Game (23 page)

41.

(Finn)

I stood in front of a crackling
fire. The story told to me was enough to make me sick. Fiore had set up Antonio
to be killed by Zander. After bringing Antonio into the family to marry Mara, Antonio
wanted more power. He wanted to fight harder against Zander, which Fiore was
against. Why? Because Fiore and Zander had a hidden relationship. They pushed
gently when needed to make the feud seem alive and well.

Baby Luca really was sick and he
was not supposed to be in the car that night.

The plan was supposed to go like
this
…

A little after two in the morning,
Fiore was going to call Antonio and tell him he
’
d
been shot. Zander was on the loose and Antonio needed to get to Fiore fast.
Then he
’
d lure Antonio to
the intersection where he
’
d
meet his fate. A car would stop and a woman, appearing to be drunk, would get
out and cause a stir. Antonio would get out of the car and threaten to kill
her. There would be about a minute to have someone else come and plant the bomb
under the car.

Fiore fought Antonio on the phone
about baby Luca being sick. Antonio - being a good father - insisted on getting
the infant to the hospital right away. After all, an extremely high fever was
dangerous for a baby.

Because of the channels of
communication created by Fiore to distance himself from the pending
assassination of his son-in-law, there wasn
’
t
enough time to call the hit off. Which meant not only did Antonio perish in the
attack, but so did baby Luca.

“
My
innocent child,
”
Mara said
as she wiped away a tear.

She was shaking and I put my hand
out to touch her arm. She wiggled away from me.

“
No,
”
she said.
“
I can take care of myself.
”

“
I
don
’
t get this,
”
I said.
“
Why wait until now
…”

“
The
family,
”
Mara said. She
sniffled.
“
The goddamn
family has been deciding on the fate of my father. It
’
s not like the movies, Finn. It
’
s not a quick thing. There
’
s so much that happens and it
goes so far, you wouldn
’
t
believe it. I had to grieve my loss and hold it together. I refused to speak to
him for years because of it. That
’
s
what kept him on edge. Then he decided to get you involved. Thinking you could
make it right by giving a baby to him. To me. He
’
s
insane, Finn.
”

“
I
see that,
”
I said.
“
He killed my best friend.
”

“
He
killed my only child.
”

You win.

“
I
’
m so sorry,
”
I said. I put my hand to her
arm and she didn
’
t shake me
away.
“
I can
’
t believe it.
”

“
I
did like you,
”
Mara said.
“
I used to think about you a lot.
You were the ultimate fantasy for me, Finn. You were bad. You were a fighter.
You were tough. You weren
’
t
Italian. You were so bad
…”
Mara
smiled.

I hurried to let her go.

“
It
would never happen,
”
I
said.
“
I would never do
that to Fiore. Or your family. You deserved better. You still deserve better.
”

Mara turned to face me. She touched
my face and her bottom lip quivered.
“
You
’
re going to help me.
”

“
Why?
Fiore thinks I
’
m dead. I
’
m free now.
”

“
What
about Shayna? Don
’
t you
love her?
”

“
Yeah.
I do.
”

“
Then
you need to save her. Get her out of the life.
”

“
How?
”

“
Me,
”
Mara said.
“
I
’
m
going to make it happen. And you
’
re
going to do me a favor in return.
”

“
Name
it. Anything.
”

“
I
know who helped to kill Antonio and Luca. The woman. I know who she is. I don
’
t know where she is. But when I
find out, you have to kill her. It can
’
t
be family.
”

“
Mara
…
I
’
m
a fighter, not a murderer.
”

“
If
you want to save Shayna and have a chance at living a life
…”

“
Fine,
”
I said.
“
Just tell me what we need to do. Fiore has a fight
for me, but he thinks I
’
m
dead.
”

Mara put her other hand to my face.
She moved to her toes and our eyes met.
“
That
’
s why you
’
re going to show up and fight. You
’
re going to win. You
’
re going to make me a lot of
money because I bet on you.
”
Mara inched closer. Her lips brushed mine for a second.
“
Then it
’
s
all going to come crashing down, Finn. You
’
ll
get her, I promise. Just tell me you
’
ll
end my suffering.
”

“
Okay,
”
I said.
“
Okay, Mara. I
’
ll
do whatever you need.
”

“
All
I have right now is a name. But I
’
ll
find her. And you
’
ll kill
her.
”

Then Mara gave me the name.

Sasha.

That was Shayna
’
s sister.

Was I going to have to kill
Shayna
’
s
sister?

~ ~ ~

Things with Mara stayed cool. Which
was good. She was a beautiful woman with a broken heart. I did not intend on
messing with her or her heart. My love was contained for only Shayna. And I had
to get her back. Make sure she was alive. Safe. With me.

Mara kept in contact with her
mother.

The entire family was preparing for
tonight.

I climbed into the back of the SUV
and sat there.

Mara got in the other side.

There was a driver and he put up a
black window that separated the front from the back.

That
’
s
when Mara turned to me.
“
Just
once.
”

“
What?
”

“
You
and me, Finn. You
’
re
…”

I turned to her and touched her
face.
“
Mara, listen to me.
When this smoke clears you
’
re
going to be okay. I had no idea you were living this life and this lie. You
cannot get involved with a guy like me. Ever. And I
’
m in love with Shayna. It
’
s not a joke. It
’
s
as real as anything I
’
d
ever felt.
”

Mara reached for my hand and took
it. She pulled it toward her chest.

I remembered watching Mara grow up.
From a pretty young woman into a sultry adult. She had some obvious work done
to her body, mainly where she had my hand going.

I twisted my wrist away from her.
“
No, Mara. You
’
re not in the right state of
mind. You
’
ll regret it
forever. I won
’
t do it. I
’
m committed to Shayna.
”

I
’
m committed? When the fuck have I ever been
committed? Besides Carrie
…

“
You
’
re a good man,
”
Mara said.
“
I
’
m
sorry that because you
’
re
Irish you get treated like scum. You
’
re
not scum, Finn.
”

“
And
you
’
re not some family
princess,
”
I said.
“
You
’
re a strong woman. Never forget that.
”

“
Will
you at least hold my hand for a little while?
”

“
Yeah,
sure,
”
I said.

I didn
’
t interlock my fingers with hers, but I held her
hand.

We sat in silence for a few
minutes.

“
Finn?
”
she asked.

“
What?
”

“
This
entire thing
…
it
’
s on your shoulders.
”

“
How
so?
”
I asked.

Mara looked at me. She smiled and
had the same cute dimples I always remembered.
“
Don
’
t fucking lose this fight.
”

“
I
won
’
t,
”
I said.

Sure
…
no pressure, right?

42.

(Shayna)

My stomach was empty. I was lucky
enough to get some soda and that helped a little to calm my stomach and nerves.
The two men with guns were called off me. Fiore took me outside the office and
I looked down at the circle. Two guys were fighting. The crowd was getting
rowdy. The one guy in the circle was taking a beating. His face looked like
mush but he was still going at it.

“
They
’
re all going to be pissed when
there
’
s no next fight,
”
Fiore said.
“
But a forfeit is a loss. I clean
up.
”

“
Don
’
t they riot?
”
I asked.

“
They
might,
”
Fiore said.
“
We
’
ll
be gone before that happens.
”

My stomach started to flip again. I
gripped the railing and did my best to hold it all in.

The fight came to an end when the
guy getting destroyed finally passed out. He tried throwing a punch, took a hit
to the face, and then toppled down. Someone came into the circle and dragged
him out. Another guy came into the circle with a mop and a bucket.

It wasn
’
t sanitary at all. The water they used to clean the
floor was probably scarier than the blood on the floor.

“
This
is it,
”
Fiore whispered.
“
We
’
re
going to clean up, Shayna. Now here
’
s
your choice. You can walk out of here with me. We
’
re
going to get some food and relax. You
’
re
going to be sedated and properly checked by a doctor of mine. If you
’
re not pregnant, I have men
ready to fix that. I
’
ll
keep you sedated, okay? My gift to you. If you try to resist, I have men ready
to attack. So does Zander. He
’
s
hiding somewhere. You know how he does his business. He will cut off your limbs
and I will make sure a doctor can keep you alive. Your choice.
”

Fiore then stood tall and put a
hand to my back.

A man walked to the middle of the
circle.

“
Are
you ready for the main event?
”
he yelled.

The crowd went nuts. These sick
people were going crazy for a fight involving two men against one.

The man in the circle waved his
hands to calm the crowd. He put a finger to his lips.

“
I
want to yell it,
”
he said.
He slowly turned in circles.
“
I
want to bring you the greatest fucking fight you ever saw. I want blood. I want
teeth shattered on the ground. I want broken fucking bones!
”

The people started to yell again.

When they stopped, the man said,
“
But it
’
s not going to happen tonight.
”

A few
boo
s echoed.

“
You
see, Finn
…
fucking Finn.
The craziest fucking fighter we
’
ve
ever seen. A man who treated it all like some game. Fearless. Finn won
’
t be here tonight.
”

More yells from the people.

“
There
’
s only one thing that could keep
Finn from a fight,
”
the man
said. He made a fist and put it in the air.
“
Death.
”
He let a few seconds pass by.
“
Finn is dead.
”

That got a big stir from the crowd.

Then the place fell silent.

“
Finn
passed away this afternoon in a tragic accident,
”
the man yelled.
“
He will be
forever remembered as a man tough as nails with fists like rocks. A man who
would fight any place, any time. A man
…”
The man bit his fist.
Pretending to cry.
“
Sadly,
this means Finn will have to forfeit the fight. All bets placed have been
recorded and there are no changes. No matter what. Unless Finn rises from the
dead
…”

I couldn
’
t believe my eyes.

Just as the man said it, a figure
stepped into the circle. Black boots. Blue jeans. A black t-shirt hugging thick
muscle. A face like stone, a statue chiseled to perfection.

The man turned and when he saw the
figure, he fell to one knee.

“
What
in the fuck
…
,
”
Fiore muttered next to me.
“
Is that
…”

I fought the urge to smile.

But I did nod.

Yes
…
it was
…
the figure
…
the man
…
it was Finn.