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He took two steps toward me and swung his fist back with the full intent of punching me in the face. With a sigh, I caught his fist in mine and pushed him back several steps.
I closed the distance between us, owning the ground that I had created without pause. His expression went blank with surprise, like he’d expected me to back down at the first threat of violence.
I was just getting started.
I hadn’t gotten to my position without several good old-fashioned fights along the way.
I curled my fist and caught him straight under the chin. He stumbled back a few steps, but the furious look on his face didn’t disappear. It only seemed to grow even fiercer.
That didn’t bother me.
I closed the ground between us once again, keeping my arms up in a defensive position to block his ill-timed and drunkenly planned punches to land several directly in his gut. The air rushed out of his lungs with a delightful symphony and then I clocked him straight in the side of the head hard enough to knock him to the ground. I stared down at him with a ruthless gaze, daring him to get back up.
When he did, I knocked him back down.
I did that, over and over again until he didn’t get back up. By that time, his nose was very obviously broken, and blood was pouring down his face, but he was too drunk to feel any of it. He certainly would in the morning, and I would see to it that he got the message.
Signed, sealed, and delivered.
I stood over him at that moment though as he stared up at me with what was the first real twinge of realization morphing his previously overconfident face. He had lost and he finally knew it.
“My name is well known here in the city and my reach doesn’t stop there. You’d do well to remember that. Leah O’Connor belongs to me now. She doesn’t owe you a fucking dime. To be honest, you’re lucky you’re even still alive. If you weren’t Emma’s father, I would have killed you and had my soldiers dispose of your body down by the docks. The police won’t look for your body because I would pay them not to and you would disappear from the face of this Earth without questions asked. My mercy only goes so far, however. If you’re not gone by morning, that mercy ends. If you ever think about stepping foot in my city again, you will be living on borrowed time. Do you understand me?”
His audacity had me seeing red. The only reason I was able to hold myself back was my Leah was watching and I didn’t want her to see that kind of violence from me. She’d seen enough already.
“Who is Kieran Murphy?” he asked with a shaky voice.
“I am the kingpin to one of the most powerful Irish mafia families in the States,” I growled.
His eyes opened with the kind of understanding I’d been looking for. He lifted his hand to his nose, like he was finally sobering up at just the right time.
“You’ll get the fuck out of my city before the sun rises.”
“But I…” he tried.
“Before the sun rises or my men will find you,” I cut him off. This wasn’t how I typically did business. I was only doing this for her.
I would tear the world down if it meant keeping her safe.
“I need…”
“Before the fucking sun rises or you die,” I spelled out for him.
I couldn’t be any clearer. My men would hear me. I didn’t even have to look back to know that all of them had a piece on their waists and that they would be showing him exactly what he had coming if he disobeyed my command.
“Understood,” Trevor finally said, his voice one of a sad little pipsqueak that had been firmly put in his place.
“Additionally, your marriage is over as of today. The paperwork has already been filed. You are never to speak to, call, or contact Leah ever again. You’ve lost your parental rights over Emma. Contact either of them and my men will find you and end your pathetic miserable existence. Your role in their lives is over. Forever,” I dictated.
I wanted to kick his skull in. I just barely restrained myself by reminding myself Leah was watching and that I couldn’t kill her ex-husband right in front of her.
“Got it. I won’t bother them again,” Trevor said. The glassiness in his eyes had disappeared. He was definitely sober now.
“Now go. I don’t want to see your face in my city ever again,” I growled.
“Never,” he screeched, the sound a bit similar to a screaming goat.
He crawled backwards like a crab until he could get his footing enough to take off in a full sprint. I stood vigil until he turned a corner before he hazarded a glance back.
