I shrug. “Not really. He’ll just shout at me for not being the good girl or whatever.”
“You want to be the good girl?”
“No,” I say with a shake of my head.
“Then…?”
“Let’s go,” I say. “Fuck what he says, I’m not going straight home. It’s time I stopped letting him push me around.”
“Fucking right,” Duncan says. It’s almost a growl, catches me off-guard.
He starts the car, guns out of the parking spot and around the bend. I’m thrown into my seat by the acceleration, love the feeling of it. Dad always has Frank drive the limousine so slowly.
Duncan drives me to the location, a restaurant that only exists as a front. As we get out of the car, I see Dad sweeping out of the door, and he’s pointing at us.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he bellows at me.
Chapter Sixteen
“I want to watch Duncan,” I say, folding my arms. “I’m here to support family. Isn’t that the most important thing, as you’re so fond of saying?”
Dad sighs, runs a hand over his smooth head. He turns to Duncan, says, “You brought her here?”
Duncan meets Dad’s eyes. “She wanted to come.”
“You should have told her not to.”
“I’ll never tell her she can’t do anything.”
“God damn it, don’t you two start ganging up on me. Where the hell have you been?”
“At your daughter’s graduation,” Duncan says.
I wince when I see Dad’s expression.
Dad looks at me. “I had to prepare for the fight tonight, sweet—”
“I know,” I say coldly. “Business. I’m here to support Duncan, and you can’t stop me.”
“Deidre, this is no place for a young woman.”
I laugh, shake my head. “You really want to have an argument with me in front of all your friends?” I gesture with my head at the restaurant. “Because of my gender?”
Dad turns around, sees everybody standing at the window, watching us. Other families and organizations, all dressed in their expensive suits, and all wearing glinting gold jewelry. Frustration ripples across his face.
“We are going to talk about this when we get home,” he says.
Duncan steps forward. “Deidre just wants to support me,” he says, flashing a charming smile.
Dad grumbles. “You really want to be here?” he asks, looking at me.
I nod at him. “I do.” As the words leave my mouth, I wonder if it’s the truth, or if I’m just trying to stick it to Dad. He doesn’t want me here because he’s scared I’ll embarrass him.
I catch Duncan’s eye, and we exchange a glance. With Dad in front of us, I trail with Duncan. He’s got a cocky gait, with his hands in his pockets, like he hasn’t a worry in the world, and each time he smiles at me, he injects me with confidence.
“Don’t worry,” he says as we cross the street and enter the restaurant. “But I want you to stay with me.”
“Why?”
“Just stay with me every moment you can.”
“Do you think something is going to go down?” I ask, furrowing my brow.
“No,” he says. “But with people like this, you never know. So just stick with me, okay?”
“What, you going to protect me?” I ask, teasing him.
“If I have to.”
We walk through the restaurant. All the chairs are upside down and resting on the tables. There are no table cloths, no linen or cutlery. I’d guess the restaurant hasn’t been used for its apparent purpose in years.
Dad introduces me to all of his friends, and then Duncan as his fighter. I run the gamut of ‘haven’t seen you since you were a little girl’ and ‘what a beautiful young lady you’ve become’, and I wear a fake smile, and pay everybody the proper respect.
Even if I’m feeling rebellious toward Dad, there’s a part of me that knows I have a role to play in this little gathering, and if I don’t play it, then I’m only going to make things difficult for him.
He leads us through a back door, past the kitchen, and then down some steps into a wide-open basement, spacious, dusty, the smell of mildew on the air.
In the center of the room is a cage, illuminated by some construction-site lights. More men mill down here, smoking cigars and cigarettes, sipping from beer bottles or shot-glasses of spirits.
I realize I’m the only woman here.
“Your private changing room is back there, Duncan,” Dad says. “There’s bikes for you to warm up on, treadmills, free weights. Everything you need is in your locker. It’s for you, only. The other fighters have their own rooms.”