EMILY POV

I didn't see Ian for the rest of the night and not at all the next day. I even looked in the bedroom, but he must have slipped into the study when I wasn't looking. So, I spent the night and the next morning playing video games with Declan, but my mind was still on Ian. I honestly was a little worried about him. Whenever Ian Doyle was quiet, it was never a good sign.

"Hey, Lauren, can I ask you something?" Asked Declan, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, of course, sweetie," I answered.

"What did you mean earlier? You know, when you said dad wouldn't claim me?" He asked.

I sighed. Now I really wished Ian was here. Declan had a basic understanding of who and what Ian was, but, I don't know; I guess I just didn't wanna be the one to have this conversation with him.

"You know your dad is a..." my voice trailed off; I didn't wanna scare Declan and say bad man, but... "He has a dangerous job and he knows a lot of dangerous people. He was just scared someone would hurt you," I explained as best as I could.

"Well why didn't I just go to live with my mom?" Declan asked.

"What?" Emily asked, confused.

"You know, my real mom; Louise was awesome and loved me and all, but I know she wasn't my real mom," he said.

I froze. I honestly had no clue where and who Declan' s mother was. When I was undercover, Ian told me she was dead and I had just decided not to press the matter.

"Uhhh..." I began, "I honestly don't know...but what I can tell you is that everything your dad has done is because he loves you."

"Okay," he said, sounding disappointed. "Do you wanna go play outside?"

"Um...No not right now, buddy. I'll be out in a couple minutes," I answered.

"But...Okay..."He said, reluctantly getting up.

Once he was outside, I went upstairs and went to the last door in th hall. I knocked twice.

"Ian! Ian!"

No answer.

I twisted the knob and I was surprised to find it unlocked considering Ian was very particular about going into his "study" and kept the door locked at all times. When I went in, I was overwhelmed, and disgusted by the sight.

Ian was passed out on the desk, Scotch in hand, and the whole room smelled of liquor and what I'm pretty sure was vomit.

"Ian," I said softly. "Ian! Ian!" I raised my voice as I shook him.

I jumped back when his head popped up and he start swatting at the air.

"Ian, what the hell are you doing?" I asked.

He stared at me before lifting the glass up to his lips.

"Ian!" I repeated, causing him to slam his glass down on the desk and give me a death glare. "We need to talk."

"Now what?" He moaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Declan's...He's asking questions," I said, finally getting hid attention as he looked up at me. "He wants to know who his mom is."

Ian suddenly threw his glass at the wall. I cringed at the sound. It probably wasn't a good idea to even have this conversation, especially not with him being drunk, but I decided to press on anyway. What did I have to lose at this point?

"So, I'm guessing there's something you're not telling me..." I said, prompting him.

He just looked up at me, annoyed, and sighed a little too dramatically.

He explained to me that Declan's mother was also in his "business", only she was involved with other things like prostitution,humans trafficking, drugs, etc. Apparently when she found out she was pregnant, she tried to kill herself. Ian didn't go into details, but he said he "kept her under control" until Declan was born and he never saw her again, besides when she tried to squeeze money out of him.

I bit my lip, but remained silent even though I could tell he was waiting for me to say something.

"Ian, I-"

"And now you don't wanna have kids either," he sniped, looking away.

"Ian, I told you, I can't-"

"Why not?" He asked, "Are you planning on leaving, too?"

I sighed. What he had just told me only made me more terrified about how he would react to what I was gonna have to tell him sooner or later.