The Storm

by R. J. Prescott

  “You think I’m crazy because I care about you! Unbelievable! I don’t need to sit down with anyone to see the truth. I’m not the one who needs help, Marie. You are.” Stuffing his fisted hands into his pockets, he turned on his heel and disappeared back into the shadows.

  Shivers turned to full-on trembling as the adrenaline rush of our confrontation faded. My knees threatened to go out from under me, so I leant against the building for support and took a deep breath. I had no idea how to deal with this. Telling Kieran would only send him off into a rage, determined to sort out Alastair. I didn’t want him getting into trouble, but I had a horrible feeling this situation was going to get a lot worse before it got better. One thing I knew for sure though, I couldn’t keep secrets from Kieran.

  As though I’d summoned him with my thoughts, he rode around the corner and parked his bike up against the pavement. He pulled off his helmet, took one look at my face, and came running over.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Alastair was just here. He didn’t listen to anything I had to say last time. He’s convinced we should be together, and I seriously don’t think he’s going to take no for an answer. It’s like he’s become obsessed.”

  “I’m going to fucking kill him,” he said, looking around.

  “He’s gone.”

  “But he won’t stay gone. That’s the fuckin’ problem. You did your best not to hurt him, love. But you’ve tried your way, now give me a chance to try mine.”

  “What are you going to do?” I asked warily.

  “I’m going to explain why stalking my girl is a real bad idea.” He was scarily calm, and it reminded me of his expression when he knocked Con on his arse.

  “Kier, it’s not as simple as scaring him. I think he’s sick. Threatening him won’t work. He needs to get help.”

  He paced a little, opening and clenching his fists as though he was trying to reign in his temper. When he seemed to come to a decision, he walked back over to me and cupped my face softly.

  “Then make a report to the police. There’s got to be some law against stalking. If nothing else, at least they’ll start keeping a record of all the crap he’s pulling. And until I can be sure that he’s out of our lives for good, I don’t want you going anywhere alone. He comes into the shop, you call the police.”

  “I can do that,” I agreed, giving him a small, tight smile.

  He rested his forehead against mine, as though he could sense my fatigue.

  “Let’s get you home. You look exhausted.” He gently stroking my cheek. I closed my eyes and leant into his touch as I inhaled the subtle hints of his aftershave. He threw his leg over his bike, then helped me with my helmet so that I could climb on behind him. Turning his head around to face me, he flipped my visor open to talk to me.

  “By the way, I forgot to tell you. I have a surprise for you when we get back, but try not to freak out, okay?”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Kieran

  “You know we live in a one-bedroom flat on the second floor, don’t you?” Irish said with amusement.

  “We live here for now. We’ve got three houses lined up to see this weekend, and we’re bound to like one of them. This will be for a couple of weeks at most,” I reassured her.

  “And what happens when we’re at work?”

  “I’ll take him to the gym with me. I’m sure Danny won’t mind. I’ll run to and from the gym as well, so he’ll get plenty of exercise.”

  She was trying to be practical, but I called her bluff to see how she really felt.

  “If you hate the idea, I can take him to Ma’s house. She’s been toying with the idea of getting a dog for years. I’m sure she’d take him,” I said. Okay, so that was a flat-out lie. Ma would never in a million years have a dog chewing up the place and shedding hair all over her furniture.

  “I can’t just give him to anybody though. It has to be someone who’d take good care of him. He’s a rescue dog that had been abandoned.” I threw that last part in for good measure, in case she was wavering about the idea.

  “I wouldn’t get rid of you, would I, baby? You’re part of the family now, and you are so gorgeous. Yes, you are! You’re absolutely beautiful,” Irish said to the bullmastiff puppy that was scrabbling about in her arms and covering her face with drool. I laughed watching them play together.

  I’d always wanted a dog, ever since I was a kid, but Ma wouldn’t have it. I knew Irish was far too practical to have one. When I’d seen an advert on the rescue centre’s social media page, I didn’t give it two minutes thought. It was love at first sight, and I hoped she would feel the same. Besides, it was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Sometimes the impractical decisions that felt right in your heart were the best ones you ever made.

  “Why would anyone ever abandon such a beautiful puppy?” she asked me angrily.

  “They told me it looked like the owners moved house. For whatever reason fucked-up people who mistreat animals do it, they didn’t want him and couldn’t be bothered taking him to the rescue centre, so they just tied him up in the garage and left him to starve.”

  Just talking about what those evil fuckers had done made my blood boil. If I ever found out who they were, there was nowhere they could go that would be far enough to get away from me.

  “What are we going to call him?” she asked.

  “Baby, that’s up to you. I got him, so you get to name him. Just remember that he’s a guy and he’s going to be part of our family for a very long time, so no girlie names like twinkle or sparkles or any shit like that.”

  “How about Driscoll? I reckon Danny’s more likely to let you bring him to the gym if you name it after him.”

  I looked over at the dopy fucker, who was laid out on his back, legs in the air, as Irish rubbed his belly. “I like it,” I said. “We can call him Dris for short.”

  “You do know how big they get, don’t you? And they slobber all over everything.”

  “You love big dogs that slobber, admit it!” I said, crawling over to nuzzle her neck and nip her like a dog would. She burst out laughing as my kisses tickled, and Dris went nuts, trying to climb on top of me to get in on the action. Looking at Irish, who’d settled down to cuddle on my lap with Dris, I couldn’t believe I’d ever fought the idea of us. I had everything I never knew I wanted, and I couldn’t imagine life ever being more perfect than this.

  ***

  “What the feckin’ hell is that? And what the feck is it doing in my gym?” Danny said, cigarette hanging out of his mouth in disbelief.

  “I adopted a rescue pet and called him Driscoll. I’m gonna train it to eat Irish’s ex,” I explained.

  “I repeat. What the feck is it doing in my gym?”

  “I can’t leave him at home. He’s too little. I figured it would be okay to bring him with me when I’m training. He wouldn’t be any trouble. He’ll sit in the corner, good as gold, I promise,” I said in kind of a whiny, pleading voice. I was fucked if Danny wouldn’t let me keep him here. There’s no way the little guy was old enough to be left home alone, and I didn’t know anyone who could watch him all day.

  “I do not want a rodent in my gym, pissing all over the floor.” His face completely deadpan.

  “I’m training him, and me and the boys will take turns taking him out on runs. You won’t even know he’s here. And he never pees on the floor, I promise.”

  Dris made kind of a whining noise, and we both looked down at him. The little fucker stared at Danny longingly, tilted his head to one side, then pissed all over the floor. I closed my eyes in disbelief. There was no way I’d be allowed to keep him here now.

  When Danny didn’t bark at me to get rid of him, I looked to see the old man and the puppy still staring at one another.

  “Clean that mess up and keep him out of my sight,” he said finally. Taking a puff of his cigarette, he shuffled back to his office.

  “You jammy bastard,” Con said in amusement. I turned around to see the
guys all loitering and eavesdropping on my conversation, waiting for me to get a bollocking as well no doubt.

  “I reckon the old man’s getting soft in his old age,” Tommy threw in. “No way would you have gotten off that lucky a couple of years ago.”

  “I’m sorry to interrupt, boys. I forgot my pipe and slippers,” Danny said, scaring the shit out of us, but Tommy especially, who gave a little whelp and jumped a mile.

  “Sorry, did I disturb you?” Danny asked sarcastically. “I was under the impression this is where fighters came to train, but correct me if I’m wrong.” We turned to look at the office door and I wondered how he slipped back out without anyone noticing. That man sure did have some ninja skills when he wanted to.

  “Well, then, what’re ya waiting for! Get back to work, ya lazy fuckers,” he barked when nobody moved or answered. We all jumped to it, Tommy included. I started towards the cleaning cupboard for a mop and supplies, but realised Dris wasn’t with me. I turned back just in time to see him toddle through the office door at Danny’s heels. I opened my mouth to say something, but the door slammed shut before any sound came out.

  “Danny’s gonna eat that thing for feckin’ breakfast if you don’t rescue it before he realises it’s in there,” Tommy warned.

  “I’m more likely to piss him off by knocking on the door than Dris is,” I replied.

  “Pretty fuckin’ genius naming the dog after him,” Con said.

  “It was Irish’s idea, but she’s going to fucking kill me if Danny eats her new puppy,” I said, making him chuckle.

  I cleaned up the pee, something I had a feeling would become a pretty regular part of my day from now on. A couple of times, Danny opened the door and Dris came out, so I used the opportunity to take him outside to do his business before he scampered back the way he came again. When Heath called us into the office at four for a meeting, I finally got to see how he was doing. Danny had dredged up an old blanket from somewhere. Folded on the floor, it served as a makeshift bed. In front of Danny’s desk and near the warmth of the heater, Dris was fast asleep on it.

  “Cheeky little fecker,” Tommy mumbled. Con and I looked at each other and chuckled. Maybe the old man was getting soft after all.

  “Right then, boys, it may have escaped your notice with all the feckin’ slackin’ that’s been going on lately, but we’ve got fights to organise and titles to defend. Kieran first,” Danny barked.

  My face was still black and blue from my last fight, and my ribs were still giving me trouble, so I knew there was no way he would be scheduling me another fight yet. The fact that he was bringing it up though made me wonder if he knew what was coming.

  “I’m not fighting again,” I blurted out. “I mean, I’ll always be thankful for the time and effort you all put in to training me and the faith you showed me, putting me forward in the first place. But I knew the minute I held up that belt that this life isn’t for me. I belong behind the ropes. And in case any of you are thinkin’ it, it ain’t anything to do with Marie. I fought for me, so that I’d never be an old man lying in my bed and wondering what if. But now I’m finishing it for me too.”

  My answer was met with silence. Looking around the small room, I could see everyone’s gaze focused on me. Some had understanding in their eyes; others held disbelief that I would win a world title, then throw it away again without going back for more. If being a great fighter was Con’s calling, training a great fighter was mine.

  Time and experience had given me some perspective, and I realised how different my life could have been after Da died without these guys and this place. I knew that I had it in me to be a world-class fighter, but when I looked back at my life and what I’d done with it, I wanted to know I’d made a difference. Whether he knew it or not, Danny hadn’t just changed my career; he changed my life. He’d looked at me and seen not what I was, but what I could be. I wanted to know one day that I’d made the same difference in someone else’s life. My heart was in training Con and the next generation of lads who came behind us. Maybe it wasn’t the most sensible decision. Shit, I’d never make the money that Con was making, but I knew in my heart that it was the right decision for me, and that was enough.

  “Fair enough, kid. Fair enough. You gave everything you had in that fight. I saw it, and so did the rest of the world, and no one’s ever gonna take that away from you. If you’ve learned that behind the ropes is where you chose to be, rather than where you just happened to find yourself, then that’s good enough for me. That being said, you and that mangy mutt of yours best not get too comfy. Heath’s set Con up with another fight. I want you to help train him,” Danny said.

  “Who’s it against and when?” Con asked, always cutting through the bullshit and straight to the point.

  “Roman Malachi Reid in ten weeks. It’s in America again though. More money, more TV coverage, more showboatin’. I’d prefer a fight this side of the pond, but the yanks are insistin’, so there it is,” Danny explained.

  Con looked over to Em to gauge her reaction. Speaking to her after Irish’s freak out had been a revelation. How she’d learned to school her reaction to this sort of news, I’d never know. She would never tell him no, Con knew that, but if he had an inkling of the way she felt when he climbed into the ring, he’d give it up in a heartbeat, and he wasn’t ready for that.

  “What do you think?” he asked her.

  “Can you beat him?” she asked back. He didn’t scoff or roll his eyes or any of that shit. He simply looked her straight in the eye and nodded.

  “Then the question isn’t what I think, it’s what do you think?” she replied. She would never judge him or pressure him. She just made sure he thought it through so he could come to his own decision.

  “We’ll take the fight,” he answered.

  We’ll take the fight, not I’ll. As soon as he said the words, a tingle of excitement ran down my spine. Reid was the newest heavyweight to come out of the US. Two years younger than Con, he was sharp, hungry, and dangerous. It would be a hell of a fight.

  Em nodded and wandered over to Con. She slid an arm around his waist, and his eyes glazed over.

  “Training starts tomorrow,” Con demanded, before Danny could say any different. Danny rolled his eyes, while the rest of us chuckled. When training started, sex stopped, so Con would be making the most of his last night. I’d be surprised if Em could walk in the morning.

  “Obviously, Con’s indisposed for the rest of the afternoon, but if the rest of you feckers ain’t busy, I’ve got a favour to ask,” I said.

  ***

  After our weekend at the beach, I insisted on getting a house with a fire. Finding a rental property with an open gas fire was no mean feat, but we eventually settled on a two-bedroom place with a wood burning stove. Signing the papers and getting credit checks done took a week. Of course fifty quid on the side to the agent probably helped to speed it up.

  “Jesus Christ. How much stuff do you have?” Tommy said, humping another couple of bags over his shoulder to take in the house. With the guys’ help, I’d nearly finished moving our stuff in. Irish’s old rental place was furnished, so we had to buy most things new. We’d already picked out a bunch of stuff from Ikea, so we picked it all up that afternoon and Liam put it all together. Both of us had a background in construction, so you’d think I’d be doing it with him, but I couldn’t do flat pack for shit. I’d nearly finished arranging everything when my phone rang.

  “Where’s all my stuff, Kier?” Irish asked when I answered.

  “In our new home,” I replied. “I wanted to surprise you, Irish. I figured we could spend our first night here tonight, with a bottle of vintage wine in front of an open fire. What do you say?” I asked seductively.

  “Sounds very romantic,” she agreed. “I’ll see what wine’s on offer at the supermarket, and you get the log burner going.”

  “Deal. I’ve got a couple of things to finish up here, so I’m going to send Tommy over to come and pick you up.” />
  “Okay, Kier. I want to say goodbye to a few of my neighbours anyway. I’ll see you soon. I love you.”

  “I love you too. Bye, love,” I replied and hung up.

  “Tommy! Can you pick Marie up at her place so I can finish up here?” I called up the stairs.

  “Great! So on top of doing all your grunt work, I get to be a fuckin’ taxi driver now,” he grumbled as he ambled down the stairs.

  “I’ll do it if I can take your bike,” he bartered. Tommy loved riding my bike, though I was pretty precious about it, so I didn’t let him on it very often. He was desperate to get one of his own, but we both knew his ma would throw a fuckin’ head fit if he did, and Tommy’s ma wasn’t someone you wanted to mess with. I hated the idea of Irish pressed so close up against him on the back of the bike, but I really wanted this place ready for her to come home.

  “Fine!” I agreed reluctantly. He grinned, happy now that he had an incentive.

  “Man, I hope your girl’s wearing a skirt. If she is, I’m coping a feel all the way home,” he taunted.

  “You even think about Marie like that, let alone cop a feel, and you’ll be pissing blood for a week by the time I’m finished with you. She comes out in a skirt, you send her back in to change. First chance I get, I’m getting her some proper bike leathers.”

  It was funny to watch Tommy mindfuck Con by flirting with Em. I sympathised a little more now that it was being directed at me. Suddenly, his picking up Irish didn’t seem like a good idea, but I really wanted to surprise her when she got back.

  Tommy grabbed my leather jacket off the hook and, grinning, gave me the finger on his way out the door. I didn’t stop him. He only wore a hoodie and he needed some sort of protection on the bike.

  Thirty minutes later, Liam went to meet Albie for dinner, but I was pretty much done anyway. An hour later, they still weren’t back and both of their phones were ringing through to voicemail Frustrated and worried, I grabbed Tommy’s keys and was about to drive round there when my phone rang.