I'd never had a gun pointed at me before, let alone an entire room full of them, and now I was slowing down enough to process it, I realised how easily I could have been killed. I didn't want to be alone again so quickly.
Garrett's jaw bulged as he clenched it and I saw the boxer in him as he shifted his weight between his feet. He was primed for the fight that hadn't quite happened.
"You're not staying here, someone'll try to blow your brains out. Get in the damn car."
I glared at him, weighing up the reality of that statement against the irrational little-girl voice in the back of my head that was telling me going off on my own was even scarier.
What was I going to do? Tell him I was too petrified to be out of his sight? That I didn't want to go back to the hostel where any one of these psychos could follow me, and walk right in without me even recognising them until it was too late. I had too much pride for that.
"Fine. I'm staying at Abbey Hostel. It's in Temple Bar."
Garrett leaned down to talk to the driver through the window, his arm braced on the roof of the car.
"Take her to Finnegan's."
"What?" Relief welled in, but some part of me was still fighting for my independence. "All my things are at the hostel. I can't just leave them there!"
Garrett looked up at me with a solidly neutral expression then turned to the driver again.
"Take her to Finnegan's." Straightening up, he took a purposeful step towards me, arms folded across his chest. "Get. In. The car.""
I scowled, realising fast enough that this was some kind of macho show. Everything was spiralling out of my control all over again. "Who do you think you are? You can't talk to me like that."
Garrett's fingers bit into my shoulder and he drew me back towards him, forcing my face to turn to his again. I could still feel the indent his thumb had made on my cheek when he'd grabbed me in the middle of the boxing ring in front of everybody and my back bent awkwardly to the shape of the chassis of the car.
My breathing shuddered in sharply, the cold of the night air stinging the back of my throat, but all I could think about was kissing him.
"I'm the man who just saved your sweet little arse. You're not staying in a hostel. You go where I tell you to and you don't move until I come for you. D'you understand?"
I nodded stiffly, and Garrett let me go, watching me dust down my skirt and straighten myself up. Pride alone had me do that.
"...Where are you going?"
The slow smirk that crept onto his face told me I'd just shattered the illusion.
"Back in there. I've got a fight to oversee, and two gangs to pacify, who've just started bonding over the best way to serve your head up on a plate. That alright with you, sweetheart?"
God, I wished I hadn't asked. It only made it more real and I didn't want to think about what would happen if they turned on Garrett. I hadn't seen a single police officer in there. He'd be as good as dead.
He didn't give me another chance to protest. His hand shielded my head as he guided me into the back seat. All pretence of fighting him had left me and I scooted over to the far side, and let myself sink into the cool leather. I never thought I'd be so grateful for tinted windows, or Garrett's bullishness.
I wasn't used to people taking care of me like this. Dad signed up for the more freerange school of parenting, and I was used to looking out for myself. But Dublin was so different to San Francisco. The people behaved differently; I couldn't read the areas.
I felt like such an inexperienced idiot walking into the middle of that the way I had. There was so much going on here, and I didn't understand the half of it, but there was no denying Garrett had put himself at risk to get me out of there.
Maybe Nora would be at Finnegan's, but after the way she'd reacted last night I wasn't sure she'd want to see me. But it was better than spending the night paranoid that I'd been followed back to the hostel, and lying there in bed waiting for someone to attack me.
I jumped when Garrett slammed the door behind me. Only when the driver pulled away, did I finally start to feel safe again.
CHAPTER 10
Garrett
The idea of Kaitlin sharing a hostel room with multiple strangers wasn't one I wanted to linger on. I knew the kind of things that went on when the dorms weren't single sex, and Kaitlin would no doubt be clueless about the attention she was attracting.
She was too innocent. I'd sensed that about her right from the start.
The protective side of me simmered at the thought of her changing in front of them. The thought of her sleeping unguarded was intolerable. It grated that she'd spent all her other nights in the city there.
I should have made her stay at Finnegan's last night, instead of letting her meander off, but I'd thought she'd be set up in a decent hotel. Her father wasn't hurting for money. It didn't make sense that she was roughing it. But then again, it didn't make sense that she was here full stop.
I should have realised that the hostel was where she met Nora. But I hadn't joined the dots.
A girl like her, all on her own was a prime target. But at least before tonight she hadn't been quite so damn loud about getting herself noticed.
Anywhere out of the bubble of my protection was dangerous now. The name Kearney alone could get her into trouble, but she'd already confirmed she was Donovan's daughter, bringing all his boxing triumphs up to the surface.
She had a hell of a lot of Tiernan men who thought her Daddy owed them something all looking at her like they wouldn't mind taking their dues right out of her. That was just as long as Kilpatrick didn't order a hit on her for having the audacity to come back.
The only place she was safe in this city was by my side.
After all the planning I'd put in to make sure this fight went ahead, It couldn't finish soon enough.
I didn't care which of the fighters made it to the end still standing. The bets were rolling in. The crowd was baying for blood. Kaitlin didn't know how close she'd come to it being her blood they wanted.
And I'd exposed myself tonight. She'd come so close to telling the lot of them I had dealings of my own going on.
When I came back in, Kilpatrick was watching me even more closely than usual. And Tiernan's boy kept shaking his head.
I climbed back in the ring, pulling the microphone down towards me.
"Right. The pre-fight entertainment's over. Let's get this show back on the road."
I beckoned the ring announcer over, handing the mic to him, glad to step back out of the spotlights.
The familiar patter of the boxing introduction washed over me. Rules of the fight outlined.
As soon as this fight was over, I planned to go straight to my sister's place. But there were things to sort out and smooth over first. I didn't have the luxury of chasing after her to give her the spanking she deserved for nearly ruining the fight like that; nearly hanging me out to dry. And putting herself right in the line of fire too.
"Who's your one, Brannigan?"
"I told you. It's Kaitlin Kearney come back home to make amends for her father."
"Shouldn't she be making amends to one of us?"
I gritted my teeth at the thought of anyone apart from me touching her. It might not make sense to either of them, given what her father had done, but I wasn't going to let another man near her.
"Not if you know what's good for you."
"I don't think you should be threatening us, there Garrett. You're all on your own. Don't you forget that."
My smile picked up with a dangerous glint in my eyes and I let out a tired laugh.
"You're forgetting, gentlemen. That's the Irish way. You lot are all set on killing each other. I'm the one keeping everything moving, making sure all the right palms are greased. But by all means, see how long you last without me. We'll see how alone I am when I'm only helping out the one of you, will we?"
Fixers were replaceable, as a rule. But I'd worked hard to get into a unique position.
Right fr
om the get go, when all the tensions started between the families, I made it clear I intended to remain a neutral party. It wouldn't have worked unless I had something decent to deliver, but in Dublin, there was always something. When it wasn't CAB coming knocking, trying to take away houses and cars and freeze bank accounts, it was the New IRA set on assassinating all of the drug dealers in Ireland.
I had a unique skill set, and a network of contacts that meant I could filter through the piles of stinking crap they gave me to sort out and have it coming back smelling like roses. They wanted the Garda off their backs. I'd suggested this boxing match to prove bridges could be built. That the grudges didn't run so deep.
Kaitlin nearly ruined it all by reminding them of what her father had done to kick it off in the first place.
I didn't want to think about how precarious my position had suddenly become with my links to him so close to the surface.
Kaitlin
The car stopped outside Finnegan's and before I could protest, the driver walked me in.
Nora's eyes widened at the sight of me. "He sent you here?"
I shrugged slowly, incredibly uncomfortable under her less than impressed expression. "He wouldn't let me go back to the hostel."
Nora tilted her head. "I suppose that makes sense. You did manage to piss off everyone in the room."
All at once, I recognised the image on the big screen at the end of the bar as the inside of the gym and my hand clamped over my mouth.
"Oh my God, did that go out on live TV?"
Had the whole world seen me practically wet myself in front of the lot of them, and Garrett threaten me with a gun, kiss me and then throw me over his shoulder like some kind of caveman?
"It's a private feed. Don't worry yourself." Her chair scraped back as she stood up and her eyes darted over to the small group of men intent on the boxing match. She let out a sigh. "I guess you'd better head upstairs. I'll get you a room."
In the ring, the fighters were just starting out. There was a fluster of betting and the announcer called the match to start on the large microphone above the ring. The ding-ding-ding of the bell had them launching out of their corners.
While Nora fetched me a key I got caught up watching the bob and weave of the smaller guy, fast steps dancing around his lumbering opponent. Fists smacked into the man's head, a quick double-time, an uppercut, and another to the ribs. I winced in empathy as a spray of blood gushed onto the mat.
The referee pulled them away from one another. Behind him, outside the ring, I saw Garrett pacing, arms folded tight across his chest, face as stern and unreadable as ever.
All I could think about was the throb where his fingers had bitten into my face. My lips still tingled from the fierce roughness of his mouth against mine. His tongue darting into my mouth with a jolt of electricity had nearly sent me over the edge right there in the middle of that ring.
It shouldn't have thrilled me, but it did.
If I hadn't pushed him off, I would have let him do a hell of a lot worse than that without a care for who was watching.
The adrenaline rushing through me was only just easing off enough for me to realise that Garrett hadn't been bullshitting when he strode in to protect me.
Nora's mom cupped her hand over the mouthpiece of the cell phone she was using. I knew with a sense of certainty that it was Garrett on the other end of the line. She met my eyes.
"Kaitlin. Go upstairs now. And stay away from the windows." She turned her back a moment, finishing the call with a bit more privacy and I tried not to listen, but it was impossible not to. "No, it's okay Garrett. I understand that."
Going to the fight had been a mistake and I was only just realising how much of one. Getting tangled up with Garrett was stupidity itself. These people really hated my father, and in his absence, it seemed like they'd be happy to make do with seeking vengeance on me instead.
I bit my lip, worried more about Nora's reaction to me than about any of the rest of it. "I can go somewhere else if this is weird."
She rolled her eyes. "Forget about it. I don't understand it, but the chemistry between the pair of you is pretty undeniable. I'll get used to it. Now - get upstairs and lock the door. Don't let anyone in without checking it's one of us."
CHAPTER 11
Garrett
I didn't get out of the place until two in the morning.
Kilpatrick wanted to talk about his cut. Tiernan's boy wanted a rematch. And neither of them would stand near enough to each other to have a conversation about it.
That was why they needed me. But if they stopped trusting me, then my position of power was over.
I was far too sober and thoroughly done with the day when I parked outside of Finnegan's.
I let myself in the back door, and climbed the stairs to the bedrooms.
Brigid had sent a message to let me know which room Kaitlin was in and I was glad she'd had the sense to give me a masterkey when she set the place up, just in case she lost hers.
The room was dark when I unlocked it and Kaitlin started awake at the sound of the door opening. She bolted upright, pulling the sheets up around her bare shoulders.
"What are you doing here?" The dark made her whisper, which was a hell of a lot better than her screaming the place down.
At least she had the sense to be scared now.
I liked that she recognised me even through the pins-and-needles blackness of the room. She should know me. I was going to be her man forever.
After tonight I was even more sure of that.
Her pale eyes darted to mine, silver toned in the dim light streaming in from outside through the small gap in the curtains. Dawn wasn't to far off and the day felt like it had lasted forever. Finally I was with her again, and there was no one to get in the way now.
I was hard at the glimpse of her bare shoulders, knowing that underneath the bright white duvet, she didn't have a stitch covering her beautiful pale skin.
She had to be able to hear the thud of my heart against my ribs. Already I was making foolish decisions because of her, but I didn't have a choice. The woman had me bewitched. I closed the door behind me, turning the lock, her eyes never leaving mine.
Slowly, I took my jacket off, still watching her as I hung it on an empty hanger on the coat rail.
I pulled my wallet out of my trouser pocket along with my mobile and set them down on the glass topped table along with my keys.
She swallowed visibly as I loosened my tie and slipped my top button and I saw her eyes dart to my crotch.
"What are you doing?"
Her tongue traced the path of her lower lip. She wanted me. I could tell that much, and I wanted her as well. It didn't matter how dangerous she could be, that was undeniable. But I needed her to understand she couldn't get away with what she’d done.
I'd underestimated her belligerence and I couldn't afford to do that again.
This story about her da could be true enough, but she didn't have the letter from him that I knew to expect. I needed to check facts before I let her in and if she had another agenda, I needed to know what it was. But none of that was going to stop me tonight.
I set my gun down and the tightness at the corners of her mouth relaxed. I innately hated seeing worry on her face; I liked it even less when it was there because of me.
Her slim throat bobbed again as I approached the bed, but she didn't move from where she was in the centre of the two large pillows. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips again and I wondered what specific thought made her worry her lower lip between her teeth.
I never thought I'd find myself so obsessed with Kearney's daughter, but the tug of attraction I felt for her was primal, as though my body was forged to mate with hers and join us into one complete whole.
The mattress reached the level of my knees and I crawled forwards onto it, pinning her small form beneath the blanket with my hands. Her chest rose and fell as though she was trying to close the gap between us.
Her eyes only
shifted away from mine to dart to my lips.
"What are you doing?" she asked again, her whisper so soft that I could barely hear it.
I answered her with a kiss.
Hovered above her with my weight braced on my hands and toes, my body formed a plank over her. I was a rock climber negotiating the wall of her body that I didn't trust myself to touch. And from the way she arched up, her pebbled nipples straining towards my chest beneath the sheets, she didn't like the distance one bit.
"Garrett…" She groaned loudly, her hands clawing at my backside to pull me down to meet her. Whatever else she'd lied about, there was truth in the heat of her voice. And I believed it.
Dad's Irish Mafia Friend (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 110) Page 8