Adam

“I’m not giving you a damn choice. You’re moving into my flat in the city, and I’m hiring a nurse to check in on you!”

“It’s good to see you, too, mate.” Les crossed his arms and shifted around on the bed so that he could drop his legs—both good and casted—over to the side.

“The hospital is kicking you out, Les, and you need a place to stay. Don’t argue with me.”

“Is that really why you’re here?” He placed his palms to the mattress on each side of his hips. His nose looked better, and the cuts on his face were fading.

“Of course.”

“Well, it’s the first damn time you’ve come to see me since you told me you made a deal with the devil.” He shook his head. “This is my mess, and you shouldn’t have involved yourself.”

My hands tightened at my sides as I stood in front of my best friend. Part of me wanted to let Les handle things because I didn’t see how I could continue to see Anna, especially after what she’d told me last night, and still step into an Octagon tomorrow. How could I tell her I hit people for fun, after everything she’d gone through? God, I wanted to kill her ex. I wanted to pummel my fists so hard in his face—I wished it was him in the Octagon with me tomorrow.

“I’m involved, now. Donovan won’t have it any other way,” I grumbled.

I hadn’t told Les about Donovan’s threats to Anna. Maybe he deserved the guilt, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

“I don’t like this. You worked so damn hard to stay away from fighting and now—”

“You can help me stop after November’s fight.”

Les was shaking his head. “What if you can’t?”

Les was always brutally honest. “Nothing’s changed. What happened five years ago . . .” I looked at the inside of my forearm, to my tattoo. “But you should get out, too. I don’t think you should fight again.”

“Hey, I don’t have your conscience. I wouldn’t let the past eat at me like you do. That guy got into the ring with you. He made the choice.”

I held my hand up, not wanting to talk about it. I needed my head in the fight tomorrow.

“You really fighting again so soon?”

I looked down at my watch—it was going on nine. I wanted to go for a run and throw a few punches to prep for tomorrow. The night before a fight was supposed to be low key, but I needed to do something. I was way too edgy to see Anna tonight, which is why I’d told her I was booked until Sunday.

I should never have gotten involved with her, and yet, I couldn’t imagine keeping my distance. She didn’t deserve someone like me, though. Hell, after what she had gone through with her ex, she needed someone who could lift her up. I would just drag her down.

“I need to make up for lost time,” I finally responded. “Before the fight tomorrow, I’m arranging for you to go to my place in the city. I haven’t been staying there, so it’s fine.”

“I don’t like this.”

“Well, I don’t want you in your low security flat where Donovan’s lackeys might pay you a visit. When the fight is over in November we’ll figure everything out.”

“And if Donovan doesn’t let you off that easy?”

He sounded like my sister. I hung my head. Thank God Da’s trip had been prolonged another week. That was a conversation I was dreading like something fierce.

I ignored his question. “See ya, Les.” I started for the door, but the vibration against my leg had me halting in the doorframe. I pulled my phone from my pocket and stared down at the text from Anna.

I hope you’re having fun with your friends. I’m at Hannigan’s, and I’ve drunk two whole beers! Well, okay, I’m thinking about you.

“Feck.”

“What is it?”

I tightened my hand around my phone. What the hell was Anna doing at Donovan’s pub?

* * *

I pushed open the door of the bar, scanning the crowd of fighters, criminals, and basic lowlifes. Where the hell was she? If Donovan had so much as touched her . . .

My jaw clamped, and my body wound tight as my eyes fell upon one person I didn’t want to see talking to Anna.

Frankie.

He was nudging a beer in Anna’s direction, but she was holding her hands up, shaking her head no.

I moved through the crowd as fast as I could.

“McGregor!” someone hollered.

“Shit. It’s feckin’ Adam McGregor!” A guy grabbed my arm, but I jerked free of his touch.

I spotted Rick joining Anna’s side. He was coming to her defense.

Then Anna’s eyes found mine, and her shoulders shrank. A look of relief flashed across her face.

“Back off, Frankie,” I roared as I approached him.

Frankie’s shoulders arched back, and he slowly turned around. “Well, shit, Adam, what the hell brings you here? I didn’t know she was your girl.”

“Leave her alone.” I leaned in toward Frankie. “Donovan’s banking on our fight, but I have no problem taking you down right the hell now,” I whispered in his ear, my words slow and deliberate.

“Like you could,” he said, but he took a step back from her anyway. “See you around, sweetheart.” Frankie smiled at Anna and turned away.

“What was that all about?” Rick asked.

“I was in the neighborhood,” I lied. “I spotted you guys over here, and I realized that arsehole was bothering Anna.” I tipped my head Anna’s way. “This really isn’t the best place to be hanging out.”

I heard whispers of my name coming from around the crowded pub. I was going to be made and fast. I needed to get the bleeding hell out of there.

And Anna did, too.

“Why don’t we go to the Storehouse?”

“The Guinness place?” One of the other interns—I think it was Kate—came up from behind Rick.

“Aye. I can get us past the crowd and up to the rooftop bar.”

“Oh, I’ve been dying to go and see that view!” Kate grabbed hold of Rick’s arm and squeezed it.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Anna finally spoke, her eyes narrowing on me.

I encouraged the group of interns to follow me through the crowd. It was hard to keep myself from cradling Anna’s back with my palm.

I ignored another, “McGregor!” being shouted as we made our way out.

As we neared the door, I spotted Donovan at his usual booth. His eyes were on me, a smile firm on his face. The bastard.

I flicked my chin up at him and swung the door open.

“Rick, Craig—you guys are from here. What the hell were you thinking, bringing ladies to a place like this?”

Rick shrugged. “My brother works at the bar. He was due in soon, so I thought we could get some free pints.”

Shit. If his brother worked there—did Rick know who I was? Really was? I eyed him cautiously.

“Don’t you have better things to be doing on a Friday night than hanging out with us interns?” Anna asked as we all started down the footpath.

“Plans changed.” Her text certainly had changed things . . . Jesus, thank God she had told me where she was. I didn’t even want to imagine her back in that bar, the place crawling with thugs.

“I guess it’s our lucky night.” Kate flashed me a smile.

Yeah, some feckin’ luck.

“I love these.” Anna’s voice stopped me. I turned around to see what she was talking about. She was pointing to one of the traffic signal boxes by the curb. “The pop art is amazing.”

“People got bored of the gray boxes everywhere, so they decided to have artists paint them,” Craig answered before I had a chance.

Anna smiled, her eyes lingering on the box as we continued past. I barely noticed what my city looked like anymore. I’d gotten some sort of tunnel vision, but I wondered what it’d be like to see my city for the first time through a pair of fresh eyes. Through Anna’s eyes.

It took us about ten more minutes to get to the Guinness building. I did my best to avoid looking at Anna as we walked, only joining in on the interns’ conversation every once in a while. I had let her take the lead on how we should behave in front of them.

When we arrived, I sought out a familiar face.

“What’s up, man?” James, the manager, fist bumped me and slapped his hand on my back.

“Can we jet right up to the top?” I asked.

James studied my group, and his blue eyes found mine again. “Anything for you, mate.”

“It’s the girls’ first time here,” I told James once we made our way to the top floor, which offered a three-hundred and sixty-degree view of Dublin.

“Ah. Nice.” James winked at the girls and tipped his head at me. “Enjoy.”

“Why don’t you all find a spot, and I’ll get everyone some pints—on me.”

“I’ll help you,” Kate insisted, and I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to come up with a polite way to reject her offer. Anna had already disappeared with the others to find a table.

“Sure.” I moved toward the bar.

After I had ordered, I shifted to face Kate, not wanting to be a complete arse. She was still my employee, after all.

“So.” Kate toyed with the strands of her dark brown hair and wet her lips. “What you did back at the pub, rescuing us from that guy, it was so sweet of you.” Her hand slipped up to my bicep, and she ran her fingers over the fabric of my jacket. “Wow. You’re strong. You must work out.”

I shifted back, bumping into a bloke behind me as I tried to escape her touch. I’d never been the guy to become uneasy with a good looking woman, but there was only one person’s hands I wanted on me.

I looked over at Anna and, even from across the bar, I could see her looking my way, her bottom lip planted between her teeth.

“I wouldn’t recommend going to any place that has the name Hannigan on it again,” I said at last.

“Oh yeah?” Kate stepped closer to me, her chest almost touching mine.

Dammit, woman. “Yeah.” I looked over at the bartender as he placed a tray of pints in front of me. “Thanks, mate.” I slid the money across the bar and backed away from Kate as quickly as I could.

“Ready for a good craic?” Rick asked once I reached his side. He grabbed a beer and raised it in the air. “To—”

One of the interns—I was pretty sure her name was Narisa—raised her hand out in front of her. “Oh please, not another quote.”

Everyone laughed, and I stood there, still trying my hardest not to look at Anna as I waited for the joke to pass. Whatever they were talking about was lost on me.

“So, boss man, what do you like to do for fun?” Kate was at it again.

“I mostly spend time with my girlfriend these days,” I decided to say. Anna’s eyes darted my way, and she started to cough on her beer. “My girlfriend’s busy tonight with some friends, and so—well, here I am.”

I liked the sound of it—girlfriend. But that was insane. We hadn’t known each other for long, and it was only a matter of time before it was over. I was too dangerous for her.

“Oh.” Kate finally backed away.

I noticed a smile tug at the corner of Anna’s beautiful lips, and I wanted nothing more than to kiss her. I wanted to claim her as mine in front of everyone. For a second, I seriously considered it. I would pull her against me, cover her mouth with mine, feel her tongue sliding between my lips. Jesus, I was growing hard thinking about it.

“The view is amazing,” Anna said a moment later. When I looked at her, her back was to me. She was looking out the window at the city of Dublin that glowed below.

I came up next to Anna, and my arm brushed against hers. I could hear the group chattering behind us, but all I could focus on was how close she was to me. We stood in silence, appreciating the view together, and it was almost perfect. The only thing that would have been better is if I’d been able to slide my hand down to hold hers.

She finally looked up at me out of the corner of her eye, and I had to brace the window with one palm to stop myself from completely facing her. Her lips parted for her tongue, which rolled over her teeth. She was trying to torture me, wasn’t she? She had said she’d had a few beers tonight . . .

Thank God I had shown up. What if some bloke had tried to take advantage of her?

“We’re going to check out the rest of the building. You coming?” Kate asked Anna.

“Um. I’m actually pretty tired. Maybe I’ll go.” Anna yawned a very fake yawn.

“I’ll walk you to your . . . place.” I almost slipped and said the word hotel.

“You sure, man? I can get her home,” Craig offered, and I wondered if the intern had ulterior motives, which had me stiffening a little.

“I was about to leave, anyway. You guys enjoy the view.” I reached into my pocket and slipped Rick some euros. “Buy a few more drinks on me.”

“That’s savage. Thanks, mate.”

Narisa grabbed the bills from Rick. “I’d better be in charge of the funds,” she said.

Rick placed his hands in the air. “Women.”

“Ha ha.” Narisa slapped Rick’s chest.

“You ready, Anna?” I wasn’t sure if I could wait another minute. I needed to get her out of there and fast before my blood pressure went through the damn roof.

“Yup.” She smiled and hugged Narisa and Kate goodbye, and then waved to Rick and Craig. “Stay out of trouble.”

“We’ll do our best,” Rick said before grinning.

I nodded at the group and escorted Anna out of the building in silence, the blood rushing through my body and to my cock. As soon as we were out of eyesight from the building, Anna stopped walking and spun to face me. She flung her arms around my neck and pulled her body flush against me.

“Jesus, Anna,” I growled before her lips hit mine.

Her sweet tongue swept into my mouth, teasing me as my cock pushed hard against her.

“Oh my God, that was torture,” she cried when she pulled away from the kiss.

I tilted my head back, my body charged and ready for her. “No kidding.”

“Why’d you come to that bar? I thought you were with friends.”

Truth or . . .? “I was with Les, actually, but I think my heart jumped from my chest when you texted me where you were.”

“Leslie? Is he back in town?”

We hadn’t talked much about him, and I’d still been vague on the details. “He is.”

“Maybe I should meet him.” She folded her arms across her chest.

“Let’s wait until the heat is off.”

“What heat? Those guys?” She held her hands up. “Actually, I don’t think I want to know.”

“No?”

“I’d like to stay in the fantasy world we’ve been cocooned in all week.”

Shit, so would I. Although, Anna was no fantasy. What I felt for her was all too real. I lowered my head as a sharp, stabbing pain of regret pushed through me.

I wasn’t allowed to be happy, was I? It wouldn’t be Goddamn fair.

But I wasn’t ready to lose her yet. I wanted a little more time.

“Let’s go back to the hotel, okay?” Her eyes were pleading.

“Anything you want.”

“Thank you.” She turned away from me but then stopped again. I practically bumped into her.

“What is it, love?”

“Um.” Anna was staring at someone just inside an alley off to our right. “I think I know her.”

“What?”

Anna started to move toward the figure sitting on the ground, leaning against the building.

“Oh my God. It’s you.”

The girl’s military-grade boots were unlaced, and her body was shaking a little. She wasn’t dressed for the weather—probably homeless. The homeless situation had been spiraling out of control in Dublin lately. My company had been trying to do its part to help out, but still . . .

The girl looked my way, her eyes in a daze, and I shifted down to my knee in one quick movement. “Abby! Abby, is that you?”

“Mr. McGregor?” The girl’s voice was throaty. “It’s me.”

I looked up at Anna over my shoulder, wondering how she knew Abby. “Abby, what happened?” I turned back to her, fumbling with her sleeves. There I found the evidence of what I hoped I wouldn’t see on her arms—track marks. She’d been using again. “Abby, I thought you stopped. Where have you been? You haven’t been to the center in months. We’ve been trying to find you . . .”

“Guess you didn’t try hard enough,” she whispered.

Shit, she was right. I should have done more to look for her after she stopped coming to the center. “I’m sorry, Abby. We need to get you to a hospital. I’m going to lift you, okay?”

“Whatever.”

I scooped her into my arms and stood upright. We exited the alley, and I looked out to the street. “How’d you know her?” I asked Anna. Abby’s body was limp and heavy. Shit, she was passing out.

“I—” Anna’s shoulders shook a little in disbelief as she stared at Abby. “This is all my fault. I got so wrapped up in us this week that I forgot . . .”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I know her. I mean, I saw her outside the center a few times, and I asked the kids about her, but they wouldn’t tell me anything. I should have told you. Oh God, I’m so sorry.” She slapped a hand over her mouth.

“Shit.” I didn’t know what to say, or what to make of her words. Right now, I was too damn worried. “Can you get a taxi for us?”

I tried not to be sick as I stared at Abby in my arms, racked with guilt. A few minutes later, a cab pulled up alongside the footpath. Anna helped me get Abby inside the back of the cab, and then Anna sat next to her, allowing Abby’s body to drape across her lap. I sat up front and shoved money at the driver. “Hospital, and the quicker, the better.”

Anna didn’t say anything as we drove, and I couldn’t bring myself to speak, either. I’d let Abby down.

Yet another regret.

When we arrived at the hospital, the staff rushed Abby to a private room and began caring for her.

“I don’t know how to contact her family.” I clutched Abby’s mobile in my hand. Anna had pulled it out of her pocket when we’d been riding in the back of the cab. “Her phone is locked, so it’s useless right now,” I explained to the desk nurse.

All I knew off the top of my head was her last name and the area of town I thought she was from. The center was closed, so I wouldn’t be able to call there, either.

Anna and I sat in the waiting area, and my nerves twisted inside me. My ankle was crossed over my knee and shaking. Anna rested her hand on my thigh for a moment. Then she reached for my hand, squeezing it.

We waited.

And waited.

I checked with the nurse about every five minutes, but there was never any news.

A doctor headed our way about an hour later, and I rushed over to him.

“She’s okay. She’s stable,” the doctor told me, and I dropped my head, relieved.

“I’ll pay for everything. Whatever the costs—rehabilitation . . .” I rambled, but he held up a hand between us.

“One thing at a time. Let’s get her better tonight, and we can talk to her family about what to do next.”

“I think the nurse finally got hold of her ma, so she should be on her way,” I told the doctor.

“Good. But when her ma arrives, it’ll be up to her if you can see Abby.” The doctor held his hands palms up. “Sorry, those are the rules.”

“Of course.”

If Anna hadn’t spotted her in the alley, I don’t know what would have happened to Abby. I guess it was fate we’d been there. I’d never been a big believer in fate, but with Anna in my life . . .

I looked at her once the doctor left, and she went back to her seat.

“I’m so sorry,” she said softly, her eyes on the floor. “I don’t even deserve to work at the center.”

I sank next to her and lowered my head into my hands, trying to process what had happened. “This isn’t your fault.” I finally looked up and into her glossy eyes. Then I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, tugging her against me. I knew what it felt like to live with blame, and I didn’t want her to live like that, too. “Just next time, know not to trust what teenagers tell ya, okay?”

She nodded, her cheeks red.

“Who are you?” she asked, after what felt like an eternity of silence.

I grabbed the back of my neck, trying to massage the tension away. “What do you mean?”

“You’re this billionaire who picks up trash at his office, who takes time out of his schedule to hang out with kids—who saves a girl from overdosing . . . you’re almost unreal.”

“You saved her by noticing her on the street. So many of us walk by people every day—the homeless and the young—and we’re almost blind to it now. So, you should know that. You saw her. And you saved her.”

She shook her head, still pained by her mistake.

“And, by the way, I’m no one special. Don’t go pinning your hopes on me. I’m not the saint you’re painting me out to be.”

Not even close.