“This is freaking giant,” Nora whispered to her as both women scanned the domed arena lined with bleachers, all facing in toward the middle stage.
It was at least five feet off the ground with stairs to get up to it. The octagon-shaped stage was fenced with thick crisscrossing material that had lowered down from the ceiling, essentially turning it into a cage with no way out. As the PA system alerted everyone to find their seats, the cage walls rose.
Fiona squeezed her friend’s hand as an announcer climbed into the cage and greeted the crowd.
“Ladies and gentleman! Welcome to the State Mixed Martial Arts Heavyweight Championships! Tonight we’ve got up-and-coming Kane ‘Killer’ Kavanagh—”
The entire Kavanagh family jumped to their feet and hollered in excitement. Fiona joined them, smiling at the spirited support this family was known for.
“…versus last year’s champion, Nick ‘Nut Cracker’ Allen!” the announcer finished, his voice booming through the arena. Neither opponent had yet made an appearance. Fiona looked around, wondering where they were.
“Why are the guys not out yet?” Clare, who was sitting next to her, leaned over to ask.
“Beats me, this is my first time at one of these,” Fiona replied, looking over at Casey, who was next to Clare.
Casey shrugged. “They usually come out with the first announcement.”
“Ladies, shush! Pay attention,” Dee instructed, her finger to her lips and a mysterious glint in her eyes. They all quieted, exchanging silly grins and focusing once more on the announcer.
“Before we bring out the bloodthirsty opponents, we’ve got a surprise for you.” The announcer smiled at the crowd. “Everyone here has heard of the legend who claimed the championship belt in this same fight years ago, only to go on and rank Top Ten MMA Fighter Worldwide.”
The crowd began cheering, and Clare gripped the armrest between them so hard her knuckles were turning white. Fiona scrunched her brows together, confused as to what everyone else seemed to understand.
“Please welcome to the stage retired champion, one of the best fighters in the world, Rory ‘Knockout’ Kavanagh!” The announcer pointed to the hulking behemoth wearing black jeans and a tight black T-shirt who was climbing the stairs. Fiona giggled when she saw the large black-and-white dog trailing a foot behind Rory. Those two were inseparable, and no one dared tell the ex-fighter otherwise. After all, Ace had been just as much of a fighter as Rory ever was, and he had the jagged scars to prove it.
Rory took the microphone and turned to face the crowd. “Good evening, Jersey!”
Getting to their feet, the crowd screamed their love for him. Fiona and Nora stood, clapping; Casey and Clare did the same. Dee stood, too, but she was staring at Clare. Fiona had no clue what was going on.
“Thank you, thank you. I’m not going to take up too much of your time, I promise. As he just announced, I guess I have sort of an impressive résumé.” Rory grinned at the crowd, and they ate it up like candy. “What you don’t know is that after my career-ending injury, things went downhill fast.”
Clare swayed slightly, and Fiona wrapped an arm around her waist, glancing at her. She looked so nervous seeing him up there again, and Fiona wondered if Rory was going to fight. She knew Clare didn’t want him doing it professionally anymore, as his injury had cost him a lot, and his subsequent struggle with pain medications had almost destroyed his life and their relationship.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, or what the point was in going on. Fighting was all I’d ever known. Until I met Clare Ivers.” Rory’s eyes found Clare’s through the crowd, and he smiled at her.
Fiona felt her heart warm at the sight, and it only reminded her again how much she missed Kieran. Can’t think about him right now, she reminded herself.
“Mhuirnín, will you come up here with me?” He spoke directly to Clare, and she nodded.
Fiona pushed her forward, and Dee looked as if she was going to bounce right up along with her. Clare gingerly climbed the stairs, and Rory grabbed her hand as soon as she reached the top, steadying her. She looked around the giant, filled arena, clearly nervous about being in front of so many eyes, including the national television broadcast of the event.
“What’s going on?” Nora whispered to her. Fiona just shrugged because she had no idea.
Rory handed the microphone off to the announcer and continued talking to Clare, but it was inaudible to the crowd. Whispers and questions floated through the crowd as everyone watched the exchange. The moment Rory dropped down to one knee, the crowd’s shouts became deafening. Everyone was on their feet clapping and screaming out encouragements.
Clare’s mouth fell open, and her hand went to her chest as he held the other and spoke to her from where he was kneeling. He pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it, the glint of diamonds apparent from where Fiona was sitting.
“Oh my God!” Nora gasped, and Fiona grinned, more than a little excited for her friend.
“You knew, didn’t you?” Casey asked Dee as the women held each other’s hand.
“A mother never tells.” Dee winked at them, and Fiona laughed.
Clare nodded her head and started crying as Rory pushed the ring onto her finger, all smiles as he stood and wrapped his arms around the petite blonde. They turned to the crowd, and he lifted her now-heavier hand in the air with his, letting the crowd celebrate with them. Blushing like mad, Clare smiled, and then the newly engaged couple kissed before exiting the stage with Ace.
Fiona watched to see if they were going to come back to where the women were sitting, eager to congratulate them. The duo disappeared into the crowd, and Fiona guessed they were probably off to do some celebrating of their own first.
“What a show, ladies and gentlemen! And it hasn’t even started yet!” the announcer called, returning to the stage. “Now it’s time to officially introduce our opponents for the night. From the left, we have Nick ‘Nut Cracker’ Allen!”
Red curtains in one corner of the arena parted, and a large fighter decked in gold clothing to match his gold tooth made his way down the aisle, then climbed up the stairs to the cage. He had a trainer and handlers with him and was waving his arms around, inciting the crowd to scream and cheer. The announcer recited details about his career and his accomplishments, but Fiona wasn’t paying attention.
All she could think about was the smile on Clare’s face, the adoration in Rory’s eyes, and how much she wished she could have that same type of love with someone. How much she wished she could have that with Kieran.
“From the right is Kane ‘Killer’ Kavanagh!” Kane suddenly appeared behind a similar red curtain on the opposite side of the arena; he was wearing all red as he paraded down the aisle and climbed onto the stage. The crowd was on their feet, eating up the macho display.
Fiona recognized Kieran beside his twin; Kieran was dressed in all black, and red letters across his back spelled kavanagh. Seamus, Quinn, and another man, whom she couldn’t really see from a distance, were all crowded with him in matching shirts as they took up another corner of the cage. Again the announcer talked about Kane’s previous victories as Fiona saw Kieran’s head bowed close to his twin’s, telling him something no one else could hear.
“Looks like Kieran took Rory’s place for tonight,” Casey said beside her.
“What?” she asked.
“Rory is Kane’s trainer. Normally, he would be the one up there, but it looks like Kieran is helping out so Rory and Clare can be off doing whatever they’re doing,” Casey said, all smiles as she watched her family with pride.
Fiona looked back up at the stage as the trainers and other team members all stepped beyond the perimeter of the cage as the sides lowered from the ceiling and the announcer stood on a separate platform. The men squared off, and the fight was soon under way. But all Fiona could think about was Kieran. He was everything she wanted in her life.
And she was everything he shouldn’t want in his
.
Chapter 23
“Congratulations, motherfucker! Stealing my damn thunder.” Kane smacked Rory on the back as the entire Kavanagh family descended on the locker room after the fight.
“Thanks, Kane. You were in fine hands with Kieran.” Rory smiled at him and wrapped both twins in a bear hug. He was like a totally different man now that his woman was wearing his ring.
“All right, you’re choking me.” Kieran coughed, glancing over Rory’s shoulder and seeing Fiona standing with Nora and Clare in the doorway.
Clare was excitedly showing off her hand as the other women gushed over how beautiful it was. The smile on Fiona’s face pulled at Kieran, and he needed to be next to her.
“Fi.” He pushed past his brothers and Ace to make his way over to her.
Hearing him call her name, she turned from the women. She held his gaze with her beautiful blues, and he decided that he couldn’t hold back what he wanted to do just because they were broken up. “Kieran,” she gasped as he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.
He looked at her for only a moment, waiting for a signal, and when she tilted her head back slightly and looked down at his lips, he took it. Covering her lips with his, he pulled her bottom lip between his, suckling gently, then pressing forward to taste all of her. Her mouth parted slightly, and he slipped his tongue into it, his hands moving across her back to hug her tighter.
The moment she moaned into his mouth, her hands fisting his shirt, he knew she had changed her mind. He knew he still had her, and he was never letting go, no matter how hard she fought. She is it for me. She’s everything.
“Damn, Fi. I missed this,” he whispered against her lips softly, just loud enough for her to hear.
“Me, too,” she admitted, tears filling her eyes.
A coughing sound interrupted them, and Quinn pushed his way into their peripheral vision.
“For reals, lovebirds? Get a room. Not even the engaged couple is sucking face in front of the whole family.” Quinn clapped Kieran on the shoulder. Fiona blushed and turned away from him.
Not wanting to lose her again, Kieran pulled her back against him and wrapped his arms around her front. “Jealous, Q?”
Quinn rolled his eyes, walking away from them to congratulate Kane on his win. Kane had knocked out the opponent in the third round—an epic win for him, now the newest state champion. He was proudly wearing the too-large belt with the giant gold medallion, even though he had to hold it in place because it would fall to the ground if he let go.
“Come meet my brother. I don’t think you’ve met Jimmy yet.” He kissed her temple, and she nodded with a smile.
“Let’s have a toast to Kane and Rory’s win tonight!” Jimmy called from the other end of the room, which was crowded with family members, before climbing up on a bench, a water bottle in hand.
“We don’t have anything to drink, eejit. Wait ’til we get to the bar.” Seamus tried to pull him down, but Jimmy froze as he looked over at Kieran.
Kieran glanced behind him for a second, wondering what Jimmy was staring at or why he looked so confused. At the same moment, he felt Fiona’s fingers dig into his forearm as she went stiff as a board against him. Several people noticed and started glancing at them with uncertainty.
“Officer?” Fiona squeaked out. Her face was turned away from Kieran, but he could feel her shaking like a leaf as she clutched his arm.
“Fiona Doherty? What are you doing here?” Jimmy asked, seeming to blink back to life. He didn’t look upset, or even angry, just extremely confused.
Everyone in the small room turned to look at Kieran; then he realized they were actually looking at the woman in his arms. He tightened his grip around her, feeling the need to anchor her, but he was too late. She pulled from his side, trying to make a break for the door. Unfortunately, there were too many people in the small space to allow her to escape easily, even though the locker room held only the Kavanaghs, Nora, and Ace at the moment.
“What’s going on?” Rory asked, looking back and forth between Fiona and Jimmy, who had now climbed down off the bench he’d been standing on.
“I’d like to know that, too. What the hell, Jimmy?” Kieran echoed Rory’s statement.
“Um.” Jimmy looked uncomfortable, unsure what to say. “Fuck, K, what do you want me to say? I told you weeks ago not to get involved with her. It’s complicated.”
“Don’t you dare talk about my woman like that,” Kieran warned. “Tell me now—how do you know each other?”
“Not here, guys,” Seamus tried to interject, but Kieran needed to understand what he was missing.
“Listen to your father. This isn’t the time,” Dee agreed.
Fiona looked at his parents with wide eyes, as if they knew something no one else did. The entire situation was getting too confusing.
“Kieran, please. Just drop it. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be here,” Fiona told him, her face beet-red.
“I worked the homicide she was involved in about three years ago.” Jimmy sighed and threw his hands up in defeat, as if he was annoyed even to be having this conversation, an attitude that enraged Kieran even more.
A what? Did he just say she had been involved in a homicide? Kieran’s jaw dropped as he turned to Fiona. Her expression was pure terror, her hands were clutched tightly together, and her face was pale. She wasn’t denying it, though.
She actually looked guilty.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Kieran finally asked as he saw his family turning toward Fiona, too. He felt protective of her, genuinely worried for the first time in his life that the woman he loved wasn’t who he thought she was. There’s that word again. I’m in love with her.
“I need to go, please.” Fiona pushed by Casey, who stepped aside, seeming as confused as everyone else. Fiona’s hands were covering her face as she finally fled the room.
Kieran wanted to rush after her, but his feet seemed glued to the cement floor and refused to budge. Nora was standing close to Kane, her hands on his arm. Kane whispered something to her, tipping his head toward the door, and Kieran knew he was asking Nora to follow Fiona. She nodded, understanding. She looked just as nervous before she left, but she definitely didn’t seem surprised.
She must have known, too, Kieran thought.
Kieran turned to face Jimmy. “Someone explain to me right now what the fuck is going on.”
Everyone looked to Seamus, as if asking for permission to continue. When he nodded his head, barely perceptibly, Jimmy grimaced and told the story.
“She killed her stepfather three years ago. I was the first on scene, and it was a fucking mess. She stabbed him, apparently hitting a main artery. Combine that with the fact that he was drunk as shit, he bled out quickly.” Jimmy was more subdued now, his voice full of sorrow just at the memory of it all.
Kieran let go and stepped back, searching Jimmy’s face for any sign he was lying, but there was none. Fiona had stabbed a man to death, and had never told him about it. What the ever-loving fuck was going on?
“Shit,” Rory said, as the rest of the room fell silent.
“I don’t understand.” Kieran shook his head. “If she did what you’re saying, why isn’t she in prison? Why was she granted custody of a child? None of this makes sense.” She could have been in prison…ironic, he thought.
“She was defending her family,” Jimmy tried to explain, looking as uncomfortable as everyone else. “The stepdad was beating on her mother.”
“Her mother’s dead,” Kieran said. That much he had known.
Jimmy nodded. “Yeah, she was murdered the same night. The prick killed the mother; Fiona intervened and jumped him in an attempt to stop him. According to her report, he turned his hunting knife on her, and somehow she got it from him.”
“Poor Fiona,” Kane murmured beside him, chewing on the side of his thumb.
“That’s so scary,” Clare agreed.
The rest of the room awkwardly came into view as Kieran wa
s reminded he wasn’t alone. This conversation was anything but private. Kieran didn’t feel any calmer now that he knew; instead, his mind was reeling. “I don’t understand. She’s so sweet. How can someone go through that and not be completely fucked up? This has to be a mistake. There has to be more to the story.”
“If I walked in on someone hurting Ma, guaran-fucking-tee they wouldn’t be walking out of that room alive, and I wouldn’t give it another thought,” Rory spoke up.
“Even hypothetically, let’s not paint murder scenes about me,” Dee interjected. “But I’m with Rory on this one, Kieran. She’s still a sweet girl who just happens to have a messier background than you thought.”
“She is,” Seamus added. “Your mother and I knew about her past before we let her move in, and we didn’t have an issue with it.”
“You knew, too?” Kieran turned to his father in confusion.
Seamus shrugged. “You know I wouldn’t let anyone in our house I hadn’t checked out first. Some of my contacts looked into her, and I felt confident that her version of the event was accurate. I also think it was a fluke that he ended up dying from it; she seemed to just be trying to stop him. Plus, I’m not really in a place to judge people for their past behaviors, and I didn’t raise any of you to be like that, either. You certainly shouldn’t be, Kieran.”
Kieran was reminded of his father’s background with the Mafia but was surprised that he’d known this information about Fiona’s past but had never said anything to him. He’d never even treated Fiona differently; he’d been nothing but kind to her, from what Kieran had seen. Seamus had even helped him get Shea into a great school. Right then and there, Kieran decided he was going to do the same thing as his father.
He was not going to judge.
Fiona had hidden her past from him, had even been upset at him for doing the same thing. She’d pushed him away again and again since the first day they met, and now he knew the real reason why. He saw the shame on her face when she’d fled the room moments before. She was refusing to allow herself to find happiness, because she didn’t think she deserved it.