DECLAN CARRIED LYDIA back to Watermark while she cried on his shoulder. Soon to follow was Dace. Jax was still asleep, bringing Lydia much relief. She was badly shaken, perhaps in shock, and full of torturous fear – she didn’t want him to see her like that.

Felicity met them at the door, holding it open so they could pass through. “How is she?”

“Roughed up a little,” Declan said, referring to the visual wounds. The rest was yet to be determined.

“I’ll grab the first aid kit,” Felicity said, rushing to the bathroom.

“Why isn’t Liam up here yet?” Dace said, full of frustration. “I lost him – he had too good of a head start, disappeared into the crowd on the waterfront. Some holiday shit going on down there.”

Lydia jumped at the sound of someone letting themselves in through the front door. A quick calm settled over her when she saw that it was Liam, which reminded her that nobody could get in unless they were supposed to.

“Damn city cameras have too much of a delay,” Liam vented. “I lost him once he got her to the alley – then they froze.”

“Interference?” Dace asked, “Someone made the cameras go out?”

“No, I did a search. We’re clean there,” Liam replied, a step ahead of his brother. “The city just has shit equipment. Starting to think we need to change out their shit for them and not even mention it.”

“Coming from the south, I lost him in Waterfront Park. He was headed north still then,” Dace said.

“I’ll go back and see if I can tap anyone else’s network along there, get a better look,” Liam said. “It’s gotta be Boyd, right?”

Felicity walked back into the room and sat on the coffee table in front of the couch Lydia was sitting on. Liam didn’t take his eyes off of her.

Declan broke Liam’s staring with more shop talk. “I can’t imagine it being anyone else. We were here a few hours is all. He said, ‘it isn’t over.’”

“Damn,” Dace fitted, angry he lost the bastard.

“He came from the south side of the building. I’m guessing the park between us and the next building,” Declan shared. “Plenty of tree’s – probably why she didn’t see him.”

“We have a blind spot, then,” Dace added. “I’m on it. We’ll get cameras up by tomorrow afternoon.”

“Alright, sweets, you’ll feel a lot better after you take a shower, but you’re cleaned up for now,” Felicity said to Lydia, trying to draw her attention away from the men’s conversation. “Just a tiny nick, right in your hairline. You don’t even need a stitch.”

A forced smile was all Lydia could muster, though she really was grateful for the help. “Thank you.”

Felicity patted Lydia on the knee as she stood, at which point, Lydia squirmed in pain. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry! Those are probably sore.”

“It’s okay,” Lydia said, trying to maintain that smile.

“By the way, I’m Felicity; you can call me City. I keep these boys in line,” the cute blonde said.

Lydia tilted her head. “City? It suits you.”

“Well, everyone calls me City but Liam, but that’s because he has a stick up his ass.” City straightened her dark framed glasses and tossed her shoulders back in confidence, clearly trying to cause a stir in Liam.

“Seriously? A stick now?” Liam asked, clearly agitated. “Is your name Felicity?

She nodded.

“Then?” Liam shrugged.

“Well, I’ll just let myself out. Call if you need me. Jax is just fine, sleeping away in there, and I think his fever broke,” City said. “I’ll check in with you in the morning.”

The brothers followed, each having their own tasks to accomplish that would likely keep them busy well into the night.

With everyone gone and adrenaline fading to exhaustion, Declan held out a hand to Lydia. “Let’s get you to bed.”

Attempting to stand, her sore knees, from hitting the ground with such force, protested. Declan swept her up, once again, and carried her to his room, gently sitting her on his bed.

He kissed the top of her head and said, “I’ll be just down the hall if you need me.”

He turned to walk away, but she grabbed his arm. “Will you stay…with me?”

“Of course, I will.” He had hoped that she would ask him to stay because he didn’t want to leave her. “Do you want to change first?”

“No, it’s just leggings and a t-shirt. I’m okay. I have this sudden overwhelming need to sleep, but…”

“You’re afraid,” he finished for her, to which she nodded.

Laying on the bed next to her, he pulled her close and held her tight. They both needed the closeness after the day’s events.

“You don’t have to be afraid. I’m here; I’m always here.”

Turning to face him, she put one hand on his face, stroking his cheek with her thumb. “And you’ll find me if I’m not.”

“Always, baby.”

A small whimper escaped her as reality settled in and what happened to her continued to haunt her. “I was so scared.”

Declan stroked the back of her head, while kissing her forehead, trying to comfort her while she let out whatever she needed to.

“All I could think about was Jax…and you,” she said.

“Do you remember when we first met,” Declan asked, “when Esteban assigned me as your driver and body guard? I’d only been undercover a short time.”

“I was so mad,” she giggled. “I called you my babysitter.”

“Yep. That’s when I knew.”

“Knew?” Tilting her head up, she gave him a puzzled look.

“That you were one of a kind and that I would do anything for you, keep you safe and make you happy someday.”

Smiling, she said, “You rarely spoke to me.”

“You were married, but I knew that wasn’t going to last long. I was there to end him, expose him, and I was patient...just like I am now. My feelings never changed for you – never will. I’ll wait until you’re ready because I know, deep down, your feelings haven’t changed either.”

“How could you possibly know that, Declan O’Reilly?”

“Because you wouldn’t be mad at me all the time, still, if you didn’t care.”

“Declan…I so badly want to believe you, believe we can have…us, but what happens when all of this is over, and we aren’t forced together – to depend on each other – like…last time?”

“That’s when we stop looking over our shoulders and look for forever instead.” He wiped a lone tear that trickled down her cheek and kissed her sweetly. His voice reduced to a whisper, and he said, “I love you, Lydia Prescott.”

He felt her relax into him, her breathing quiet and steady as she drifted off to sleep with those final words to dance in her dreams. Determined that there wouldn’t be a nightmare to follow, he stayed with her for a while, making sure she stayed asleep, especially after the day she had.

Careful not to wake her, he quietly slipped out of bed and went to the living room to make a call. He conferenced in his two brothers in Portland, and the two in McKenzie Ridge to get everyone on the same page.

“We had a fire over here,” Wylie said, “over at Jessie Clarke’s place. It was no accident either.”

“She was a big player when Esteban went down. She took down some men. Had a feeling she’d be a target. Blake with her?” Declan asked.

“Yeah, I offered to take care of her and almost got my ass kicked by both Blake and Jessie,” Dace said.

“Stay away from her, Dace. Might be your type on the outside, but she isn’t your type on the inside,” Declan reminded his brother.

Dace liked his women wild and loose, or so he wanted everyone to think. Jessie was wild, a real badass, but only because she wanted people to think that about her. She wasn’t a love ’em and leave ’em type like Dace had become. And…she was Blake’s…just nobody knew it yet.

“I got a question.” Luke was their strategist and dealt with tactical planning and weapons, using his military background. “How the hell was Boyd in Portland causing shit if he was burning shit up here in McKenzie just a few hours before that?”

“That’s what I would like to know, brother,” Declan added.

“It wouldn’t be the first time we saw someone set up a distraction, like a fire, and used a trigger to start it. He could have set that up yesterday or last week, for all we know, and followed us to Portland,” Dace reasoned.

“Yeah, could be. He would know exactly how to do it, too.” Declan wasn’t so sure though. That required an awful lot of planning. “If no one knew we were coming to Portland until this morning, though, how the hell did he manage it so fast? That would have required some planning; he didn’t have that kind of time.”

“I’m keeping Lydee and Jax here for a few more days, until we get a better handle on things over there,” Declan informed his brothers. It just wasn’t safe, running back and forth without cause or purpose.

“Maybe, he has help?” Luke suggested, not what any of them wanted to hear, but it was something they needed to consider.

Wylie let out a slow low whistle, and said, “Here’s the million-dollar question, boys…who?”

After hanging up the phone, Declan stood out on the balcony for a few minutes, looking over his city, wondering where the son of a bitch was, and praying he had the restraint he needed when he caught the guy. If he did have help, who the hell was it? He’d spent two years searching high and low for his enemies and cleaned up any outstanding messes he came across. There wasn’t anyone left; he saw to it.

Though he was surprised Tom wanted revenge, he understood why. When Declan and company put him away, he lost everything. But where did he find an ally – if he had one? Declan was a patient man; he’d get his answers, one way or another.

Walking into his room and seeing Lydia laying in his bed made him nearly forget why they were there in the first place. That’s where she belonged, and he hoped, before long, she would be there every night. He crawled back in bed behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

Feeling him close, she nuzzled into him before whispering, “I love you, too.”