“I know I asked before, but can I call my best friend, Cassie, back home? She’s got to be worried, especially if she heard I died. I can’t let her keep thinking that.” She leaned away from where she’d been lying on his chest. “I won’t tell her where I am. Promise.”
That was a risky call. He didn’t know this Cassie. She could be a blabbermouth. He had to check out the risk first. Justin or Declan would know if it would be safe. And he would try to make this happen because it meant so much to her.
“I’ll think about it.” That was the best he could give her at the moment.
She studied him, and it made him a bit nervous for no reason whatsoever. His feelings for her were strong, and he didn’t want them to show and scare her away. Heck, she may push to go to her brother in Boston, even though Declan had already told her no. Danny had already learned she was persistent.
With a sly smile, she leaned her head down to his and kissed him. Her mouth was sweet seduction. She tasted of the orange juice she’d had to drink with breakfast where they’d shared plenty of touches, kisses, and a bit of playful groping. Oh, and they’d cooked food between it all without burning the bacon.
A knock on the door interrupted what he’d hoped had been a christening of the couch. Thankfully they were dressed, but still, they’d been having a ravenous make-out session.
After untangling from each other, Danny stood, reached for the earpiece he’d refused to wear that morning, since he had plenty of protection, and put it in his ear. Heading to the door, he looked back at Moira, who’d assumed a guilty look on the couch. He wanted to laugh at her expression, but he also wanted to soothe it.
Opening the door, as he had no need to check who it was first, since the men wouldn’t allow just anyone to knock on his door, he smiled at his brother. Just the person he wanted to speak with, only he’d rather it hadn’t been at this particular moment.
“Hey, come on in,” he said to Justin.
His brother did, and they moved to the living room. Danny lounged on the couch next to Moira, and Justin sat in a chair across from them.
Danny reached over and opened his hand to Moira, hoping she wouldn’t leave him embarrassed by not taking it in front of his brother. This was a test to see how deep her feelings might run. Sure, it was an easy one, but it was what he had right now.
Without hesitation, she placed her hand in his, and he tightened their grip, then dropped them in her lap, holding them together with strong emotions.
Justin smiled but didn’t comment on their joined hands or how close they sat on the couch. “I came to tell you I’m going to visit Mom.”
That he hadn’t expected. Not with everything going on. Surely Justin would want to be in on catching Boyle after everything he’d gone through. “How can you just walk away?” he asked belligerently. Moira gently squeezed his hand and he took note of her meaning. He’d been too tough. But still….
“The DEA has everything. They’re handling the case right now. Even the investigation HIS has going doesn’t involve me. My work is done. I’m not part of any inner circle, so I can’t do anything else. Boyle will try to kill me on sight, so I won’t be able to bring him in alive.”
“But you didn’t trust the DEA. They treated you horribly. How can you just leave it to them?” Danny stared at his brother, finding it hard to believe the change in him from years ago.
“There’s new leadership since I was there. I think they’ll actually do something about this. Based on what you said from your meeting with them, it sounded like Boyle was already on their high priority list.”
Maybe realizing how badly Danny was taking the news, Moira offered to make coffee for them. After she stood and left, Danny watched her backside as she walked then he asked Justin about her friend.
“Moira wants to call Cassie and tell her that she’s okay. What do you think? Can we trust her?”
Turning back, he saw Justin thinking it through. “They were best friends and very tight. Cassie went nuts when she heard Moira had supposedly died. It was all I could do not to tell her the truth. As far as trusting her, I believe she’ll keep the secret if she knows it would put Moira in danger if she talked. But I wouldn’t make it a regular thing because you never know if phones are being monitored.”
They chatted a bit about their mother, and Justin announced he planned to go home. Their mom would be happy to have him there after so long of an absence. Visiting their mom and providing her protection, instead of being embroiled in everything, was probably the best thing for his brother’s mental state. Having someone watching over their mom was also a good thing for Danny’s piece of mind.
Moira returned with three mugs of coffee on a plate, since he didn’t own a serving tray, and her hands were too small to manage three mugs. After she retook her seat, he told her the good news.
“You can call Cassie—”
Her excited move cut him off as she spilled coffee on her jeans. She jumped up, sloshing the dark liquid on the floor, then handed Danny her cup before she rushed off to the kitchen, mumbling the entire time.
“I’d say you just earned a bunch of brownie points,” Justin said with
