal, having his way with her body, giving her pleasure like only he knew how. Her arm shook, the pleasure so overwhelming she couldn’t hold herself up anymore.

  In an abrupt move, Declan put her on her feet and moved her against the balcony wall, the only light coming from the flames near the railing. It was hot, it was sensual, and it was sexy. A loud boom of thunder added the stormy music they were now moving to.

  With his mouth on her neck, he kissed and sucked, moving further and further down, paying homage to each breast again, then her belly. He dragged her pants down as he went, and when her perfect sex came eye level, she took him to his knees, just as lightning struck over the water in the distance.

  With a hand on each hip, he held her against the wall and finished his trail, his tongue leading the way. She stepped the rest of the way out of her pants, her legs wide, trying to get more of him. When she tried to move her leg, to give him more, he wouldn’t let her.

  He was teasing her, taunting her, bringing her to the edge. The rain fell harder – the thunder roared – and lightning struck again. Her body quivered in need, and he held her still, wouldn’t let her move or rock against him. It was torture; it was hot.

  Unable to hold out, he lifted her leg over his shoulder, opening her up to him. He continued to taunt and tease her tight bundle of nerves, when he finally found her opening and worked slowly. One, then two fingers, slow, then fast. Short strokes, then long. Building intensity with the storm falling around them.

  He was trying to fill two years’ worth of need and desire into one night, and he couldn’t. He couldn’t get it all, couldn’t get enough.

&nb
sp; He pulled her other leg over his shoulder, pinning her body to the wall after she slid to meet his face, while her legs hung from each shoulder, straddling him. As it rained harder, the heavy drops hitting the side of the building, they were almost within its reach. The sensation, the erotic position, it all overwhelmed her. She felt him so deep, the fire he set coursing throughout her body.

  So exposed and so vulnerable, it left her wanton. While his fingers continued their rigorous movement, his mouth teased, and she rocked back, greedily trying to feel it deeper, harder, and faster. Like the thunder that rumbled and lightening that followed.

  He felt her begin to tighten and took her to the edge, just as he wanted, but he was reluctant to let her have her release. He didn’t want to stop, and he wanted to be a part of the wave that was coming.

  He pulled from her, his hands grabbing her waist in a quick movement so she wouldn’t fall. He stood between her legs, wrapping them around his waist, using the wall for leverage. His hard steely length rested against her.

  Another familiar sensation. She rubbed herself against him, trying to take the ecstasy she wanted while inviting him inside her. The rain turned to hail, pelting against the building, masking her cries. She wanted him, all of him, fast and hard. So he did.

  Plunging inside of her, he gave her all that she wanted. Feeling her hot slick body against his, her breasts rubbing against his chest, his arousal filling her tight body, he was consumed by every inch of her – she felt like home.

  The rain came down harder, the hail in its mix. A massive roar in the clouds shook them as the sky lit around them, and they both fell over the edge of pure passion, riding the wave of ecstasy that they had missed.

  Their love making had been as unpredictable and raw as the storm. It was provocative. It was sensual. It was full of passion. It was love.

  Declan carried her back to the couch, never losing their connection, and pulled the blanket he brought outside over them. They laid connected, her head against his chest, listening to the sound of the heavy rain while the rumble and light of the storm moved on, leaving just the light of the fire dancing around them.

  When their breathing steadied and a calm had set in – she began to move again. Where last time it was primal and vexing, this time would be sweet and sensual.

  ALL FIVE BROTHERS were in Portland, sitting in Declan’s living room. They scoured the city, spent hours searching surveillance video; Liam even wrote a program to scan the footage for him, searching for specific markers to make it go faster. Nothing. Not a trace. Not a clue.

  Another program was designed to search hotel and rental car databases, searching for key words associated with Tom Boyd, looking for an alias or any clue that would give them something. Multiple alarms sounded, none leading to Tom. Not even the facial recognition imaging software got a hit, and it searched feeds from all over the city, the bridges, and freeways in and out.

  They were high tech, had every resource imaginable, and turned up nothing. He was simply not there.

  Blake was conferenced in from McKenzie to brief them about a lead he followed up on. Liam’s software had picked up Tom’s face in Arrow Springs, just one town over from McKenzie. By the time they got there and turned the town inside out, he was gone. In the wind again.

  “Damn it!” Declan shouted, hitting his fist to the table. “Why can’t we get this guy? How is he always a step ahead when he’s out there, gone rogue, and we have all of this expensive fancy tech shit? Seriously!”

  Luke was angry for his brother and wanted the asshole as much as he did. “Dec, you trained him. We’ve talked about this. He works like we do. He’s smart, calculated, and always thinking ahead. He doesn’t need the fancy tech shit. He has real skills, instinctive ones at that. This shit is second nature to him. Catching him is like trying to catch one of us.”

  “Yeah. Remember when you and Lydia went off the grid a few years ago?” Wylie offered. “We couldn’t find you guys. You didn’t have any fancy tech shit. You just disappeared. You were smart, instincts like Luke said. You were always a step ahead. We need to think like that. Then we catch him.”

  “That’s how he can be in two places at once and play these games. When one trick is exposed, he’s long gone and already putting the next in motion,” Dace agreed. “Let’s not forget that he knows how we operate. He has an advantage. He sees us coming before we even make a move.”

  Declan shrugged and bobbed his head in agreement. “We need him to make a mistake. Or, draw him out somehow.”

  “So, how do we do that? Our usual bag of tricks is dragging this thing out. We sit and wait until our mark gets tired and screws up?” Wylie said. “We don’t have that kind of time – we have clients that need us and lives to live, and he is pulling all of our resources.”

  “Simple,” Declan announced, “we need to think like a psychopath.”

  Lydia was in the kitchen, grabbing beers for the guys, listening to every word. Her gut was reeling, she wanted him, too. If the past few days taught her anything, it was that she was stronger than she remembered, and with the O’Reilly clan around, her confidence was endless. She had a plan. This started so many years ago because of her. It was going to end on her terms.

  Hands occupied by a tray of beers, she entered the room and voiced her opinion as she set the drinks on the table. “Then let’s flush him out. Use me.”

  Declan gave her a what the hell look and said, “Excuse me?”

  Feeling brazen with her new-found confidence, she dropped her hands on her hips and fired back, “Did I stutter? Use me. I’ll draw him out. He said it wasn’t over, so let’s let him try to finish it.”

  “Not a chance. It’s too risky – it’s dangerous – it’s…no. Let’s get a decoy.”

  “A decoy?” Now Lydia wore the what the hell look and scanned the brothers’ faces. “Is he serious?

  Wylie was the only one brave enough to step in the middle of their heated battle of wills. “Well, we’ve done it before.”

  Rolling her head in disbelief, she sighed. “You said it yourself; he thinks like you. He’ll see that coming. He knows how you operate.”

  Declan couldn’t believe what he was hearing or what he was seeing. When he glanced around the room, his brothers were each bobbing their heads in agreement, seeming to take her side.

  “No, Lydia. I’m not gambling with your life. It’s exactly what he wants! Too risky. We’ll wait him out,” Declan decided.

  “Well, sometimes it takes risks to reap the reward.” She sat on the coffee table in front of him. “I want to do this, Dec. Put me out there, let him think we tripped up and made the mistake.”

  There was a long pause while Declan deliberated, weighing the risk and reward. When she raised her eyebrows at him, awaiting his response, he sat taller and puffed out his chest with a sense of pride. She had come such a long way, and he was proud of her.

  Sealing the deal, she added, “You guys will get him long before he gets me.”

  Wylie kicked back with crossed arms and a tilted head while stretching out his legs and crossing his ankles. “Well, well, well…what do we have here?”

  “Sounds like a new member of the team, boys,” Dace answered, matching the pride among the brothers.

  “I’ve been listening to you guys for weeks, now, and let’s not forget all of those months on the run. I might have picked up a thing or two. I learned…from the best.” She leaned forward, resting her hands on Declan’s knees, winning him over.

  “Okay then. Let’s get back to McKenzie Ridge, business as usual. We’ll draw him out and put him away, once and for all.”

  With cheers all around, the brothers stood, mumbling about getting ready to head back the next day with a plan.

  “My only condition…” Lydia tossed out, just when they thought it was decided.

  “Oh shit, here it comes,” Wylie warned.

  Dace laughed. “Just like a woman. Get everyone on board, then start tossing out conditions.”

&nb
sp; “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that, Dace. My condition is we keep Jax out of this – as much as possible – he’s not involved.”

  Luke nodded in agreement. “Easy. Just let him be seen a time or two, so Tom knows he’s back too – and make all of this is believable. Jax will be protected, Lyd.”

  “Tom knows where you go, we go, by now. And we know he’s watching. So seeing a few of us with you and Jax won’t be a surprise,” Luke added.

  Lydia nodded. “After that, back in the shadows. Jax is done. Even if it means getting him out of there all together – if stuff turns bad.”

  “You got it, sis,” Wylie said. Using the endearing term made Lydia’s heart swell a little. “Even if Jax is the target, it should be enough to get him to move on you, to get to him. Either way – we got him.”

  Lydia shuddered at the idea of Jax being the target but knew they were right. It was a possibility. If she wanted a safe, quiet life with Declan and Jax – she had to fight for it. This was her fighting.

  “I’ll go pack.”

  It was their last night in Portland. The brothers had gone back to McKenzie ahead of them to get set up and to avoid looking like the cavalry. Ronan and Ryker were in Portland, however, to escort them back in the early morning. It made more sense. Since Ronan and Ryker were still in the background, Tom wouldn’t be watching for them.

  Blake called earlier in the evening; Jessie’s brakes went out on her car. They had been tampered with. It was clear that Tom was around and had been in town.

  Blake was furious and one hundred percent on board with the plan. He, too, was more than ready to take the guy down, whatever the cost. He was ready – his team was ready.

  Colleen brought dinner by from the Pub again. Lydia adored her, admired her really. She knew what her sons did, and it couldn’t be easy to know they were walking into danger every day they went to work. They became fast friends, and Lydia felt connected to her somehow. She was nurturing and sincere – something Lydia never had in her own mother. She even offered to keep Jax in Portland, with her, until they were done with whatever needed to be done. Lydia appreciated the gesture but ultimately turned it down, to which Colleen told her the offer stands, should she change her mind.