Game (13 page)

21.

(Finn)

It
’
d
been too long.

Way too fucking long.

If I had been the one to make dumb
promises for everlasting romance and bullshit, I would have made it known that
I
’
d always visit. I never
made that kind of promise because I never got the chance. We weren
’
t in that part of our lives.

It all happened so fast.

Funny how Cormac always told me I
’
d fallen into my own grave. From
the legal, straight fights to the underground world. I didn
’
t do it for money or fame or
even to just disappear. I did it because of the hunger to kill. Never before
had I wanted to kill
…
and I
needed to get away from anything legal. Because if I killed someone, I
’
d be punished. With Fiore, if I
killed someone, it would be swept under the rug. Or better yet, he could set up
bets for death fights and we could make money off it.

I never did that though.

I never killed anyone during a
fight.

I slowed my truck down and pulled
to the side of the road. I couldn
’
t
look left.

Someone once told me that looking
side to side or back was a waste of time. Life was about looking forward,
moving forward.

If it were only that fucking
easy.

This thing with Shayna was bad.
Very bad.

I never expected Fiore to do what
he did. To just barge into the cabin and put a gun to my head. The look in his
eyes told me either he wasn
’
t
sleeping or he was snorting powder up his nose. Watching him go into the
bedroom left my heart pounding and my nerves shaking. I feared he was going to
do something bad to Shayna.

Then he wanted me to fuck her while
he watched.

It didn
’
t bother me
…
but Shayna deserved more than that. Better than that.

My mindset in the situation was
what scared me.
Because I cared.

I drove forward and then turned
left. Yeah, I needed to go forward, but I needed to visit her.
My Carrie.
I
passed through the cemetery gates and felt the anger and emotion rise up in my chest
and throat.

My Carrie. Gone. All gone.

22.

(Shayna)

“
So,
are we going to break the ice or what?
”
I asked.

“
You
can start by getting naked,
”
Cormac said without hesitation.

“
I
can see why you and Finn are friends.
”

“
Aye.
More than friends, Shayna. Brothers.
”

“
Real
brothers?
”

“
What
do you mean?
”

“
Are
you blood related?
”

“
No,
”
Cormac said.
“
Blood ain
’
t family.
”

“
I
’
m not going to try and run away
or anything,
”
I said. I
pointed to the gun.
“
You
don
’
t look comfortable
holding that.
”

“
Truth
be told, I don
’
t like guns.
I don
’
t like any of this
shit. I hate that Finn is in this world. But I love the bastard and would
follow him into the fire.
”

Cormac then put the gun on the
kitchen counter.

I truly had no intentions of doing
anything stupid. I had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. And after Fiore
’
s visit earlier, it was pretty
crystal clear that this situation was going to get worse by the second. Leaving
would only strip me away from Finn
’
s
protection and I
’
d end up
with Fiore and his men.

“
Do
you know why I
’
m here?
”
I asked.

“
Finn
looking for a little romp,
”
Cormac said with a grin.

His eyes were bright blue and when
you mixed it with his smile, I could see women dropping for him easily. But he
didn
’
t have the rough edges
that Finn did. Cormac was maybe too good. Yeah, big and strong, but he walked a
different path. He probably ate vegetables because they kept your heart
healthy. For Finn, keeping his heart healthy, meant avoiding bullets to his
heart. Big difference between a carrot and a bullet.

“
I
wish,
”
I said.
“
This is
…”

“
The
fact he has you here is amazing,
”
Cormac said.
“
Either he
loves you or you
’
re really
wanted dead. No other choice.
”

“
Oh?
”

Cormac gave a nod.
“
Tell me your version of the
story then.
”

“
No
story. You were there. Shit got crazy. My boss wanted him dead and I helped him
survive. Now his boss wants something from me.
”

“
What
’
s that?
”

“
A
baby.
”

Cormac raised an eyebrow.
“
Say that again?
”

“
You
heard me the first time,
”
I
said.
“
So Finn and I are
trying
…
trying to figure
out something.
”

“
Aye,
Christ,
”
Cormac said. He
looked around the kitchen.
“
So,
have you two
…
?
”

“
What?
”

“
You
want me to say it?
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
Has
he fucked you?
”

“
That
’
s a personal question.
”

“
I
have a gun,
”
Cormac said.

“
You
win,
”
I said.
“
No, we haven
’
t done that.
”

“
Doesn
’
t shock me.
”

“
It
’
s because of the woman, right?
”

Cormac raised an eyebrow.
“
Huh?
”

“
I
found a picture of Finn and a woman. He flipped shit and kicked over a table.
There was a frame and it shattered. I found a picture behind it. He won
’
t talk about it.
”

“
That
happened here?
”
Cormac
asked.

“
Yeah.
”

“
What
were you doing when he flipped?
”

My cheeks turned red.
“
Nothing.
”

“
Ah,
you liar,
”
Cormac said.
“
You were doing stuff with him.
That
’
s why he flipped.
”

“
It
’
s because of the woman
…”

“
Aye,
”
Cormac said.
“
This cabin was meant for
something else. See, me and Finn grew up tight as brothers. We trained
together. He
’
s the toughest
and smartest goddamn man I
’
ve
ever met. Never saw a fighter like that before.
”

“
He
was a regular fighter? Like you?
”

“
Regular?
”
Cormac asked and snorted.
“
Yeah, he was regular. He and I
were tearing things up. Winning fight after fight. Nobody could stop us. My
trainer, Henry, then started talking about me and Finn going at it.
”

“
You
two fight?
”
I asked, eyes
wide.

“
Yeah.
Why not?
”

“
But
you
’
re friends.
”

“
Exactly.
We
’
re brothers.
”

Again, the word
‘
brudders
’
…
it was kind of cute to hear.

“
I
don
’
t get it,
”
I said.

“
The
two best always end up fighting,
”
Cormac said.
“
That
’
s how it works. But when the two
best trained together for years, rose up together, and were brothers
…
that
’
s a big deal.
”

“
You
mean money.
”

“
Fucking
right. Lots of money. Well over seven figures in deals.
”

“
So
what happened? No, wait, let me guess. The woman in the picture.
”

“
Bingo,
”
Cormac said.

“
It
’
s always a woman that ruins friendships
and stuff.
”

“
Whoa,
take it easy with assumptions.
”

“
Then
tell me.
”

“
It
’
s not my place to do that,
”
Cormac said.
“
Sorry.
”

I left the kitchen with nothing
else to say to him. I wasn
’
t
going to play a run around game. It probably wasn
’
t
my business anyway. Time was running out on everything in my life. Just
listening to myself talk about Sasha brought forward the reality of it all. I
was a damn fool for trying to find her. She had to be dead. She had gone off
with Zander
’
s crew and that
was it. She probably got into drugs or maybe sold herself and then got killed.
All I had to do was stay out of it. But I couldn
’
t
let it go. Sasha was all I ever had in life. My sister. The motherly figure.
Not to mention the twin connection, which, by the way, I figured had to be
bullshit. I thought if I tried really hard, I could somehow find her. Like some
kind of secret sense only twins had.

Yeah fucking right.

“
You
could be pissed off at me,
”
a voice said behind me.

It was Cormac.

“
Doesn
’
t matter,
”
I said.
“
You
’
re not going to tell me a thing.
Finn won
’
t talk. He just
comes at me with these eyes
…
I think maybe for a second it
’
s
real but then he gets mad and leaves. He either breaks a table or breaks me
with his words.
”

“
Christ,
”
Cormac said with a slight roll
of the
r.
“
I
’
m sorry about that. Here
’
s what I can and will tell you,
Shayna. He built this cabin for a woman. He had a straight life to live with
that woman.
”

“
I
already heard everything you said,
”
I said as I turned.
“
You
two were close. You were fighters. You won everything. You were going to fight
each other and be rich.
”

“
Aye.
That
’
s right. We were going
to have the entire thing build up for a year. We were going to train for our
fight together.
”
The
word together sounded
like
‘
togedder
’
…
“
But
it all slipped away. It crashed so hard, so fast, I sometimes blame myself for
not being the bigger fighter and the bigger man to carry Finn through the
darkness.
”

Cormac
’
s voice was almost poetic, sounding like
‘
trew da
’
dahkness
’
when he spoke. He
blinked fast and then cleared his throat.

Was he crying?

Then his eyes met mine. His blue
eyes were glistening.

“
All
because of a woman?
”
I
asked.

“
You
see, Shayna, not just any woman. It wasn
’
t
what you think. Aye, both of us loved her with all our hearts. But for different
reasons.
”

“
What
does that mean?
”

Cormac stepped toward me and put a
hand to my shoulder.
“
She
was my sister, Shayna. That
’
s
why I loved her. And for Finn
…
he
’
s still not done
grieving her death.
”

23.

(Finn)

The punching bag was a gift from my
trainer before he died. He insisted I take the old beat up thing and keep it
forever. I was going to toss the damn thing, but then I got a call that he had
cancer. He died before I could say goodbye, so now each time I punched the bag,
I pictured him yelling at me. Telling me I was too weak. That my head was too
cloudy. That my stance was all wrong.

He was a mean old man, but I loved
him.

I swung my fists as hard as I could
into the bag. It gave way with ease, clouds of dust still pouring from it.
Shit, it had been at least a year since I hit the thing. I had hidden it in the
cabin and while I never forgot about it I never had a use for it.

Until now.

I unleashed on the bag. The chains
at the top rattled. My heart raced faster by the second. And a bottle of whiskey
rested on a stool next to me. I didn
’
t
have time for water. This wasn
’
t
conditioning. I wasn
’
t
fucking training for anything. I was trying to numb the pain in my chest.

I knew both Cormac and Shayna were
watching me and I didn
’
t
give a damn. I stood there in jeans, shirtless, and beat the fuck out of the
heavy bag. They couldn
’
t
understand what I felt inside. Worse yet, the second I looked into Shayna
’
s eyes, I knew she and Cormac
had been talking.

Goddammit.

Part of me would have rather him
fuck her than talking about my life.

About Carrie.

I groaned and threw another fury of
punches. Shit, if this had been an opponent he would have wished for death.
There were no refs in my world. Nobody checking on fighters, making sure things
were regulated. You fucking fought. You fucking fought until you were told to
stop. Because if you didn
’
t
you
’
d get killed.

I threw another killer right and
the bag swung like a massive pendulum, begging for more.

I took a break and grabbed the
whiskey. I threw a good drink back and slammed it down.

“
Hey,
brother,
”
Cormac said.
“
Take a second and talk to me.
”

I spun around. My knuckles were
swollen. I had red marks between my fingers from the capillaries exploding
against the thrust of my punches.

“
What
did you fucking tell her?
”
I asked.

“
Nothing.
I made it clear that it was your story to tell.
”

I looked at Shayna.
“
Yeah?
”

“
Yeah,
”
she whispered.

“
I
don
’
t believe it,
”
I said.

“
Fine
then,
”
Cormac said.
“
What do you want me to say? I
told her the truth about Carrie?
”

“
Don
’
t say that name,
”
I warned.

“
Or
that I fucked her?
”
Cormac
said. He went chest to chest with me.
“
Huh?
Is that what you want? I fucked Shayna while you were gone. Perfect tits, Finn
…”

Tits.

Again with her tits.

I had felt them but never seen
them.

Goddammit.

I pushed at Cormac.

“
No!
”
Shayna yelled.

I threw a right and Cormac backed
away. He guided my hand away and then slapped me in the face. I swung a left
and he ducked. He nodded, smiled, the sick Irish bastard he was, always wanting
to fight.

He swung a right hook and I read it
from a mile away.

I blocked him.
“
Stop showing with your
shoulders,
”
I said.

Cormac threw a jab. I got away just
in time.

I swung two times at him and he
kept his feet moving.

I watched his left shoulder drop.

I waited for it.

He started to throw a punch and I
grabbed his arm. I dropped to my knee and tossed him over my shoulder. He hit
the hard floor with a thud. I twisted his arm and picked up my boot.

“
One
step and I
’
d crush your
nose into your brain,
”
I
said.

“
Aye.
Still got it, huh?
”

I backed up and offered my other
hand, bringing Cormac to his feet.

“
What
the fuck is wrong with you two?
”
Shayna cried out.

“
Nothing,
”
Cormac said.
“
Just brothers fucking around.
”

I punched Cormac
’
s shoulder.
“
Hey. Don
’
t talk about anything, brother. It
’
s my life. It
’
s my story.
”

“
I
did what you asked,
”
Cormac
said.
“
I kept her here. I
kept her safe.
”

I reached back for the bottle of
whiskey and grinned.
“
Now
we drink.
”

I
’
d rather be fucking drunk than deal with the
feelings for my dead girlfriend and the beautiful woman in my life right now.

~ ~ ~

One bottle wasn
’
t enough for me and Cormac. That
wasn
’
t a shock, and I had a
second bottle ready to go for us. I had to give Cormac credit, he could drink
anyone under the table. Even me. From the day I met him, he was a wildfire with
drinking. He didn
’
t do it
often, but when he did, he made it count.

The first time I met him, he was
sleeping at the bar. Next to him was a drop dead gorgeous woman. Blonde hair
with a little ginger tint to it. Bright blue eyes that shined in a poorly lit
bar. I watched her for an hour. Drinking beer after beer, she raised her
eyebrow at any guy that dared to talk to her.

I figured she had to have been with
the guy sleeping.

So I figured, fuck it, you snooze
you lose.

So I went after her.

I found out the sleeping guy was
her brother - Cormac. When she said his name, his head shot up. His eyes
opened. He grabbed for a shot glass and threw it back.

Next thing I knew, me and Cormac
were pounding shots and beers, laughing. For the rest of the night, with each
drink, I ended up closer and closer to the woman at the bar.

Carrie.

Me and Cormac ended up in a fist
fight though. I
’
m not sure
why, but after we each landed a few punches, we laughed, hugged, and declared
each other brothers for life.

We were young and stupid.

I took Carrie home that night and
vowed to never let her out of my arms for the rest of my life.

As I took another drink, I glanced
at Shayna. She was curled up on the couch, listening to me and Cormac tell
dumb, drunk stories. She laughed. She spit fire back at Cormac when he deserved
it. But most of all, with each passing second, she sliced through my anger and
pain like nobody had ever come close to doing before.

See, when it all went wrong, I didn
’
t just lose Carrie. I lost
Cormac for a while too. We ended up at opposite ends of the world
…
him grieving the death of his
sister. Me grieving the death of my girlfriend. And all we wanted was each
other.

It was a bad mess. A real bad mess.

I slammed my fist down on the
table.
“
Goddammit, Cormac.
You bastard.
”

“
What?
”
he asked.

I grabbed his face with my other
hand.
“
I love you, brother.
”

“
Aye,
Christ, Finn. I
’
d rip my
own arm off for ya. You know that.
”

He said
‘
dat
’
…
the more he drank,
the more an Irish accent slipped out.

Get Cormac drunk enough and he
’
d become a blubbering fool where
nobody could understand what he was saying.

Cormac and I stared each other down
for a few seconds. Mentally we were tearing each other apart over Carrie. There
wasn
’
t a thing to say or do
about it. I always knew if we sat down and talked about it we
’
d end up drunk and fighting. The
kind of fight we were supposed make millions on.

I finally broke away from Cormac
and looked at Shayna.
“
Tell
me about your sister some more.
”

“
Are
you serious?
”
she asked.
“
You want to kill the night like
that?
”

“
What
’
s wrong with her sister? Does
she look like you, Shayna?
”

“
We
’
re twins,
”
Shayna said.

“
Good
Christ,
”
Cormac said and he
stood up. He lost his balance for a second.
“
Good
Christ in hell. Twins?
”

“
Stop
it,
”
I said.
“
They
’
re not identical twins. And her sister is missing,
you asshole.
”

“
Ah,
fuck,
”
Cormac said.
“
My apologies, Shayna.
”

“
It
’
s okay,
”
Shayna said.
“
Look,
I
’
ve made my peace with it.
She
’
s gone. She has to be
dead. Messing around with Zander
’
s
crew
…
nothing good could
ever come of that. She was so far away from the woman I knew. I just have to
remember what she did for me growing up.
”

“
Aye,
that
’
s heavy,
”
Cormac said.

“
You
have no idea where she could be?
”
I asked. I was dead drunk but when I focused on Shayna, everything felt sober.
“
You have to have something,
sweetie.
”

“
She
ran off with his crew,
”
Shayna said.
“
When I got
close to Zander, he said her name a few times, but I never got any information
about it. She was running for him though. I know that. She wasn
’
t like me.
”

“
Like
you?
”
Cormac asked.

“
She
’
s engaged to Zander,
”
I said.
“
Head of a crew.
”

“
Holy
shit. That
’
s got to be a
bad thing
…
I mean, Finn,
you
’
re fooling around with
some big guy
’
s fiancee.
”

“
Yeah,
I
’
m a dead man walking,
”
I said. Then I smiled.
“
But it
’
s goddamn worth it.
”

Shayna
’
s cheeks instantly turned red.

“
Aye,
”
Cormac said.
“
You two are trouble together.
”

“
Finn,
”
Shayna said,
“
let it go about Sasha. I have to
accept she
’
s gone. And if
she
’
s not really gone, she
can
’
t be in a good place.
Right?
”

I nodded.
“
If that
’
s
what you want.
”

“
What
I want is sleep,
”
she said.

I watched her casually get up from
the couch. She lingered for a few seconds as though she wanted me to touch her,
wish her goodnight, or tuck her into bed. All I did was give her a head nod.
Maybe it was better if we tried to strip away anything between us. Get through
tonight and start fresh tomorrow. Hopefully that meant without Fiore showing up
and putting a gun to my head.

Shayna walked away and Cormac
started to chuckle.

“
What
’
s so funny?
”
I asked.

“
Yer
checking out her ass.
”

“
You
weren
’
t?
”

“
Oh,
I was. She
’
s got a nice
ass, brother. A real nice ass. I
’
m
wondering why you
’
re not in
there
…
getting it.
”

I raised an eyebrow.
“
Christ, Cormac, you know why I
built this place. How can I
…”
I gritted my teeth.
“
I never
had a woman in here before. It wasn
’
t
the place for that. Nothing ever had meaning. Besides her.
”

Cormac put a hand to my shoulder
and squeezed tight. Each one of his chubby Irish fingers felt like the tip of a
hammer digging into my muscle.

“
Let
me tell you something,
”
he
said.
“
Something about this
one has gotten you twisted up. It
’
s
a good thing to see.
”