Heart Lies & Alibis (34 page)

I went back out to the car, arriving just as Declan finished with the gas pump. I got in and settled myself, placing the purchases I had made on the floor. He climbed in the car and I handed him one of the coffees. We both took several moments to drink and savor the morning elixir we had been desperately craving.

He smiled at me. "Thanks love. I really needed that."

I sighed in pleasure. "Me too. Especially after two days without it. An addict like me does not do well without their daily dose of caffeine."

Declan laughed. "Agreed. And something I will keep in mind for all future mornings together."

Once we had enough coffee flowing through our bodies, Declan started the car and we drove away. The drive to Brownsville was uneventful, with no sign of the police or anything else that would cause alarm. We arrived in town, stopping in a parking lot of a grocery store to get some supplies before we went to the house. Once back in the car, Declan studied at the map we found in the car.

"Hayes said the house was actually about a half hour out of Brownsville, just outside the town of Port Isabel. We should be able to find it okay if we keep to the main road."

I nodded. I was relieved we were getting close to being somewhere safe. A shower and a nap would be an appreciated bonus. Declan pulled back onto the road and headed east out of Brownsville. We reached the edge of Port Isabel without a problem and started looking for the street address Hayes had made sure Declan memorized. I was ready to be somewhere safe as fast as possible.

The small cottage sat on some property a quarter mile or so off the highway. It was a well-maintained piece of land with a large grass yard, a flower garden and several trees scattered around the perimeter of the house. Sunflowers waved happily in the light afternoon breeze around the edge of the garden and the air smelled of honeysuckle and freshly mowed grass. Had I been visiting the place under better circumstances I would have found the place peaceful.

Declan looked around, smiling slightly. "Hayes said he had employed a property management service to watch the property after his mother died. It looks like they are doing a great job. Every week, the yard crew mows the lawn and takes care of other maintenance and once a month he has a service scheduled to come out and clean the house. I just hope this isn't the week the cleaning crew is scheduled." He gave me a sideways look. The threat of running into strangers adding one more layer of fear.

I simply nodded.

We were relieved to spot a garage attached to the house. Declan stopped the car in front of the double doors and got out. Hayes had told him the keys to everything would be hidden in the base of a garden gnome statue in the small garden with the sunflowers. He spotted the bearded fellow right away and flipped him over, rewarded when he saw a key ring with a few keys on it. He pulled the keys free and replaced the gnome. He jangled them at me and I felt another surge of relief.

He walked to the front of the garage and unlocked the door, pushing it up, before returning to the car and driving in, finally pulling the door closed behind us. For the first time since leaving Houston, I took a deep breath, feeling a tiny bit of the tension ease from my body. We were relatively safe for the moment and I had never been so glad.

"Let's get inside now that the car is out of sight." Declan said heading to the side door. The second key he tried worked and the door swung open.

A cozy yellow kitchen was the first thing I saw as we entered. Floral wall paper, white curtains, and cream counters completed the look. It was dated but like the rest of the property, well taken care of.

"This reminds me of my grandma's kitchen a bit. She liked yellow too." Declan offered as we walked further into the house. He set our bag of groceries on the counter.

"It is a friendly color."

"Yeah, I can imagine Hayes's mom was a pretty friendly lady judging by the good guy her son turned out to be. I want to give the rest of the place a quick search. Have a seat beautiful. You look beat." He gestured to a kitchen chair before exiting the room.

I gladly dropped into it, appreciating the feeling of warmth the small kitchen provided.

Declan returned within minutes. "All clear and it looks like we just missed the cleaning crew. Saw their checklist and signoff sheet in the living room, dated for yesterday so we won't have any surprises from them at least." He reported as he was putting the food away.

"That will help. On your tour of the house did you happen to find the bedroom too?" I asked without really thinking about the insinuation of the question. I was so tired I could barely form full sentences nonetheless understand what they sounded like.

He raised his eyebrow at me. "Do you have sex on your mind already Reagan? Dang girl, I know we got interrupted at the motel and all but I didn't know you would be in such a hurry to get me back in bed." He teased.

"Sex is always on my mind when I'm around you, my love. But alas, I was asking about the bedroom because I need to sleep sooner rather than later. This old lady can't keep up this hectic non-stop adrenaline ride like you young studs." I winked at him while stifling a yawn.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Stop it with the old lady stuff. I don't have the energy to show you just how young you are right now." He walked toward me. "Besides, I am about to fall asleep on my feet too. Even young studs like me only can go so long without real sleep. Even when we are lucky enough to be around beautiful women like you. C'mon a chroi. The house has a couple bedrooms. The master is at the far back but I think it looked like it had a king size bed so we should be comfortable." He took my hand and led me down the hallway.

We laid down on the bed, after kicking our shoes off and dropping our hats on the night stand. I curled into Declan's arms as he pulled the blanket from the end of the bed up and over us. We were both asleep before our heads fully settled into the pillows.

My stomach growled at the smell of bacon wafting down the hall, pulling me from the deep sleep of the overly exhausted, and back to the land of the living. I sat up and tried to shake the heavy sleep from my body. I finally stood up and wandered out to the hall. I found the bathroom and got cleaned up before I found my way back to the kitchen.

Declan stood at the stove with three fry pans in action as he prepared us some food. I stopped in the doorway so I could enjoy watching him for a few moments before he noticed me.

Thad had never cooked a meal in his life and at first I found it laughably typical of him, and I enjoyed, cooking him dinner and such because I felt like I was showing him how much I loved him. Eventually the romance of taking care of his needs wore off and I became resentful. I worked just as hard as he did at the law firm, both longer and harder on most days, and I did not appreciate him expecting me to cook dinner every night when we got home. Eventually, after some rather heated arguments and ultimatums, we settled into a pattern of getting food at restaurants, from takeout or whatever way ensured I wasn't stuck in the kitchen. I still cooked occasionally on special occasions but it had lost most of its luster by the time we separated.

Watching Declan cook now, I found myself falling more in love with him. It didn't hurt at all that he looked incredibly sexy in nothing but jeans and a t-shirt with his bare feet tapping a beat to the distant country music I heard coming from a radio in the corner.

I padded up behind him, sliding my arms around his waist, and settling my chin on his shoulder. "That smells so good. What's for dinner?"

"Hey sleepy head. I was afraid I would have to find other ways to wake you up if the bacon aromas didn't work." He turned around pulling me in for a kiss before turning back to his cooking. "Have a seat because dinner's almost ready. I made some coffee too." I knew I had smelled a fresh brewed pot. I found a mug and poured myself a cup before retreating to the table. I drew my knees up on the chair and sipped the coffee while watching Declan finish cooking.

Declan brought two plates to the table, setting one in front of me, before sitting down with his own. "Dinner is served, madam."

I looked at the plate and was surprised I didn't moan out loud. Mushroom and cheese omelets, crispy bacon, and sourdough toast sat on the plate. It smelled heavenly and I realized I was starving. Grabbing my fork, I dug right in. "Declan, this is so amazing" I murmured between bites.

He laughed as he tucked into his own plate. "I think you may be a bit biased considering we haven't had real food in so long, but thanks babe."

We ate in silence for a long while, the need to satiate our hunger greater than anything else right then. Finally, I was starting to feel full. I set my fork down and leaned back in the chair, drinking my coffee while I watched him. He never slowed in eating. A 27-year-old guy needed a lot of fuel to keep going and I was often impressed by how much Declan could eat and still maintain his amazing body. Finally, after the last scrap of toast went into his mouth, he sat back and sighed.

"Full?" I asked, laughing.

"For now. It takes a lot to keep this sex machine working in top form you know." He winked at me.

"Well by all means, keep eating if that is what it takes because I really like the way your sex machine works right now." I looked at him over my cup.

He raised an eyebrow, very interested in where this conversation could be headed but before he could find out for sure, I held up my hand. "After we talk about our current situation, lover boy."

"Are you sure? I can be quick you know." Declan added a sexy grin spreading across his face.

There was nothing more I wanted to do but take Declan to bed and forget for a little while but too much had happened too fast and I needed to feel like I had some kind of handle on what we're going to do next while I still had the energy to think.

"No you can't, "I said with a grin, "and I wouldn't want you too. If nothing else this last few weeks being with you has taught me, it's to savor the good things because you never know when things can fall apart." I studied him for a moment, enjoying the satisfied look on Declan's face, then continued, "So let's get our plan together before you render me incoherent."

"You're right. Let's talk." He pretended to pout for a minute and I almost had to laugh out loud. He looked so young in that moment it made my heart skip a bit.

"Well the most pressing question is: what are we going to do? We're fugitives now so our choices seem kind of limited. And we still haven't talked about the information we learned from Ortiz about Ms. Amberly Jones." Saying her name had me seething instantly. "I should have known she was even more trouble than just the shit she helped create by sleeping with my husband."

"I agree. And I think she may cause us even more trouble before all of this is over. I don't think Ortiz told you everything about her and her connection to the Lazcanos."

"I agree." I sipped at my coffee again before continuing. "So how long do you think we can stay here?"

"A few days max. The yard crew will be back in a week and we need to be gone before then. I hear Cancun is beautiful this time of year. I especially like the idea of seeing you in a tiny white bikini." He winked at me from across the table.

"You want us to run away to Mexico?" I knew things were really bad right now but I hadn't considered fleeing the country as a possibility.

"We may not have a choice Reagan. Some fairly bad fellows, not to mention the Houston police department and WITSEC, want to find us. And they don't want to just get together for cocktails."

"But isn't the Lazcano Cartel from Mexico? Won't going down there put us more in danger from them?"

Declan was nodding while he considered the questions I posed. "That is a possibility for sure. But I think going to Mexico may still prove to be the better of two evils. If we stay in the states, the O'Bannion crew will still be looking for us too. Paddy has a long reach and I know Malachy. He won't stop until he finds us. Maybe in Mexico we can disappear for a little while because the Lazcanos will think we would be too afraid to go down there and keep looking for us in Houston or Boston."

I thought about what he said and realizing his plan was probably the best one for keeping us alive. It didn't make it seem any less scary or surreal. Had it really only been a month ago my life had been normal?

Declan and I continued talking about Malachy and Ortiz and the conversation sent my mind back to all that had happened at my house. I felt like it was time to talk about some other ghosts that had come up over the past few days and not been addressed. I had to ask Declan some questions and I hoped he could give me the answers I needed. "Why did you not ever tell me about Abby?" I asked quietly.

At the mention of her name I saw his eyes cloud with emotion. He looked at his coffee cup and offered a barely noticeable shrug of his shoulders. "I guess for the same reason you didn't tell me about Bobbi Jo. Some things are just better left in the past." He took a drink of coffee and offered me nothing else in the way of explanation.

I winced a little at his reminder of my previous deception. I hadn't been fair to keep my past from Declan when he had shared his with me in spite of the consequences. He had a right to keep me in the dark about parts of his past if he wanted to. But the lawyer in me just couldn't let it go. Not yet at least. "She was your high school girlfriend?"