Merchants with Evil Intent (35 page)

      
He stood up, sighing, and extended his
hand to her. “Come on then, the room can warm up while we talk, aye?”

*
     
*
     
*

      
Camille nodded, “Yes that was me.”

      
Tears pooled in Colleen’s eyes. “I’m so
sorry!”

      
Camille looked at Joe. He shrugged. “Dr.
Corrigan is feeling guilty about her husband’s actions. Even though she couldn’t
have possibly known,” he amended.

      
Colleen scoffed, wiping her tears away
with the back of her hand. “You’re too kind, Detective Butler.”

      
Colleen looked at Joe, “If you’ve no more
questions then?”

      
“No, but earlier you said you had some
for me,” he gently reminded her.

      
“Aye, I did.
Tis the
gel here.
She looked like someone I knew.” She turned and looked at
Camille. “You look so much like a gel my brother met. Her name is Cam as well.”

      
Butler’s eyebrows furrowed. “Camryn
O’Mara?”

      
Colleen shrugged and thought for a
moment. “You mean the newspaper reporter?”

      
“Yeah, wait a second.” He dug his phone
from his pocket and pulled up a picture of Camryn from the internet. “Is this
her?”

      
“Yes! Declan’s Cam!” she smiled. It was
the first real smile she’d had in weeks.

      
“The asshole who nabbed Camille and the
other girls is now after her,” he hissed.

      
“Oh me God!
Is
she…I mean, does she have protection?” she could barely choke out the words.
She had to call Declan. He’d want to know.

      
Joe patted her arm. “She fled for Ireland
and he followed. I heard earlier she’s under police protection until he’s
found.”

      
“Ireland? Why would she go there?”
Colleen wondered aloud.

      
“Cam’s old man had tickets to go but gave
them to her to get her away for a while. None of us knew the guy she’d been
dating, a fellow cop, was a bad guy.”

      
Colleen’s eyes widened, “Feck!”

*
     
*
     
*

      
Declan took Camryn into his private study
downstairs and poured glasses of Jameson. He flipped on the stereo, putting the
volume low.

      
Music by Van Morrison began to spill from
the speakers.

      
A large empty space filled the center of
the sofa that Nellie quickly occupied. Camryn laughed and stroked her back.

      
“So, who’s Teaghan?” she questioned.

      
“Uh-uh, gel. You know more aboot me than
I you. So, to make it fair, tell me some things aboot yourself first.”

      
She wrinkled her nose. “I hardly know
anything about you.”

      
He crossed his arms over his chest,
stretching his legs out. “Ah, but you know eno’ to love me, aye?”

      
Heat rose to her cheeks. “I said that in
the heat of the moment!”

      
He laughed, “Didja now?”

      
Camryn smoothed out the robe and took a
swig of Jameson. “I’m a crime reporter for a major newspaper. Or at least I
was,” she frowned. “Anyway, I have a brother and a sister, both younger and I
recently found out my uncle is really my father.”

      
Declan choked on his drink. “Say again?”

      
Camryn sighed and told him the story of
John and Maggie.

      
“Your ma’s name is Maggie?” he rasped.

      
She tucked a strand of hair behind her
ear.
“Yeah.
I’m the spittin’ image of her.”

      
Declan’s face paled. “Hey, are you okay?”
she gently asked.

      
His hand shook as he took a swig from his
glass. “Favorite color?” he asked softly.

      
She stared deeply into his eyes and
grinned, “Definitely blue.”

      
The gel made him silly inside!
“Favorite time of year?”

      
“Christmas.
The
snow, getting together with family,” she smiled.

      
The conversation continued for several
hours, each discovering interesting and mundane facts about one another.

      
He wanted to know more about her family.
Her bottom lip trembled when she spoke of Maggie, of not having a chance to
meet her, except in one dream.

      
“Tell me aboot the dream, gel,” Declan
urged.

      
She shrugged. “I’d never dreamt of her
before. I hit Ireland and bingo, I’m dreaming about her. She said you’d protect
me.
Silly, huh?”
Tears glistened in her eyes.

      
He
pulled her close and tucked her head under his chin. She

slowly
pulled away, wiping away tears.
“Another thing you should know is I
hate
to
cry. I hate feeling weak. Ugh!”

      
He grinned, “Well, we have that in common
then.” She arched an eyebrow. “Tis true, when me Da died, I didna cry at the
services. I had to be strong for me family.”

      
She reached for her empty glass, wiggling
it in front of him.

      
He obliged and refilled his own glass.
After they each took a healthy swallow he said, “Camryn…”

      
She held up her hand, “Cam.”

      
“Aye, but I like callin’ you by your
Christian name.”

      
Little bubbles of excitement churned in
her belly.

      
“As I was sayin’
Camryn
, tell me aboot Orlov.”

      
“Why ruin a good evening talking about
him?” The mention of his name made her skin prickle.

      
“I want to understand why he’s pursuing
you. I doona understand why he’d come after you. From what I understand his job
was to drug the women and drop them off.”

      
Camryn shrugged. “I’m not sure. Maybe
it’s because I didn’t give him what he wanted.”

      
“Which was?”

      
She snorted.
“My body.”
She stood and walked around the den with her arms wrapped around her. “I did
like him in the beginning. He was quite the charmer. Said all the right things
and well, he was good looking. Plus, he’s a cop!”

      
Declan took a swig from his glass before
asking the next question. “Did you love him?”

      
“
Ew
!
No!” she shrieked.

      
“Come on, now. Not even a smidgen?”

      
She stopped pacing and glared at him.
“No. I’ve only been in love once and it sure as hell wasn’t with him.”

      
He swallowed the lump in his throat,
unsure why her words stung him.

*
     
*
     
*

      
Joe and Camille drove to his apartment in
silence after leaving Dr. Corrigan’s office.

      
He opened the door and waved her inside,
unsure what to say.

      
“I didn’t want to, but I feel bad for
her,” Camille mumbled. “I thought she knew about her husband’s side job and now
I don’t think she did.”

      
“There isn’t any indication she did. The
guy was really smart, until the end. Lukov’s sick fascination with Camryn
O’Mara caused him to slip up. I shudder to think what would’ve happened if he
didn’t,” Joe replied.

      
“I don’t understand what’s so special
about her,” she frowned.

      
“Well, Camryn’s a virgin.”

      
Camille snorted, “Yeah, sure. I’ve been a
virgin a few times myself.”

*
     
*
     
*

      
“Who?”
Declan
murmured.

      
She sat next to him and drew her knees up
to her chest. “His name was Dylan,” she shrugged her shoulders. “It was a long
time ago.”

      
“How long?”

      
“About seven years ago.”

      
“And you never…” he hesitated.

      
“I’ve been saving myself for Mr. Right,”
she replied haughtily. Then added, with a sly grin, “Or at this point,
Mr. Right Now
would be okay.”

      
She leaned in and kissed him, chastely at
first. When he didn’t push her away she pulled herself onto his lap. Her mouth
covered his hungrily.

      
The touch of her lips, her tongue, sent
his body aflame. Christ! He never wanted a woman as much as he wanted her.
Wrapping his arm around her he pulled her closer and cradled her head into his
hand, kissing her thoroughly.

      
A moan escaped from her lips. She moved
her hips seductively over his lap, causing him to lift his mouth from hers.

      
Want and need pooled in her cinnamon eyes
as he gazed at her. He wondered if his blue eyes reflected the same. He was
sure his lap did.

      
He picked her up and shifted her back
onto the couch.

       
Her bottom lip trembled while her heart
hammered in her chest.

      
He
didn’t want her.

      
He rested his elbows on his knees and ran
his hands through his hair, trying to lower his pulse when she stood and walked
out of the room. “Camryn!” he shouted.

      
On wobbly legs he went after her.

      
“I vow you’ll no’ be going after her,
unless you plan on offering your hand in marriage,” Eoghan warned.

      
Declan snapped. “Get out of my way,
Eoghan!”

      
Eoghan crossed his arms over his chest
and took a defiant stance in the arched doorway. “Nay, pup, you’ll not be going
anywhere but to your own room.”

      
Declan glared for several moments before turning
away from the doorway, “You’re a meddling, obnoxious ghost who needs to mind
his own feckin’ business!”

      
Angrily Declan turned off the stereo and
spun around, “Go haunt someone else! I’m sick of the sight of ya!”

*
     
*
     
*

      
Heat pooled in Camryn’s cheeks as she ran
to her room.

      
She shed his robe, throwing it onto the
floor. With arms folded over her chest she paced the room. Gazing out the
window, she pondered a late night run, quickly dispelling the thought. She
didn’t know the terrain and suddenly realized she never would.

      
She fumbled through her purse and found
her phone. “John?”

      
“Camryn!
Are you
okay?” John shouted into the phone.

      
She pulled the phone from her ear and
wrinkled her nose.

      
“Cam?”

      
Declan’s footfalls on the steps caused
her to hold her breath, until she heard his door close.

      
“I want to come home.”

*
     
*
     
*

      
Declan stepped into the shower, turning
the knob to cold. The water pelted his skin forming little goose bumps. Whoever
said it quelled sexual urges was aright. All he could think aboot was getting
warm.

      
His thoughts turned to Camryn. The way
her lips felt against his, the softness of her long hair in his hands not to
mention the gentle grind of her sex against his. Feck! The shower didna help at
all!

      
He angrily twisted the knob off and dried
himself.

      
Tomorrow he would set things right. He
would woo her properly. Make a romantic dinner, a walk on the strand in the
moonlight. Then he would give them what they both wanted.