by Mya O'Malley
“I’ve missed you, too, Declan, so much.”
It was good to hear. He reached down to grab his bags and followed Morgan into the house.
“How was your flight?” Morgan led him into her warm kitchen where she took his bags and placed them on the floor momentarily.
“It was good, no problems.” He had missed her so much, the way she sounded, smelled.
Standing there with her hand on her hip, she gazed at him and he thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world but something about her demeanor right now concerned him.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine, Declan.” She turned away, but he could hear the hurt in her voice.
“What is it, Morgan? What’s wrong?” His heart raced, all he wanted to do was see her, be with her, why was she upset?
He stepped closer, wrapping her in his arms. “Talk to me.”
Shaking her head, she remained quiet.
“Morgan, I don’t understand why you’re upset. I thought everything was okay now.” He couldn’t handle it if she left him alone again. Even Tach‘s methods would fail him.
“I love you, Declan, and I’m worried that you have the power to hurt me again, and I couldn’t make it through another time!”
Didn’t she realize that he worried about the very same thing?
“I will never hurt you again. I swear. Please, trust me.”
“Declan, I had a lot of time to think while I was away and I found that the same thoughts and questions keep coming to mind. Truth be told, both you and Mike hurt me. As shitty as it was that Mike held back information from me, in a way, you hurt me even worse.”
“Hey,” he managed, not liking where this conversation was headed. “I thought we’d been through this. I thought we were past this.”
Shaking her head firmly, Morgan’s mouth dropped open. “How do you ever get past something like this? That doesn’t happen, Declan. I thought you were dead, for years. That is not okay, no matter how you look at it.”
She was right, dammit she was right. The attempt at sending the letter and phone call didn’t erase his behavior. It had been too long to wait, but how long did he need to be punished for it?
“You’re right. What is it you want me to say?”
“I don’t know. That’s just the thing — I don’t know.” Morgan sat down in a chair and ran her hands through her thick hair, moaning.
“Tell me what to do and I’ll do it, anything, just tell me what I need to do to make this all right,” he pleaded. Was this considered begging? It didn’t much matter anymore.
“I don’t know, Declan. I don’t know what to say.”
“I do. I love you and swear to you right here and now that I will never lie, never hurt you again. I’m not going anywhere, so get used to it.”
His heartbeat steadied as he watched her emotions run from confusion to hope. This was it; he needed her to see that he meant every single word.
Grabbing her, he pulled her close and pressed his lips to hers, hearing her sweet surrender. Being this close to her wreaked havoc on his own emotions; he loved this woman like no other, and he would not lose her again.
He swept her into his arms and carried her down the hallway, right into her bedroom, and then placed her on the large bed.
“I want you.” Declan placed soft, sweet kisses on her neck. “I want you to be mine, and you’ll never regret it.”
Her eyes searched his face. “I’m yours Declan. I’m all yours.” The sound of her voice disappeared and he closed his eyes, allowing himself to get lost in her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
THE PAST WEEK WITH Declan had been mind-blowing and exhausting. Morgan had put her trust in him. All the time that she had to consider everything that had happened, her thoughts kept pointing back to one thing — being with him.
She was scared to death at the idea of ever losing him again, but was coming to realize that the idea of a life without him was an even scarier scenario.
Declan wanted to figure out the logistics of their relationship. It wasn’t going to be easy because she loved her life here in New York, and he enjoyed being in Florida. Since Declan was on his way back to Florida that gave Morgan some time to gain perspective.
Her cell sounded a call coming through. It must be Declan. With a skip, she went to grab her cell. There was nobody there. That was strange. Even stranger, it was a blocked call. That was the second time in the past week that she had received such a call. Checking the time on her phone, she hurried to get ready.
She and Elle had dinner plans that evening. She couldn’t wait to see her friend; it had been way too long since they had last seen one another. Hustling to get out the door, Morgan knew that she had one more thing to do before she could breathe easy. She needed true closure with Mike; she still had some things she needed to do. Although it was not something she looked forward to, she knew that it was a necessary step toward healing.
Elle had gotten to the restaurant before her and had secured a table at the side of the room. After wrapping Morgan in a hug, Elle looked like she was chomping at the bit to hear the latest news. Morgan had previously filled her in on the basics over a phone call from Mexico.
“Hey, sweetie. You okay?”
“I think I am,” Morgan responded.
“You will be. As hard as it must have been to call off the wedding, it was the right thing to do.”
“Thanks.” It meant a lot to hear the words from her friend.
“You look gorgeous. Mexico must agree with you.” Elle opened her arms to embrace her friend once more.
Morgan rolled her eyes at the comment.
“Hey, you’d better be careful, you’re starting to look like your mom,” Elle chided playfully, which earned her a huff and a swat on her wrist from Morgan.
“Watch it, you,” Morgan warned with a light smile playing on her face.
“I’m sorry, I just can’t get over the fact that Declan is alive,” Elle whooshed through the side of her mouth.
Elle had been shocked initially, and then had reacted similar to the way Morgan had at first — shock was followed by happiness, joy, resentment, anger… you name it. Morgan was curious as to what her friend thought now that she had time to sort this through in her head.
“I know. It’s still so hard to believe. I woke up the other night, thinking he was dead, that he had never resurfaced. In my dream, I had to relive it all over again, Declan being dead.”
Elle reached for her hand from across the small table and waited for Morgan to continue. The waiter interrupted Morgan’s line of thought when he asked for their drink order. After both women ordered a glass of red wine, Morgan continued.
“It’s scary, sometimes, to think how close I came to losing him forever. I don’t think I could bear it if anything happened now.”
“You two will work it out, you have to trust that. You guys are one of the lucky ones who found true love,” Elle stated.
“Thanks, Elle.”
“Listen, I want you to know that Declan called me while you were in Mexico. We spoke for hours, and if there’s any man in the world to believe in, I truly believe that Declan’s your man,” Elle declared, watching the waiter place the glasses of wine on the table.
“What did he say to you? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“Just that he was sorry for how it all played out from the very beginning. Morgan, he lied to give you your life. It was the most unselfish move I’ve ever heard of. If I were you, I’d take that man and hold on for dear life. Men like him don’t come around more than once in a lifetime, heck, usually not even once in a lifetime.”
That gave Morgan something to contemplate. It was true; it was all true. Glancing up at Elle, Morgan could see from her pained expression that there was more to tell. Morgan swallowed hard. “What else aren’t you telling me?”
Shaking her head, Elle lifted her glass. “First, we toast. To you and Declan, to new beginnings.”
Morgan squ
inted at her friend, but complied and lifted her own glass and then clinked it with Elle’s.
“I’ll drink to that, cheers.” Morgan swallowed the delightful pinot noir and then settled her glass back on the table, waiting patiently for her friend to continue.
“So, I received another call when you were in Mexico.”
Oh boy, Morgan knew where this was headed, and she didn’t have the stomach for it.
“I don’t know if I want to hear this, Elle.” Morgan placed her hand in the air, as if she could dismiss the negative vibe.
“But you need to hear it, and you probably need to handle the situation. I don’t think I have to tell you who it was. It was Mike. He called me several times. I only picked up the first two times, and since then I’ve been ignoring his calls.”
“What does he want? Why would he be calling you?” Morgan felt her chest tighten, figuring that her relationship with Mike had ended too neatly.
With a deep sigh, Elle continued. “He wanted to tell me how much he loves you, how much he cares, that he only withheld the information because of his love for you.” Elle threw her hands up in the air dramatically, mocking Mike.
“Oh Elle, what am I going to do?” She bit at her lip, feeling anxiety wash over her. “Surely he knows that it’s over.”
“Um, I’m not so sure about that. He seemed to think that you might forgive him and that you just needed time to think. You know what really pissed me off? He tried painting himself as the good guy and spoke about how Declan was the liar, the manipulator.”
Gulping back some of her wine, Morgan figured there was a very good chance they might have to order another bottle before the night was through. “Yup, that sounds familiar.”
“Oh, and then get this — he said that he was going to surprise you on your trip to Mexico. Can you imagine? Thank goodness he listened when I told him to give you space.”
That would have been dandy, Morgan thought.
“Do you think he’ll just leave me alone? I mean he hasn’t contacted me yet…” Morgan’s voice trailed off.
“What is it Morgan?”
“I’ve been getting these strange calls. Hang-ups and dead air.”
“Is it coming from his number?”
“Whoever it is deliberately blocks their number.”
Elle raised her eyebrow. “Morgan, wake up. Of course it’s him. Who else could it possibly be?”
Of course, she should have figured it out. The calls… A familiar chill returned as she now considered the possibility that he may have been in Mexico, watching her from a distance. Would he go so far as to follow her there, spy on her? Nothing would surprise Morgan at this point.
“You don’t suppose he flew to Mexico anyway?”
Elle sat up straight, her eyes on Morgan. “I hadn’t thought about that. Why, did something happen in Mexico?”
“I don’t know, not really. A few times I felt as if I were being watched. I dismissed the feelings as a case of raw nerves, perhaps even an animal, or something. There was a jungle right near the resort. It could have been anything.”
Elle huffed loudly. “A jungle you say? How fitting.”
“Seriously, it could have been him. I’m concerned about what he may do. I think I should go talk to him, you know, get closure, and then maybe he’ll stop.” It could work.
“Yeah, or maybe he’ll kidnap you and never let you go.”
“That’s not funny,” Morgan pouted.
“All kidding aside, I would be careful. I wouldn’t talk to him alone. I would meet in a public place, a very crowded public place.”
That was a good idea. Her cell rang. Glancing down at the call she saw that it was blocked again. Holding her cell up so that Elle could see the blocked call, her friend shook her head.
“Maybe you should come stay with us tonight.” Elle grew serious.
She couldn’t be afraid to go home. She was just letting her imagination get the best of her. It could even be a wrong number. She probably had nothing to worry about.
Elle fiddled with her cell and then looked up at Morgan. “That settles it. I’m staying with you tonight. We don’t have to work in the morning so it’s no big deal, and don’t even think about arguing with me because Billy said he’ll lock me out if I even tried coming home.”
It wouldn’t hurt to have some company. Morgan grinned at her friend. That’s what friends were for, she supposed. “Thank you, Elle.”
“Do I hear someone talking in the background?” Morgan was on the phone with Declan saying goodnight. She shot her friend a filthy look. Now she would have to tell Declan something; she didn’t want him to worry, so she omitted the fact that someone had been calling her.
“Um, yeah. Elle is going to stay the night, you know, a girl’s night kind of thing.” Biting her lip, she hoped he didn’t pick up on anything unusual.
“What’s up, Morgan? Tell me what’s wrong.” Either her voice couldn’t disguise the apprehension, or the man knew her too well.
Cringing, Morgan opened her mouth to respond and then shut it again to think about the best way to answer him.
“Oh, it’s nothing, nothing for you to worry about. I just got kind of spooked after getting some calls with nobody on the line. I’m just being silly, that’s all.” She even chuckled to lighten the mood. It didn’t work.
“What else aren’t you telling me?”
Geez, the man was unbelievable. Sometimes his uncanny ability to read her so well got under her skin.
“If you don’t tell me, Elle will.”
Well, he was right about that. Elle would tell him — in a heartbeat.
“Mike has been calling her and talking nonsense, that’s all.”
“That’s all? What has he been saying?” he demanded, anger rising in his tone.
Morgan filled him in on Mike’s conversations with Elle, trying her best to be upbeat. When she had finished, she held her cell back from her ear, predicting the yelling that would surely come next.
“Put Elle on the phone,” he yelled.
Morgan winced and handed her cell to Elle. She watched as Elle nodded and agreed with him several times before handing the phone back to her. Elle raised her eyebrows and hurried out of the room. Great.
“I told Elle that she is not to leave you alone tonight, and I need to think about the best way to handle this.”
“Declan, he’s not a monster, for goodness sake. I’ll be fine,” Morgan muttered dramatically.
“Don’t underestimate him. I don’t trust the guy.”
His words scared her; usually Declan was an excellent judge of character.
“Fine. Now, get some sleep.”
“You too, sweetheart. Promise me you’ll call if you need me, or if anything happens,” Declan ordered.
Elle and Declan were both making such a huge deal out of this; they would all probably have a good laugh about this one day. But then, neither Elle nor Declan had ever been ones to overreact.
“I promise.”
After saying goodbye to Declan, she checked the locks on all her doors before heading to bed. She had said goodnight to Elle and made sure she was comfortable in the guest room before settling in herself. Once she was lying in bed, she couldn’t shut her mind down. It was on Declan, Mike, and everything in between. Mike surely wouldn’t do anything to harm her, she was almost positive of it.
Her cell buzzed, signaling a message coming through. Declan often liked to text goodnight messages even after they spoke. But it wasn’t Declan.
We need to talk. I’m outside.
A feeling deep in the pit of her stomach began to ache. She could ignore Mike but he wouldn’t stop. She would handle it properly.
Not a good time. I agree, we do need to talk. I’ll call you in the morning.
There, that should do it. Another buzz from her cell.
I want to come in. I need to see you NOW.
Just the way he had used caps to emphasize the word now freaked her out.
Go hom
e, you’re not coming in. I’ll call you tomorrow.
No response was a good response, she figured, in a situation like this. Remaining on high alert, she peeked out the window and didn’t see his car in the driveway. Good, that was definitely a good thing. Now she could try to get her mind to relax so that she could get some sleep.
Her mind was weaving in and out of sleep when she heard the sound. It was a squeak; no, it was a thump. It must be part of a dream, her head felt heavy and she longed for a deeper sleep.
“Wake up and be quiet,” the voice commanded.
Sitting up in a flash, she was instantly alert.
“What are you doing here?”
His palm went straight to her mouth, forcing her to be quiet.
“I know you have Elle here, and I don’t want you to wake her up. I’m going to let you go, but I don’t want you to yell, got it?”
He was crazy, coming here and sneaking into her house in the middle of the night.
Slowly, he released his hand from her mouth. She could smell his breath; it was hot on her face. Her chest thumped wildly. What should she do, yell for Elle? She decided that she would try it his way at first and get him to leave.
“Mike,” she whispered. “You’re scaring me. You shouldn’t be here.”
In the dark, she could just about make out his smile. His lack of response bothered her.
“How did you get in?”
“I made a copy of the key that you insisted I leave behind,” he whispered back, close to her ear.
The hair on the back of her neck stood up straight. She was a fool. She forgot to have the locks changed, just like some pitiful victim in a cheesy horror flick.
“You’ve been having some fun, now, haven’t you? I’ve seen him over here the past week. Must have been nice to have your old friend over for such a long visit. I’m surprised you didn’t just go ahead and bring him on our honeymoon. At least you had the sense to go without him.”
Wait — did that mean he had really been there? Of course he had, this was getting crazy. Forget doing it his way, this conversation was headed down a dangerous path.