Game

by London Casey

  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.

  17.

  (Finn)

  I got into the truck and slammed the door.

  What the fuck are you doing, Finn?

  I had no purpose touching her face, her hair, none of that shit. Especially doing it in the cabin. Not the goddamn cabin. Never. That wasn’t what the cabin was for.

  Shayna needed to get pregnant? Yeah, sure, I could figure that out. Just take her outside or toss her in the bed of the truck and go at it. That I could do. That I could enjoy.

  But inside the cabin?

  Christ, bad enough I had already touched her in the bedroom. Put her against the bathroom door and…

  “Fuck,” I growled.

  The living room. The fireplace. A fire behind me. Her in front of me.

  None of it was supposed to go down like it did. It was me and Cormac together. We were the biggest and best fighters around. For each match he won, I won. We fought through everyone and everything, together. Rumors had been spreading like wildfire about me and him going at it. The ultimate main event. Two best friends, training together for years, finally fighting.

  We agreed to hold off on it.

  We had good reason because we were goddamn family. Close as brothers and damn near ready to be that. There was a plan in place for everything, too. Always a plan. Cormac loved to plan things. He loved to piece it all together and feel good about it. Then I watched all those pieces fall apart. One by fucking one.

  I grabbed the keys and started the truck.

  Now what?

  What was I going to do? Drive away? Leave Shayna to herself?

  We were stuck together. We were supposed to just crash for the night and game plan tomorrow.

  I thought about leaving until I saw Shayna rushing toward the truck.

  Her silhouette danced in the headlights and then I saw her getting closer. Her hair danced out behind her. Wearing a t-shirt. Wearing those damn jeans that held perfectly at her hips. She got to the truck and I rolled down the window.

  “I’m not leaving,” I said. “I just…”

  “It is because of this?” she asked.

  A second later, something hit my lap. When I looked down I knew what it was. I didn’t need to fucking see it.

  “Where did you find that?” I asked.

  “It fell out of a picture frame you broke,” Shayna said. “You want me to tell you everything? I will. Anything you want, Finn. But why can’t you do the same?”

  I looked at her. “It’s none of your fucking business. You ran into this mess, not me.”

  “You’re supposed to fuck me, Finn. Get me pregnant, right?”

  “Go inside and go to fucking bed,” I said.

  “No. Maybe I’ll go call Zander. Tell him everything. How does that sound?”

  I grinned. “You do that, sweetie. Call up Zander right fucking now. Tell him anything you want. But I can promise you this… whatever Fiore wants, he gets. I’m your safest bet no matter what. And if you fuck with me or fuck with Fiore, you’re going to end up dead. Trust me, it won’t just be a bullet through the back of your head either. Oh, no. It’ll be much worse than that.”

  Shayna just stared at me. “Who was she?”

  “Leave it be.”

  “Where is she now? Is that why you’re like this, Finn? Why you’re one second okay and the next second kicking over end tables?”

  “Go inside,” I said through gritted teeth.

  “Did you love her? Did you use her? What happened?”

  I looked at Shayna. “Don’t fucking try to be anything other than what you are, sweetie.”

  “Which is what?” she asked.

  “A pussy to fuck,” I said. “That’s why you’re with me. I need your pussy and you need my dick. That’s the only way we can survive. So unless you’re going to bend over, shut your mouth, and open your legs, then get the fuck away from me.”

  That did it.

  Shayna’s eyes went wide. I could see the tears in her eyes, even in the darkness. She hugged herself and walked away. I watched her walk away, like a damn fool. I could not get involved. Not again. Not that same road. Not that same destination.

  When Shayna was out of sight, I grabbed the picture and opened it.

  It was taken right where the cabin stood now.

  Shayna had found my darkest secret.

  She had found out that my heart was not only capable of loving, but also capable of shattering.

  18.

  (Shayna)

  I slept soundly without so much as a flicker of a dream. I woke to find someone at the end of the bed. And it wasn’t Finn.

  I gasped and jumped back, sitting straight up. The room spun a few times because of the blood rush. My heart pounded.

  A hand reached out with a gun in it.

  All my mind could think was one thing - Zander.

  He’d found me. He’d found us.

  I looked to the door.

  Finn was out there.

  Oh, shit.

  That meant Finn was dead. If Zander attacked, there would be no survivors. He and his crew prided themselves off creating bloody scenes. They’d kill someone and then shoot them a hundred more times just to make a bigger mess. They made it so the crime scenes were nightmares.

  The person at the end of the bed turned.

  It wasn’t Zander after all.

  It was Fiore.

  Finn’s boss.

  “Good morning,” he said. “Did you sleep well?”

  I exhaled. “Yeah, sure. Right. Good morning to you.”

  Fiore eyed me and then smirked. “A little cold in here?”

  I looked down and gasped. The t-shirt pulled against my breasts tight and my nipples were pressing through. Thankfully I at least had clothes on. Well, I didn’t have any pants on, but the lower half of my body was under the covers.

  I grabbed the sheet and pulled it up to my chin.

  “Sorry, couldn’t help myself,” Fiore said. “Is Finn treating you well?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good. You two busy at work?”

  I swallowed hard. I didn’t want to lie to Fiore. Not without Finn and I agreeing on some kind of plan.

  “If you’re asking…”

  “How many times did he fuck you last night?”

  Ohmygod…

  My cheeks started to burn. I pulled the covers tig
hter to my body. I felt so uncomfortable with Fiore at the end of the bed. Yet he was there, staring at me.

  He then let out a little laugh. “Well, I’ll just have to assume for now. But don’t worry, I’m not against checking on things.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough,” he said. He then turned and brought his right leg to the bed. He leaned at me and touched my leg over the covers with his right hand. “I know Finn told you my story.”

  I nodded. “I’m very sorry about what happened.”

  “See, the thing with apologies and grieving and all that… it gets you nowhere. So what’s the fucking point? Zander had a plan and it worked.” Fiore gently clapped his hands together. “I applaud him for that. Sometimes defining what’s ours creates bloodshed. It’s no different than what our ancestors fought for years ago. The battles for land, territory, promise, and purpose. Kings staring across the land. It’s just a different time now. The fight is different, the war is the same.”

  “I can help,” I said. “I can get Zander to come here. You can get him. Kidnap him and do…”

  “Shhh…,” Fiore said. “I already know what I want. I don’t go against my initial instinct. I did that once and it ended up with my poor Luca leaving this world. Did you know that?”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  “See, Mara always came to me. Even after she got married and had Luca. That father daughter relationship is something special. Were you close with your father, Shayna?”

  “No,” I said. “I never met him.”

  “See, now that’s a damn shame. That’s a real damn shame. But anyway, the night poor Luca was sick, Mara called me. I could hear my grandson crying in the background. The poor guy was in pain. I told her to stay put and let me get a doctor to come to her. No need to leave the house at two in the morning. But Antonio insisted on driving Luca. He said he could get there quicker. I wasn’t happy about it, but I trusted Antonio. And little did I know Zander had been waiting for Antonio to leave the house. The last sound I ever heard of Luca wasn’t his giggle. It wasn’t the way he made bubbles with his lips. It was the crying of my grandson, in pain.”

  I saw the look in Fiore’s eyes. This wasn’t a normal man. The death of his son-in-law and grandson had him teetering on insanity. True insanity.

  “I knew nothing of it,” I whispered. “I mean, of what Zander did and when.”

  “I’m not blaming you,” Fiore said. “You wanted to get away from him and now you’re helping me with this war.”

  “Do you understand… getting pregnant…”

  Fiore stood from the bed, gun in hand. “People have babies all the time. Mara is still grieving. Marie insists on leaving her be for now. So my chances of another grandchild are very slim. But I can welcome a baby into my own. I can replace what was lost.”

  “It won’t replace your bloodline,” I said, taking a chance by talking back to Fiore.

  “You’re right,” Fiore said. “It won’t keep my bloodline going. But it will ease the pain in my family. We will have a child to love and raise. Mara will see beyond the grief of losing Antonio… and then I can bring another man into her life. Not to mention I get to steal life from Zander. Drive him insane before I kill him. Plus, the power of life and love…”

  Fiore just stared off into space. The man was beyond crazy.

  He looked at me. “Understand?”

  “Yeah,” I whispered.

  “Good,” Fiore said. He grabbed at the door. “Now it’s time for some proof.”

  “Some what?” I asked.

  “I want to see it.”

  “See what?”

  Fiore smiled big and his eyes narrowed. “I want proof that my commands are being obeyed. I’m going to watch Finn fuck you, Shayna.”

  ~

  My breath and words were jumbled and stolen. Fiore tore open the door and whistled. A second later Finn appeared in the doorway, a man standing with a gun to the side of his head.

  “You work under pressure, right?” Fiore asked Finn.

  “Jesus Christ,” Finn said. “Are you fucking kidding me, Fiore? After everything I’ve done for you. Come on.”

  “No,” Fiore said with a smile. “You’re going to come in…” He pointed at me. “… in her!”

  Fiore and his thug laughed.

  “Get that dick hard,” Fiore said. “What do you need? You need Shayna naked? You need her to touch herself?”

  I started to shake under the covers.

  Fiore looked at me, waving the gun like it was a laser pointer and I was some kind of exhibit. “Go ahead, Shayna. Tear those covers off. Show it all off. Get your man hard.”

  Get my man hard? Finn was… my man?

  I looked at Finn and my stomach flipped. His words ran through my mind from last night. All I was to him was someone to fuck, right? Fiore was just driving that point home right now.

  I started to push the covers down, trying to wonder if I really had a choice right now. If I didn’t do it, Fiore would. If I didn’t let Finn inside me, then Fiore would have someone else. Not that I didn’t want Finn… just…

  “Come on, come on,” Fiore said. “I don’t have all day. Just get it over with. I want to see it happen. So I know my command…”

  “She can’t,” Finn yelled. “Okay? She fucking can’t.”

  “Why not?” Fiore asked. “She have a dick or something?”

  “She just can’t,” Finn repeated.

  “Give me a reason,” Fiore said.

  I had nothing. My eyes were wide. My cheeks on fire. My body tensed and scared.

  What was Finn doing?

  “She’s… she’s got her thing.”

  “Her thing?” Fiore asked.

  “Her monthly thing.”

  Fiore looked right at me. “You’re bleeding right now?”

  I hurried and nodded. “Yes. It’s my time of the month. Sorry. I was embarrassed to say anything. I didn’t want you to kill me.”

  “Are you lying to me, Shayna?”

  Now I had to get bold. I threw the covers off my body, showing that I was in nothing but a t-shirt and panties. I kept my legs together, tight. I knew everyone watching could see my boobs pressing against the shirt, including my hard nipples.

  “Want to check?” I asked. “Touch me? See if I’m lying?”

  My face got hotter, redder.

  Fiore looked but didn’t approach.

  “She’s not lying,” Finn said. “I have no problem with it, just for the record. I’ll ride that out. You know me, Fiore. Nothing stops my cock.”

  Fiore looked between me and Finn. He raised an eyebrow. “But you just hesitated, Finn.”

  “I don’t want my boss watching me work,” Finn said. “You might use my moves and charm on Marie.”

  “Hey,” Fiore growled. “Nobody talks about my wife like that.”

  “No disrespect,” Finn said. “I’m sorry. I’m… I’m working this, Fiore. She’s all over the place right now. It’s messy.”

  “Cover yourself up,” Fiore said to me. He tugged at his tie. “Finish up with your monthly friend and climb right on top of my friend.” Fiore put a hand to Finn’s shoulder and squeezed. “Right?”

  “Fuck yeah,” Finn said.

  Fiore looked back at me and raised an eyebrow.

  “Yeah,” I said. “I get it. Okay?”

  “She gets it,” Fiore said. “Then my job is done here.”

  With that said and done, Fiore and his thug left.

  Finn ran a hand through his hair and exhaled. “That was close.”

  I climbed out of the bed and stood there. “Go fuck yourself, Finn. You’re never getting me. I don’t care what happens.”

  Anger flooded me and I stormed away to the bathroom.

  I shut the door and tried to be angry some more.

  Then again, Finn had just defended me. He could have listened to Fiore. He could have grabbed me, tore my panties off, and had me. But he didn’t. He lied
to his boss for me.

  Whatever though. I’d thank him for that. It didn’t mean I was going to fall in love with him and have babies.

  Well, I had to have a baby with him… but I definitely wasn’t going to fall in love with him.

  19.

  (Finn)

  I went to the other bathroom door and opened it. Shayna looked surprised to see me. Her face quickly went to defeat. She stood there looking fucking stunning. Her hair was all bed messy. That long shirt and her longer legs.

  Goddamn.

  “That was a close one,” I said.

  “Yeah. Your theory on time doesn’t mean shit,” she spit at me. “He wants you to fuck me and get this going right now.”

  “Well then…”

  I stepped toward Shayna

  She lifted her right foot and swung at me. “I’ll smash your balls up into your throat.”

  “That kind of talk turns me on,” I said.

  “Fuck you. Where’s your fucking picture? Huh? Don’t want to talk about that, do you? Why not? Can’t face your own past?”

  “Watch yourself, sweetie. I’ll give you up to Fiore in a heartbeat.”

  “Then do it,” she said. She grabbed the bottom of her shirt and lifted it up, showing me her panties. “Do it. Call him right now. I’ll tell him the truth then. That I’m not part of Zander’s crew. I’m just some woman. I don’t have his family’s blood. I’m nothing to this world. Then I’ll tell Fiore that you haven’t fucked me yet. That you can’t get it up. I’ll let his guys do anything…”

  She was fucking with me and she was fucking winning. She was getting to me. So much so that I lunged forward at her. My hands slammed against the other bathroom door. I stared down at her. I watched her hold the t-shirt up, showing just below her belly button. One of her hands slid between her legs and touched.

  “Do it, Finn. Listen to your boss. Right?”

  “Not like this,” I said. What the fuck am I thinking right now? Not like this? What did that even mean?

  “You’re afraid. Because of someone else.”

  “Don’t say a word about things you don’t know.”

  “What are you going to do?”