Ignoring Quincy, he stepped towards me and extended his hand.

"Nick," I acknowledged, shaking his hand firmly. I'd only met the boss man once before back when I first signed with the company.

"Did you watch my boy's last fight?" Quincy interrupted, obviously not trusting me to speak for myself. Wrapping his arm around all our bosses shoulder, Quincy led the men over to the couch area. "Impressive, huh? Noah's got one h.e.l.l of a left hook."

"How's it going, man?" Lucky acknowledged when Nick took a seat beside him. He tipped his bottle in Nick's direction before taking a swig.

Quincy's face turned purple and I shook my head in amus.e.m.e.nt as I followed after them.

No one was changing Lucky.

Sitting down on the coffee table, I listened to the pleasantries and boring as f.u.c.k small talk between the three men and my coach, nodding every once in a while when Quincy gave me the eye.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't have a clue what was happening and I cared even less. All I wanted to know was that I wasn't getting fired, and once I learned the answer to that question when Nick mentioned a pay rise I pretty much zoned out, letting my thoughts trail to Thorn.

Always Thorn...

Her heartbroken expression, when I left her at the gym, was still in the fore point of my mind not by memory because the f.u.c.king paparazzi had snapped it. I wondered if she had seen the front page of this morning's papers. I seriously doubted it because knowing Teagan, she would have thrown a colossal tantrum at the sight of having our private life splashed all over the papers. I was used to it this was my life now. I'd signed up to being in the public eye, but she, on the other hand, had not...

My cell phone buzzed in my pocket, distracting me from my thoughts, and I pulled it out quickly. Checking the screen, I swiped my finger across it and put it to my ear before getting up and walking into the bedroom.

"Tommy. How's it going, man?" I asked, sinking down on the edge of my bed. He had stayed in the states, organizing and preparing everything for the tour next week and to be honest, I hadn't realized I was missing the f.u.c.ker until he called me.

"Not good, man."

"What's wrong?" I asked, tensing up.

"Don't freak out okay," Tommy placated. "I have everything under control..."

"Tell me," I gritted out.

"Your house was broken into last night," he said with a heavy sigh. "Nothing was taken," he added quickly. "And the cops already have three teens in custody. They're convinced it was just some overly zealous fans."

"Is that it?" Shaking my head, I sagged in relief. "s.h.i.t, man, I thought something was wrong."

He was silent for a long time and a trickle of unease crept up my spine. "What aren't you telling me?"

"It's weird, Noah," he confessed. "Nothing was taken, but there was...there was something weird about it."

"Weird how?"

"Newspaper cuttings," I heard him say. "Scattered all over your room."

"Cuttings of what?" I asked him, confused.

"Of you, man," he told me. "From yesterday's papers right back to your arrest seven years ago."

"Well s.h.i.t," I muttered. "Cole?" I asked, thinking it might be an intimidation tactic on my compet.i.tion's behalf.

"Not his style," Tommy replied without hesitation. "I'm just... look, I could be completely wrong when I say this, but I think you need to watch your back."

"You think it's someone from before?" I asked, frowning.

"I can't say for sure, but there were pictures of you and Teagan," Tommy whispered. "Pre-jail pictures, man. Why would anyone from your present have those?"

"What kind of pictures?"

"Stills of you and her in the elevator that night."

"f.u.c.k." I knew that f.u.c.king CCTV footage would come back to haunt me someday. "The press?"

"They're already on it, man. It's everywhere here," he told me. "Should be reaching your side of the world by the a.m. And another thing," he added in a low tone. "There's been some...talk around this neck of the woods."

"About?"

"The Ring of Fire being back up and running."

"G.o.d f.u.c.king dammit, Tommy!" Jerking to my feet, I paced the floor as my skin heated with anger. "He's back in business?"

"Should I call the cops?"

"And sign your own death certificate?" I shook my head and snarled. "Don't you f.u.c.king dare," I warned him. "Involve the police, Tommy, and you won't make it through the night, man. That p.r.i.c.k has eyes and ears everywhere." I knew that better than anyone. There was a reason the Ring of Fire had gone undetected for so many years; brown envelopes and dirty cops.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked nervously.

"Go about business as usual," I instructed him. "Keep your head down and your G.o.dd.a.m.n mouth shut."

"Noah, I'm..." his voice broke off and guilt churned inside of me.

"I know, man," I whispered. "I don't blame you."

"Messina!"

Growling in agitation when I heard my name being called, I spoke in a low tone, "Look, I know you're scared, man, and you should be. But whatever you do, Tommy, do not go to the cops " I paused mid-sentence when Quincy poked his head around the door.

"Come on, kid," he told me, eyes twinkling with excitement. "Nick wants to hit the town to seal your brand new deal."

"I'm coming," I told him, waiting for him to leave before putting the phone back to my ear. "Tommy, I have to go," I muttered. "I'll be back in a few days and I'll sort it out. But just...just hang low until then."

"Be careful, Noah," Tommy whispered down the line.

"You too, man," I replied before knocking off the call and sinking down on the bed. Leaning forward, I rested my elbows on my thighs and covered my face with my hands.

One phone call and I was reminded of exactly why I didn't get close to anyone. There was no getting away from my past. There was only one way this was ending. Either he died or I did. There was no other way around it.

The bedroom door creaked open again but this time it was Lucky. I watched as he closed the door behind him before walking over to the bed and sitting down beside me. He didn't speak a word or ask me any questions. He just waited.

"JD's back." I choked out when I was ready to talk.

"What's the plan?" he asked in a quiet tone, looking me straight in the eye. "Can't sit back on this, man," he added, knowing all about my past. h.e.l.l, he'd had five long years in a jail cell to learn all about it. "We need to deal with this get him before he gets you."

"It's too dangerous," I whispered, "I'll sort this on my own."

"We will sort this," Lucky corrected me, eyes flashing with anger.

"I can't ask you to get involved in this, Lucky. It could cost you your life, man," I growled, jaw clenched. "You don't know the kinds of people JD's mixed up with. He has people everywhere." I knew first hand about JD's pull. Money talked and power was pull. JD Dennis had both. "Dirty lawyers. Bent cops. Indebted inmates. There's a reason he wasn't caught all those years ago." Exhaling heavily, I whispered, "You don't know him like I do, man. He gets in your head." I tapped my temple in frustration. "Takes away everything f.u.c.king good until all that's left is the bad."

Memories of my mother locked away in that inst.i.tution flooded me and I jerked to my feet. "You don't want any part of this," I told him as I paced the floor. "Trust me."

"You seem to have confused me with a man who has something left to lose," Lucky snapped, standing up and shoving me hard in the chest. "All I got in this whole d.a.m.n world is you, Noah. And I'll be f.u.c.ked if I sit back and let you handle this on your own. So it's like I said earlier, what's the plan?"

If this was anyone else I wouldn't think twice about refusing their help, but Lucky could handle himself. He'd seen the ugly side to life. He knew what it felt like to drain a man of his life, and he would do it again without a second's hesitation if I asked him to, and he knew that I would do the same for him. That was a f.u.c.king bond like I'd never experienced before. It was like he said; he was my brother.

"It's gonna be close to impossible to find him," I told him. "He has a remarkable talent for going to ground and disappearing."

"Fair enough, but you've got one thing going for you that you didn't have before," Lucky replied, strategizing. "You're Noah f.u.c.king Messina. You're a celebrity man, in the public eye. JD can't get to you directly and he knows it, which means..." He paused mid sentence and shook his head.

"Which means?" I demanded, heart hammering in my chest.

"Which means he'll have to use another method to flush you out," he replied in a flat tone. "He's gonna bait you, man. Spider web tactics. Have you come to him."

"Bait me with what?" I hissed, furious. "Those f.u.c.kers took everything from me seven years ago."

"I can think of one exception," Lucky shot back. "Teagan."

"No!" I shook my head, rejecting the thought that I had once again put her in danger. "No G.o.dd.a.m.n way. It's been seven years. She's off their radar."

"You sure about that?" he countered. "It's like you said, Noah, no one is ever truly off their radar, not men like JD, so why would he forget about the girl you walked away from his father for?" Shaking his head, he sighed heavily. "I hate to tell you, man, but whether you want to admit it or not, that woman is your kryptonite and your enemies know it. That makes her the only target."

"f.u.c.k," I hissed, pulling at the ends of my hair in frustration. "I need to get her out of here. Someplace safe."

"Look around, Noah. We're in the back a.s.s of nowhere in Ireland, man. There's nowhere safer for her to be," he interjected. "JD obviously hasn't traced her down here," he added, "so let's concentrate on keeping it that way "

Lucky paused when the door flew inwards, slapping against the opposite wall.

"Come on, you p.u.s.s.ies," Quincy snarled, glaring at us. "You don't keep Nick Leversteen waiting."

"Jesus f.u.c.king Christ, Q," I roared. "Give me a d.a.m.n minute."

"We're coming," Lucky interjected, patting my shoulder. "Calm down, man. We've got this," he whispered in my ear before pushing me out the door.

ON THE WALK TO THE PUB, I made a silent vow to not cause any scenes, but the dynamics of the night changed drastically when I walked into Reilly's bar and locked eyes on none other than Ciarn f.u.c.king Crowley perched at our usual table with Eoin, another hurler but less touchy feely than his captain, Stephanie the cougar, Imogen, a girl I was only vaguely familiar with, and Liam.

Three rounds in and I was quickly learning that coming out tonight had been a ma.s.sive mistake. Aside from the evil glares and snide comments Ciarn was throwing my way, Liam was in a horrible mood. He dutifully ignored me and froze me out of every conversation, purposefully keeping his back turned to me, which was quite a feat considering we were sitting at a round table. Besides Sean who was his loving self, Imogen was the only other person who made a conscious effort to include me, but it was clear that I wasn't welcome.

When my phone rang just as I was draining my fifth Cosmo, I felt like weeping in joy. Slipping out of my seat, I shoved through the throngs of people inside the bar and out the front.

"Hi, Teegs."

"Hope!" I sagged in relief at the sound of my roommate's voice on the other line. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," I heard her say quietly.

"Are you crying?" I asked, appalled, sticking my finger in my other ear to drown out the bustle around me.

"Oh, Teagan," she sobbed down the line. "He's engaged."

"Who's engaged?" I asked, confused.

"Jordan."

"What? No he isn't." I shook my head, rejecting this mind f.u.c.kery. "Hope, he can't be."

"He is," she sniffled. "Oh G.o.d."

"Where are you?" I asked, worried.

"I just landed at Shannon," she told me. "I should be home in a few hours "

"Dammit," I muttered when the line went dead. I slapped my piece of c.r.a.p phone with my hand in frustration before trying to switch it back on but it was lifeless.

"Having a good night?" Stephanie's husky voice came from behind me and I jumped before swinging around and receiving a mouthful of second hand smoke.

"I've had better," I spluttered, waving my hand in front of my face to blow the smoke away from me. "Happy birthday, by the way," I offered as an after thought. "You look great." She did look great and it sucked. Stephanie was wearing a red bodice style dress that emphasized her large bosom and killer curves, complimenting her flaming red hair.

"Can I give you some advice, sweetie?" she asked, before sucking on her cigarette. "Woman to woman?"

"No, but I get the feeling you're going to give me some anyway," I muttered under my breath as she closed the gap between us, dwarfing me by a good four inches.

"Stop stringing Liam along," she said cattily. "He's one of the good ones and you made him look like an idiot."

"Excuse me?" I blanched, not sure I was hearing this right.

"You've led him on for years." Stepping closer, she brushed a tendril of my hair back off my shoulder and smiled sweetly. "Sleeping with him only to break his heart."

"Whoa," I interrupted her, having heard quite enough. "Just back up a minute." I held my hands up, backing away from her, determined not to make a scene.

Liam and I weren't together and, with the exception of that one drunken night months ago, nothing had ever happened between us. But I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't fuming that Liam had discussed it with her. This outing was really starting to show the wolves from the lambs and I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth.

"I have no idea why you're bringing up my personal history with Liam into this conversation, Stephanie," I told her, forcing myself to remain calm. "But if it's because you want to get with him then by all means be my guest. He's a free agent."

"It would have been nice of you to let him know that before your dirty laundry was splashed all over today's papers," she hissed.

"What?" I shook my head and gaped at her. "Seriously...what?"

"Oh come on, Teagan," she sneered, rolling her eyes. "Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about."

"I'm not pretending," I shot back, feeling the heat creep into my cheeks. This woman was on some special sort of drugs. What a freak. "I genuinely have no idea what you're talking about."