He picked up a glove with a large, flat pad where the mitten would usually be, a target on the surface and held it up to me.
"Come on then. Give it your best shot."
For the next few hours I practiced hitting him, and he taught me to jab with my elbows into the stomach and throat; how to claw and gouge and headbutt and get out of a clumsy grab. How to use his weight against him.
By the end of it, my tank top was soaked through and he had a slim stripe of sweat almost invisibly darker down the centre of his black. He handed me a water bottle and I took a long drink, glad for the chance to get my breath back.
"I thought you taught boxing."
Garrett shrugged. "Among other things. Boxing's a sport. When it comes to fighting for your life the rules go out the window and you fight as dirty as you need to. It's not about winning points, it's about getting away. I always want you to be able to get away."
CHAPTER 21
Garrett
Kaitlin was right. No woman of mine should have to cower inside for fear of getting attacked. I'd been too set on keeping her safe to realise that this called for more than just playing defence.
Kilpatrick was out of hand, thinking he could boss me around and summon me whenever he felt like it. He'd made it clear that he'd take a shot at Kaitlin the first chance he got, and I wasn't going to stand for that any longer.
I set up a meeting on his territory.
These days he favoured one of the gentlemen's clubs in the centre, where everything was hushed and civilized, right in sight of the university.
I sat down opposite him in one of the deep club chairs.
"What's it going to take for you to leave Kaitlin Kearney alone? I mean no one following her. No accidents. She lives her life and you leave her be."
Kilpatrick crossed his legs, resting his ankle on his knee, and leaned back in his chair, puffing at his cigar.
"Oh come now, boy, you know yourself it's not that simple."
I let my smile glint. "You can make it that simple, Conor."
"And why would I do that?"
I took my laptop out and flipped open the lid, tapping at the keys until the files I wanted spun up onto the screen. "I think you'll find it very lucrative to do what I'm asking."
Kilpatrick worked with me because I had the means to make his money untouchable by the law, and skill with creating and disguising ventures that kept his outfit afloat.
Over the years I'd been nudging him away from the more visceral crimes and he'd taken to having clean hands far more readily than Tiernan. He was the older of the pair, and to me it looked as though he'd rather be sipping drinks on a beach in Spain than continuing to struggle for control of the city's underworld.
I turned the laptop so that he could see the screen. But Kilpatrick barely looked. I gritted my teeth at the wasted effort.
The man tilted his head, shaking it almost imperceptibly. "There's a lot of bad blood tied up in her name, Brannigan."
"If that's your answer then these lucrative opportunities might find their way into Tiernan's hands ahead of yours."
Kilpatrick chewed on the end of his cigar. "I don't think you want to play these games. I've seen you do your best to keep your hands clean lately. I don't have those kind of limitations. You know that. I do what's best in any given circumstance. You're going to need to persuade me better than that."
"It's funny, here I thought you were the boss. But it seems like it's your boys calling the shots. Keeping this feud going doesn't serve your interests. I'm sure you can see that."
Kilpatrick's eyes twinkled. "Now that, we can agree on." Something about his tone was the opposite of reassuring and I felt like he'd just said something I didn't understand. "But neither they, nor you, are going to tell me what to do."
I nodded. He could do what I asked and leave Kaitlin alone, but he needed a way of saving face.
"I don't care whose decision it is. You can call it a wedding gift if it helps. She'll take my name and that'll be the end of it. You call them off, or I'll be the one making the lot of you wish you never crossed me."
Kilpatrick laughed. "We'll see about that. You do what you think is best, Brannigan. But don't go getting ahead of yourself."
"Thank you."
He shook his head. "If it was me, I'd put her down myself. She's making you weak. But that's just me. Maybe you're right. When her name's gone, it might just simmer down. You might be that lucky."
I didn't like the way his smile curled up like he was laughing at some joke I wasn't in on. But for the time being, it didn't matter. One way or another, I had his word he'd leave Kaitlin be as long as I could make the association with her father disappear.
CHAPTER 22
Kaitlin
Garrett set a ring box down on the table mid way between us as casually as if he'd been reaching for the salt. I stared at the rich green of the velvet box, my heart racing.
I'd gotten used to these dinners of ours and the talks we had, sometimes just the two of us, sometimes walking the walk and talking the talk for the men he had to impress, or make an impression on.
I'd grown used to the little gifts of jewellery or perfume before each outing, but a ring was something more than just that.
He hunched over his plate, cutting into his steak, paying his food far more attention than me and the loaded little box. I drew in a breath and reached for it.
The slightly stiff hinge made a dull snapping sound as I opened it. My breath caught in my throat as I stared down at a slim gold band in the shape of two hands clasped around a heart wearing a crown.
I had to bite the inside of my lip to stop the sharp dive of disappointment my guts took without my notice. This wasn't a diamond. I hadn't wanted a diamond - didn't want one, not for the sake of the stone, and I hadn't known I'd wanted the promise that would have come with one until he'd put that box on the table and this wasn't anything to do with an engagement at all. I swallowed, feeling heat rise in my cheeks.
"Oh. It's… it's pretty."
"It's a claddagh ring."
I looked at him blankly, and Garrett finally put his cutlery down and reached across the table to pull the slim band out of the box.
"Give me your hand."
I held it out to him, wondering how he'd got the perfect size as he slipped the ring onto the finger of my right hand.
"I want you to make sure you're wearing this every time you go out. You put the heart facing in towards you on your right hand. Always get that the right way around."
I squinted down at the small hands, frowning slightly. "What is this, some kind of good luck charm? What happens if it's the other way around?"
His fingers lingered on mine. "You could call it that. With the heart in, you're telling the world that you're with me. Wear it the other way then you're saying you're single. That's how it goes. It's traditional. Makes sense for you to have something unambiguous to show it's serious between us. You swap it to your other hand after the engagement."
I blinked at him. "The engagement?"
He stared back. "It's what happens before two people who like each other go to the church to make it official."
"You want to marry me?"
His lips picked up into a crooked grin and he tilted his chin towards me. "That I do."
My whole face went slack. This was insane. We barely knew each other. And yet… The idea was so appealing. I fit with Garrett like I'd never fit with anyone. But was he really thinking about this as anything more than fulfilling his duty to keep me safe?
"Why?"
A little flash of tension flickered in his eyes and the tilt of his chin lifted higher.
"It makes sense. You take my name and you're not a Kearney anymore. They stop trying to get back at a man who's already dead and leave the both of us alone."
My heart squeezed painfully. "Right. Of course."
"That's settled then. You wear that until we choose your engagement ring, and we announce it officially."
The wor
ld was spinning. I pushed my plate away, nauseated by the rest of my perfect steak on my perfect plate. Was I the perfect wife to complete his perfect life? I could have been, if he'd wanted me to be. But I just didn't think he really did.
"Sure. Sounds great." I steeled myself, determined not to let him know how disappointed I was when he was being so infuriatingly practical about everything.
I needed a subject change, and fast.
"Anyway. What is it you and my dad were involved with?"
He smiled at me, a devious glint of amusement in his eyes and I had a feeling I wasn't going to get a straight answer. It was an expression I was getting used to seeing on him.
"We were in business together."
"Business," I echoed, nonplussed by the term I'd used before in relation to my dad's dealings. I wanted more information than that. "Shouldn't I know more details, given I'm going to be your new partner? Your wife, apparently."
Garrett stared at me, then cool as ever, he took the letter out of his jacket pocket. I hadn't known he'd been carrying it around this whole time. He tilted his head, making a show of reading it over. "Ah, I thought so. You know yourself it says here that the day to day running of the business is to fall to me and you're to be a silent partner."
I gritted my teeth. He had this all sewn up. He had me all sewn up. "I've never been so good at keeping quiet."
Garrett scoffed a soft laugh. "I can see that Macushla."
Damn it, he was handsome even when he was keeping secrets from me.
I hated my dad for setting things up like this. I had no financial autonomy without Garrett and it didn't seem like he was set on giving me any. How much freedom could I possibly have as his wife?
"Fine." I relented with a frustrated sigh. There wasn't much I could argue with and it made sense to choose my battles. "You carry on running the business, but I need access to my college fund at the very least."
Garrett sipped his coffee. "Where are you going to college?"
"I haven't applied yet. I didn't want to get in somewhere and not have any money for fees."
"What course do you want to do?"
I gritted my teeth, irritation rising in me with the sense that he was trying to pick holes in everything. "I don't have to pick my major until second year."
"Seriously? Seems to me you should know why you're going to college before you get yourself there."
"It's how it works across the whole of America." I jabbed my ice cream with my spoon and the metal chinked loudly against the bottom of the bowl.
"Well. Once you've been accepted somewhere, for whatever course it is, we can talk about the money."
"Are you for real?"
"Yes. I'm not about to transfer that kind of money into your bank account when you might not even get in."
My jaw hinged open in disbelief. I wished they hadn't cleared the knifes and forks away because I had a rising urge to stab him in the hand. "It's my money."
"Not for a few years."
"Do you think I won't get in anywhere, is that it? You think I'm too thick to make the cut?"
"Of course not. It's your future, Kaitlin. You're father set it up like this to secure your future. So that's what I'm going to do."
"And meanwhile, I've got the choice of marrying you to stay alive in a city where everyone wants to kill me, or going back home and crossing my fingers you bother to pick up the phone and reply when I try to get in touch again."
Garrett's stare cooled a few degrees. "No one's forcing you to stay if you don't want to."
"Right. Well. There's nothing for me to stay here for, is there? Maybe you'd be gracious enough to release some of my funds so I can get a flight home."
Garrett's jaw rippled and he slammed his tiny coffee cup down.
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm not letting you chip away at your savings-"
"Bullshit. You're trying to stop me from leaving! I bet you're in league with Kilpatrick or the Tiernan's over me, and you've got some grand plan-"
His glare intensified and he stood up sharply from the table.
"Let's discuss this later."
"No. Let's discuss this now. I want to go home and you keep stopping me!"
Even as I said it, my certainty about that wavered. Where was home? San Francisco was a place where I had nobody left. I had acquaintances, people I hung out with now and again, but no one who came close to family. No one I felt as connected to as Garrett, despite his gruff, bullish ways.
I'd miss Nora and Graham and Finnegan's and the gym. But my heart ached at the thought of no more waking up next to Garrett, of him not being in my life any longer.
What was I doing throwing away the only place the felt like home, the only man I could see myself growing old with, right when he was trying to give me everything?
Garrett looked like I'd sucker punched him in the gut.
"I'll meet you in the car."
He stalked out of the restaurant ahead of me, and I'd never felt so abandoned in my life.
CHAPTER 23
Kaitlin
Damn it, I couldn't walk away from him like that. He was the only man I'd ever wanted. The only man I could truly be myself around. And I was on the brink of throwing it all away because I didn't trust that he really wanted that with me too.
I scrunched my napkin into a ball and tossed it down onto the table in sheer frustration. Maybe I wasn't going to push for that flight, but I could sit here and stew for a few more minutes instead of running straight after him like a good little puppy.
I wouldn't feel so much like he was trying to own me if he just said he didn't want me to go. But he kept putting other reasons in the way instead, making me feel like I had no other options. He'd thrown marriage onto the table like he'd just suggested staying for another drink. I hated that. Most of all because it meant he didn't trust that I felt the same way about him that I hoped he felt about me.
What happened down the line? Would divorce enter the picture just as easily once it didn't make sense any longer.
I took a last sip of my water before I gathered my purse and headed for the rest room. I still needed a minute to cool down before I joined him at the car, or it wasn't going to be pretty, but I never made it through the bathroom door.
Hands grabbed me from behind and my head exploded in pain as my skull collided with the wall in front of me. My legs buckled beneath me with the shock of the pain and every single thing Garrett had taught me evaporated from my head as my arms were wrenched behind me.
I couldn't twist away, his grip was too strong and when I threw my head back, the only thing I collided with was a man's solid chest.
I screamed and kept screaming, biting at the hand that tried to clamp over my mouth to shut me up.
The man yanked me to my feet and I started bucking like a bronco, kicking and wriggling like a kid going into full meltdown in the middle of the supermarket. But I couldn't slip his grip, he was too strong.
"Listen you little bitch. Your daddy owes us a pound of flesh. You should be grateful for the opportunity to level his debts."
I was going to die. This weasel of a man was going to kill me and scatter my body parts in Dublin Bay for those weird giant prawn bugs to eat and Garrett would say it served me right.
I let out a low howl, spluttering through rising tears. The rising welt on my forehead throbbed and I could tell it was swelling even without touching it. Blood was trickling down my nose. This was not the way I'd planned on dying. I was meant to be at least eighty five and have a whole bunch of grandkids. I couldn't die when I hadn't even been a mother yet.
"Don't kill me. Please don't kill me."
"For the love of God, will you shut up?"
I howled louder, letting rip a hiccup of a gasp for breath. "I'm never going to get to go to - college! And Garrett thinks I hate him!"
"Boo fucking hoo."
My scream died in my throat as he raised his hand and the butt of his handgun collided with my head. Th
e world went black.
CHAPTER 24
Garrett
I waited for fifteen minutes outside the restaurant, leant up against the car, absolutely fuming.
Kaitlin was pushing boundaries. I could see that now. She didn't want to marry me.
Dad's Irish Mafia Friend (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 110) Page 15