Page 45 of Hot Irish Halloween

“Making friends everywhere,” Penny muttered.

There was a big blue-eyed bodyguard outside Carter’s tent, the same one she’d had to get past for her first interview. It wasn’t unheard of for musicians to have them, of course, but for someone of Carter’s relatively small stature outside the closed universe of folk, country, and bluegrass music, it seemed like overkill. Or maybe he required the security because he was such a universally recognized creep that his mouth and his manners had rendered him unsafe.

Penny smiled sweetly up at the bald giant, who was taller and bulkier than even Jack and Squeeze. Flashing him the pearly whites and the access pass plus camera, Penny poured on the charm. From behind her, Jack and Squeeze were still talking but their voices lowered when they got near the tent to observe her working her miracle.

“If Mr. Stillwell isn’t busy, could you let me in to see him? I’m Penny Mayfield. Remember me from last time?”

“Yeah, I remember. You following him around now? You’re kinda old for a groupie,” the charmer said, unmoved by her smile that was about to falter at his insult.

“I just showed you a pass and a camera for the second time. You know I’m not a groupie, old or otherwise.”

“Definitely not otherwise. You shouldn’t be doing this gig. Save that shit for the cute little twenty-year-olds,” he retorted. “He don’t want to see you irregardless of whether he already gave you permission before.” In his black shirt and black pants, he towered over her, his eyes flickering past her to widen briefly. “Hey. You Jack Valentine?”

Jack came up behind her, sliding his arm around her waist protectively. Penny looked up to see his smile was tight and his eyes were narrowed.

“I’m Jack Valentine if it gets her in that tent,” he answered evenly.

“Can I get an autograph?” the other man had the nerve to ask.

“If it gets her into that tent,” Jack said again. His voice was smooth as silk, but his arm was tensed steel, same as the body pressed against her side.

“Nobody gets in the tent. I don’t give a fuck who you are,” the guard said dismissively. “And I don’t need your bullshit autograph. I was gonna sell it anyway. Probably make me five bucks off your washed-up ass.”

“You need to take it down a notch, brother,” Squeeze said with a friendly yet piercing smile, coming up on Jack’s other side.

“I’m not your brother, and you can take that notch and shove it up your ass.”

Now he’d gone and done it. Insulting her was one thing, but Jack and Squeeze too? Nope.

“Oh, so now not only am I washed up, but he is too? You and your dick boss need to expand your vocabulary. And it’sregardless, not ‘irregardless,’ oaf,” Penny spat out.

The guard’s mouth lifted in a sarcastic grin. “Oh, so you’re a smart bitch, huh? Alright, smart bitch, get the fu —”

It happened so fast. Too fast. All Penny saw was a fist sliding past her face, almost as if in slow motion. She heard it connect with the big man’s face, and then he disappeared. One minute he was standing above her, the next he was gone. Penny looked down. Oh, there he was, on the ground, his face glazed with shock while a small trickle of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth.

“Oh well!” Squeeze said with a laugh, breaking the moment of stunned silence.

Jack’s eyes glittered like he’d enjoyed knocking the other man on his ass. He leaned down, gripped him by his collar and told him, “You should have been more polite.”

The guard was still too stunned to move. Jack straightened, took Penny’s hand and led her away.

When they cleared the tent area, Squeeze was laughing while Jack’s face still wore a look that was somewhere between angry and satisfied. Penny’s stomach was fluttering wildly, with fear that the Gardaí would be called and Jack would be arrested for assault. But she had to acknowledge it was blended with a desire for him that now went bone-deep after seeing him do that. It was the other side of Jack, the Hunter, the primal being that reacted instinctively to protect his mate, consequences be damned.

But another, thicker emotion swam to the surface. She felt sick. Nauseous at the idea of how wrong it could have gone, not for the bodyguard but for him. If the guard had stayed on his feet and hit back…

She couldn’t love Jack and lose him. Couldn’t handle going through that a second time.

This time, it would be the end of her too.

“Do you want to stick around? Go see something else?” Jack asked. He must have come down from his adrenaline rush. He no longer looked the way he had, no longer vicious and victorious. With concern, he touched her face with a gentle hand.

Penny nodded, unable to speak, too busy taking the surging emotions apart one by one and putting them away to the place where she always kept the ones too big to handle. Squeeze put his hand on her arm and then stood back, looking between her and Jack.

Just then, he received a text and pulled his phone from his pocket to read it. He typed something quickly and put it away.

“Look, sis, if you’re okay, I’m gonna go find Jen and the others. I was supposed to be heading to the bathroom when I saw you. Do you want to come hang out with us? Let’s have some fun tonight.”

Penny still couldn’t gather herself together enough to speak. Jack chimed in after a moment. “Thanks, but we’ll probably go wandering on our own.”

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