Our Final Tale (Iron Fury MC, #6)

by Jewel, Bella

  “Please, Ellie, I can’t lose him again. Those guys, they’re all I have.”

  There is a broken emptiness in Finn’s eyes, and I wonder what happened to him when Slater was gone. It’s clear as day Lincoln grew hard, and Damon uses humor to cover up his pain, but Finn shows it, he wears it for the world to see. He is damaged, and I guess, in a sense, he’s not afraid of that.

  “What exactly do you want me to do?”

  “To understand. To talk to him. To... I don’t know, let him at least try and make you remember.”

  “And if I don’t remember, that is leading him down an even more painful path.”

  Finn sighs, and runs his hands through his hair. “Yeah, it’s a risk, but...you two...you had something. From day one. It’s there, and it’s a connection I’ll never understand. Maybe, even if you don’t remember, you’ll feel that again and you can...”

  “You’re asking me to hope that I might fall in love with him again,” I whisper, confused. “That’s a big ask, and something that very likely might not happen.”

  Finn exhales. “Look, come and see for yourself, okay. And decide from there. Meet me at the garage tomorrow night, I’ll take you down, you can see him fight, you can see...how fuckin’ broken he is, and maybe then you might change your mind. Can you at least give me that?”

  “You want me to watch him fight?” I gasp.

  “Yeah, I want you to see him raw, I want you to see everything he is and has done...because of how much he loves you.”

  “You’re making me feel guilty...”

  He shakes his head quickly. “Not what I’m trying to do, but you’re the only chance we have. Please, Ellie, will you come and watch, just give me that. If you’re terrified and don’t want a bar of it, I won’t push you anymore. I’d never put you in danger, I just...please? You have to see.”

  I take a shaky breath, and stare at him. I kind of feel guilted into it, and yet, at the same time, I feel like it’s the least I can do. After all, they’re all keeping me safe, I can at the very least, give them something back.

  “Okay, I’ll meet you there.”

  Finn nods. “Thank you, I really appreciate it.”

  I nod, and turn.

  Finn calls out my name.

  I turn and glance at him.

  “I really missed you, Ellie.”

  And that hits me like a damned sledgehammer to the heart.

  It feels like I’m the glue that binds all these boys together, like I was the only thing holding them as one.

  And it makes me even more frustrated that I can’t remember.

  Because now...now I want to remember.

  So I can stick their broken pieces back together.

  ~*~*~*~

  THEN – SLATER

  “Happy Birthday, Ellie!” Damon grins. “The big eighteen, how does it feel?”

  Ellie grins, her hair flowing in thick curls around her shoulders.

  “It feels pretty damned good.”

  “We got you something,” Finn says, stepping forward. “Slater picked it. Although I’m not supposed to tell you that, because you’re not supposed to know just how much he likes you.”

  I shoot Finn a look, and he throws me a grin.

  Finn doesn’t smile a lot.

  But since Ellie, he’s smiling so much more.

  And it’s so damned good to see, because maybe she’s just what he needs, something to bring the light back into his world.

  Ellie smiles, and her eyes flash to mine. Her cheeks get red. They’ve been doing that a fuck of a lot lately when she looks at me. And things are a whole lot harder now I know she’s eighteen. Now I know I can have her. But fuck, I know I have to stay away. I’m no good for her, she’s better off with Damon, or Finn.

  But the thought of that nearly sends me into a rage.

  “You picked this?” she asks me.

  I shrug. “All of us did, open it.”

  She opens the box Damon placed in her hands, and stares for a while, for a long while. She just looks at the inside of the box. And then, she starts to cry. She blinks a few times, and then starts crying even more.

  “Shit,” Damon says, “You made her cry Slater.”

  “I didn’t make her cry,” I mutter. “Fuck.”

  “Someone do something,” Finn sounds panicked.

  “For the love of god, you men have no fuckin’ idea how to handle women,” Lincoln says, strolling into the room. He walks right over, and jerks Ellie into his arms, giving her a big hug. “Happy birthday, sweetheart. You’re part of the family now. We don’t know what we’d do without you.”

  She hangs onto Lincoln, and a funny jealous feeling burns in my chest, but I shove it away. She’s too young for me. She deserves better.

  “Thank you so much,” she says, pulling away from Lincoln and swiping at her eyes, and then she pulls out the necklace that I picked for her, and hands it to me, fingers outstretched, wanting me to put it on.

  I walk over, heart racing, and she turns, lifting her hair, sending a waft of that fuckin’ incredible smell my way. Honey, and vanilla, and her own unique scent. I reach around in front of her, and then bring the necklace around her neck, clipping it up. I let my fingers graze her skin as I do, and I don’t miss how it prickles beneath my touch. Fuck. I have to get out of here, or I’m going to do something I’ll regret.

  “Happy Birthday, darlin’,” I say, stepping back.

  She turns, reaching down and picking up the pendant in her hand, cradling it and staring at it. “What does it mean?”

  I picked a string of flowers, all intertwined, winding down in a long stem down her neck, almost dipping into her cleavage. That part was accidental, though I don’t regret it now. There are five flowers.

  “Five flowers, all joined. You figure it out.”

  I turn and face Lincoln, and Ellie’s soft voice fills my ears. “We’re family now, Slater Knight. I think that’s what it means.”

  We’re a fuck of a lot more than family. At least, I wish we were.

  “Exactly,” I murmur.

  Then I follow Lincoln as he walks out. He gave me a look when he came into the room, a look that said he wanted to talk with me. Now we’re out in the hall, he turns to me. “Gotta talk, you won’t like it.”

  My chest clenches.

  “Dad’s bills have come in, you were right, we can’t swing it. But, I’ve found a way...”

  Fuck.

  I don’t like how that sounds, not at all.

  “What do you mean you’ve found a way?” I question.

  “Got a few jobs to do, will pay the bills, get us ahead. Lettin’ you know, because...I might not be here, and need you not to worry.”

  Jobs.

  Fuck.

  “What sort of jobs, Lincoln? Fuck me, are you selling?”

  His eyes flash around, checking to make sure we can’t be overheard, then he meets my gaze again. “It’s basic work, it’ll pay the bills.”

  “It’s never basic fuckin’ work,” I growl. “You get into that shit, you don’t get out.”

  “It’s a small job,” he hisses, “And I’ve told them I’ll only be doing it once.”

  “Bullshit, until the next bill comes in, and then you’ll do it again. Selling hooks people, Lincoln, they make big money and they don’t want to stop.”

  “What other fuckin’ option do we have?” he whisper hisses. “You fuckin’ give me one, Slater, because I don’t have one.”

  “We get dad out, and do round the clock care until he’s clean. Don’t let him out of our sight. Lock him in a room if we have to. Some fuckin’ thing.”

  “That’ll never work and you know it. We’ve tried it, but we have to work, both of us, to keep this house afloat. So dad gets left alone, and it’s too much for Damon and Finn to handle.”

  “Then we fuckin’ sell this damned house!”

  “Fuck you, Slater. This house is all we have left of mom.”

  “Yeah,” I bellow, losing my shit. “And I’m sur
e this is what she would want for you. I’m fairly certain she’d prefer you to give up the fuckin’ house before you-”

  Lincoln grabs my shirt and slams me against the wall, so hard I lose my breath. Rage flares through my veins and I shove back at him. Swinging, I hit him in mouth so hard his jaw cracks and blood spurts forth. He bellows in a rage and throws his fist, hitting me right back. My head swings to the side and blood fills my mouth. I spit it and spin, raising my fist, but Ellie’s voice breaks through the tension.

  “If you hit him again, Slater Knight, I’m going to hit you! Now stop it!”

  I glance over at her, panting, fist in the air, and she’s standing at the door, arms crossed, looking terrified, yet she’s trying not to show it. Finn and Damon are behind her, both staring at us, both bitterly disappointed. We’re supposed to be their role models, and this is how we’re behaving. Fuck. I drop my fist and stare at Lincoln, who is panting, his eyes meet mine, and fury passes between us, but we don’t say anymore.

  We’ll agree to disagree.

  For now.

  But I won’t let this go easily.

  “I need space,” I mutter, walking out of the room.

  I need to figure this out.

  I have to fix this.

  Otherwise my family is going to sink.

  And I won’t let that happen.

  ~9~

  NOW – ELLIE

  I should have told Erin I was coming here. Instead I told her I was meeting Amalie for a coffee and not to wait up. She’ll wait up. Hell, she’ll call soon just to check on me. I should have been honest, but I know she’d tell me I was crazy for coming here. Hell, I probably am crazy for coming here, but curiosity got the better of me, and I needed to know...I needed to see what Finn spoke of.

  I arrive at the garage after sun down, when it’s closed. Finn is waiting out front. He might be the younger of the brothers, but he’s big, and he’s manly, and he’s extremely attractive. Any woman would do a double take. Tonight he’s wearing a tight fitting black tee and black jeans. His hair is tied and braided down his back. I don’t know why he keeps it long, but it suits him. His olive skin glistens under the street light, and his blue eyes lock onto mine the moment I stop in front of him.

  It’s probably not safe for me to be out here.

  But I trust Finn, and I know he’ll make sure nothing happens to me.

  “Hey,” he murmurs. “You ready?”

  I nod, rubbing my upper arms.

  “Come on.”

  He turns and walks through the garage, locking it behind us, and then out the back and down a small alley. We reach a building, red brick, abandoned, basically connecting to the garage. It looks unused, but I’m guessing they want it to look that way. I don’t actually think it’s part of it, but it looks as though it is. The garage kind of outshines it, making it seem unimportant, again, what I think the goal is.

  Finn goes around the side of the building and unlocks a door, it almost seems...dead. Like nobody is here. He opens the door and we step inside, walking into the old, crappy building. He walks us down a hall and we reach another door. He opens it and then I can hear it, the thumping, the grunting, the chattering, the yelling. It’s almost completely masked by the door, and the building.

  Very clever.

  Finn reaches back and grabs my hand, for a moment I freeze, but then I let him hang onto me, because I don’t honestly know what I’m about to walk into. We go down a flight of stairs and into a huge open area underground. It takes me by surprise. I’m guessing whoever owned this building before, took a lot of effort to transform this basement into...this...this fighting ring.

  This basement is extra-large, which makes it perfect for what it’s being used for. My guess, if I were to have one, would be that this building might have been an old storage place, hence the need for large underground basements. It also seemed to have a lot of different rooms upstairs, making me think it was used for storing things. Down here though, wow. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

  There are, what I’d guess to be, about a hundred people down here, all of them surrounding a massive fighting cage. Not a ring, a cage. Floor to ceiling mesh stops anyone getting in...or out. There are seats lined up around it, and people are both standing and sitting. There are more than one large men getting around, my guess, security. Lincoln isn’t stupid, something like this would need security, or it could get very out of hand.

  The main thing I notice, is that there are very few females down here, which makes me stick out like a sore thumb. More than one person has turned to glance at me as we move through the crowd. They obviously know Finn, because none of them question anything. It’s loud down here, but not rowdy, I’m guessing there are noise restrictions. If the police got wind of this place, they’d fine Lincoln, or worse. I don’t think these things are legal.

  I’m surprised he hasn’t been caught yet.

  “Slater is up next, there is a lot of money on this fight.”

  “People actually bet?” I whisper.

  Finn nods. “How do you think Lincoln keeps that garage going, and all our houses, and the cars we drive. He makes a fuckin’ killing out of this place.”

  “Why did he do it?” I ask, curious, as we move into a darker corner of the room, with a clear view of the ring.

  “Long story, leave it to Slater to tell you all of it, but let’s just say he needed the money, so he started fighting himself and then...well...he became the best, well known, and so he started his own. He’s respected. He tolerates no shit. He’s the best there is.”

  I can imagine he is.

  Lincoln is terrifying in his own right.

  And yet, not as awful as you’d imagine.

  He’s actually kind, at least, he was to me.

  “Are you going to get into trouble for me being down here?”

  Finn looks around, “Hoping no one is goin’ to see you, but yeah, if you’re seen in here, I’ll hear about it. So stay near me.”

  We watch in awe as the fight is announced, and out into the ring comes Slater, and another massive man, with dark hair and so many scars on his face, they’re literally calling him scar face. He looks terrifying, and like he could just eat Slater alive. But, he’s almost too big, too over formed, Slater is huge, but he’s well put together, maybe that’s his advantage.

  The fight is counted down, and the crowd goes absolutely nuts, waving their hands around, cash in them, barking at the two men. Most of their demands are what they should be doing, where they should be hitting. There is a whole lot of “Hit him low!” flying around. My heart races and my adrenalin spikes as I watch the two men begin their fight.

  And for a moment, I’m almost certain I’m not breathing. I couldn’t be.

  This is so...intense.

  Scar face circles Slater, and then hits low, fist connecting with Slater’s stomach. Slater takes a shaky step backwards and the crowd goes wild, and then he looks him right in the eye, and moves like lightning. I could never have guessed a man Slater’s size could move the way he’s moving, but he does, he moves so fast that he takes Scar face off guard. He hits him in the ribs, so hard a loud crack echoes through the room.

  I feel a little unwell.

  I shuffle closer to Finn.

  Scar face doubles over, and Slater takes the chance to hit him in the mouth, sending blood flying across the already stained floor. Then punch after punch, hit after hit, Slater just brings Scar face to his knees, like he’s not even trying. When the man falls face first onto the floor, completely knocked out, Slater steps back, panting, fists clench and bloodied, eyes completely...empty.

  He’s not wearing a shirt, and his skin is glistening with sweat. When he turns our way, my eyes widen at the tattoo across his chest. Sitting right over his heart, is my name. My chest clenches and I swallow, unable to take my eyes off the words that are scrawled over his heart. Next to it, is a flower design, five of them, all tangled in an intricate design. And I could swear I’ve seen that before.<
br />
  My hand goes up to my neck, as if to grab a necklace, but nothing is there.

  I shake my head, and turn to Finn. “Is he hurt?”

  Finn shakes his head. “That’s not really what I wanted to show you. Come with me.”

  He pulls me through the crowd and towards a back door, we go through it and come to a screaming halt when we run into Lincoln. His dark eyes swing to mine, and his jaw tightens. “Finn, what in the ever lovin’ fuck is she doin’ in here?”

  “Fuck me,” Finn growls. “Was told you weren’t here tonight.”

  “Answer the damned question!” Lincoln barks.

  My heart starts racing.

  And I step back, just a little.

  Lincoln looks to me, closes his eyes, and then exhales. “Fuck, sorry sweetheart. But you shouldn’t be in here.”

  “I wanted her to see Slater, but I want to show her something else. You know what.”

  Lincoln looks to Finn. “You’re messin’ with shit that ain’t yours to mess with, Finn.”

  “No,” Finn grunts. “I’m puttin’ our family back together. Let me show her.”

  Lincoln exhales. “Ten minutes, then I never wanna see her in here again.”

  Finn nods, and grabs my hand, dragging me into a room. It looks like an office of sorts. It has a desk, a few papers, some safes, things like that. Finn walks over to a safe and looks to me, “Turn around.”

  I turn, and he dials a number into the combination lock. Then I turn back just as he’s opening it. What I see inside, nearly knocks the wind out of me. There is just mountain after mountain of cash sitting inside the safe.

  “What exactly does this have to do with me,” I whisper.

  “That’s yours.”

  I blink, staring at Finn. “Excuse me.”

  “That’s yours. Every fight he wins, he puts every cent into this safe. When it’s full, he puts it into a bank account under your name. He does it, because he wanted to be able to buy you a home when you came back to him, he wanted a safe haven, he wanted you to have something. Now you’re back, he still wants that. He wants you safe, but most of all, he wants you taken care of.”