Page 73 of Declan

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“When I met your mom she said, Ashaki was right. And she said it smiling,” I explained.

Pink hit Autumn’s cheeks and I was mesmerized.

Damn, she was cute.

But now I had to know what Ash had said.

“Autumn?”

“Well, she came by to tell me I was fired, she’d dismantled my network, told everyone I was under your protection, namedropped Zane as well, told my parents I was a consultant with the CIA. Then she told me to find you and be happy. Oh, and she told me that Barny Pollaski was the man who killed her family.”

All of that was fucking fantastic, especially the part of spreading the word that Autumn was indeed under my protection, and by extension, not only Zane’s but every member of Z Corps.

But it didn’t explain why Autumn’s cheeks were pink and why Meggy had said Ashaki was right.

“What else did she say?”

“She said you were wildly in love with me,” she rushed out.

Tension coiled and my muscles tightened.

What the fuck?

“Come again?”

Autumn flinched and she whispered, “I know she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

“No, baby, I don’t give the first fuck she thinks that or if she spread that far and wide. What I care about is how she came to think that? Did you tell her about us? And you need to know, I don’t care if you did, I just need to know.”

“No. I didn’t tell anyone.”

“Fuck.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Babe, she had to come to that conclusion one way or another. And the only way for her to do that was by her watching us. Which begs the question, why the fuck is she watching us?”

A hundred different scenarios rolled around in my head.

Zane said Ashaki had gone off the grid, but that was just recently. It explained her appearance in Iowa but not her lurking around Annapolis before that.

“I need to call Zane.”

“She would never hurt me. Or you,” Autumn told me, and I wanted to believe her but I couldn’t.

I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and made a call I didn’t want to make.

“It’s Sunday, someone better be bleeding.”

“Ashaki Maloof’s had eyes on me. Fucks me to say it, but I had no clue. Need a sit-down.”

“Did you just say that woman’s been tailing you and you didn’t know?”

“Yep.” My answer was met with laughter. “Not seeing what the fuck is funny, Z.”

“No, you wouldn’t, seeing as you’ve had your head so full of Autumn Pierce you missed a tail.” Zane chuckled again and I felt my temper boiling.