Page 82 of Hot Irish Halloween

“Are you sure about coming to Dublin? You know this is strike fifty at your job,” Penny said.

“It’s coming one way or another,” Jade responded simply. “Maybe this is me getting unstuck.”

Arriving the next day in Dublin after their overnight flight, Penny was wrung out and grateful when they finally made it back to the house. Her home, again. Everything looked just as it had when she left, with the exception of Trixie, whose room seemed so empty.

After they got Jade settled in the guest room, Jack started prepping something to eat.

“I can’t believe your parents came back and dog-snatched Trixie like that,” she remarked softly.

Jack came behind her and wrapped his arms around her thickening waist at the island. “I know. It’s been weird without her. We should get one of our own. Think you’ll be able to handle a baby and a puppy?”

Sudden tears welled up in her throat. Penny grinned despite them, holding Jack’s hand against her belly. “Yeah. A baby and a puppy. That’s the dream right there.”

“In the meantime, I found this. Been holding on to it for when you came back.”

Jack pushed something soft in her hand. It was Toto, looking no worse for wear. That did it. Penny turned all the way around in the circle of his strong arms and clung to him, tears escaping from her eyes. In one more day, Jack would meet La Roque in the cage. The baby, the dog, and their whole future hung in the balance. The weight that she’d been able to ignore in the excitement of the reunion and the wedding loomed big and heavy. It threatened to press the very air from her lungs.

“I’m scared,” she whispered. Her tears left wet spots on his long-sleeved T-shirt, but he didn’t seem to care.

“I can still call it off if you want me to. I told you I’d do anything for you.” He held her as a shudder ran through her frame. “Just tell me, and I’ll call it off.”

This was her last chance. She knew he was serious. Knew he loved her so much he would do whatever she asked of him.

“I want you to do what you do. Be who you are,” she told him simply.

Jack shuddered this time at her acceptance. He held on, soothing her against his solid chest while his large, warm hand rubbed her back.

“Thank you. Don’t worry, angel. You’re not getting rid of me that easy.”

29

TELL THEM AGAIN

JACK

All at once, it was fight night at the FitzGerald estate. Jack gripped Penny’s hand as they entered the castle. Jade, Charlie, Bran, Meghan, and two other members of his corner team strode through the doors with them. That weird sense of déjà vu, of time and events overlapping, washed over him. The night he and Penny had married each other in the sight of the universe, what they’d done to each other when they’d let go and fallen into the Hunt. It bumped up against the last time he’d set foot in the cage nearly five and a half years ago, unaware that it would end in him leaving the sport he loved. Combined, the memories were almost overpowering.

Gripping Penny’s hand tighter, he kissed the back of hers, and she tried to smile. Her luscious lips spread wide in a grin he could tell was made with effort. She’d been upfront. She was scared. Despite that, she was here because she believed in him and wanted to support him. He’d never take that for grantedagain. But if he was going to stand a chance, he needed to stay focused, not on fear but on the fight.

The entryway was full of people, some of whom he recognized from the fundraising events and parties and the Halloween ball. Others were faces he’d seen on television and in films, and for the rest, he had no clue. They were either insanely rich or fawning to be close to power. He had no doubt the wagers on this were going to be astronomical. FitzGerald had told him he and La Roque would each get a share of the proceeds, no matter who won; he’d hinted at something close to €15 million each with a bonus for the winner.

“Think of all the punching bags you can buy with that,” Simon had joked over the phone with a sleazy chuckle. “You’d never get a deal like this from the league, at any rate.”

They gave their coats to an attendant, who handed them tickets and disappeared in a smooth rush. Jack paused to appreciate his wife’s figure in her dress, an electric blue that hugged her curves. Penny hadn’t been showing much, but overnight, it seemed her bump had popped out. Her new shape was incredibly sexy. He’d spent the night kissing that bump and every bit of her juicy body. All the while, he’d tried not to wonder if it would be the last time.

Entering the Great Hall, the others looked up and around with awe. The center of the room where the gold dais and the bed had been was completely transformed. The cage was set up smack in the middle, exactly as Jack had specified, set on a raised stage with a short set of stairs. A regulation-sized cage wouldn’t have fit in here, so he’d asked for a smaller one typically used in the underground scene.

Floodlights illuminated the octagon with a soft golden glow. The exterior of the cage was lined with rows of chairs, with a place of honor for Simon. His chair was an old-fashioned French piece of fluff designed to look like it belonged to Louis theWhatever. Maybe it was the real deal. Who knew? FitzGerald's money seemed to go a long way.

Far on the other side of the Great Hall, there was also a team of men and women dressed in soft white with an array of equipment in bags on the floor. A medical team. Good. La Roque was going to need them.

People buzzed back and forth, barely seeming to notice him. But he did see La Roque and Quinn standing with their corner team on the other side of the cage. La Roque’s stare was flat, spacey, as though he were already in the zone. Good. Motherfucker had better get ready for what was coming to him.

Jade whistled. “Look at all this opulence,” she said dryly. “It kinda beats the King and Queen for the day experience at one of those tourist-trap castles.”

“Jaysus, Mary, and Joseph, I thought you were coddin’ me when you said it was a castle,” Charlie said with a whistle, looking around at the ceilings and the sculptures. “What kind of a place is this for a fight? What are ya, like, some bleedin’ tiger about to do tricks in a circus?”

“It feels that way,” Bran muttered, wearing a frown.

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