Game (5 page)

I was so fucking far from okay.

And I was going to make it worse
because there was no way in hell Finn was going to ditch me.

He went into the bedroom and
dropped the towel. His ass was perfectly cut, curved, and thick with muscle.

No way in hell he
’
s ditching me
…

I wanted to do much more now
than just flash him.

9.

(Finn)

The coffee tasted like shit. But it
was coffee.

Night had come and gone without any
problems. Nobody found the cabin and attacked us.

I was alone; Shayna was still in
the bedroom, presumably sleeping.

I finished my coffee and walked to
the window.

Nothing was supposed to be like
this. That was the most fucked up part of it all. I was never supposed to get
involved with Fiore. I was never supposed to turn into his prized fighter. I
was never supposed to be wanted, demanded, showcased in underground illegal
fighting. Some kind of outlaw celebrity with a clean cut face and a chip on his
shoulder.

I had been straight, like Cormac. I
had been right there, right at the cusp of it all. Standing in the corner of a
ring, eyeing my opponent, studying his arms, legs, muscles, his scars. Knowing
every fear and weakness of his that was about to step into the middle of the
ring. And then I would exploit it. If they were lucky, they
’
d get knocked the fuck out. If
they were tough enough to stay afloat, they
’
d
still leave defeated, with a hell of a lot more wounds than they intended.

But it was all taken away. Stripped
away. Ripped away.

Completely fucking destroyed.

I looked around the kitchen.

This was going to be a getaway. A
place to hide from the busy world and busy life. A place to come and beat up on
pieces of firewood instead of other people. A place to call home.

I sighed and knew none of it really
mattered. The past was gone. Long gone. This was about reality now. I had to go
face Fiore and figure out what to do next. If I didn
’
t go see him, he
’
d
come looking for me. One thing I learned was that if you fucked up, you better
tell Fiore. If he caught you hiding or lying, you were done. And Fiore wasn
’
t the type to just kill someone.
He had some pretty gross techniques to keep someone alive for a long time
before they ultimately let go.

I didn
’
t need that.

I walked to the bedroom and lifted
a hand to knock on the door. Then I remembered it was my room and I just opened
the door. Shayna was still in bed, curled up in my blankets, sleeping in my
bed. I went to the bed with full intentions of kicking it, shaking the
mattress, waking her ass up.

Instead, I slowly sat down on the
edge of the bed.

I stared at her.

I told myself she had her own story
to share. If I just tossed her out, then what? She
’
d go back to that Zander guy and get killed. Or she
’
d get tracked down and killed.
Then again, she had broken away from Zander, right? I had her. She was with me.
She had no clue where she was and she already admitted she had nowhere to go.

She had become leverage.

Just like that.

Instant leverage when I talked to
Fiore.

I reached down and brushed a piece
of her dark hair from her face. What was it about women sleeping that made them
look even prettier? Like their entire bodies were finally relaxed, no make up
and fluff stuff going on, their bodies able to just be there in their natural
beauty.

Except Shayna was beyond natural
beauty. She was too beautiful for her own good. For my own good. And that was a
problem.

My thumb grazed her cheek and I put
my other hand to her pillow. As I leaned down, the smell of warm sleep started
to pull at me, daring me to catch some more
z
’
s
, only this time I
’
d be next to Shayna. I knew damn
well that if I really got into bed with her, we wouldn
’
t be sleeping. I had to keep that line uncrossed. I
had to stay a mile away from that line.

So I stood up and put my foot on
the bed. I gave it a kick a few times until Shayna started to stir. She rolled
to her back and the covers moved down her body a little. She was wearing a
shirt, but it was pretty obvious she wasn
’
t
wearing a bra. Her nipples pressed through the shirt.

Jesus Christ
…
I better make it two
miles away from that line.

~ ~ ~

“
Are
you good?
”
I asked.
“
Full? You need coffee?
”

“
No,
”
she said.
“
I
’
m
fine. Thanks for
…”

“
This
isn
’
t a please and thank
you thing. I
’
m putting you
in front of Fiore. Do you understand that?
”

Shayna nodded. She ran a hand
through her hair. She looked really good. It was amazing how beautiful she
could be right now considering she was wearing some of my old clothes. She had
no make up on and managed to fix her bedhead with some water. She had an old
pair of my sunglasses on that she had found in the living room somewhere.

“
I
got it,
”
she said.

“
This
guy is a big deal. He
’
s
connected to family. He has connections
…”

“
So
does Zander,
”
Shayna said.
“
If you
’
re trying to tell me in a round about way that he
’
s in the mob, I get it. That
’
s who Zander is. I
’
ve seen it all. I
’
ve seen people caught, tortured,
and killed. I
’
ve seen
fights. It hasn
’
t been
pleasant.
”

“
Then
why?
”
I asked.
“
Why even be there?
”

“
Because.
”

That was that.

I let it go for now.

I drove from the highway to the
streets to the upscale neighborhood. The houses got bigger by the minute. And
Fiore had the biggest house built up on a ridge. He owned half the town,
probably more than that of the state, not to mention his blood ran through
Nevada and across the rest of the country all the way to New York City.
And
then it went international.

Fiore was that important. He would
know Zander. He would see the value in having Shayna around.
Or so I hoped.

“
So
he
’
s going to ask you
things,
”
I said.
“
You have to answer truthfully.
”

“
Finn,
I get it.
”

I pulled my truck over. Guilt had
officially settled in and gotten the best of me. I put it in park and turned to
Shayna. I touched her shoulder.
“
Listen
to me. I
’
m in a bad spot
here. And I
’
m not asking
you to bail me out. But if you want to get away from that guy, this is a chance
to do it. If you think you need to go back, tell me right now.
”

“
I
don
’
t have a choice,
”
Shayna said.

“
You
always have a choice.
”

“
Zander
will kill me.
”

“
Fiore
might kill you.
”

“
I
’
ll take my chances.
”

The guilt lifted - a little - and I
started to drive again.

I wasn
’
t just bringing Shayna to talk to Fiore.

I was going to offer her to him
…
to do whatever the hell
he wanted.

~ ~ ~

Fiore took the cigar from his mouth
and made circles of smoke. He put it down on the edge of the desk and stood up.
He had a putting green next to his desk. It was set up for a shot. He took his
club and lined up the shot. Gently, he pulled his arms to the side and then
released the shot. The golfball rolled with a soft precision.

If it goes in, he
’
s not going to kill me
…

It hit the edge of the hole, looked
like it was going to fall in, but then jumped the edge and stopped.

Fuck.

“
Eh,
”
Fiore said.
“
My hands are too shaky anymore.
Too much stress, Finn.
”
Fiore dropped the club and looked at me.
“
Too
much goddamn stress.
”

I nodded. I knew when not to speak
around Fiore. This had nothing to do with missing a putt or being stressed. It
was what I did.

“
You
don
’
t want to talk?
”

“
I
’
m waiting for you,
”
I said.

“
Your
face looks wrong.
”
He
walked along the desk and then leaned against it, in front of me.
“
What happened?
”

“
Thought
about telling you a lie, Fiore. But then I figured
…
fuck it.
”

“
Fuck
it,
”
Fiore said.
“
I
’
ve
got a few billion dollars to look after. So I say
fuck it
. I have a
family to care for. A grieving daughter. An empire to look after with nobody to
give it to when I die. So I say
fuck it
.
”

“
What
I mean,
”
I said,
“
was that I
’
m not here to lie to you. I
fucked up. Okay? I went for a few drinks and ended up somewhere bad.
”

Fiore laughed. A deep, hearty
laugh. The kind of laugh he used to have when he was with his wife, daughter, son-in-law,
and only grandson. Only half those people were alive right now. That
’
s the stress Fiore carried,
which was simply his need to grieve but his fight to hide it to make sure he
looked strong.

“
Zander,
huh?
”

“
You
heard.
”

“
You
think people don
’
t know
you? You
’
re famous, Finn.
Not the fame you wanted, I
’
m
sure. But I kept to my word when I saw you fighting, Finn. Oh, I knew you were
worth a lot.
”

“
I
still am.
”

“
Not
unless you
’
re dead.
”

“
Oh.
”

Fiore rubbed his chin.
“
Now I sit there this morning,
eating a goddamn grapefruit to keep my heart healthy, and I ask myself why you
would be near Zander. At a fight. A nasty fight at that. You say you went to
have a couple drinks. Sure. But then you end up fighting. Heard you fought one
of his most famous guys. And, of course, you won.
”

“
It
was more defense,
”
I said.
“
That
’
s all. Because he
…”

Fiore threw his right hand at me.
He wore a gold ring with an emerald green stone in it. It was the birthstone of
his only grandson. The stone cracked against my upper lip, splitting it open
with ease.

That
’
s
how Fiore said
shut up
to people.

I gripped the arms of the chair. I
hated to be hit like that. Like I was some fucking punk.

“
You
want to fight me now?
”
Fiore asked.
“
Maybe I
should do that. Before I kill you.
”

“
I
’
m really sorry,
”
I said.

“
I
want to know why!
”
Fiore
bellowed.
“
What was it?
Money? Greed? Power? Did Zander contact you? Why would you fight, Finn? You
love money. You appreciate it. You
’
ve
earned a lot through me. So why would you become a fucking rat?
”

“
Whoa,
”
I said and stood up. I waved a
hand.
“
No fucking way in
hell, Fiore. I am not a rat.
”

“
Then
why fight?
”

“
I
was forced to.
”

“
For
what reason?
”

I sighed.
“
A woman.
”

“
A
what?
”

“
A
fucking woman,
”
I said.
“
Okay? I was sitting at the bar,
having a drink. Some goon approached me and I smacked him in the head with a
beer glass. Then I was taken to see Zander. He wanted to know who I was working
for. I told him to go fuck himself. Then he put a gun to a woman
’
s head. He told me I needed to
fight. If I lost, I
’
d tell
him who I was working for. If I won, the woman lived and became my prize.
”

“
That
’
s something you
’
re proud of?
”
Fiore asked.

“
Not
particularly, Fiore. But I wasn
’
t
giving you up.
”

“
He
knows you!
”
Fiore yelled.
“
My family and Zander
’
s people go way back. Turf wars
that you wouldn
’
t believe
if I said. Of all the places to be, Finn
…”
Fiore shook his head.
“
There
’
s nothing I can do.
”