Page 97 of Declan

“I told you so.” Zane chuckled. “Told you you were not looking for a sweet wallflower. And by the look of you, that fall was long but I bet it was damn soft when you landed.”

“Jesus,” I muttered. “Ivy’s making you soft.”

“I’ve said it before and it bears repeating, the last thing that woman makes me is soft. What she makes me is a lucky bastard. Every day I wake up knowing I don’t deserve her but I’m damn happy. Every night I get into bed next to her and I know my sorry ass did one thing right—I took that fall. I see you took our advice and sorted yourself out. So I’m gonna give you one more. When the next door opens, grab your woman and take it.”

“Fuck me.”

“That, brother, is not an offer I’m gonna take you up on. But I am gonna get your woman’s ass out of a sling, so let’s get to it.”

“Why is my ass in a sling?” Autumn asked.

I heard Thad chuckle and I looked at him staring at Autumn smiling.

“Tex would like a word.”

“I get that, but I don’t understand why he’d be pissed at me.”

“He’s not. But it seems you’ve been holding out on your girl, Beth. She’s the one you’re gonna have to worry about.”

Before Autumn could say more Zane’s phone rang. He tapped the screen, entered in his ridiculously long security code, the only one of us that had a device that encrypted, and finally answered.

“Tex. You’re on speaker. The team’s here.”

“And Autumn?” Tex inquired.

I felt her stiffen next to me, and without thought, I put my arm around her and pulled her to my side. I was not expecting her to wrap hers around my back and hold on.

“Yeah, she’s here, too.”

“Good. I have Beth on the line.”

The room went quiet and Autumn remained solid.

“Autumn?” Beth called.

“Hey, Beth, listen. I had no idea you were involved with Tex—”

“I know you didn’t,” Beth cut her off. “I didn’t mention him and I know he didn’t mention me. Most of the time, that separation works in our favor. And we don’t work every client together. Case in point—you. I didn’t know he was running you or I could’ve saved him a lot of time. Unlucky for him, he taught me well and I buried your stuff deep. No worries about that. Tex and I talked and we came up with a new system. Which is the point of this call. Now that we’ve shared, I have some concerns.”

“And those are?”

“Ashaki.”

“Shit,” Autumn muttered.

A dull roar started in my head and I was powerless to stop the tension from taking over my muscles. If Autumn was in danger, I was locking her up and going hunting.

“Shit about covers it. I didn’t know her real name is Amie Shapiro. You did, and when Zane passed that intel to Tex, we ran her. The story she told you about Barny Pollaski was mostly true but she left out a few details.”

The vibe in the room changed, this change mostly coming from Autumn.

“And those details would be?” Autumn seethed.

“Pollaski wasn’t a stranger. Ash’s dad worked with him laundering his money, and before you ask, yes, her mother knew and helped,” Tex told her.

“I didn’t find that when I looked into her.”

Autumn sounded like she was highly disappointed in herself and a whole lot hurt her friend had betrayed her.