Page 25 of Fighting for Irish
A slow grin lifted one side of his mouth as he continued to work on his bike. He was teasing her again. Despite the fact that the subject matter was nothing to joke about, a small dose of giddy spread through her.
“Jerk,” she said as she punched him in the arm. Or what appeared to be an arm but actually felt like a two-by-four. He hadn’t even tightened up in defense, he was that solid. She’d never seen him have to throw punches at the bar like Xander sometimes did, but she couldn’t imagine taking a hit from him. He might not be Incredible Hulk bulky, but the guy was all defined muscle and controlled power.
“Sorry.” He gave her a smirk. “The look on your face was totally worth it, though.”
“Glad I could oblige,” she said wryly. “Seriously, Irish. What’s the plan?”
“Not much of a planner. Guess I’ll see what comes to me when I get there.”
“When we get there. I’m not letting you go there alone. They’re here because of me.”
“Exactly. Which is why you’re gonna stay here. There anything I should know before I meet these goons?”
“Like what?”
“Like anything you may have left out of the story? If I’m gonna be on a level playing field with them, I can’t have any surprises, Kat.”
She shook her head. “It’s just like I said. Lenny gambled Sicoli’s money away and now he wants it back.”
“Okay, then,” he said, grabbing a not-so-clean rag to wipe the grease from his hands. “By the end of the night, we should know where we stand.”
Kat swallowed hard and took a deep breath to try and settle her nerves. At the end of the night, if Irish was still standing at all, she’d consider it a success.
If he wasn’t, it would be her fault and she’d never forgive herself for endangering the only man to have ever shown her any compassion.
“Irish…” Her throat constricted, and the words wouldn’t come.
“Hey,” he said softly, leaning forward with his elbows braced on his knees. “Everything’s gonna be fine. Don’t go worrying about me, okay? I got this.”
She nodded and prayed to God he was right.
