Worcester Nights - The Boxed Set (22 page)

I shook my head at him. Into the phone I said, “Eileen, we’re heading into the holidays. This would be a really bad time to have this kind of a serious conversation. Plus, your grandmother would miss having you around during these times of family. I think you should stay there through Christmas. Let the new year come; let things quiet down. Then, when you come to talk with Jimmy, everything will be even keel. You’ll be able to have his full attention and focus.”

Her voice sounded unsure. “That makes sense, Kate. It just seems like I’ve been away from him for so long. He must be missing me terribly.”

I held in a shudder. “I’m sure he is,” I assured her. “But he’s busy now, with all the holiday preparations, the bar, and everything else. He wouldn’t be able to give you the time you need. The time you deserve. Just wait the few weeks. That way he can be solely focused on you when you arrive.”

“Oh, Kate, you are always the voice of reason. I should have called you sooner, but I was afraid. I wasn’t sure how you’d react. You’re always so calm and steady.”

I thought of what I’d been doing in this very spot behind the bar just twenty-four hours ago, and I blushed. “We all get wild sometimes, Eileen,” I reassured her. “It will all sort out. I promise it will. But you need to stay put for now. It’s really best for everyone.”

“All right,” she agreed. “But please don’t tell Jimmy anything about this call. I want to tell him myself, in person, when the time is right.”

“Of course, Eileen, that is the way it should be. You should tell him face-to-face when you come to see him.”

A jangling noise came down the phone line, and Eileen said, “Oh, that’s my grandmother. I have to go. I’ll talk to you soon, Kate.”

“Sure thing. You take care of yourself. Take your vitamins and drink lots of water.”

She gave a merry laugh. “Yeah, yeah, I get that from my grandmother all day long. Don’t worry, I’m taking good care of myself.”

“All right, then. Bye, sweetie.”

“Bye.” The phone went dead.

Sean’s eyes were on me, attentively curious. “What was that all about? I take it that was Eileen? She’s doing all right?”

I leant forward, putting my mouth to his ear. “She’s pregnant. With Jimmy’s child.”

His body stilled, and it was a long moment before he brought his eyes up to mine. “And she wants to come home?”

I nodded, returning my phone to my pocket. “I talked her out of it. If she can stay put until after the holidays, hopefully everything will have settled down a bit.”

He put his hand out, holding mine. “It’s going to be rough on her.”

I nodded. “She got me through what I endured with Derek. I’ll be there for her through this.”

He gave a soft smile. “You’re a good person, Kay.”

I brought his hand to my lips, running my tongue along his finger. “Take me home, and I’ll show you how good.”

His groan was all I could have hoped for.

Chapter 7

I
gave Sean a playful swat as we strolled into the bar, turning to hang my jacket on the hook. It was definitely getting chilly out there. It was a week-and-a-day until Thanksgiving, and while winter was still officially over a month away, the crisp winds were giving us a taste of what was to come. I swore I could see frost on the edges of the windows.

I blinked as I looked through them. Heading into the roiling chaos of Kelley Square was a black Escalade which I knew well. Seamus guided the car with deft hands, slicing across the middle of the eight-sided tangle as a shark slides through a school of minnows. The car pulled up along the curb in front of the bar.

Mrs. O’Malley stepped out, her sturdy form unmistakable in the dark night, and she pushed open the door. The bell above made its traditional tinkling noise.

Jimmy came bounding out of the back hall, his face glowing with anticipation – and he stumbled to a stop on seeing his wife standing there. He drew his gaze down her burgundy pant-suit, and his face sagged into desolation.

Mrs. O’Malley’s lips drew down. “Good to see you too, Jimmy. Anyway, Seamus needs you both. He wants to finalize the plans for security for the event on Saturday. It’s only four days away now. He wants to ensure the warehouse is buttoned up tight.”

Sean nodded, rising from his stool. “Of course.” He leant over the bar to draw me into a warm kiss. His voice became a murmur. “I’ll be back soon. You stay inside until I return, just in case.”

I smiled at him. “I’ll be fine,” I promised. “And, besides, you guys are in talks with the Cubans. They’ll behave while they think you are negotiating in good faith.”

Jimmy’s brow drew together. “They’d better.”

I thought again of Javier, the leader of the Cubans, The Most Interesting Man in the World. I wondered if he fell into using the meme-famous phrasing when he had his talks with Seamus.

I whispered in Sean’s ear. “I don’t always negotiate for rights to a porno operation, but when I do, I insist my girls have limes in their mouths.”

He gave me a playful swat on the rear. “That’s Corona,” he corrected me with a grin.

Jimmy was watching our lighthearted exchange with a distant look. He glanced at his wife, and his shoulders slumped. He turned to the door. “All right, Sean, let’s get this over with.” In a moment, the two men had climbed into the Escalade, and it slipped slowly into the dark ocean of the night.

Mrs. O’Malley settled her bulk onto one of the stools fronting the bar. She turned to eye Joey for a minute. Her voice was gentle. “Hey there, Joey, you climbed off that horse yet?”

Joey looked myopically over in her direction. “Hey there, Mrs. O.”

She sighed, turning back to me. She waved a hand up at the Redbreast. “Two glasses, Katie. I think it’s time we had a talk.”

I paled, but I turned, drawing down the bottle, selecting out a pair of glasses and setting them out. I filled both and put the bottle to the side.

Mrs. O’Malley raised her glass to me. “
Sláinte
.” She pronounced it with the same inflection one would say “It’s a lawn chair”; somehow the “t” in the word became a “ch”. I’d been around the Irish language in tiny bits since I was young, and more fully in the past month, but it still baffled me.

I met her glass with mine, and we both drank. She smiled at the flavor, stared at her glass for a moment, then settled it down onto a coaster and looked up at me.

She leant forward conspiratorially. “So, who would have thought it, about Sean?”

My heart hammered in my chest. “Thought what?”

She nudged my arm. “You saw it right away, I’d bet. But he had the rest of us fooled.”

My voice was almost a squeak. “Fooled?”

She winked at me. “The ex-felon. Living in that rat-hole. And come to find out … he’s really not that at all.”

I focused my breath, drawing in, releasing out. What would Mrs. O’Malley do with her knowledge?

She grinned widely. “A captain! Can you believe it? And so quickly, too. You have a right to be proud of him, Katie. I never would have guessed he had that in him.”

Relief poured through me, and I drank down half of my whiskey in one long swallow. When I finished, I looked up at her. “It took me a little while to see it, too,” I admitted. “I judged him based on his outer appearances, on his situation. I didn’t give him a chance to prove through actions what type of a man he really was.”

She stretched in satisfaction. “Good thing he revealed himself before we kicked him out permanently. He’ll be a good addition to the team. Solid. Dependable. A soldier.” She gave her shoulders a roll. “Soon you two will have a nice little house with a yard out back. Who knows, you could have a little boy running around, shooting down enemies with his toy gun.”

I flushed, looking down at my glass. “I think it’s a bit too soon to talk about that,” I murmured.

She took a sip of her whiskey. “Youth slips away, my girl. Take advantage while you can. Before you know it, the months turn into years, and it’s all lost.”

Eileen’s conversation from yesterday rang in my ears, and I turned my glass in my fingers. I kept my tone even. “Did you ever think about having kids?”

Her voice became distant. “Sure I did, all the time. We were going to have twelve of them, Liam and I. An even dozen. Six boys and six girls. Our own little army. Had all the names picked out, knew how early we’d get them started on pellet guns. Had plans for a firing range out in back of my parents’ house. They had plenty of land for us to build right next to them.” Her face became wistful. “It would have been perfect. Just perfect. And what a father he’d have been. Stern, but patient.”

She seemed lost in her vision of the past, probably baking up traditional soda bread while she packed bullets on the counter. An ideal daydream of domestic bliss.

I sipped my whiskey. “How about you and Jimmy?”

She gave a snort, looking up. “Jimmy? Sure, the sap talks about kids all the time. How he’d take the boy out to ball games and let the girl take ballet classes.” She rolled her eyes. “What kind of a role model would he be? Whoring all day and staring at the TV all night? Can you imagine what any of his spawn would be like?” She pressed her lips into a line. “No. I will not bring any of his like into this world. And he’d damn better not get any of those sluts pregnant, either. That’s the one thing I insist on.”

I flushed, my face glowing with heat.

She nodded at me. “Oh, yes, I know all about his activities with the girls. How he
softens them up
for their roles.” She shrugged. “It’s fine with me. It gets them more comfortable for when we put the lights on them. Sometimes they even think they’re doing it
for him
.” She snorted. “As if he cares for any of them. Another one comes along and he’s like a hyperactive terrier, leaping into every new crotch to sniff at it.”

I thought again of Eileen, and I flushed. Had she been used and discarded like that? I admitted that I had some small hope that Jimmy had been honestly touched by her, that even from prison he might provide some support for her. But it seemed unlikely. Then again, if he truly craved kids, this might be his one chance to pass down his line.

Mrs. O’Malley took up the bottle and poured her glass full again, then topped off mine. Her face seemed shadowed, and I wondered just how cavalier she truly was about her husband’s activities. In her mind, she had lost everything she had once dreamed of. She had hoped for a second chance at love when she married Jimmy, and he had let her down in every way possible. Surely that must have carved a hole into her.

She tapped her glass against mine, then took a long sip. “Let me give you some words of advice, Katie. Men are lions. They’re stallions. Heck, they’re rams. It’s in their nature to go after every woman within range. It’s built into their brains.” She took down a swallow. “I’m sure you’ve seen it, in clubs. A hot woman saunters in in a red dress, and every guy turns his head. Doesn’t matter if he’s married or single, his dick gets hard. His body is built to want her.”

I flushed. “Surely they can control the urge, though.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You know what it’s like when that urge powers through you, nearly submerges you with its force. You can barely think. And for us women, we’re trained to be careful. After all, we get knocked up, we have to care for the brat for years. But the guy, he moves on to the next opportunity. It’s in his best interest to mount everything that moves.”

I looked down into my drink. “Maybe back in caveman days …”

She gave a wry grin. “Same brain, Katie. Same cock swinging between their legs. When that little head takes control, not much they can do but go along for the ride.” She took down another swallow. “Liam tried to explain it to me one time. It’s like being addicted to chocolate, and being in a chocolate factory tour. Someone’s standing right in front of you, with the most delicious chocolate bar you’ve ever smelled. They bring it up to your lips. They rub it along the skin there, and your entire body craves it. All you have to do is part your lips. That’s all, and it’s yours.” She gave a soft shrug. “There’s only so long they can hold out.”

My stomach twisted at the vision. “Surely some guys do hold out,” I pointed out.

She gave a shrug, leaning on the bar. “Oh, sure, if they work nine to five in an accounting firm, where they never leave their cubicle. If they come straight home and plunk in front of the TV to watch SportsCenter all night long. There’s no chocolate bars. There’s hardly anything to tempt them.”

She nudged her head toward Jimmy’s office. “But in our world? With the women sauntering through every day, eager to prove their tits and ass are the best ever seen? Where the hot young thing wants nothing more than to pop her mouth over the guy’s cock so she can get her big break? How many times do you think the guy says no before he finally sits back and lets her?”

I flushed, glancing toward the door. I wondered how long it would be before Sean got back.

She nodded at my look. “You’re strong, Katie. I heard about you at the warehouse. You have fire in you. That’s why I know you can make it through this. It’s part of why Seamus decided to make Sean a captain – he knew you’d be at his side to be his rock. A man needs that in his life if he’s going to succeed. Seamus has me. Sean has you.” Her lips pressed together. “But you have to come to terms with this, Katie. It’s going to happen. You have to be ready.”