Chapter 20
twenty
JONATHAN
Jonathan’s ears burned every time he remembered the…intervention. “Christ have mercy,” he muttered, staring at his reflection in his bathroom mirror. At least his mother had planned their “talk” while his dad and uncle were away.
Apparently, his mom and aunts figured out years ago that he had a thing for Mags. He hadn’t been nearly as ambiguous about his feelings toward her as he’d thought.
He smoothed his hands over his suit jacket. Tonight, he paired his dark navy suit with a pale blue button-up. The gold and sapphire cufflinks that his father had given him for graduation glinted at his wrists.
He turned his head first one way and then the other. Women seemed fascinated by the white color. For him, it wasn’t that unusual, given that he, Daniel, his dad, his uncle Bran, Dagr, and his father, Ulf, all had the same. The grandmother he’d never met sure had strong genes.
He’d gotten a haircut that morning, shaving the sides tighter than normal and leaving the top long enough to slick back or leave slightly tousled to cover his forehead. He chose the latter for his night out.
Daniel stuck his head in just as he spritzed a sparse spray of Tom Ford at his neck. “Do you really think this is a good idea?”
Jonathan had told his cousin what he was planning. Daniel was his cousin and best friend. They didn’t keep much from one another. “Yes.” He took his mom’s words to heart, no matter how uncomfortable they’d been to hear.
His dad hadn’t given up on making amends with his mom, and he wouldn’t give up on him and Mags.
“The car’s here, then. Ciar and Gray are meeting us, but they said they can only stay for an hour or two. And Gray told me to tell you that she is only doing this because Bébhinn gave up and told you Mags’ secrets and then had the audacity to suffer from morning sickness and not come herself.”
Jonathan tried to smile, but just recalling the things that Mags had been going through made his whole body clench in pain. She’d been suffering while he continued to flaunt his women in front of her.
He felt his eyes burn when he thought of the last time the group had met at Murphy’s for lunch. She hadn’t eaten or ordered a cocktail because she hadn’t had any extra money for it.
And that wasn’t the worst of it. Bébhinn was in tears when she related that Mags had been forced to drop out of school because she couldn’t afford the tuition.
She’d slept on the attic floor of the gallery because she didn’t want to take advantage of his family’s generosity of the townhouse since she wasn’t in school.
She’d worked three, practically four jobs, with the gallery cleaning.
Her mother had cancer, for the love of God. She’d been hungry, uncomfortable, and working herself to exhaustion, and she’d done it all without complaint. She’d met her friends with smiles and love like she always had.
And what had he done? Brought a woman into her world who belittled and insulted her during one of her only moments to enjoy her friends.
Daniel touched his arm as they left the townhouse, probably noticing that he was pathetically near tears. “You didn’t know, Jon.”
“I should have.”
Mags had been ignoring him for over two hours, which was quite a feat considering he and their friends sat at the bar, and she was the bartender.
Gray and Ciar left half an hour ago, but before they left, Gray had had a private moment with Mags at the edge of the bar’s main floor.
He watched as her mouth fell open in shock—Gray must have told her that he knew about some, hopefully all, of her recent troubles.
Her head bowed as her fingers pressed into her eyes. It killed him not to go to her.
Gray hugged Mags tight before pulling back and exchanging more serious words. He watched as Gray wiped what must be tears from below Mags’ eyes. They silently looked at one another a minute longer before Mags nodded her head. Agreeing to something before parting ways.
Gray went to Ciar’s side, her husband frowned, and wiped tears from his wife’s cheeks. He frowned at Jonathan, clearly blaming the whole shitshow on him, which was fair, before hustling Gray from the bar.
As the couple passed Daniel and Jonathan, Gray leaned close and said only, “Be careful, Jon. Please.”
He swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded before turning back to Mags. She was smiling and laughing with customers, but the joy didn’t reach her eyes. Her gaze cut to him. She frowned and mouthed, “Leave.” Not a chance.
Daniel was in charge of turning any and all interested women away from them. He didn’t want even a hint of a woman near him for those moments that Mags glanced his way.
He picked up his phone and texted her.
Jonathan: I’ll drive you home when you get off.
He watched her glance at her phone on the counter where she was cutting oranges.
Mags: No thanks. I walk.
Jonathan: I will call your family if you don’t. Would your uncle Coll think it's safe for you to be walking home alone? At night.
She slammed her phone down and refused to acknowledge his raised hand, signaling that he’d like to order another drink. A club soda with lime. He wasn’t drinking alcohol before he spoke with Mags. He knew he’d need to have all his wits about him for that.
The pub was one he and his group of friends never went to, which was probably why she chose to work there. It would have made it easier to keep her financial issues secret.
Beside him, Daniel had been working away on his tablet, ignoring Jonathan’s lame attempts to catch Mags’ eye, when Daniel groaned.
“Incoming,” Daniel muttered. “Why the hell are those two here, of all places?”
Jonathan turned in time to see Denny and Josh Hertz, brothers from a well-to-do London family. He and Daniel had met them a few times over the years. Their parents sent them to live with their aunt in Dublin when they did something bad. Ireland was their timeout.
Those two were never apart, and rumor had it that they shared everything, especially women. Jonathan enjoyed sex, perhaps too much over the years, but the thought of him and Daniel ogling each other’s dicks in action was going just that much too far.
To each their own, he supposed, except Denny and Josh had an odd sexual chemistry…between just the two of them. He and Daniel avoided them. Always.
“Daniel. Jonathan,” Josh hailed.
As Jonathan was turning to greet them, he noted Mags’ grimace when she watched the brothers waltz up to the bar.
“Back in Dublin again, I see,” Daniel commented. He kept his voice neutral, neither caring nor uncaring of their presence.
“Yeah,” Denny grinned as he sidled up to the bar, “we got into a spot of trouble. It’ll blow over in a few more weeks.”
“Dad won’t let us come home for another month, though, the cranky bastard,” Josh said with a shrug and smile.
Jonathan hadn’t a clue how he and Daniel had ever tolerated them. The creepy vibe they gave off was beyond off-putting.
“I see you two are here for the same reason we are,” Denny snickered and glanced over his shoulder—at Mags.
Jonathan felt Daniel go stiff beside him. Jonathan set his water down but didn’t say a word. Yet.
Josh turned toward Mags then as well, making a show of checking her out.
She wore one of the pub’s t-shirts tucked into a pair of well-worn jeans.
Her ratty tennis shoes were some he’d seen her wear over the last couple of years.
The outfit should have appeared comfortable and nothing more, except that the simple clothes hugged her body to perfection.
Her perfectly rounded breasts, tiny waist, and firm, round ass were all mouthwateringly highlighted.
And these two pieces of shit were ogling her as if they had the right.
“We saw her first,” Josh announced as he turned back to them, smiling. “So far, she hasn’t been swayed by our charm and big tips, so Den and I decided that tonight we wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“That’s right,” Denny agreed. “We don’t take well to a ‘no.’”
Jonathan didn’t think, his body lunged without thought of consequences. He slammed his fist into Josh’s face since he stood closer to him. The filthy prick dropped to the ground, screaming about a broken nose.
Denny landed beside his brother a second later after Daniel’s fist connected. Mags had run up to them by that time, her eyes wild with worry.
“What happened? Oh my God, you guys, my boss is already calling the gardaí.” And then she briefly touched Jonathan’s arm and then Daniel’s.
A determined look came over her face, and she placed her hands on her hips. “Call your fathers. Both of you. Right now.”
Jonathan knew it was the smartest thing to do, though they’d both be catching hell for this.
Their dads answered almost simultaneously. He and Daniel explained the situation and suggested calling Dagr in for legal counsel, giving them Denny and Josh’s family name so they could work on a plan while they drove to the bar.
While they waited, a few patrons helped Denny and Josh to a couple of chairs, and a waitress gave them a rag with ice for the swelling. He noticed the waitress didn’t look pleased to be helping them. The brothers didn’t appear to leave good impressions anywhere, it seemed.
Jonathan watched as Mags nervously shuffled her feet and wrung her hands.
He wanted to comfort her. At the same time, he said, “Mags,” Daniel said, “They deserved it, Mags. They were saying disgusting things about you, basically admitting they planned on following you tonight. I don’t believe they planned on giving you a choice. ”
Her face turned pale at the news. “They’ve been coming in off and on for a few weeks. I admit, they’re horrible. Oh God, I hope you don’t get into any trouble.”
She gave Daniel a quick hug and then turned to Jonathan, but hesitated. He didn’t give her a chance to back out on the gesture. He pulled her to him and held her head gently against his chest. It took her a moment before she returned the hug.
Their dads, Dagr, and Ulf walked in while she was still in his arms. His father raised his brows in surprise. The entire bar was entranced by the spectacle. Seeing five big men with white hair gathered together didn’t happen every day, at least for them. It happened most days for Jonathan.
Mags started to pull away from him. He panicked at the thought of her walking away.
It was fully sinking in what Josh and Denny planned on doing to Mags, and Jonathan needed her to stay safely at his side.
He couldn’t prove that they wouldn’t have walked away if she told them no, but everything pointed to them not listening to her.
He leaned close to her ear. “Stay by me.” At her startled look, he added, “Please, Mags.” She settled at his side. He liked that. A lot.
Daniel finished giving their family the rundown, including rumors they’d heard about the brothers. The gardaí arrived and took statements from those involved and witnesses. Josh and Denny had already been moaning that they wanted to press charges for assault and battery.
Dagr had been on the phone but joined them once more. At hearing that Josh and Denny wanted to press charges, he only smirked, saying, “Wait for it.”
They watched as Denny, the oldest brother, answered the phone. He winced at whatever was being said on the other end. His face went white and then red and then white again. He gripped his brother’s arm and shook his head no.
Denny put his phone away and approached the officers.
“I’m sorry for the trouble. My brother and I had too much to drink before we got here and said some pretty stupid things to the O’Faolains.
We absolutely do not want to press any charges, and in fact would like to pay the owner of this establishment enough to cover the inconvenience and lost sales. ”
Mags poked his side and grinned at him. God. It had been almost three years since she’d directed one of her smiles at him.
As one of the officers got off the phone, they approached Josh and Denny. “I guess we’ll clear out, and you two will get a taxi home.” It wasn’t a suggestion.
“Yes,” and “Of course,” they said in unison.
The officer held up a hand to stop the brothers before they could slither out of the pub. “The O’Faolains weren’t the only patrons here tonight to hear some of your drunken comments.” The officer said drunken with just the right amount of disbelief and disgust to make Josh and Denny stiffen.
“No matter that you aren’t pressing charges, I will be making a report of the incident. If, say, a person came into the station to report a sex crime, any type of sex crime, your names would be flagged. Okay then,” the officer said with a smile that looked vicious, “off you go.”
Everyone shook hands with the gardaí and thanked them for coming so quickly. One of the officers let them know that he was friends with Thomas MacGregor and Coll Barr and that they called while they were still en route to let them know that they were already looking into the brothers.
“I won’t say much,” the officer said, “but we have had some unsolved assault crimes come across our desks.”
He didn’t add anything else before he and his partner left, but it appeared as though Josh and Denny may have finally outed themselves.
Daniel asked, “Why did Josh and Denny change their minds about pressing charges?”
“Oh, that was me,” Dagr smiled. “Their father is in politics, and I happen to know his attorney. I told him to expect hell to rain down on the family if they so much as sneezed toward one of my clients.”
Jonathan’s phone began to vibrate. He rolled it over in his palm to see the screen. Coll Barr. Mags was still standing next to him, probably because each time she tried to put distance between them, he gently touched her back or waist and brought her back.
She inhaled sharply when she saw it was her uncle calling. “Don’t answer.”
“I’m not interested in dying anytime soon, Mags.” He accepted the call and brought it to his ear. “Barr.”
There was no greeting from the taciturn Scotsman. “Your father called me. You will walk Margaret home and convince her to quit that job. And I’m not fucking asking. Tell her that her evasiveness with me hasn’t gone unnoticed. If she would like me to visit, I will.”
Mags was looking at him with wide, worried eyes. He took one of her hands and held it against his chest, and of course, every man around him was instantly glued to the link.
“Understood,” Jonathan answered.
“Keep me informed,” Barr growled.
“I won’t do that, but I will explain to Mags that if she isn’t more transparent with her family, to expect a visit.” Mags winced, probably imagining quite well what her uncle was saying.
“Fine.” He hung up.