Where the Streets have no Name (16 page)

T
oo busy making love and talking about mindless things like their ideal dream home and books and places they wanted to visit, they’d missed dinner. Amelia didn’t care though. Yesterday they’d picked up a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and some plastic picnic cutlery, just in case. She’d eat plain peanut butter sandwiches at every meal if it meant she could spend eternity in Daniel’s embrace.

Finished
with their meal, Daniel and Amelia cuddled in bed, the television on but the sound low. Neither paid much attention to the older movie playing. She was too busy staring into his eyes, loosing herself in their stormy depths.

“You’re staring, love.” He smoothed a hand over her hair, curling around her ear, stroking her cheek, following an invisible line to where her
neck met her shoulder.

“I can’t help it.” The urge to kiss him overpowered her. Amelia leaned up and pressed her lips to his jawline. “You’re just so…” She swallowed down her nerves “…sexy.”

Daniel laughed and pulled her closer, wrapping her legs around his. “I don’t think I’ve been called sexy before. Ever.”

She pressed her face to his throat, revelling in the warmth and his spicy male scent.
“You are.”

“Sure, lass. Whatever you say.” Deep, sensual laughter rumbled in his chest.
“But you’re the gorgeous one. And not just on the outside, Amelia. You…you make me feel like I’m important, love. Like I matter.”

Anger built up in her chest, burning hot. She sat up, ignoring her nakedness and his eyes on her breasts. Amelia framed Daniel’s face in her hands. His stubble felt rough against her palms. “You
are
important, Daniel. You
do
matter. You’re important to me. So important.”

“Amelia–”

“Don’t.” She pressed a finger to his lips…lips that had touched parts of her no other man ever had. “Don’t deny it, Daniel. You can’t. You don’t know what’s in my head.”
Or my heart
. “Only I do, and I’m telling you, you’re important.”
You’re everything
. “I wouldn’t lie about that. I wouldn’t deny it, either.”

“Ah love.” He pulled her into his arms again, holding her
close, like he couldn’t get enough of her. “Amelia…you’re important too. More than I can express, you’re important.”

The lit numbers on the alarm clock on the bedside table flashed ten forty-three as Amelia relaxed in Daniel’s arms, a smile on her lips and hope in her heart
for the future. Their future. Maybe, just maybe…

She and Daniel might be able to work. Regardless of the past, she’d help him with the future. She hoped he wanted her in his as much as she wanted him in hers.

Two weeks after the day they met, Daniel drove into all too familiar territory. Nerves on full alert, he considered trying again to tell Amelia who he really was and where he’d been for the last fifteen years. But now that he was so far gone, so wrapped up in love with her that he’d never be able to untangle himself, fear of losing her kept him from making that call.

Tonight she wanted to go out, to a pub, and have a few drinks while listening to a band. If only he’d gone into the shop instead of her, she wouldn’t have known about the little ceilidh celebration happening tonight.

He shouldn’t have come in here, but Amelia insisted, so Daniel
acquiesced. The pub had live music tonight, which of course meant plenty of drunks and rowdies, maybe a few brawls in the not too distant future. And, just the same as every other door he opened, on the other side Daniel was greeted with stares. Fifteen years after the fact and not a single person in the tiny village he grew up in failed to recognize him.

At least the music never stopped, though it did skip a few beats and the band took a moment to right themselves. Amelia grabbed
two of his fingers, the most she could fit into her little hand, and dragged him towards the bar. Seemed the lass had put herself on a mission of sorts, but he didn’t have the mind to figure her out with nearly fifty pairs of eyes on him. Nor did he truly hear her when she asked what he wanted to drink. So she ordered a pint and a cup of coffee; no doubt who would be getting what there.

Trouble. He knew it well and right now, the air had a scent to it. This was too close to home and Daniel never should have agreed to stop for the night. It wasn’t yet too late and they had the tent in the
boot, as well as plenty of guest houses along the way. These people were just aching for a fight. That scent, a mixture of warmed bodies, heated with rage, stale cigarettes, snuff and alcohol permeated the small building. No, trouble wasn’t just brewing. The bottle had been shaken and the top was about to blow off.

Sheer luck granted him a glimpse of the
Gardaí
in the reflection of the mirror behind the row of spirits on the bar. Daniel knew him well. They’d gone to school together, were even mates for a short while before they grew apart. And from the look on his face, this wasn’t going to be a social visit – not a pleasant one at least.

Protecting Amelia moved to the top of the list. If anyone caught wind of his involvement with her, things could get ugly
for her. He wouldn’t see her come to harm and more than he’d want to know exactly which of the people sitting in this room pulled the proverbial trigger on his family that night. Daniel gave her hand a squeeze and released it, hiding her body with his as he turned to face the man.

“Well, would you look at who’s decided to
pay us a visit,” the
Gardaí
sneered.

“I’m not wantin’ any trouble,
Desmond. Just come to have a drink and then I’ll be on my way.”

Making a big show of it, he crossed his arms and laughed. The music came to a stop as if Desmond Cullough’s laugh was some kind of signal. “That’s bloody hilarious! ‘Cause as you walked in here, I saw you takin’ Mr. O’Bannon’s wallet right from his pocket.
”

The accusation stung, like a slap to the face.
His anger rose to inexplicable heights, as did the heat in his face. “I did no such thing and you know it!”

“That so? Then you’ll not put up a fight if I search your person.” The
Gardaí
took a step forward, a display of his authority.

Through clenched teeth, Daniel replied, “You don’t want to be putting your hands on me, little man.”

Stopping less than an inch from his chest, Desmond glared, craning his neck. “I may just have to take that as resisting arrest. C’mon you murderous bastard, give me an excuse to kill you.”

The whole thing, his higher-than-mighty act because of a uniform, the false charges, arrest, sentencing, jail-time and the numerous beatings he took for a crime never committed all came rushing into his mind at once.
Suddenly, Daniel couldn’t even remember what he was living for. Half of that life passed him by and the other half would be much as it was now. He didn’t have the strength to fight any longer.

“You don’t need an excuse,
Gardaí
. Just take out that gun you’ve got there inside your jacket, aim for me heart, and blow it away,” whispered Daniel. “Do us all a favour and end it.”

He shouldn’t have been, but was surprised when Desmond did just that. But what he didn’t see before it slammed into his head was the baton. He’d been too stunned by the scream, a male voice calling out ‘he’s got a gun’.
The place erupted, chairs and stools went flying as people either ran for the door or came to exact their own bit of revenge.

Somehow, Daniel wound up lying face-down on the floor with a knee digging into his back. Subdued as he was, the beating continued.
A heavy boot made contact with his right side and pain shot up into his armpit. Another foot came down on his jaw. He only hoped that Amelia made it outside without getting hurt.

By the grace of God, a loud sound rang through the air.
The attack ceased, leaving him in just about as much agony as he’d ever been. Thanks to the pounding of blood in his ears, Daniel couldn’t tell what it was. Didn’t matter though, not when the voice of an angel began to speak.

“That
. Is. E-
nough
!”

Using all the strength he could muster, Daniel turned his head to the left and saw the blurry form of Amelia standing on the bar. Why hadn’t she escaped?

“You all should be ashamed of yourselves! You, get the hell off of him, right this second.” She pointed to the
Gardaí
still on Daniel’s back.

“Miss, you’ve got no authority here. This is a dangerous
man!”

Amelia shook her head in disgust. “If anyone in this godforsaken place is dangerous, it’s everyone
except
for him! Look at you! Acting like animals!”

“He
’s murdered people,” Desmond seethed. “Women and children! Maybe you aren’t aware of Daniel Byrne in America but here, his name is pure evil!”

Daniel couldn’t see her face, but he was pretty sure Amelia would have a shocked expression on it. Then perhaps one matching everyone else in the room, hatred and fear.
The truth she didn’t want to hear finally came out.

“Are you illiterate as well as
an asshole?”

In spite of the situation, Daniel chuckled at her comment. Amelia had on a long-sleeved red shirt with a maple leaf in the middle, clearly stating that she was Canadian. Some slogan from a beer company in her home
country, but she loved the shirt. He regretted laughing though, when pain shot through his chest.

“
And if we’re going to talk about murderers, how about I ask which of you had a hand in what happened to his family?”

At her words, it felt like someone thrust a knife into his heart. How much did Amelia truly know about him then? Had she been aware of it all? How?

“Yeah, I didn’t think so. You people make me sick. Daniel was charged for a crime that he’d no sooner commit than he would steal a wallet from an old man. This entire country took the word of a
known
terrorist against a seventeen year old boy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He got locked up, lost the best part of his life while Seamus Riley walked away to kill again.

“And when it came to his family, hard-working Dad, Mom who everyone loved
, and two little girls,” Amelia paused, the catch in her voice evidence of her emotions.

Daniel was having one hell of a time trying to keep his own in check. She knew all of it, and stuck by him. Twenty days they’d been driving around the coast of Ireland and she never once mentioned any of this to him.

“Do you people not even think about what you did to them? I know for a fact that one of you knows something and yet, the cold blooded murder of an entire family gets swept under the goddamned rug while you continue to condemn an innocent man. This entire village should be ashamed of itself. You all make me want to denounce my Irish citizenship; yeah, that’s right I’m Irish too.

“Now,
Gardaí
,” she spat the word out, “get the hell off of Daniel right now, unless you want this entire scene posted all over the internet. From the minute I saw you following my car up the road, I’ve been recording your movements. Got it all on tape, how you took the wallet from the man by the door and slipped it into Daniel’s pocket. Pulled your gun and made it look like he was the one holding it and then attacked him first. Oh, and I guess I should mention that my phone has a very sensitive microphone and I heard you mention something about wanting to kill Daniel without provocation. Sit him up.”

Her speech barely
finished when the pressure on Daniel’s back vanished. A few pairs of hands pulled at his clothing and then he was propped up against something hard. Head pounding and blood stinging his eyes, he concentrated on trying to breathe without that sharp ache from what he could only assume was a broken rib.

“I want everyone in here to take a good look at what
you’ve done here,” Amelia continued. “And I’ll be taking all of your names,
with
identification, on this sheet of paper. Do it now.”

Shuffling feet sounded in the room. If anyone could get people to do things they really did not want to do, Amelia was the girl for the job. He had to smile through his haze of pain at that.
God, what an amazing girl.

“Daniel? Is that you?” The voice, belonging to a female, was oddly familiar to him
, but it hadn’t come from Amelia.

“’Tis,” he answered, trying to wipe the blood from his eyes to see. “Who’s that then?”

“Roisin Delaney,” the voice replied while someone gently dabbed his face. “There, that should be better then, hmm?”

It was, and he opened his eyes to the smiling face of his childhood sweetheart.
The same sweetheart who flung foul and terrible words his way over the telephone when he tried to explain what happened all those years ago. What the hell did she want from him now?

“You’ve grown into a
fine looking man, Daniel Byrne.” Roisin smiled, tucking a strand of glossy red hair behind her ear. “Of course, we’ll have to get these cuts seen to before I can make a proper assessment!”

There she sat, laughing in the same musical way she used to, the same way that drew him in when he was a young lad, and all he wanted was for her to leave him alone. Now that he had his vision back, Daniel swept his eyes around until they landed on Amelia. She offered a sad smile before turning her attention back to the list, m
aking sure she got those names.

Now
there was a real woman, someone who cared, who gave her trust and friendship without any strings attached.

“Daniel, are you listening to me?”

“Leave off.” He pushed Roisin’s hand away from his face. That must be the reason for Amelia’s tense and guarded expression. If she chewed on the inside of that cheek any more, she’d bite a hole right through it.

“What
d’you mean, ‘leave off’? I’m telling you that I want to give us another chance, Daniel!”

“And why all of a sudden? I’ve not heard hide nor hair from you
since that phone call fourteen years past, where you told me how much you wished I’d just die already. So why do you want to give us another chance? Hmm? I’m listening.” If he could’ve crossed his arms, he would have. One of them might be broken.

When she stared at him, open mouthed, Daniel had his answer. “Ah, I see. So you’re thin
king that, if Amelia can prove my innocence, the government might feel obligated to pay me a nice tidy sum of money for falsely accusing me and sending me off to prison for a quarter of a century. And then what? You want some of it? I’ll tell you what, Roisin. If they do offer me anything, I’ll send it to you just so you’ll keep away from me. I want nothing at all to do with you, have you got that?”

Christ it
hurt to breathe, to talk, but he had to get that out. The fire in her eyes proved that he’d gotten it right. She wanted some money, same as all women. But not Amelia. His mind replayed every missed opportunity on their trip, every chance he’d had and not taken to say how he was beginning to feel. How he felt now. What truly resided in his heart for her.