came I had to testify at the trial, which I was more than happy to do. Like I said before, my dad was a genuine bastard but Reilly ambushed him one night outside a local pub, shot him like a dog in the street. He also beat the hell out of his step-mom like a coward but he was able to make it look like my dad had done it before Reilly shot him. One thing my dad would never have done was hit a woman but Paddy believed Reilly and tried protecting him during the investigation." Declan paused again, the memories and the pain etched deeply on his face. It was clear he had not fully healed from all he had been through and I wondered if he ever would.
He shook his head as if to push the memories away before he started with the story again. "Eventually Reilly was sentenced to twenty years in prison. Justice had been served as far as the law was concerned. But in my neighborhood being a snitch and testifying in court against someone from the neighborhood makes you worse than a cockroach. I was soon on everyone's shit list. And the consequences for testifying against Reilly came swift. Paddy put a hit on me right at the end of the trial. He offered $1million dollars to anyone who would bring me to him – dead or alive. He made it clear he preferred alive so he could have the pleasure of killing me himself but he would take me anyway he could get me." Declan laughed, the sound cold and harsh in the room. "I hadn't always made the best decisions while living in the neighborhood and my dad had pissed off more than one bad guy over the years so I knew I was screwed. There were just too many bad guys who knew me and were more than happy to try and collect that fee. I didn't know what I was going to do. Lucky for me I found out I had some other information the feds wanted about some of my father's business deals and associates so they offered to put me in WITSEC in order to hear it. I jumped at the offer. My handler thought I would make a good Irish bartender in my new life because it was something so completely different from my former life. I had always been good with mimicking accents and after a quick bartending course I was relocated to Houston as Declan O'Shea." He gave me a half smile and shrugged his shoulders.
Leaning forward towards me so he could take my hands again, Declan finished. "I didn't mean to lie to you Reagan. Please believe that if you believe anything I have said to you today. And I never meant to hurt you in all of this. But I have to protect myself, and those in my life from any possible danger, and I can only do that if I maintain my cover. And then tonight, seeing that look in your eyes, knowing I had caused you more pain after everything you have been through while also realizing I was falling for you, I knew I had no choice but to tell you the truth."
My head was spinning, both from the wonderful realization Declan felt about me the same way I felt about him and then because of everything else he had just told me. As a lawyer, I had heard some crazy stories over the years but this topped anything my clients had ever done.
. I needed to move. I needed to think. This was so much to absorb all at once. I continued to pace back and forth across my living room as questions ricocheted through my mind. Okay, so he lied but he had a good reason I reasoned to myself. Yes, that was true so I couldn't really hold it against him. But what the hell were we going to do now?
Declan was still standing by the chair I had bailed out of moments before and he looked so tired – of the lies he had to live and the running from bad people and every other thing he had been through in the last few years. I knew that feeling better than I wished I did. But I also knew in that moment it didn't matter what his past was or what his future held, I was going to be with him no matter what.
I rushed towards him and threw myself into his arms, crushing his mouth in a kiss which he returned while pulling me hard against him. The kiss ended
He shook his head as if to push the memories away before he started with the story again. "Eventually Reilly was sentenced to twenty years in prison. Justice had been served as far as the law was concerned. But in my neighborhood being a snitch and testifying in court against someone from the neighborhood makes you worse than a cockroach. I was soon on everyone's shit list. And the consequences for testifying against Reilly came swift. Paddy put a hit on me right at the end of the trial. He offered $1million dollars to anyone who would bring me to him – dead or alive. He made it clear he preferred alive so he could have the pleasure of killing me himself but he would take me anyway he could get me." Declan laughed, the sound cold and harsh in the room. "I hadn't always made the best decisions while living in the neighborhood and my dad had pissed off more than one bad guy over the years so I knew I was screwed. There were just too many bad guys who knew me and were more than happy to try and collect that fee. I didn't know what I was going to do. Lucky for me I found out I had some other information the feds wanted about some of my father's business deals and associates so they offered to put me in WITSEC in order to hear it. I jumped at the offer. My handler thought I would make a good Irish bartender in my new life because it was something so completely different from my former life. I had always been good with mimicking accents and after a quick bartending course I was relocated to Houston as Declan O'Shea." He gave me a half smile and shrugged his shoulders.
Leaning forward towards me so he could take my hands again, Declan finished. "I didn't mean to lie to you Reagan. Please believe that if you believe anything I have said to you today. And I never meant to hurt you in all of this. But I have to protect myself, and those in my life from any possible danger, and I can only do that if I maintain my cover. And then tonight, seeing that look in your eyes, knowing I had caused you more pain after everything you have been through while also realizing I was falling for you, I knew I had no choice but to tell you the truth."
My head was spinning, both from the wonderful realization Declan felt about me the same way I felt about him and then because of everything else he had just told me. As a lawyer, I had heard some crazy stories over the years but this topped anything my clients had ever done.
. I needed to move. I needed to think. This was so much to absorb all at once. I continued to pace back and forth across my living room as questions ricocheted through my mind. Okay, so he lied but he had a good reason I reasoned to myself. Yes, that was true so I couldn't really hold it against him. But what the hell were we going to do now?
Declan was still standing by the chair I had bailed out of moments before and he looked so tired – of the lies he had to live and the running from bad people and every other thing he had been through in the last few years. I knew that feeling better than I wished I did. But I also knew in that moment it didn't matter what his past was or what his future held, I was going to be with him no matter what.
I rushed towards him and threw myself into his arms, crushing his mouth in a kiss which he returned while pulling me hard against him. The kiss ended
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