15. BULLY BOYS
15
BULLY BOYS
PENNY
D espite repeating the tall tale to everyone he met, Lemon McGill was actually not named after citrus fruit solely because his mama loved eating them while she was pregnant with him. Hailing from Morganton, North Carolina, Lemon was named Leonard after the band leader Leonard Cohen by his father, who played jazz piano. It was his big sister who’d been too small to pronounce Leonard correctly when he was born and called her new baby brother Lemon. The name had stuck. It was hard now to figure out which had come first, the name or the sunny personality that matched it.
Lemon Squeeze was a doll. Or rather, a big, squeezable bear, hence the nickname Penny had bestowed upon him herself. She loved him and their other bandmate, Dennis, like the brothers she never had. But like everything else that reminded her of her old life, she’d been avoiding him. A text here, a phone call there. That was all.
“Why are you acting shocked to see me, Penny? Told you I was most likely gonna be here with Jennifer and them, dummy.” The insult was affectionate, but Jack frowned.
“Is Dax here too?” she asked. Dax Lo was his boyfriend of a year already, a bass player in a rock band. Last she’d heard, things were going pretty good between them. Maybe marriage level good. She regretted that she hadn’t met him yet.
“Nah, he couldn’t make the trip. And if you answered a brother’s texts, you and I could have made plans to meet up instead of running into each other by accident.”
“Introductions before you start getting on my case,” Penny said quickly. Holding onto Squeeze’s arm, she said, “Jack, you were a Thorny Rose fan, so you already know who this is. Leonard McGill, also known as the one and only Lemon Squeezy. Squeeze, this is my…um…this is —”
“You don’t have to tell me who he is. It’s Lucky Jack Valentine. I’m a fan. Big fan.” Squeeze practically grabbed Jack’s hand and pumped it, his gap-toothed grin wide.
“Good to meet you.” Jack seemed mollified by Squeeze’s announcement that he was a fan.
A crowd of partiers momentarily swarmed the three, so they moved to the side. Squeeze finally dropped Jack’s hand and grabbed Penny’s again instead. He looked good. His skin was clear, both gold earrings shining bright. With his shaved head, the effect made him look like a devilish pirate or maybe a genie. A big, strong genie.
“Is Dennis here too?” Penny asked.
“Nah. He was supposed to be, but you know how he is. Got sidetracked by some girl in London and didn’t make his flight over here.”
“Hm, a new flame. I’m sure she’s the love of Dennis’s life.”
Penny and Squeeze exchanged glances and laughed. Jack’s face was somewhere between pleasant and stony like he couldn’t decide if he should relax or be annoyed that they’d become an unexpected trio.
“Nah, in all seriousness, he seems happy. Who knows, she might be the one for him after all,” Squeeze said.
“Aw, well. Would have been good to see him here too.”
“You wouldn’t have to hope to run into us if you just came home at least every once in a while,” Squeeze suggested, raising his palms and dropping them.
“Yeah, yeah,” Penny sighed.
“How long are you guys staying? Till the end of the festival? We’re playing tomorrow at a hotel in Athboy. Obviously, you get a front-row seat,” Squeeze said hopefully.
With another guilty sigh, Penny shook her head. “No. We’re just here overnight. I’m hoping some of the artists will be in the mood to chat for the book.” She held up the all-access pass on its cord and flipped it.
“Ooh, yeah. Your book. You’ll be finished any day now,” he said dryly, and she stiffened again. “You’ll find people. If I were you, I’d avoid Carter Stillwell tonight, though.” Squeeze frowned, the lines in his cheeks deepening.
Penny stilled. “What’s the issue with Carter Stillwell? I just did a really nice fluff piece on him.”
“Fluff? I read it and I wouldn’t exactly call it fluffy. Fluffy is my granny’s biscuits. What you wrote had ‘he’s an asshole’ all over it.”
Stunned, Penny halted mid-step. She put her foot down, hard. “Is he complaining about it? Because I tried really hard to humanize him despite how arrogant he is.”
“Complaining? Um, yeah? Sis, he’s telling everybody that you only did that ‘cause you — we — are washed-up musicians who never reached…what were his words…” Now Squeeze looked pissed, and he never got pissed. “We never reached a tenth of his abilities or his success, and that’s why he’s headlining here, and we ain’t. Also, Brendan was the only decent artist in our band, and he’d be ashamed to see what we’ve done with ‘his legacy.’ Also, nobody should buy your book when it comes out because you’re not a real writer, and you’re only doing it because you failed as a musician. Also, nobody else should agree to be interviewed for the book because that will prove they’re has-beens.”
“Fucking what ? He said all that?” Penny fumed loudly, making heads turn. “Oh, hell no. Where’s his trailer or tent or whatever? I need a minute with him.”
“There’s no point. He’s just a lil’ bitch trying to make himself look good. Nobody believes any of that shit, Penny. Everybody I’ve spoken to has said they still support you,” Squeeze said quickly, but the damage was done.
Penny turned to Jack. “Sorry, but I’m gonna have to find Carter and have some words with him.”
Jack looked grim. “Not without me.”
As Penny took off toward the tents, she heard Squeeze start questioning Jack in her wake.
“So, when did this happen?” Squeeze must have meant her and Jack there together.
“It’s a recent thing,” Jack answered. “But if Penny doesn’t come back to the States for a while, at least you’ll know why.”
“Wow, wow, wow…”
A group of teenagers passed between them, momentarily drowning out whatever Squeeze and Jack were saying. Penny kept marching toward the tents, finally reaching the last in the row and looking around for clues as to where that asshole Carter could be.
She found a smaller grouping of tents. Penny recalled being here the last time she attended Púca, and they’d played a set. This must be it. Weaving in and out of the backstage traffic of costumers, event staff, and tour managers, she was momentarily spun in circles. Squeeze and Jack were still several paces away, but their conversation drifted toward her. Jack’s face…he was staring at her with even more concern than when Squeeze had mentioned Carter’s fuckery.
“… the La Roque fight? I heard on SportZone this morning that he’s publicly calling you out, and you guys are in contract negotiations. Said you’re close to a deal with management of the league. Fight’s in February or March. Is it happening? If it is, you gotta hook a brother up. I need to be there front row to see you kick his ass….”
For a grown man in his late thirties, Squeeze became a kid when in the presence of his favorite athletes. Now this was the second time someone had mentioned Jack being back in the ring. She’d let it go the night before because she was not in the frame of mind to pursue the topic, but she was perfectly lucid this time. When she’d settled this shit with Carter, she’d ask Jack if he was actually considering it. Then she ceased to hear what they were talking about as she marched onward to find that bastard, her shoulders tensed and ready for battle.
A girl with a headset and tablet came racing out of one of the tents with her pretty face pinched with aggravation. That might be a clue. Penny flagged her down with a fake cheerful wave.
“Excuse me. I’m scheduled to have a quick interview with Carter Stillwell before he goes on tonight,” Penny said, showing her the pass. “Can you point me in his direction, please?” Here’s hoping her smile didn’t look like she was baring fangs.
The girl pointed to the small tent on the left that she’d emerged from and rolled her eyes with disgust. “He’s in there. And good luck with your interview. Are you American?”
“I’m from New York,” Penny answered.
“Close enough. Do us a favor. When you go back home, could you please take him with you?” the girl implored, then stomped off.
“Making friends everywhere,” Penny muttered.
There was a big blue-eyed bodyguard outside Carter’s tent, the same one she’d had to get past for her first interview. It wasn’t unheard of for musicians to have them, of course, but for someone of Carter’s relatively small stature outside the closed universe of folk, country, and bluegrass music, it seemed like overkill. Or maybe he required the security because he was such a universally recognized creep that his mouth and his manners had rendered him unsafe.
Penny smiled sweetly up at the bald giant, who was taller and bulkier than even Jack and Squeeze. Flashing him the pearly whites and the access pass plus camera, Penny poured on the charm. From behind her, Jack and Squeeze were still talking but their voices lowered when they got near the tent to observe her working her miracle.
“If Mr. Stillwell isn’t busy, could you let me in to see him? I’m Penny Mayfield. Remember me from last time?”
“Yeah, I remember. You following him around now? You’re kinda old for a groupie,” the charmer said, unmoved by her smile that was about to falter at his insult.
“I just showed you a pass and a camera for the second time. You know I’m not a groupie, old or otherwise.”
“Definitely not otherwise. You shouldn’t be doing this gig. Save that shit for the cute little twenty-year-olds,” he retorted. “He don’t want to see you irregardless of whether he already gave you permission before.” In his black shirt and black pants, he towered over her, his eyes flickering past her to widen briefly. “Hey. You Jack Valentine?”
Jack came up behind her, sliding his arm around her waist protectively. Penny looked up to see his smile was tight and his eyes were narrowed.
“I’m Jack Valentine if it gets her in that tent,” he answered evenly.
“Can I get an autograph?” the other man had the nerve to ask.
“If it gets her into that tent,” Jack said again. His voice was smooth as silk, but his arm was tensed steel, same as the body pressed against her side.
“Nobody gets in the tent. I don’t give a fuck who you are,” the guard said dismissively. “And I don’t need your bullshit autograph. I was gonna sell it anyway. Probably make me five bucks off your washed-up ass.”
“You need to take it down a notch, brother,” Squeeze said with a friendly yet piercing smile, coming up on Jack’s other side.
“I’m not your brother, and you can take that notch and shove it up your ass.”
Now he’d gone and done it. Insulting her was one thing, but Jack and Squeeze too? Nope.
“Oh, so now not only am I washed up, but he is too? You and your dick boss need to expand your vocabulary. And it’s regardless , not ‘irregardless,’ oaf,” Penny spat out.
The guard’s mouth lifted in a sarcastic grin. “Oh, so you’re a smart bitch, huh? Alright, smart bitch, get the fu —”
It happened so fast. Too fast. All Penny saw was a fist sliding past her face, almost as if in slow motion. She heard it connect with the big man’s face, and then he disappeared. One minute he was standing above her, the next he was gone. Penny looked down. Oh, there he was, on the ground, his face glazed with shock while a small trickle of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth.
“Oh well!” Squeeze said with a laugh, breaking the moment of stunned silence.
Jack’s eyes glittered like he’d enjoyed knocking the other man on his ass. He leaned down, gripped him by his collar and told him, “You should have been more polite.”
The guard was still too stunned to move. Jack straightened, took Penny’s hand and led her away.
When they cleared the tent area, Squeeze was laughing while Jack’s face still wore a look that was somewhere between angry and satisfied. Penny’s stomach was fluttering wildly, with fear that the Gardaí would be called and Jack would be arrested for assault. But she had to acknowledge it was blended with a desire for him that now went bone-deep after seeing him do that. It was the other side of Jack, the Hunter, the primal being that reacted instinctively to protect his mate, consequences be damned.
But another, thicker emotion swam to the surface. She felt sick. Nauseous at the idea of how wrong it could have gone, not for the bodyguard but for him. If the guard had stayed on his feet and hit back…
She couldn’t love Jack and lose him. Couldn’t handle going through that a second time.
This time, it would be the end of her too.
“Do you want to stick around? Go see something else?” Jack asked. He must have come down from his adrenaline rush. He no longer looked the way he had, no longer vicious and victorious. With concern, he touched her face with a gentle hand.
Penny nodded, unable to speak, too busy taking the surging emotions apart one by one and putting them away to the place where she always kept the ones too big to handle. Squeeze put his hand on her arm and then stood back, looking between her and Jack.
Just then, he received a text and pulled his phone from his pocket to read it. He typed something quickly and put it away.
“Look, sis, if you’re okay, I’m gonna go find Jen and the others. I was supposed to be heading to the bathroom when I saw you. Do you want to come hang out with us? Let’s have some fun tonight.”
Penny still couldn’t gather herself together enough to speak. Jack chimed in after a moment. “Thanks, but we’ll probably go wandering on our own.”
“Cool. Wish you were staying longer.” When she didn’t answer, Squeeze gave her a comforting hug. “You sure you’re okay?”
Mute, she only nodded. Jack’s hand rubbing her back was reassuring and warm.
“She’s good. I’ve got her,” he told Squeeze.
“Alright. I’ll check you later. When you come back home, we need to spend some real time together, okay? You and your new hubs. And Dax really wants to meet you. Stop being a stranger.”
Penny nodded, finally giving him a smile. “You’re first on my list, Squeeze. Love you.”
“Love you, too, Penny Pen.” After another hug, Squeeze turned to Jack and shook his hand. “It was great to meet you, man. I know you’re taking good care of our girl. Damn.” He laughed shortly. “Took that dude out with one shot. One! Can’t believe I got to see that without pay-per view.”
“Good to meet you, too,” Jack said with genuine warmth in his voice.
After Squeeze took off, Penny and Jack walked in the other direction toward a crowd decked out in apparel and playing the bodhrán in their own little circle. They watched other costumed dancers in the middle of the circle, frightening and ancient. Mysterious visitors dancing into their world from the other side.
“Why?”
“Why what?” Jack asked. Firelight spread across his features, highlighting his cheekbones and leaving shadows on his jaw.
“Why would you risk getting into it with that guy? They were just words, Jack. Just words.”
His face turned grim again. “It was his fault for not knowing how to behave. He knew who I was. He should have known what was going to happen next.”
“It was you who said if you keep fighting, the next time you get hit, you might not get up again. You can’t take chances like that, no matter what provoked it.”
Jack’s sigh was brisk. “That fella was never gonna get a hit off me. He was big, but he was slow. I wasn’t in any danger. And it didn’t matter if he was the fittest motherfucker out here. He insulted you. And as your man, it’s my job to make sure nobody does that. I can take care of meself.”
“As my man, I’d prefer you alive,” Penny said sharply. “And what’s this about you getting back in the league professionally? Tonight was the second time somebody’s mentioned that. It’s one thing to fight some rando in the streets. Are you actually considering fighting this La Roque character?”
“I’ve been approached,” Jack admitted. He scraped his bristly jaw with his thumb, his eyes on the dancers and the firelight. “I’ve said ‘no’ more than once, but they keep asking. Them calling me out in public is a classic tactic to push my buttons, but it’s not gonna work. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Okay, good.” Penny was appeased only somewhat by that answer. Because Jack had that look in his eyes, that Hunter look. His mouth might be saying “no,” but that look whispered, “maybe.” “I hope the answer stays no, no matter what they offer you. I can’t — I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“And nothing will.” He pulled her into his arms and held her. She’d wrapped her hair with a bandanna that day until she could get home for a proper detangling session. Jack rested his chin against the cloth and asked, in a voice every bit as gentle, “Is this about Brendan?”
Immediately, she stiffened. Pulled back. Jack was serious. His eyes were half-lidded, not with passion this time but with questions. Questions she didn’t want to answer.
“Why are we talking about Brendan right now? This was about you and my concern for you.”
“Squeeze filled me in while we were on our way to find Stillwell. He said he was happy you were with a new man after being single for so long since Brendan’s accident. He seemed to think I already knew what happened, so he talked.” In a softened voice, he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me how Brendan really died? That it was a fight? You led me to believe it was a car accident. Is that why me fighting bothers you so much? It reminds you of what happened to him?”
A rush of fury, a shock of sorrow, blasted their way through her body. And along came guilt, her faithful old friend that was never far behind the other emotions.
With a shaky laugh, she pulled away and rubbed her arms. Self-comfort. Force of habit.
“I never said anything about a car. I said it was an accident, and it was. The guy sucker punched Brendan, and he fell and hit his head. He was in a coma for three days. He never woke up.”
She heard it again, the smack of angry flesh against softer skin. The sound that followed when Brendan fell to the ground, the concrete step waiting for him below. The unnatural scream… her scream…
She pressed her hand to her mouth for a long moment and closed her eyes, but that did nothing to block out those sounds. Against the dark screen in her head, they were now accompanied by a picture reel replaying the horror.
Jack reached for her again and she let him hold her. “Were you with him when it happened?”
Penny averted her eyes and shook her head. “No. I was home.”
“I’m sorry about what happened to him, Penny. Talk to me, love.”
“I don’t need to talk about that right now,” she said quickly. Her throat hurt forcing those words through the memories. “What I need is for you to promise me that you’ll say ‘no’ to that fight or any other fight. I am not going to lose you to that. Promise me, Jack. If you can promise me you’ll leave fighting in the past, that’s where Brendan will stay, too. We’ll leave all of it behind. Please.”
Still serious, still sorrowing for her, maybe for his own lost glory, Jack swallowed and nodded. “We’ll leave it all behind. I promise you, Penny.” She burrowed into his arms, seeking and finding his heat and his caring. It was all there waiting for her as he rubbed her back soothingly. “I promise, angel.”