Game (19 page)

I looked at the bathroom door.

It wasn
’
t possible.

Not with Fiore. Not with what he
wanted. There was no escaping it. He wanted to replace a grandchild he lost.

I looked back down to the test.

The result was there.

I was
…

33.

(Finn)

I looked at Fiore and thought about
killing him. It was the first time that really went through my mind. The man
had really done a lot for me, but at the same time, I was just a toy to him. He
’
d throw me into a circle, hope I
’
d win a fight, and then I
’
d get money.

Now, what he was doing to Shayna,
that was just wrong. And it was something that burned deep inside me because I
was the one not only fucking her, but offering myself to her. Meaning I could
be a goddamn father in
…

A few seconds?

“
This
better work,
”
Fiore
remarked.
“
I can
’
t wait any longer.
”

“
Why
not just take him out?
”
I
asked.
“
Jesus Christ,
Fiore, just take Zander out. Find Mara another man. Show her the right way to
grieve.
”

Fiore looked me dead in the eyes.
“
You
’
re nothing but Irish filth, Finn. Like an abandoned
puppy in a sewer, that
’
s
how I found you. I picked you up, cleaned you off, and made you into something.
Don
’
t fucking turn on me.
”

“
I
’
m not,
”
I said.
“
But
Shayna didn
’
t
…”

Fiore grinned.
“
You like her, huh? You like that
body. You like those tits. Of course you do. But you
’
re really falling for her. So you know what else I
’
ll do for you? The moment she
heals from this pregnancy, it
’
s
all yours, Finn. Have ten fucking kids.
”

“
Fiore
…
why?
”

“
Because
Mara wanted you,
”
he
admitted.

Then there was silence. Dead
silence.

His eyes burned at me. The man was
angry at me.

He slowly lifted his gun and jabbed
it against my stomach.

~ ~ ~

“
She
wanted you,
”
Fiore said.
“
Completely unacceptable and
disgusting. My girl? My baby girl? Fucking some dirty Irish fighter?
”

“
I
never touched your daughter,
”
I said.
“
I never would
have, Fiore. You know that.
”

“
That
’
s why I needed Antonio. I
brought him to cure the problem. But he fucked me too.
”

“
How
so?
”

Fiore shook his head.
“
I want Mara to have your child,
Finn. My gift to her. Something she
’
s
always wanted. That
’
s why I
need this to happen now. I get to Zander. I kill him. I give Mara the baby she
wants. I get my grandchild back.
”

“
Think
about what you
’
re saying.
It
’
s crazy talk, Fiore. You
’
re
…”

The bathroom door slowly opened. I
took a risk and smacked Fiore
’
s
hand away. The man looked ready to breakdown and cry. Something was not right
inside his head.

“
Sweetie,
”
I said to Shayna.
“
Tell me.
”

She swallowed hard.
“
Not pregnant.
”

I wasn
’
t sure how to feel. Relieved? Disappointed? My
stomach was in a knot. I hurried to Shayna and grabbed her, hugging her tight.
I felt her start to sob as she tried to hide it. Was she upset? Was she
relieved?

“
This
is not good,
”
Fiore said.
“
Not good at all.
”

I let Shayna go and turned around.
Fiore was right there, the gun still in his hand. I wanted to hit Fiore. I
wanted to fucking kill him.

“
You
have to try harder,
”
Fiore
said.
“
Fuck her twice as
many times as you did already.
”

His eyes were wide.

“
What
the hell is wrong with you?
”
I asked, putting myself way too close to Fiore.

He swung at me, cracking the gun
off my jaw. It hurt a lot and I moved left, trying to catch my balance. I stood
and was ready to throw a left that would send Fiore back in time.

Shayna jumped between us.
“
Wait!
”

“
What?
”
Fiore asked.

“
It
’
s not time yet,
”
she said.
“
Wait
…
from my last cycle
…
it
’
s not enough time. I
mean, it
’
s there, okay? I
feel it. I feel it, Fiore. Like these feelings inside.
”

“
What
are you saying?
”
he asked.

“
If
you look at the box. It says weeks, Fiore. I need to be further along.
”

“
What?
”
I asked.

Shayna nodded.
“
I don
’
t know how to explain it. I feel it though.
”

“
You
feel it,
”
Fiore said. He
reached for Shayna
’
s
stomach and smiled.
“
You
feel it.
”

“
Just
give it time,
”
Shayna
whispered.
“
Not to be gross
but I felt sick this morning.
”

“
Morning
sickness?
”
Fiore asked,
eyes wide.
“
I
’
ll have Marie make you her
famous soup. Best Italian soup you
’
ll
ever have. Eases your stomach and it
’
ll
keep the baby happy.
”

Holy. Shit.

I stood there in shock, watching as
Shayna worked Fiore over. A minute ago we were going to go at it. Now we were
as happy as a family again.

“
Okay,
”
Fiore said.
“
You have two tests, Shayna. Give
it a few days and try again, right?
”

“
Of
course,
”
Shayna said.
“
Yes. I just
…
I don
’
t like using the bathroom in front of other people.
”

Fiore burst into laughter. He
grabbed Shayna
’
s cheeks and
pinched them.
“
You are
something.
”

“
Fiore,
can you leave now?
”
I
asked.

“
No,
”
Fiore said. His eyes were back
on me.
“
You, Finn, have
something to do for me.
”

“
What?
”

“
That
nice truck out there. You think that was free?
”

I hung my head.

Nothing was free. Ever.

“
It
’
s a tough one,
”
Fiore said.
“
Two on one.
”

“
What?
”
Shayna yelled.
“
No.
”

“
Yes,
”
Fiore said.
“
You could take them, Finn. It
’
s drawing tons of interest. It
’
s your
…
it
’
s
your last fight for a while, Finn.
”

“
What
the fuck does that mean?
”
I
asked.

“
I
’
m putting you into
semi-retirement.
”

“
I
’
m a fighter. I fight.
”

“
You
win tonight and it cements you forever, Finn. Simple as that. Then you take
care of this situation. Together. Celebrate back in the cabin and don
’
t come out until there
’
s a baby.
”

Fiore
’
s
phone started to beep. He backed up and pointed at me. He made a gun with his
fingers and shot.

“
Details?
”
I asked.

“
You
’
ll get them. Don
’
t worry, Finn. Don
’
t worry at all.
”

I watched Fiore rush out of the
cabin. I still stood there, my hand cupping a towel over my dick. Shayna was
still in a damn towel.

I turned and looked at her.
“
What did you do?
”

“
I
bought us time,
”
she said.

“
Sweetie,
let me
…”

“
No,
Finn. Someone is going to get hurt.
”

Shayna stormed away, through the
bathroom toward the bedroom. She stopped to look at the pregnancy test again.

Not pregnant.

I shook my head, still unsure what
to feel. We were beyond walking on thin ice. Nothing had worked out. I had no
real plan. All I knew was to fight. To fight my way in and out of situations in
life.

What I wanted was to tell Shayna I
loved her. That she had gotten inside me
…
just like I
’
d gotten inside
her. That I
’
d do anything
to protect her, help her, and find a way through all of this.

Before that, I needed to square up
with Fiore. He was grieving and he needed to realize what he was doing.

I turned, wanting to wrap the towel
around me and then chase after Fiore.

When I turned, there was a man
standing there in a black suit. He wore black gloves.
Before I could make a
sound, something smashed against the side of my head.

34.

(Shayna)

I stepped into the room and shut
the door. I walked to the closet and felt something staring at me. The blinds
were down, the curtains drawn. It was dark in the room, but not completely
dark. I reached for the light switch and had that wild fear of something bad
waiting. Some kind of dumb irrational fear that everyone had once in a while.

I turned on the light and saw a man
in a black suit standing a couple feet away. His hands lunged out at me,
grabbing me. I screamed but was already tight in his grasp. My mind panicked,
wanting to make sure my towel was on me.

“
Don
’
t worry,
”
the man said.
“
I
’
m not here to see you naked. I
just need your legs open for a minute.
”

The man threw me at the bed and
jumped on me. I had no chance to kick, no chance to attack him. He held my
wrists with one hand above my head. His other hand lifted up my towel.

I looked to my right and saw the
bedroom door creep open a little. It was Fiore.

“
It
’
s okay,
”
he said.
“
I
need to be reassured that Finn isn
’
t
shooting blanks. Or that you
’
re
not lying to me. My associate here is more than capable of giving me what I
want. So just relax
…”

I looked at the man on top of me.

What the fuck was about to
happen?

It was pretty obvious but I couldn
’
t believe it.

I threw my head forward, trying to
head butt the guy. But he was smart, fast, and strong.

My body shivered with fear.

My mind wanted to know one thing:
where
was Finn?

35.

(Finn)

I opened my eyes and heard Shayna
scream.

That woke me up even more. I
reached for the wall and then for the floor. My head throbbed and everything
was dizzy. I managed to get to my feet. My towel was on the floor so I grabbed
that and hurried toward the bedroom.

I kicked open the door and saw a
man on top of Shayna. Her legs were sort of in the air, kicking.

I threw the towel over the guy
’
s head and pulled him away from
her. I threw him right back into the wall. He hit with a thundering sound. I
dropped the towel and then threw a right fist at him, cracking him square in
the jaw. His head bounced off the wall again. His eyes started to spin like
tops. I unleashed on him, hitting him as he slid down the wall. I then started
to kick him, using the heel of my foot to crush his face, over and over. Of all
the crazy shit that I had done in my life I had never had to fight a man while
naked.

I stopped kicking him to take a
breath. I grabbed the towel, rolled it up tight, and put it around the guy
’
s neck. I then dragged him from
the bedroom and through the bathroom. I let him go and then stomped on him one
more time for good measure.

I knew what it had been.

Fiore.

An attack on me. On Shayna.

I raced back to the bedroom and
shut the door, locking it this time. I made sure to lock the other door too.
Shayna was sitting up, knees tight to her chest.

She looked right at me, tears
running down her cheeks.
“
He
…”

“
This
is my fault,
”
I said.
“
I
’
m
so sorry. I had no idea Fiore could go this far with it.
”

“
Finn,
what
’
s going to happen?
”

I should have made up an answer. I
should have told her anything she wanted and needed to hear to calm herself a
little. What had just happened was beyond devastating. Not to mention before
that she had been forced to piss on a pregnancy test.

“
I
love you,
”
I said.

The words just slipped out.

I reached for her and she accepted
me. I put my left hand to her face. My right hand touched over her towel, at
her stomach.

“
I
fucking love you,
”
I said.

“
Finn,
I love you too,
”
Shayna
said.
“
But how do we
survive this?
”

I put my head to hers. I couldn
’
t lie to her. Ever.

So I told her the truth.

“
I
don
’
t know.
”

~ ~ ~

“
The
cabin is secure,
”
Fiore
said into the phone.

I looked out the front window and
wanted to scream.
“
I
’
m not fucking doing this
anymore, Fiore. You crossed the line.
”

“
Remember
who the fuck you are,
”
he warned.
“
You scum fighter.
”

“
What
are you going to do? Force me? You want me to do it to her
…
because of your daughter
…”

“
Watch
your mouth,
”
Fiore warned.

“
Fuck
you, Fiore.
”

There was silence.

“
Fuck
me is right,
”
Fiore said.
“
Remember everything I
’
ve done for you, son.
”

“
Son?
You
’
ve never called me that
before.
”

“
That
’
s how I
’
ve treated you. The best I could, considering your
blood.
”

“
You
let one of your guys attack me. Then try to
…
go after Shayna.
”

“
And
you all but killed that man,
”
Fiore said.
“
Which confirms
something.
”

“
What?
”

“
You
’
re in love with Shayna. I didn
’
t ask you to fall for her, Finn.
Just get her pregnant. But maybe this will ease the situation. I
’
d rather not have to kill her
when I take the baby. But I will if I need to. My family comes first. So take
good care of her, Finn. Oh, and don
’
t
forget about that fight.
”

“
Two
on one,
”
I said.
“
Against all odds.
”

How fucking fitting.

“
It
’
s also a bit of a ploy to lure
Zander close again,
”
Fiore
said.
“
So don
’
t fuck anything up. I wouldn
’
t want anything to explode, you
know?
”

I just shook my head even though
Fiore couldn
’
t see.
“
I
’
ll
be there.
”

“
Finn,
this isn
’
t personal,
”
Fiore said.
“
This is all business. And let
’
s not forget how it really
started. You stuck your nose where it didn
’
t
belong. Now I
’
m trying to
clean up the mess.
”

The call went dead before I could
rebut. Not that I had a real argument; Fiore was right. I had gone to that
fight on my own, hadn
’
t I?
I had looked up at Shayna and instantly wanted her more than any other woman I
’
d ever met.

I felt something touch me and
looked down to see two hands sliding around the front of my body. Carrie used
to do it to me. She
’
d
interlock her fingers and pull at me.

But it wasn
’
t Carrie.

Carrie was dead.

It was Shayna. And she didn
’
t interlock her fingers.

“
Finn,
”
she whispered.

“
Sweetie,
”
I said.

“
It
’
s going to get bad, isn
’
t it?
”

I nodded.
“
It is. But we
’
re
going to be together, Shayna. I promise you. No matter what happens, we will be
together. I promise.
”

“
I
like hearing that,
”
Shayna
said.

“
I
like
…”

I saw a pickup truck appear out of
nowhere in the distance. It was going way too damn fast for its own good. I
pushed back from the railing and turned, grabbing Shayna.

The truck swerved to the left, to
the right, and sped toward the cabin.

“
Finn,
”
Shayna said.

“
Get
inside,
”
I ordered.
“
That truck is going
to
crash into the fucking cabin.
”