Take Me Daddy: A Dark Irish Mafia Romance Read online

Six months later

  I hadn’t set foot in Turners Falls since I left. I’d considered driving all the way out to California or even out of state, but I didn’t want to leave any footprint that Trevor could follow. In the end, I decided on heading into Boston, which was one hundred miles east of home. Since it was the same state, there would be no need for me to get a new license or anything. It was a large enough city that I could disappear into the shadows. Plus, Trevor knew I didn’t like cities, so I hoped that he wouldn’t think to look there.

  When I arrived, there was really nowhere for me to go other than a woman’s shelter. When I told the counselor my story, she quickly offered me a spot in the domestic abuse center.

  “Will I be safe there?” I asked quickly.

  “It’s a locked facility. No one can get in without the door code. You’ll be safe there with your daughter,” she assured me.

  It was difficult in the end, but I wasn’t deciding just for me. I needed to make sure my daughter was protected too.

  I stayed there for three months before I had to find someplace to go. The center had daycare, so I was able to go out on several interviews and find work. During the day, I worked for a cleaning service as a maid. It didn’t pay much, but they promised me that it would be okay to bring my daughter with me to work once I no longer had access to daycare, and they paid in cash at the end of the week, which meant no paper trail and that was good.

  Because it wasn’t enough to support both me and Emma, I found a job as a bartender at a local Irish pub that had a reputation for being open all night in South Boston, or Southie as I quickly learned they called it. The owner was kind and paid me in cash. He said it was for some accounting related reason, but I didn’t ask any questions. I preferred to be off the books anyway.

  During the interview, he’d looked at me with a reserved and semi-reluctant expression, almost as if he couldn’t believe that I could handle myself in a bar.

  “Your work experience isn’t that extensive, Leah,” he said, appraising me as I stood there leaning against the heavy wood-grain bar.

  “I’ve been caring for my daughter. She’s only three. I’ll do whatever I need to do to make money to help care for her,” I replied.

  “Is that so,” he said, his voice flat. He continued to assess me.

  “Yes,” I said firmly.

  “I’m the owner, Sean McCarthy. I’ve run this place for the last twenty years. Sometimes the crowd gets a bit rough, think you can handle that?” he asked.

  “I’m a fast learner,” I reassured him.

  “I’ll give you a week. If you want to turn and go by the end of that, I won’t hold it against you,” he muttered.

  “Thank you so much, Mr. McCarthy. You won’t regret this,” I exclaimed.

  He nodded and I could have sworn there was a hint of warm kindness in his eyes. I tried to ignore it, not wanting this to be some form of charity. It was hard for me to let other people take care of me and I hoped this wasn’t that.

  That first week hadn’t gone quite as smoothly as I had wanted it to, but I learned the ropes soon enough. When I didn’t walk out at the end of that first week, I told Sean more about my living situation. My time at the center was quickly coming to an end and I needed somewhere to go. He connected me with a friend of his who was renting out a small apartment down the block above a coffee shop. Again, I had to ignore the feeling that this might be charity too, and it was more difficult this time.

  The rent was cheap. I’m not sure if Sean had anything to do with that, but I didn’t ask questions because I really didn’t want to know. The place was fully furnished, which was a relief. It wasn’t the nicest place, but it was a step up from where I came from, and I was grateful for that. The elderly landlady, Irma Shelby, was also highly agreeable to cash payments and didn’t care to take any of my information, which just made everything that much easier for me. She also offered me a daily coffee as a part of the rent package since she owned and ran the shop underneath too. Emma’s eyes had gotten big at the sight of some of the donuts in the glass bin. When Irma had seen, her whole face had warmed. It was easy to see that she loved children and that put me even more at ease.

  “If your mommy tells me that you’ve been very good, you can even have one of those each morning,” she winked.

  “My favorites are blueberry muffins,” Emma piped up.

  “For today, at least,” I chuckled.

  “My kids and my grandchildren all went through that phase,” Irma said. “Now, Leah, you let me know if you need anything. It’s not easy here down in Southie, especially for out of towners,” she added, reaching into the cabinet and pulling out a muffin. She handed it to me, along with a mug of steaming black coffee.

  “Thanks, Irma,” I smiled politely.

  “Creamer and sugar are over that way.” She pointed to a small table beside the door and grinned warmly, before turning away to serve another customer. I handed the muffin to my daughter, then pushed my small cheap stroller out of the way to the table with all the fixings. I added creamer to my coffee and strode out the door to be on my way to my first job.

  That was my life.

  I cleaned with Emma during the day. She loved to help, and I made sure she was safe in whatever she did, but it was nice to spend every day with her. I cherished that.

  My nights consisted of Sean’s Pub.

  I couldn’t afford a babysitter every night, so I put Emma to bed and kept a baby monitoring camera on her that I could access on my phone. There were a few times I’d had to go to her when she’d woken up, but that wasn’t often. It wasn’t ideal, but it worked for now until I could save up enough to have someone watch her at night. Sean didn’t particularly like when I left during my shift, but he understood and wasn’t an asshole about it either. I was thankful for that too.

  A few weeks after I moved into the apartment, Emma came down with a cold. It wasn’t overly serious, but she was carrying a low-grade fever and a cough. I couldn’t afford much more than over the counter drugs and I couldn’t take the time off because rent was due the next week, so I gave her some children’s Nyquil and kept a closer eye on her than usual on my monitoring device. The whole walk, I watched her, breathing a bit easier when I could see that she was fast asleep.

  It was a Friday night, which usually meant that the party carried on until three or four in the morning. By the time I got to the pub at shortly after nine, the place was already packed.

  “Leah! A round of Guinness for table four!” Sean shouted, tossing me a towel as soon as I walked through the door. I could hear just a hint of his Irish accent then. It always came out when he was a bit stressed. I quickly poured out enough pints, taking special care to tilt the glass so that I didn’t get too much head. I’d gotten scolded a number of times when I started that I ruined the Guinness if I didn’t do it correctly.

  The first moment I got, I set up my phone on the charger so I could keep an eye on Emma. She was tossing and turning a bit, but she still looked to be asleep. I hated that I had to leave her like this and that I couldn’t be by her side, but I didn’t have any other choice. Irma went home at nights, so I couldn’t ask her to check in on her and there wasn’t anyone else nearby that I trusted enough to be alone with my daughter.

  Later on, she started fussing and I started to get a bit more worried. What if her fever was rising? What if she was coughing more and calling out for me?

  Sean started to get annoyed that I was constantly checking my phone, but there wasn’t much time to explain because the pub was so busy. I could feel his grumpy stare on my back, but I did my best to ignore it and focus on serving everyone while also keeping an eye on Emma every chance that I could get.

  At around eleven o’clock, a fresh wave of people poured into the door. I watched them with interest as they walked into the private back room, the one that was usually reserved for customers who paid for it. I was about to stop them, but Sean caught my sleeve and redirected me to serve another man at the counter. Eventually, he returned and made a beeline straight for me. He seemed more stressed than usual, which only made his accent even more noticeable.

  “Leah. Get whatever the back room wants. Tell them it’s on the house,” he demanded. I glanced to my phone and then back to him, which only made him scowl. Whenever he got this frazzled, he was more irritable and less understanding than usual.

  “Got it, boss,” I answered quickly. That seemed to appease him at least.

  I grabbed my notepad and speedily strode into the back room. I pulled a pen out of my apron as I entered, plastering a smile on my face when I saw the group of men sitting around the old wooden table.

  “A bottle of your best whiskey,” a voice sounded at the end of the table. I lifted my head, glancing in the direction of the man who had spoken.

  Piercing, icy light blue eyes met mine. The color pulled me in, drowning me in the jewel-toned waters of the Caribbean. They felt stormy and ruthless, but I couldn’t look away, even when his strong square jawline flexed at my open stare. His cheekbones were sharper than most, a bit harsh, casting shadows down the side of his face. A thick five o’clock shadow covered his chin and I vaguely wondered if he would shave it in the morning. His lips were full, tense for a moment before he relaxed with a gentler smile. His warm grin caught me off guard, but there was something about it that made me relax and I couldn’t put my finger on why.

  It was clear that he was in charge here. Everyone else looked to him with a deferential sort of body language, so I did too. The low light cast his skin in a pale glow, offsetting his light-colored irises and his dark mussed hair. It wasn’t overly long, but just long enough to lace my fingers through so I could grip it as I rode his cock.

  I nearly choked at the direction of my thoughts. I r
ecovered as quickly as I could, clearing my throat and staring down at my notepad. I focused on writing down his order rather than looking right at him.

  “How many glasses?” I spoke. My voice quivered just a little.

  “One for each of us. A round of Guinness too,” he added.

  “Sure thing. May I ask your name?” Unable to help myself, my eyes flicked back to his.

  “Kieran,” he answered. His gaze assessed me, warm and kind despite the iciness encapsulated within them.

  “I’ll get your drinks right away,” I replied.

  I turned and practically sprinted out the door, but not before I heard his voice call out once more.

  “Thank you, Leah.”

  I hadn’t told him my name.

  By the time I returned with a silver platter full of Guinness to start, my heart was racing in my chest. I tried to remain polite as I placed the mugs down on the table, but it was difficult when I could feel Kieran’s gaze on me the whole time. I hadn’t been able to carry everything, so I returned to the bar and grabbed one of the top shelf Irish whiskeys. I filled another tray with the bottle and small cocktail glasses and went back to serve them.

  I walked around the table and picked up the bottle, placing it on the table beside Kieran. I placed the tray down and reached to open the wax seal, but Kieran reached for it first. His fingers brushed against mine and my heart pounded frantically in response. When I pulled away, I could still feel the electric heat of his touch.

  “I’ve got it,” he grinned. He reached into the pocket of his gray pinstripe suit and pulled out a small pocketknife. He carved around the wax and popped it off. I handed him one of the glasses, watching as he poured it himself.

  “Thank you, Leah,” he nodded politely. I quickly passed out the rest of the glasses to the other men, before turning back to Kieran.

  “Is there anything else?”

  “No. That will be all for now,” he answered and somewhere deep inside my soul, I was almost disappointed that he hadn’t asked for anything else.

  The night passed quickly, remaining steady and busy for several hours. I kept checking on Emma with increasing concern. She was growing more and more restless and at around two in the morning, she woke up with a coughing fit.

  She was getting worse.

  Sean scowled as he noticed my distraction. I swallowed hard, knowing I was going to have to face the big grumpy bear. He was a good guy at heart, but sometimes his moodiness was hard to deal with. With a nervous reluctance, I squared off my shoulders and approached him.

  “I need to go for a little bit,” I started. I kept my voice soft and non-confrontational, knowing that it was the best way to go if I wanted to keep my job—and I did. Sure, sometimes the nights got loud and rough, but the men that frequented here typically tipped well and generally treated me with respect. I knew finding another place like it would be a miracle, especially this close to my apartment.

  “We’re busy, Leah. I can’t let you go right now,” he answered, his voice short. His face reddened a little with aggravation.

  “Please, Sean. My daughter, she’s sick,” I tried to explain.

  “I see you checking her all the time on your phone. I’m sure she’ll be fine for another hour or two until the end of your shift,” he scowled.

  “I need to check on her. Please,” I pleaded.

  “If you want to keep your job, Leah, you’ll stay. This is not the night for you to disappear on me. I need you here serving drinks,” he replied.

  “I…” I started, but his mouth hardened into a firm line. I didn’t know what else to say so that I could get him to understand. He wasn’t a father, but a single man solely focused on building his business. He didn’t have a care in the world for the worries of a poor single mother.

  “I need this job,” I protested, my voice wavering. Overwhelmed, tired from lack of sleep, and fearful for my daughter, my eyes started to water. I blinked, trying to will the tears away. It didn’t work.

  “Sean,” a smooth male voice murmured beside us. I turned my head, only to see a familiar pair of blue eyes. Kieran was leaning against the bar, staring directly at us. His brow furrowed, his concern for me a bit heartwarming. Sean cleared his throat, his jawline ticking with nervousness.

  “Kieran. I hope we haven’t disturbed you,” he choked worriedly. I glanced between them, noticing the significant difference in power play between them.

  “Let her go home, Sean. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of things,” Kieran offered. I suddenly felt like I should know more about him, like there was something I was missing in the true meaning of his words.

  “Please, Mr. Murphy. You don’t have to concern yourself with Leah,” Sean tried, and Kieran shook his head.

  “I’ll take care of it,” he said again.

  Beside me, Sean stayed silent for a moment before nodding once with understanding.

  “I thank you, Kieran.” He dipped his head. When I glanced back at Sean, I saw that he was more relaxed. He peered back at Kieran with something like deference, rather than fear and that put me at ease. Whoever this Kieran was, Sean respected him, and I might even go as far to guess that he trusted him with what he had promised.

  “Let me walk Leah home. Tommy in the back used to work at a pub back in Dublin. Go tell him I said to help you until I return,” Kieran explained.

  “Got it. I appreciate this, Kieran,” Sean said quickly. He strode out of the bar into the back room, leaving me alone with Kieran. It felt like there was only the two of us, even though the rest of the pub was filled with patrons.

  “Come. I’ll walk you home.”

  For the first time, I felt like I could breathe.

  CHAPTER 3

  Leah

  “You don’t have to walk me home. You could just stay here,” I protested. My face felt hot as he gazed back at me. His jawline ticked and he cocked his head, staring at me as if I’d said the most ridiculous thing in the world.

  I didn’t need anyone to take care of me. I’d been doing just fine on my own so far.

  “It’s only two blocks. I’ll be fine,” I added.

  Those light blue irises of his flickered, fire and ice at war within their depths. I wanted to reach out for him, but at the same time I wanted to run. His lips thinned slightly, and he shook his head.

  “I insist,” Kieran replied, his voice resolute. It left me with the feeling that if I fought any further, I’d anger him, and he didn’t look like the type of man I wanted to piss off.

  I sighed. I hadn’t been sleeping much lately. The cleaning agency had sent me to a particularly tough job this afternoon and I was still feeling sore from how strenuous it had been. The smell of bleach was still scalded into my nostrils, and I didn’t know if it would ever go away at this point.

  Kieran reached for me, taking my upper arm gently and leading me forward toward the entrance of the pub. I opened my mouth, but then closed it. His grip on me was firm. It didn’t hurt, but it left no question in my mind that I was going with him whether I liked it or not. The bar was still noisy, but a hush came over the crowd as Kieran walked through them. Every man stepped to the side. I noticed that several of them dipped their heads in respect.

  Kieran Murphy’s name meant something here in South Boston.

  As soon as the doors closed behind us, it was silent. The thick old doors cut most of the sound inside, which made it especially nice in the early morning hours when the party got particularly wild.

  I took a deep breath and looked up at Kieran. For some unknown reason, I felt safe with him when I should feel scared.

  “Which way, Leah?” he asked, his voice a decadent purr that caused a cascade of shivers to race down my spine. Now that I was alone with him, I could no longer ignore the heat between us. I pushed it aside as best as I could, but it was still there, simmering and threatening to turn into a blazing bonfire if I only let it grow.

  I pointed to the right.

  “I live above the Roasted Bean,” I offered.

  “That’s a really good café. Irma runs a tight ship,” he replied.

  “You know Irma?”

  “I do. She’s a business associate of mine and a close friend,” he offered.

  I was quiet for a moment as I tried to dissect what that might mean. I didn’t want to pry too much, but I wanted to know more. His arm threaded through mine, keeping me close against his side as we walked down the block together.