Page 46 of Hot Irish Halloween

“Cool. Wish you were staying longer.” When she didn’t answer, Squeeze gave her a comforting hug. “You sure you’re okay?”

Mute, she only nodded. Jack’s hand rubbing her back was reassuring and warm.

“She’s good. I’ve got her,” he told Squeeze.

“Alright. I’ll check you later. When you come back home, we need to spend some real time together, okay? You and your new hubs. And Dax really wants to meet you. Stop being a stranger.”

Penny nodded, finally giving him a smile. “You’re first on my list, Squeeze. Love you.”

“Love you, too, Penny Pen.” After another hug, Squeeze turned to Jack and shook his hand. “It was great to meet you, man. I know you’re taking good care of our girl. Damn.” He laughed shortly. “Took that dude out with one shot. One! Can’t believe I got to see that without pay-per view.”

“Good to meet you, too,” Jack said with genuine warmth in his voice.

After Squeeze took off, Penny and Jack walked in the other direction toward a crowd decked out in apparel and playing the bodhrán in their own little circle. They watched other costumed dancers in the middle of the circle, frightening and ancient. Mysterious visitors dancing into their world from the other side.

“Why?”

“Why what?” Jack asked. Firelight spread across his features, highlighting his cheekbones and leaving shadows on his jaw.

“Why would you risk getting into it with that guy? They were just words, Jack. Just words.”

His face turned grim again. “It was his fault for not knowing how to behave. He knew who I was. He should have known what was going to happen next.”

“It was you who said if you keep fighting, the next time you get hit, you might not get up again. You can’t take chances like that, no matter what provoked it.”

Jack’s sigh was brisk. “That fella was never gonna get a hit off me. He was big, but he was slow. I wasn’t in any danger. And it didn’t matter if he was the fittest motherfucker out here. He insulted you. And as your man, it’s my job to make sure nobody does that. I can take care of meself.”

“As my man, I’d prefer you alive,” Penny said sharply. “And what’s this about you getting back in the league professionally? Tonight was the second time somebody’s mentioned that. It’s one thing to fight some rando in the streets. Are you actually considering fighting this La Roque character?”

“I’ve been approached,” Jack admitted. He scraped his bristly jaw with his thumb, his eyes on the dancers and the firelight. “I’ve said ‘no’ more than once, but they keep asking. Them calling me out in public is a classic tactic to push my buttons, but it’s not gonna work. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Okay, good.” Penny was appeased only somewhat by that answer. Because Jack had that look in his eyes, that Hunter look. His mouth might be saying “no,” but that look whispered, “maybe.” “I hope the answer stays no, no matter what they offer you. I can’t — I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“And nothing will.” He pulled her into his arms and held her. She’d wrapped her hair with a bandanna that day until she could get home for a proper detangling session. Jack rested his chin against the cloth and asked, in a voice every bit as gentle, “Is this about Brendan?”

Immediately, she stiffened. Pulled back. Jack was serious. His eyes were half-lidded, not with passion this time but with questions. Questions she didn’t want to answer.

“Why are we talking about Brendan right now? This was about you and my concern for you.”

“Squeeze filled me in while we were on our way to find Stillwell. He said he was happy you were with a new man after being single for so long since Brendan’s accident. He seemed to think I already knew what happened, so he talked.” In a softened voice, he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me how Brendan really died? That it was a fight? You led me to believe it was a car accident. Is that why me fighting bothers you so much? It reminds you of what happened to him?”

A rush of fury, a shock of sorrow, blasted their way through her body. And along came guilt, her faithful old friend that was never far behind the other emotions.

With a shaky laugh, she pulled away and rubbed her arms. Self-comfort. Force of habit.

“I never said anything about a car. I said it was an accident, and it was. The guy sucker punched Brendan, and he fell and hit his head. He was in a coma for three days. He never woke up.”

She heard it again, the smack of angry flesh against softer skin. The sound that followed when Brendan fell to the ground, the concrete step waiting for him below. The unnatural scream…herscream…

She pressed her hand to her mouth for a long moment and closed her eyes, but that did nothing to block out those sounds. Against the dark screen in her head, they were now accompanied by a picture reel replaying the horror.

Jack reached for her again and she let him hold her. “Were you with him when it happened?”

Penny averted her eyes and shook her head. “No. I was home.”

“I’m sorry about what happened to him, Penny. Talk to me, love.”

“I don’t need to talk about that right now,” she said quickly. Her throat hurt forcing those words through the memories. “What I need is for you to promise me that you’ll say ‘no’ to that fight or any other fight. I am not going to lose you to that.Promise me, Jack. If you can promise me you’ll leave fighting in the past, that’s where Brendan will stay, too. We’ll leave all of it behind. Please.”

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