Game (25 page)

46.

(Shayna)

I was escorted to the bathroom. It
was like a freaking hotel room. There were three different kinds of showers,
two tubs, marble everywhere. I could have lived in the bathroom it was that
big.

I walked to the sink and turned on
the water. I cupped my hands and splashed water to my face. It didn
’
t do anything. It didn
’
t make me feel any better. I
stared at my reflection, water dripping off my chin. The scene kept rushing
through my mind. Fiore and Zander standing together. They had been working
together. They had known about me. About Sasha. About everything. Chills ran
through my body. It was like everything I knew was a lie. From the time I was a
kid until now. Losing Sasha to a dark world and then never being able to find
her. Just to know for a second, she was okay.

I dried my face and then noticed
something on the toilet.

A bag.

With my name on it.

I inched to the right and plucked
the piece of paper resting on top.

Shayna -

For you. Hope it
’
s everything you both
want. You will be taken care of the right way. I
’
m sorry for what
’
s happened, but you get
the greatest reward I could possibly imagine - Finn. If you won
’
t love him the right way,
I will.

-
    
Mara

I put the note down and opened the
bag.

I touched my stomach and gasped.

It started to make sense now.

When I got into the SUV, I had been
complaining of my pain
…

I reached into the bag and took
out the pregnancy test.

~ ~ ~

Once again, the three minutes took
damn near forever.

I sat on the edge of one of the
tubs and cried my eyes out. When Finn opened the door and rushed to me, he
dropped to his knees and touched my face.

“
What
is it? Are you in pain? I
’
ll
call an ambulance.
”

“
Finn.
No.
”

“
What?
What is it?
”

And I had to say it. I was able to
say it. It would all mean more than anyone would ever know.

“
I
’
m pregnant.
”

Finn
’
s
eyes went wide.
“
For real?
”

“
Yes.
Those pains
…
the test
…
I need to see a doctor to be
sure. But, yeah, I
’
m
pregnant, Finn. After all this stuff. He got what he wanted, right?
”

Finn stroked my cheek.
“
No, sweetie, he didn
’
t. I got what I wanted. You.
”

A tear ran down my face to his
finger.
“
Finn, this is
insane. We have nothing. I don
’
t
have a place. Your cabin
…
I
mean, if you don
’
t want
this
…
I
’
m not going to give anything up
though. I mean
…”

“
Shayna,
”
Finn said.
“
Shut up for a second. The cabin
is going to be rebuilt. Okay? Zander is dead. Fiore has been taken care of by
his family. And I just signed a major contract with legal fighting. And my
trainer is Henry, Cormac
’
s
trainer.
”

“
Wait,
what?
”

“
It
’
s going to be okay.
”
Finn placed a hand to my
stomach.
“
And you
’
re the real fighter here,
Shayna. Not me. You did all this. You took a crazy, stupid chance and look how
it turned out. If you think for a second I would turn my back on you or our
baby, you
’
re the insane
one. I
’
m here. I
’
m not going anywhere.
”

I lost it for good then. I cried
like a baby. Finn held me the entire time. It felt so good to be in his arms.
He was my ultimate protector. And now
…
holy shit
…
he was the
father of my baby.

47.

(Finn)

*
 
10 months later *

I didn
’
t think the call would ever actually come. But it
did. I hadn
’
t seen or
talked to Mara since the night we left Pete
’
s
mansion. Part of me never wanted to hear from her again. I went straight into
training and took over the fighting world, as planned. Me and Henry worked
together harder than ever before. The old man challenged me, pissed me off, and
a few times, I ended up with my hand at his chest, ready to punch him. He was
that good and that loyal. I loved him.

I held Shayna
’
s hand tight as I pulled to the
side of the small cafe.

“
What
are we doing here?
”
she
asked.

“
Let
’
s get a coffee. Just sit and
chat.
”

“
What
town is this?
”

“
It
doesn
’
t matter, sweetie. We
’
re taking a road trip, right? I
have time off until the next fight.
”

Shayna reached over and touched my
eye. The swelling was gone, the stitches out. There was just a yellow dot there
now. The leftovers from my last fight. He had really given it to me. My
toughest fight ever. But I pushed through and ended up with a TKO in the final
minute of the fight. I wore him down and got the final punch.

“
Your
eye looks good,
”
she said.
“
They
’
re going to want you to fight again.
”

“
Come
on,
”
I said.

I got out of the car.

I opened the backdoor and grabbed
the carseat. Little Cormac was sleeping, but his eyes popped open when I lifted
the carseat. He looked at me and smiled, then moved his hands.

The kid
’
s going to be a fighter
someday.

And, yeah, we named the little guy
Cormac. How could we not? The world didn
’
t
need another Finn
…
but
another Cormac? Yeah, that was good.

I held Shayna
’
s hand and carried the carseat
with the other.

We went into the cafe and sat down.
I put the carseat on the table. Cormac let out a noise and Shayna rocked the
carseat to her. That baby loved Shayna more than I did, which I always thought
would be impossible. The connection was like nothing I
’
d ever seen before. Christ, I
’
m supposed to be this big, tough
fighter, but each time I saw Shayna with Cormac, it choked me up. It was the
most beautiful sight in the world.

She had powered through nine long
months of pregnancy. It took me four of those months to really convince her I
was staying. I understood it though. Our circumstances were completely fucked
up from day one. But I wouldn
’
t
have changed a thing. Except Cormac dying. When I thought about that big
Irishman holding the baby, it made me smile. He
’
d
be the one who would rub whiskey on the baby
’
s
gums when he teethed. He
’
d
probably call himself
Uncle C-mac
or something stupid. And you know
what? The kid would have grown to love Cormac.

But none of that could happen.

So my son had Cormac
’
s name. A big legacy to carry,
but he
’
d be tough enough to
handle it.

Shayna held Cormac and I waited.

When I spotted
her
walking
toward us, I reached for Shayna
’
s
hand.

“
Hey
there! Can I get you two
…”

The waitress stopped talking.
Shayna looked and her lips instantly began to shake.

“
Oh
…
my
…”

“
Shayna,
”
the waitress whispered.

I pointed to the waitress
’
s apron.
“
Hey there, Sarah.
”

Sarah.

The new name for Sasha. Yes, Shayna
’
s sister.

“
We
’
d like two coffees,
”
I said.
“
To go. We can
’
t
stay long, Sarah.
”

Sarah looked at me. Then at Shayna.
Then at the baby.

“
This
is Cormac,
”
Shayna said.
“
Our baby. We had a baby
recently.
”

Sarah crouched down.
“
He
’
s
beautiful.
”

From the side I could see the
resemblance between Shayna and Sasha. From the front, they were totally
different.
Fraternal twins.

Sarah touched Cormac
’
s hand and smiled.
“
So precious. I
’
m happy for you.
”

“
Are
you okay?
”
Shayna asked.
“
I don
’
t get it
…”

“
Let
me show you the drinks,
”
Sarah said and took out a menu. She opened it and leaned in.
“
I had to run. I
’
m so sorry I never came back,
Shayna. I never wanted you in danger. I
’
m
okay here. You don
’
t need
to worry about me.
”

“
Okay,
”
I said.
“
Just the two coffees, please.
”

“
I
’
ll be right back,
”
Sarah -
Sasha
- said.

Shayna looked at me.
“
Finn.
”

“
We
can
’
t stay,
”
I said.
“
They want her. You know that.
”

“
I
know,
”
Shayna whispered.
“
So I
’
m going to say goodbye for real now.
”

My heart twisted a little.

I didn
’
t respond.

Shayna put Cormac back in his
carseat. He started to get fussy and whine.

Sarah came back with two coffees, a
carrier, sugar, and cream.

I put a five on the table.

Shayna and Sarah stared at each
other. They wanted to hug each other but couldn
’
t.

I had eyes all around. I could
never really know who was who. This was final duty to Mara, Marie, and all that
family bullshit.

Then again, blood was thicker than
water, right?

“
Oh,
damn,
”
I said.
“
Cormac spit up. Sarah, do you
have a napkin?
”

Sarah handed me a napkin.

Cormac was fine.

I hurried to grab a pen from Sarah
’
s apron.
Fast hands, fighter
hands.
I pretended to wipe Cormac
’
s
face. I put the napkin on the table and started to write, all the while keeping
my eyes on the cafe. It was sloppy, but the note was quick.

They
’
re coming. Run like hell.
Visit your nephew anytime.

I curled up the napkin and gave it
to Sarah. If she was smart, she
’
d
know what just happened.

It was hard to get in the car and
drive away. It was easy to grab Shayna
’
s
hand as I pulled over a few minutes later. I explained what I had done.

I looked back to the carseat. We
had a mirror on the seat so we could see Cormac
’
s
face.

“
That
’
s why,
”
I whispered.
“
For
him. For us. She
’
s smart,
she
’
ll run.
”

“
And
what about the family stuff?
”
Shayna asked.
“
If they don
’
t find her
…”

I looked at Shayna.
“
I told Mara I
’
m not killing Sasha. I never
will. I said I
’
d check it
out and report back. I did. I said she was there. That
’
s where my job ends.
”

“
It
’
s all a game to you,
”
Shayna said.

“
Yes,
it is. The greatest game ever, sweetie. It
’
s
you, me, and Cormac. Now and forever.
”

“
So
this was the point of the road trip?
”

“
Kind
of, yeah. Sorry.
”

“
So
where do we go now?
”
she
asked.

I put a hand to her face and leaned
in and kissed her. I licked my lips and groaned.
“
It
doesn
’
t matter, sweetie. I
’
ve seen hell and I
’
ve experienced heaven.
Everything in between is just space. But as long as you
’
re next to me, the game never ends.
”

I kissed her again. And again. And
again.

Our son, resting in the backseat,
let out a deep sigh. He mustn
’
t
have  liked to see his parents kissing.

Get used to it
…
I
’
d never stop loving or
kissing Shayna until the game was over.