Page 51 of Gray Area

I take another swig of water, his deep voice washing over me and making me needy. I hate the pet name Baby, or at least I did. But sometimes, when the right person says something, it hits you in a totally different way. And when Declan looks at me and says Baby in that deep, rumbly voice of his, it lights me up in all the right ways.

Declan studies my face, and as if reading my mind, leans into me and puts his finger under my chin. “You keep looking at me like that, Baby, and I’m going to take you to bed and not let you out until the world ends.”

Declan presses his lips to mine, and slowly our mouths move over each other. I move into his lap and straddle his large, strong thighs, but we are interrupted by loud banging on his door.

“Declan!”

“Fuck,” Declan mutters and lifts me off him as if I am nothing, then moves quickly to his door, opening it and revealing a boy with Declan’s dark hair and piercing gray-blue eyes, wearing New England Patriots pajamas. “Hey buddy, what’s up?” Declan asks, his tone brighter with the boy.

“Declan, someone broke into the house!” the boy says, his lower lip trembling.

“Fuck,” Declan coughs out and ushers the boy inside. “Where is Dad?”

“He went to where the noise was and told me to stay, but I saw your car and I was scared so I came here.”

As Declan listens to the boy, he grabs his jacket and takes out his gun. “Stay here with Vivian,” he says and rushes out the door the boy had come in.

I sit with my mouth open and replay what I just saw. Declan just ran from his house in a T-shirt with a gun drawn because of an intruder next door. And now there is a child here. I look around but see no phone line in the house for me to call for help. My pay-by-the-minute phone is dead in the bottom of my backpack.

“Who are you?” the boy queries, drawing me back to the here and now.

I smile at him, hoping it looks happier than I actually feel. “I’m Vivian,” I say. I don’t want him to be scared. I was scared of a lot of things at his age, and I want to make sure he doesn’t feel that.

“I’m Roman,” he says.

I smile at him. “Declan was just telling me about you.”

“Are you his girlfriend?”

“Uh…”

“He’s been not so moody lately, so Dad said he probably has a sugar mama.”

I laugh and love the lack of filter on this child. But the distraction is short-lived because I do remember Roman sayingsomeone broke into his house. I move quickly over to the door and lock it.

“Are we okay?” Roman asks softly, taking in my actions.

I nod. “Yup, we’ll just wait here until Declan comes back,” I say. “Did you have dinner?”

Roman nods. “Yeah, Dad and I were reading books when we heard the door crash open.”

“Okay, let’s, uh, let’s watch some TV,” I say, motioning for the boy to move to the couch. I survey the area and decide if something happens, I can get him to the bathroom quickly and out the window. But until then, I can distract him with TV he probably isn’t supposed to be watching.

“Are you going to marry Declan?” he asks me as we watch Wolowitz poorly flirt with Penny on TV.

“We are just getting to know each other,” I tell him.

“Well, you’re pretty, so I hope you marry him,” he says and then locks his gaze on the TV, lost in the laugh track of the show. I sit and worry.

Chapter 27

DECLAN

Isend a text to my brothers as I move soundlessly from my apartment and to the back door of my dad’s house. I find the door open and realize this is where Roman must have come through. I creep in, moving silently to the front of the house, where I find the front door broken open and glass on the floor. I hear some sort of motion and look into the side room just off the front door and find my father sitting on the floor among the remains of a dining room chair.

“Dad,” I call out to him and race over to him, my gun out, looking around me as I do.

“They’re gone, Declan,” he says.

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