“I’m fine,” I promised.Especially since he went out of his way to make sure we didn’t go past the guard house.I didn’t want him worrying that I was going to freak out at every single turn. No one deserved to live feeling so on edge.
“Don’t pull that shite with me,” he said calmly as my eyes widened. “You’re not fine, and I don’t expect you to be. Yates shot someone right in front of you, baby girl. I would be shocked if you were fine.”
I nodded, sinking into the expensive seats, examining the dark storm clouds above as twilight filled the space around us. It was a beautiful, stormy night, and honestly, if it wasn’t for the mounting tension in my shoulders and my headache, I probably would have found it romantic. Instead, I closed my eyes and intertwined my fingers with Dermot’s, his grip on my thigh comforting and a bit possessive. I felt a surge of heat roll over me that did a lot of good to pull me out of this haze.
Was that the key to my anxiety? Sexy men doing sexy things? Well, I had that in spades here, fortunately.
“You know, I’ve never been to Ireland before,” I mused softly, rain starting to speckle the windshield as I thought about leaving for the plane so early in the morning. “Which is weird, considering that everyone else has been there. But I’ve only been to London, and that was once. I’m excited for tomorrow.”
Dermot offered me a look, seeming to gauge something, and then squeezed my leg. “That was on purpose. You haven’t been to Ireland because no one wanted to risk your association with the family.”
My mouth popped open as I blinked and ran a hand over my face, offering a small laugh. “Well now I just feel stupid.”
“Not stupid,” he argued, his tone serious.
I nodded, realizing he didn’t like when I said stuff like that. I turned in my seat to face him and realized that something was bothering him. Something more than my words.
“Are you excited to go back? You just left; I can’t imagine you are.”
His voice was a low rumble. “The compound doesn’t bother me. My father’s estate next door? I would be happy to never set a foot in that disaster again.”
“You don’t get along with your father?” I asked, my tone gentle because I could see pain there despite him being a serious pro at hiding it.
Dermot’s chuckle was soft and dangerous. “Understatement, Dahlia. The man is an absolute bastard. One of the many reasons he has been removed from a position in the Ross family business.”
“And your mom?” I was hoping for a better story there. Despite knowing who Dermot was, King never really talked about his family in Ireland, and well, I was starting to realize why now.
“Walked out on us.”
“Oh my god,” I squeaked, feeling horrible. “I am so sorry—”
“Happened forever ago, Dahlia, you didn’t know.” His voice was soft and patient, his gaze finding mine as he offered me a small smile. “Probably for the better. Plus, I don’t blame the woman for leaving. My father is a piece of shite. ”
I nodded cautiously, not wanting to offer an opinion of that because I was already worried I was messing this up. “Is there any chance we won’t see your father while we’re there?”
“No,” he sighed and then tensed, “Well, you won’t, but he will make a point out of seeing me. I’m keeping him far the fuck away from you.”
I frowned. “If he’s a jerk like you said, you shouldn’t have to see him alone.”
Something soft passed across his features as he picked up my hand and kissed it gently. “I don’t trust him, and Ireallydon’t trust him with you around.”
I blinked and nodded. “That bad?”
Dermot seemed to disappear in his memories for a moment before he inhaled and nodded. I didn’t push it, instead tightening my grip on his hand and leaning my head against his arm despite the center console between us. Closing my eyes, I let the hum of the car serve as a relaxing moment before the insanity I knew that would be at this fight.
I wasn’t wrong.
As we pulled up into the grass and mud parking lot outside of the quarry, I noticed that there were far more people than last time. It was also drizzling, which made it harder to see, but from what I could tell, it was also more rowdy. Dermot made a noise in this throat that sounded vaguely threatening as he parked his car in the dark near the far edge of the trees. I didn’t blame him, considering people were jumping on cars in the parking lot.
He leaned over, and I thought he was going to kiss me, honest to god, which of course caused me to be truly shocked when he opened the glove box and pulled out a gun. My eyes widened as he opened up his jacket, a dark zip-up, and holstered it against his chest. When he finally caught my expression, he grew amused.
“Better safe than sorry, baby girl. I would love to say that I can protect you completely on my own, but there are a lot more of them than me.” He kissed me then and hopped out of the car, causing me to shake my head as I wondered just what type of crazy these men were.
Well, clearly I knew the type. I also was clearly attracted to the type.
“I wish he wasn’t even doing this fight,” I admitted softly.
“You should tell him that.”