Game (10 page)

“
You
know that
’
s all a lie,
right?
”

“
Most
of life is a lie.
”

My mouth opened, but I had nothing.

That was the damn truth.

I stared at Finn and wondered what
part of his was a lie. A little of him? Or all of it?

I backed away from Finn and turned
to walk away.

He called my name and I stopped.

“
What?
”
I asked.

“
I
built this cabin for a woman,
”
Finn said.
“
And she
’
s gone now. Because of me.
”

With that said, Finn grabbed the
axe and turned away.

I was shocked.

Had Finn just tried to open up
to me?

15.

(Finn)

What the hell had I just done?

Had I really just opened up to
Shayna like that? Admitted my own little world of darkness to her?

I slammed the axe down over and
over. Pieces of wood splintered and shattered. I had a dream of coming out here
and doing this on a cold and snowy night. Yeah, we
’
d get snow up here in this part of the mountain. I
knew that because I fucking researched it before buying the land and building
the cabin. Because what could be more romantic than carrying firewood into the
cabin as it snowed? And building a warm fire? And getting on the couch with
something to drink and holding her all damn night?

I finally threw the axe. I heard it
swoosh
and then hit something with a snap and crack. Then there was
silence, except for my breathing and the racing of my heart.

There was supposed to be a plan on
the horizon. The only chance of that would be Fiore coming to terms with his
family and his fate. There were other ways to set up Zander and attack him.
Christ, there were so many things we could probably do that involved Shayna.

I looked back at the cabin.

But that would put her directly
into trouble.

Like I cared.

I did care. Why the hell did I
care?

I grabbed an armful of firewood and
walked to the front of the cabin. Inside, there was a woman sitting on the
couch, just like it was meant to be. And she looked at me. And she was
beautiful. And she smiled.

“
Do
you need help?
”
she offered,
just like she was supposed to do.

The problem was that it was the
wrong fucking woman.

“
No,
”
I said.

I kicked the door shut. Behind me,
the sunset spread across the sky as day quickly started to become night.
Tonight was supposed to be the start of me and Shayna together. So I could fuck
her. So I could get her pregnant.

I built a fire and stood staring at
it. I felt her behind me, staring at me.

“
Finn,
you can tell me
…”

“
No,
”
I said.
“
I shouldn
’
t
have said what I said. Forget it. It doesn
’
t
matter. What matters is our plan.
”

“
What
plan?
”
she asked.
“
How can there be a plan?
”

I looked back at her.
“
We
’
ve
been in this life long enough. We
’
ve
been through dark shit. We
’
ll
think of something. We have time, like I said. Before that though, I want to
know everything. No secrets.
”

“
I
have no secrets,
”
Shayna
said.
“
This is me. Right
here.
”

“
You
never told me about the engagement. Or your sister.
”

“
When
was I supposed to? Before or after I was in the bed of your truck with a gun?
Or you dragging me to see Fiore? Or tackling some guy with a gun who was there
to kill you and Fiore? Or being forced into a car and a store to buy clothes?
Oh, and let
’
s not forget
the mindset after I
’
m told
someone is going to get me pregnant. Whether I
’
m
willing to or not.
”

Shayna sucked in a breath and
looked ready to burst into tears.

I just stood there and let her
collect herself. I had to try and set some kind of boundaries.
Yeah, right.
Wasn't my hand between her legs just a little while ago?

“
Can
you tell me what happened with Fiore?
”

“
Yeah,
”
I said.
“
He
’
s
married to a woman named Marie. A lot of Marie
’
s
and Ann Marie
’
s in the
family. Hard to keep track of sometimes. But Marie is a beautiful woman. As
expected for a man like Fiore. They have one daughter, Mara. That
’
s it. One. That
’
s sort of a tender spot to begin
with. Fiore wanted a large family. He wanted his name carried on. But Marie had
some medical issues and couldn
’
t
have another child again. So Fiore went on the prowl and found a young man
named Antonio. A real street tough guy. Dressed nice, talked smooth, and could
heist anyone at anytime. He wasn
’
t
with a crew so Fiore got him. Lucky for Fiore, Antonio fell head over heels in
love with Mara. And Mara the same. What started as this forced relationship
quickly took a life of its own.
”

“
How
romantic,
”
Shayna
whispered.

“
Yeah,
right. Romance. Fast forward a couple years. Mara and Antonio get married.
Fiore wanted it done sooner, but Marie insisted they take their time and make
sure. You don
’
t get
divorced in Fiore
’
s family.
That
’
s not how it works. It
’
s definitely a
’
til death
thing. Now
the guys have side things, sure. That
’
s
just the life. Sometimes the wives do it too, but they know if they get caught,
they
’
re dead.
”

“
Sounds
a lot like I
’
ve seen,
”
Shayna said.
“
The rules are bent as needed.
”

“
Exactly.
So Mara and Antonio get married and go on a big honeymoon. A tour of the old
country. Meet the family. They usher Antonio in with open arms because of Fiore
’
s situation. There had been talk
of Fiore having babies with another woman. Real touchy subject, but it was
being considered to be acceptable. Good news was that Antonio
’
s great-grandfather lived in the
same village as Fiore
’
s
grandfather. They actually knew each other. Now the guy wasn
’
t born and raised there, but to
the family, it was good enough. They were a happy family now. Which meant the
next thing would be to have kids.
”

“
Did
they watch them have sex?
”
Shayna asked.
“
That
’
s overwhelming
…”

“
That
’
s how the family is,
”
I said.
“
Mara got pregnant really fast. Again, life is
great. Then comes along baby Luca. A boy. Everything Fiore could have imagined.
The bloodline would continue. Life was good.
”

“
Until
it wasn
’
t,
”
Shayna said.
“
Right?
”

“
Exactly.
Antonio stayed in the business, the life. I saw all of this from the sidelines.
I rose up fast to become Fiore
’
s
top fighter. I made him a ton of money. I brought in crowds. I brought in other
fighters that I shouldn
’
t
have been able to destroy and I did. I was an honorary part of the family. So I
saw it all. I watched this darkness creep in between Fiore and Antonio. That
darkness was Zander and his guys. They were running guns around Fiore
’
s territory. They started pushing
drugs into the territory, creating a wave of crime and confusion that left
Fiore struggling to keep up. Antonio wanted to go ahead and push back, but
Fiore had a different vision. He was okay with a setback for a greater outcome.
So he started to track Zander
’
s
crew. Following them, finding their suppliers, their customers. Then he started
to chop them off one by one. Killing them. It started to become a bloodbath.
”

I took a breath. Right around that
time was when I explained my own darkness. A darkness that I never climbed out
of. I just learned how to hide it well.

“
Did
you kill anyone, Finn?
”
Shayna asked.

“
No,
”
I said.
“
I was about fighting and nothing else. I never was
brought into that side of the business. Then it all happened. The day it all
changed. I had come off a real big victory. Got my face busted up real good. So
I went to a bar to celebrate. I made Fiore a lot of money and he gave me a
really nice kickback on it. Then the next morning I had two guys lifting me out
of my bed and throwing me into the shower. They turned on the cold water and
woke me up. I was still half drunk when they took me to Fiore. He was a mess. A
complete mess.
”
I
completely turned and faced Shayna now.
“
The
night before, Luca had woken up with a fever. He was pulling at his left ear.
So Antonio took him to the ER. Poor kid probably just had an ear infection. It
was two in the morning. They were at a red light. A car got in front of Antonio
and a woman was driving. She got out and started waving her hands, screaming,
hitting the hood of the car. She tried taking her clothes off. She was messed
up on drugs or something. Antonio got out and screamed that his kid was in the
car, sick. The woman sped away. That little mishap there allowed someone to put
the bomb under the car.
”

Shayna gasped.
“
No.
”

“
Yeah.
Two blocks later it detonated.
”

The fire behind me popped loud.
Shayna jumped. She touched her lips.
“
The
baby
…”

“
Antonio
and Luca. Gone. No chance.
”

Shayna slowly sat down.
“
Zander did it?
”

“
Zander
did it,
”
I said.
“
That was the real start of the
war. Fiore lost his mind. Marie was off trying to help Mara. Each time Fiore
pushed close to Zander, he fought harder. Zander had really positioned himself
by taking out Antonio. So the war raged on. Fiore came to some of his senses
and basically just took care of his territory. He kept Zander away and they
have battled back and forth for years. But I know Fiore isn
’
t done grieving. I know Fiore
wants to get his revenge.
”

“
And
I
’
m that person now,
”
Shayna said. She collapsed to
the couch.
“
I
’
m that person.
”

I stepped to the couch and looked
down at Shayna. I put a finger under her chin and lifted so her eyes met mine.
“
Yeah, you fucking are. Because
Fiore wants a child to replace the grandson he lost. And since you
’
re tied to Zander, it
’
ll drive the man nuts. We
’
re both in this, deep. Now tell
me everything about yourself. Your sister. Everything.
”

I waited for Shayna to talk, but
instead, she lifted a hand and touched between my legs.

Goddamn
…
she found my weak spot
…
not that it was hard to
find.

16.

(Shayna)

I didn
’
t want to talk anymore. I wanted comfort. I wanted
to feel okay. I was tired of being a pawn in some sick game that I had nothing
to do with. I thought about being outside with Finn. Standing there, face to
face. The way he yelled at me and how it turned me on. The way he grabbed at
his dick and the way I squeezed at his hand, wanting to feel him.

Now I was on my own. His hands were
at his sides. My hand cupped the growing steel between his legs. My other hand
touched his leg and slid up. When my fingers touched the muscle of his stomach,
my body ignited. My fingers curled around the top of his jeans and pulled. It
was nothing but smooth, hard skin.

Next thing I knew I tore his jeans
open and my hand eased around the hardness of his dick. I pulled him free and
sucked in a breath at the sight before me. My eyes then met with Finn
’
s and he had the cocky grin. He
knew what he had to offer. He knew it had been a long time for me. So long I
didn
’
t even want to try and
think about the last time I experienced anything.

My hand slid up his rock hard
shaft. I moved my hand over the head of his cock and stroked him down to his
root. I squeezed, unable to fully grip his thickness. My other hand touched his
stomach again. His muscles were everywhere, leaving my imagination racing to
what he looked like fully naked.

As I inched forward, Finn let out a
breath. My lips and mouth touched him. I welcomed him in and stroked him with
my hand. I moved down his cock and pulled back, feeling all of him. I came off
him and looked up. I couldn
’
t
control my breathing. I couldn
’
t
control my mind.

Finn put his fingertips to my
shoulders and pulled at me.

A second later, my mouth was back
on him. I eased back and forth against him, feeling him thickening by the
second. He filled my mouth completely, leaving me testing boundaries I never
thought I
’
d test. My hand
touching his stomach curled, clawing at him. My other hand stroked at him. I
wanted to please all of his perfect dick. Every inch, over and over. I started
to move faster, feeling more confidence in myself than I had felt in a long
time. Each time my lips touched the soft ridge on the tip of his cock, he
grunted. He then started to thrust at me, pulling and pushing, moving with my
mouth.

It felt good. So fucking good.

I groaned and Finn hissed a breath.
“
Fuck, sweetie, keep doing
that.
”

So I did.

Back and forth, up and down, my
hand stroking as my mouth savored him.

The entire scene started to speed
up even more. Finn took a firm grip to the back of my head. He pulled as he thrust,
sending himself deep into my mouth. He pulled back and I tightened my hold on
him, making him hiss and grunt. Each time he sank into me, I groaned, just like
he wanted.

As he reached his pinnacle, I took
over, moving even faster. I waited until he started to climax before slowing.
When I felt him explode, I sank down on him and stayed right there. I forced my
tongue to move back and forth against the bottom of his pulsing shaft. My hand
held at the root of his cock and I kept pumping.

I stayed right there until he was
done.

When I finally pulled back and
away, my face was bright red and I was out of breath. With one last swallow, I
looked up at him. The look in his eyes was like nothing I
’
d ever seen yet with Finn.

His hands moved away from me and he
quickly tucked himself away.

My body was aching. Slowly, I put
my hands to the couch and gripped. I wanted Finn right now. I wanted him inside
me. I wanted him to do
…
whatever he needed to do. The moment was there and the moment was right. In all
the wrong, there was a glimmer of right.

But Finn wasn
’
t having it.

“
That
’
s not how to make a fucking
baby,
”
he growled.

“
You
didn
’
t seem to mind.
”

He stepped back.
“
You shouldn
’
t have fucking done that.
”

“
What?
I didn
’
t see you stopping
…”

Finn turned and kicked the end
table next to the couch. It flipped upside down and the lamp on it hit the
floor, shattering.

He charged to the door and
disappeared a second later, leaving the door wide open.

I was alone, again.

What had just happened?

~ ~ ~

It took me a few minutes to finally
move. It was pretty obvious Finn wasn
’
t
going to come rushing back inside to finish the job. To grab me, hold me down,
and fuck me. He had given me the
fuck me
eyes before, but now it was
more like
get the fuck away from me.

I moved from the couch and grabbed
the table. I picked it back up. The lamp was a total loss. There were two dozen
pieces of it on the floor. The light bulb didn
’
t
shatter, but it didn
’
t work
anymore. I grabbed at the cord and unplugged it.

Then I saw the broken frame on the
floor.

It was a picture of the woods
during a beautiful sunset. It looked like the kind of picture that was in
picture frames when you bought them at the store. When I turned the frame,
glass shards fell to the floor, along with the picture of the sunset. 

Behind that picture was another
one. A folded up picture. I peeled it out of the broken frame and dropped the
frame. As I opened the picture, I glanced to the door, wondering if and when
Finn was going to come back.

Finn didn
’
t come back.

I opened the picture and fell back
to my ass.

It was a picture of Finn with a
woman. A beautiful woman with blonde hair pulled back. She had sunglasses down
to the tip of her nose. Her eyes were a wildly crystal blue color. She had
pieces of hair that were messy and sticking out of her ponytail but it made her
look even prettier. Attached to her cheek was Finn. He had scruff on his face,
a smile that was genuine, and his eyes were a beautiful brown color. Nothing
like the man I had been with. Nothing like the angry fighter, fists curled up,
ready to unleash.

They were in the woods somewhere
for the picture, the woman sitting on his lap. Their arms were entangled
together as they held each other. One thing was pretty evident - this was a
woman Finn loved. Yet the picture was folded up and hidden behind some other
picture.

Why?

Who was this woman?

I folded up the picture and climbed
to my feet. I looked around the cabin and the questions kept flooding me. Finn
had been a sexy, mysterious man the second I met eyes with him at that fight.

Now, he was even more mysterious.
He was even more sexy.

I needed him more than ever. Not
just for the answers to all the questions, but for a chance to survive.

I took one step toward the door and
I heard the slam of a door.

The truck.

The truck then started and I
started to run.

Finn was trying to leave me.