Game (22 page)

39.

(Finn)

I hated to do it, but I couldn
’
t fucking move. For a second I
thought about pushing back and climbing out from under the truck at the front.
Then I was going to crouch down and make my attack when the guys came by. But
then I heard one of them say something about finding
the body
.

I was the body.

They were looking for me in the
rubble of the cabin.

So I stayed under the truck.

When the two guys made the
discovery, they assumed it was me.

My heart was ripped from my fucking
chest. I stared at the two men as they gave thumbs up, waved, made confirmation
that I was dead. They weren
’
t
fucking looking at me though, were they? They were looking at Cormac. My
brother. My boy. My best damn friend in the world.

I made fists and put them to the
ground. I pushed hard, lifting myself up a little. Small rocks tore into my
knuckles. I wanted to rush out from under the truck and attack. Someone had
killed my best friend. My brother. The only man I knew that would give his life
for me.

And he just did.

Because the two men walked away
from the remains of my cabin.

I slowly turned so I could see out
from under the truck. I had to be careful not to push my luck and get caught.

I saw someone with Shayna.

She was at a big black SUV and was
forced into the vehicle. The other men climbed inside and the vehicle started
to leave.

Watching that SUV drive away was
hard.

Who had Shayna? Who would do this
to my cabin?

There were only two people.

Zander. Or Fiore.

I got out from under the truck and
stood up. I brushed myself off of the dirt and dust. I didn
’
t want to look back at what used
to be my cabin. My hands were tight into fists and I stared. I thought. I tried
to seek logic.

You know the logic, Finn. You
fucking know it
…

“
Fiore,
”
I whispered.

That
’
s
the only thing that made sense.

Was it coincidence that Shayna was
out of the cabin when it blew up? It felt too planned. Like someone wanted
Shayna out and me inside. Whoever blew it up thought I was still inside. They
saw Shayna standing at the tree. They didn
’
t
see me because I was under the truck, checking it for a bomb.

Why would Zander want Shayna alive?

Maybe he wanted to take her and
punish her. Torture her.

But why kill me so fast? Why not
take me and torture me too? Wouldn
’
t
it have made more sense to keep me and Shayna alive? Zander could then go after
Fiore using me and Shayna.

Shayna was saved. On purpose.

Why?

Simple.

The baby.

Fiore thought Shayna was pregnant.
So he killed me and took her. He knew I loved her. He was mad at me for his
daughter having some kind of crush or something on me. The guy was insane.
Completely insane.

And now he had the woman I loved.
The woman who could really be carrying a life inside her.

I took one step and stopped.

That
’
s
when I looked back.

My eyes filled with tears.

~ ~ ~

The contractor tells me I
’
m crazy. The permits have
been wildly expensive. Digging out dirt roads and clearing the trees has been a
big pain in the ass. Only a crazy person would spend what I
’
m spending on a cabin in
the middle of the woods. Yeah, there are tons of spots to build cabins. Easier
spots.

But this is the spot.

This is the spot for me and
Carrie to build a cabin and build a life.

End of discussion.

Nothing can change it. Nothing
can ever take that away.

I didn
’
t want to see Cormac - or what was left of him. I
didn
’
t dare get too close
to the rubble. The pain, the anger, the guilt, it all rushed freely through my
body. Cormac was a straight shooter. A good man. A great brother to me.

As the anger built and built,
creating a tower big enough that I wasn
’
t
sure even I could hold, I realized that this was what Cormac secretly waited
for. His own fate. Just like the fate of his sister. Carrie had been killed in
a senseless tragedy. A random car accident that maybe could have been
prevented. Same right now. Cormac didn
’
t
need to be in the cabin when it exploded. He shouldn
’
t have been in there.

When Carrie went, I was told she
felt nothing. There was no suffering. Meaning she was here, then gone,
instantly.

Just like Cormac.

He had been half drunk, hopped up
on aspirin, snoring like a wild animal.

Yeah, maybe it did comfort me a
sliver that he didn
’
t feel
any pain when he went, but it didn
’
t
make it right. Yeah, he had given his blessing for me to love Shayna. He understood
I was moving forward, even if I didn
’
t
realize it.

Christ, it was so much to handle.

I put my back to the truck and
started to feel ill. I took breaths but there wasn
’
t enough air. I wanted to scream. I wanted to punch
something, someone. I knew there were pieces -
literally
- of Cormac
just feet away.

The son of a bitch would never step
into a ring again and fight. He would never knock some dude
’
s jaw backwards. He would never
feel that rush of victory. He would never make tons of money and get drunk and
laugh, fight, cry, and hug.

I started to slide down the truck.

My ass hit the ground and I lost
it.

Cormac and the cabin were the last
ties I had to Carrie. I built the damn cabin for her and she never got to see
it. And Cormac was her brother by blood and my brother by fight.

They were gone.

It was all gone.

Except Shayna.

Fiore had her now. I couldn
’
t go up against a boss. My boss.
A guy who had rich Italian blood with connections that were sick. For fuck
’
s sake, he had somehow managed
to rig up my cabin and make it implode!

But that didn
’
t mean the game was over. The
fight wasn
’
t over.

I just needed
…

I picked my head up from between my
knees and I saw legs. Beautiful, dark legs. Blood red heels. A black skirt. My
eyes kept going and going and going.

“
Finn.
I hope you
’
re not quitting
on me now. If you want to see  Shayna again alive
…
and get out of this
…
stand
up and be ready to fight.
”

I blinked a few times to make sense
of what I was seeing.

It was Fiore
’
s daughter - Mara.

40.

(Shayna)

I sat in a big office chair. It was
comfortable leather with a high back to it. My hands held the arms tight. Two
men - one on each side of me - stood there with guns on me. Fiore made it clear
that if I tried anything, he
’
d
hurt me. I asked about the baby, if he would really kill me, and he smiled. He
didn
’
t respond, which
scared me even more.

We were at the fight, waiting for
it to begin.

Well, not begin, because Fiore
assumed Finn to be dead. And a dead man can
’
t
fight, right?

The door opened and Fiore walked
in. He held the door and in came a short woman. She was a little round, but in
a beautiful, curvy way. Everything she wore was expensive. Her black hair was
curled and pieces of it looked fake. Her face was caked with makeup, obviously
trying to make herself look ten years younger.

“
Oh,
my Marie,
”
Fiore said,
“
I have her right here for us.
”

“
Fiore
…”

Fiore grabbed the woman,
Marie
,
by the arm and squeezed. Marie winced and was dragged to the desk.

“
Shayna,
this is my wife, Marie. Say hello to her right now.
”

“
Hello,
”
I said.

Marie stared but didn
’
t say a word.

“
I
brought her for us,
”
Fiore
whispered.
“
She
’
s almost sure she
’
s pregnant. By Finn. You
remember Finn, right?
”

“
Of
course,
”
Marie said.

“
You
see now? You see my work? I
’
m
going to fix what was wrong. What was taken. What happened cruelly to our
family.
”

“
Fiore
…”

“
No,
”
Fiore growled.
“
Mara has no sense. She thought
she loved Finn
…
but how
could my daughter love a dirty Irish fighter?
”

Love? Finn? Mara?

“
What?
”
I asked.

“
You
don
’
t speak,
”
Fiore said to me.

“
It
was a harmless crush,
”
Marie said.
“
It was a long
time ago.
”

“
I
saw the way he looked at her!
”
Fiore screamed.
“
I saw the
look in his eyes! And her eyes! Your daughter would have become a whore! A
fucking whore!
”

The windows in the room rumbled.

Then there was silence.

Fiore wiped his forehead and then
put his hands out. They were shaking. He pointed at me.
“
Look what we
’
re
getting, Marie. This is going to help us. So you and Mara won
’
t be sad anymore. We can move
on. Move forward. We
’
ll
have a new baby to take care of. The baby we should have never lost.
”

Marie turned to Fiore and touched
his cheek.
“
Okay, Fiore.
Okay. Just stay calm. Why is she here right now? Why are you pointing weapons
at her? She should be resting. Eating. Being cared for.
”

“
That
’
s what I
’
m doing next,
”
Fiore said.
“
I had to get
rid of Finn, Marie.
”

“
You
didn
’
t.
”

“
I
did, my sweet Marie. There was no choice. He fell in love with Shayna. So now
she
’
s ours. I have business
to tend to. Where
’
s Mara? I
want her to see my gift.
”

“
She
’
s not here.
”

“
Why?
”
Fiore growled.

“
She
’
ll be here soon,
”
Marie said.

Her voice was soft and soothing. It
seemed to calm Fiore down.

Marie looked at me but didn
’
t say a word. She then walked
with Fiore out of the office. My stomach sank again.

Just how fucking sick was this
family?

Fiore
’
s
wife just heard what he had done and what he planned on doing and she did
nothing. She did absolutely nothing.

I lowered my head and wanted to
cry.

The door opened again a few seconds
later.

“
She
’
s right here,
”
Fiore said.

I lifted my head, feeling
desperate.

Who wanted to see me now?

The person then appeared in the
doorway. He took up the entire doorway. The second he saw me, he chuckled. That
chuckle had become something of a nightmare for me.

My breath was stolen, but I managed
to say one word. His name.

“
Zander.
”

~ ~ ~

The door was shut. Fiore and Zander
stood there, side by side. They were supposed to be hated enemies. Zander was
the one who killed Fiore
’
s
grandchild and son-in-law. They should not have been standing next to each
other.

“
There
she is,
”
Zander said.
“
My little prize. My fiancee.
”

I saw the flicker of light in Fiore
’
s eyes.

“
Fuck
yourself,
”
I said.
“
I was never your anything. I was
just looking for my sister!
”

Zander laughed. Maybe he knew what
that meant, maybe he didn
’
t.

“
See,
this is what family can do,
”
Fiore said.
“
We can set
aside some pesky annoyances for the better good.
”

“
What
does that mean?
”
I asked.

“
Our
families will forever be at war,
”
Zander said.
“
But you,
Shayna, you are the prize that we both wish to obtain, for now.
”

Zander rolled his
r
’
s in a way that made me shiver.
His eyes narrowed into two tiny slits. There was death in his eyes.

“
I
’
m replacing what I lost,
”
Fiore said.
“
Because it
’
s the right thing to do. You
have Italian heritage, Shayna. I see it in your eyes, your face, small little
features. A blood  sample can let me hopefully trace you all the way back to
the old country. And that life inside you will repair my family.
”

“
He
killed your family!
”
I
cried out.
“
And you
’
re letting him stand there!
”

Zander made a fist and hit the
desk.
“
I kill no one!
”

“
It
’
s okay,
”
Fiore said and touched Zander
’
s shoulder.
“
Remember - the greater good, my
friend.
”
Fiore looked at
me.
“
We have some business
to tend to for now. But it
’
s
going to be amazing what happens from here on out. You
’
re going to give me a replacement child and then
you
’
re going to give
yourself to Zander.
”

“
No,
”
I said.
“
It won
’
t
work. I
’
ll scream. Fight.
Yell.
”

“
You
don
’
t need a tongue to be
pregnant,
”
Zander said.
“
Or hands. Or arms. Or legs.
”
His eyes flared with
excitement.

“
See,
between the two of us,
”
Fiore said,
“
we can afford
medical care that nobody would ever know about. So if you get out of line, you
lose something. But not your life and not the life inside you.
”

I felt sick. My lips started to
quiver and I quickly looked left to right, needing somewhere to get sick. I
couldn
’
t make a move or
else I
’
d get hurt. So I
chose left, turned my head, and let loose.

“
Oh,
this is going to be great,
”
Fiore said.

“
Yes,
”
Zander growled.
“
Yes, it is.
”

He leaned down and looked at me. I
felt and looked like death.

“
You
do look like her,
”
Zander
whispered.
“
I should have
known better than to trust you. But I thought you would take me to her.
”

“
Who?
”

“
Sasha,
”
Zander said through gritted
teeth.
“
She fucked me. You
think I didn
’
t know? I made
you mine to get to her. Then you left me for that fighter. Now I see truth. I
see lots of truth.
”

“
You
knew I was Sasha
’
s sister?
”
I asked.

“
She
fucked me. Then you fucked me. Now I fuck everyone.
”

Zander turned and tore open the
door.

I looked at Fiore. He shook his
head.
“
It was my fault,
really. I should have been more careful. I couldn
’
t
call the hit off soon enough, Shayna. It was supposed to be Antonio in the car.
Not my grandchild. Not my little Luca. But it was your sister who distracted
Antonio. She was the one who did it. Remember that. She killed Antonio and my
grandson. Then she ran. Disappeared. No more. No more, Shayna. We will now get
what we want.
”

Fiore left the office too.

And there I was, alone, with two
men with two guns pointed at me. The guy on my left was wiggling his foot,
shaking my vomit loose.

I started to piece it together and
it made me even sicker.

I turned my head to the right this
time, throwing up again.

My only hope
…
my only wish
…
my only prayer
…

Please make sure Finn runs away
from me, and all this mess.