Declan

by Ava Manello

  When I arrive at the clubhouse the prospect holds me at the gate while he announces my presence to Angel. I’m soon buzzed in and greeted by Angel, Ink and Cowboy.

  Cowboy looks concerned at my haggard appearance, but I tell him I’m okay. I take in the clubhouse when I ask him if there’s anywhere we can talk.

  “Yeah, yeah. Not as posh as your place. I get it.” Cowboy rolls his eyes at me as I take in the bar and the lounge area. It’s not a bad set up at all. I’m surprised they bother leaving to come to my place if I’m honest when they have everything they need here.

  Angel leads us to what he tells me is the presidents office where he offers me a welcome shot of whisky.

  Everyone starts to talk at once, until Angel silences them just with a look. That’s good to see, there’s a hierarchy here and there’s also respect for command.

  I fill the guys in on my meeting in the city. I’m struggling to stay awake as I tell them that we not only think we know who’s behind it, but we’re also now pretty certain we know where they’re storing the drugs.

  Angel seems concerned that they’ll be no match numbers wise for this adversary.

  I’m careful how much I share with the club. I obviously tell them that I have the team we need to deal with this and that I’ve called in some favours. Between us, we can and will handle this situation. What I don’t share with them is how I have the contacts or anything from my past.

  “You’re asking me to take a lot on trust.” Angel sounds cautious.

  “I know. Have I said or done anything to you guys that would make you doubt me?” I do understand their concerns; frankly I’d be worried if they hadn’t expressed them.

  When I tell them I’ve seen evidence that the drug gang blew up Carnal’s clubhouse he throws a spanner in the works.

  “We’re going to have to involve Carnal in that case.” He tells me about the infighting they’ve got going on over the leadership and I can see that none of the guys in this room look happy at the prospect. Neither am I. Carnal are an unknown element. I don’t like working with unknown elements.

  I agree to let Angel know when I have more definite information for them and make my excuses.

  “I need to get back and get some sleep. It’s been a long ass night.”

  Wearily I head out from the clubhouse. The fresh air outside helps wake me up a little.

  When I get back to the bar Lucy is on shift. She gives me a look that tells me how bad I look.

  “Yeah, I know. I look like shit.” I sigh.

  “I wasn’t going to say that.”

  “But you were thinking it.” I give her a look that says I know otherwise. She laughs.

  I’m so tired I think I’ll sleep all day so I make arrangements with Lucy for one of the other staff to lock up for me. I’m so tired I can’t even remember the rota without questioning her. That’s not like me at all.

  I drag my tired body up the stairs to my apartment, I’m not sure I’ll make it as far as my bed. Right now the sofa is probably as far as I’ll make it.

  When I get to my door I see it’s ajar. What the fuck? Who’s been in here? I’m pretty sure I locked it when I left.

  Easing the door open slowly I make my way into the room, gun drawn.

  I’m certainly not expecting the sight that awaits me.

  Chapter Thirty Three

  Holly

  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 kis
s 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.

  Declan

  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.

  Chapter Thirty Four

  Declan

  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.

  Chapter Thirty Five

  Declan

  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.