Dirty Games

by HelenKay Dimon

  The last part came out with an implied We all do. Finn knew it sounded defensive but he could only engage in money arguments so often before his temper blew and his anger spilled over. He did not want that type of scene tonight.

  Justin nodded. “I know. Really, I do.”

  Since that sounded like a win of sorts, Finn didn’t poke around or dissect it. He decided to pretend Justin was starting to see him as something more than an entitled guy with a checkbook. “Do you talk with Alec a lot?”

  “Other than our yearly meetings and a monthly video check-in, I mostly deliver reports.” Justin shifted in his chair. His fingers went to the abandoned knife in front of him. He picked it up, turned it, then put it down again before spinning it around.

  The uncharacteristic fidgeting mesmerized Finn. Almost nothing threw Justin off and here he was, ten seconds from squirming. “Speaking of delivering, are you trying to deliver a message of some kind right now? If so, I’m not getting it.”

  “When it comes to work, you should feel free to follow Alec’s lead and take a hands-off approach.” Justin stopped playing with the knife. “But for everything not work-related, you should be very hands-on.”

  Yeah, after that comment they needed to pay the bill and get out of there. Finn glanced around, ready to go. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “So, you’ve talked about Alec, who I know.” Justin pushed the used silverware aside and balanced his elbows on the edge of the table. “I’ve never met Griff.”

  This sounded like date talk. An actual getting-to-know-you back and forth, not the usual for guys who limited their interactions to sex only. Finn wasn’t sure what the deeper dive meant or where the topic would lead, but he liked the new direction.

  “Griff is an enigma.” The word really fit. Finn would love and protect Griff to the end, but trying to pin him down or describe anything about him to anyone proved almost impossible. “Best guy in the world but also the most private.”

  He lived in the U.S. and handled that division of the business. He traveled, but never talked about going anywhere with anyone. His closest friend was his assistant, a woman, but Griff insisted there was nothing romantic there. In fact, he never talked about partners or dates. He also didn’t judge anyone else’s choices or needs.

  Justin reached for his glass. “Are there more of you hidden somewhere?”

  That tight mental gate Finn kept locked on this topic rattled, threatening to open. This was not the right time. Hell, there would never be a right time. “No.”

  Justin stilled and his eyes narrowed. “You okay?”

  “Sure.” Finn glanced around again. “Have you seen our waiter?”

  Justin watched every move. “Your tone was…something.”

  “It’s nothing.” Not true, but it was better to let the subject drop.

  “Finn, come on.”

  This had to be a test. It wasn’t as if they hid the big picture. Maybe not the how and why, but the general biological facts. “My sister died.”

  There was a sharp intake of breath from the other side of the table. Some of the color drained from Justin’s face. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

  He seemed genuinely shocked, which didn’t make a lot of sense to Finn. “You really didn’t know that?”

  He and his brothers guarded their privacy and vowed to keep out of the public eye as much as possible. But there was a time, when they were younger and their father wanted to project a certain image, that they were in the news all the time. It gave his father some sort of Kennedy-esque thrill. Nothing was sacred. Not until they found her.

  Justin shrugged. “I’m sorry. I’ve been out of the U.S. for a long time now. Is this common knowledge?”

  “Her name was Clarissa.” Saying it made Finn smile, though it had taken years for all his anger and frustration to ease enough for him to smile about her at all. “She was nineteen at the time, fifteen months younger than me.”

  “Finn. Fuck. I don’t know what to say.” Justin reached his hand across the table. It didn’t meet Finn’s fingers, but the offer of comfort was clear.

  Maybe that’s why the rest of the story tumbled out. Finn couldn’t spill every detail, because he’d be curled up on the floor if he tried. Even ten years later the horror surrounding Clarissa’s death was still too fresh.

  The reality was, the death train only started with her. “My mother died a few years after my sister. My father’s not worth talking about, but he also died. Cancer.”

  It sounded generic. Horrible but cleaned up, like the sadness had been swept away. For him, it hadn’t. The years had made the losses easier, but never easy.

  Justin’s mouth moved a few times. At first he didn’t say anything, then he cleared his throat. “That’s a lot of—”

  “Pain and death? Yes.” God, Justin didn’t even know the full weight of it. Finn looked into Justin’s eyes and picked up the concern, his body language clear that he was listening, but that’s as far as Finn could go tonight. “You ready to leave?”

  Justin hesitated for a second before pushing his chair back. “Sure.”

  They paid the bill and Rania’s then headed for the door. She trailed behind them at a safe and inconspicuous distance.

  Air smacked into Finn’s face as he stepped outside. The temperature had dropped, likely because they were now on the Mediterranean coast. The dark sky plunged the nearby water into darkness. Finn knew it was there, could hear the lapping of the waves as they waited for Karim and the car.

  Ceuta, the Spanish city on the coast of North Africa and the source of so much friction, sat a few miles up the coast on the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean met the Atlantic Ocean. But in front of them, nothing but the sea. At this time of night, Finn spied a few lights from boats but little else on the horizon.

  Justin moved in front of him. “Look, I’m sorry if I touched on a rough subject.”

  He should let it drop. Finn repeated that mantra in his head, but…“I know you think my life is perfect. Just know it’s not.”

  That fast he was thrown on the defensive. No one could rile him up like Justin, and this time he hadn’t even said anything annoying. But the disdain lingered there, like an undercurrent, ready to pull them in and tumble them over at any moment.

  “I don’t. Think that, I mean.” Justin glanced over as a group of young men sitting on a bench on the sidewalk. Then he faced Finn again. “Yeah, you haven’t exactly had to beg for food, but even I get that things happen to people. They carry around baggage no one else can see. They learn to survive.”

  Finn couldn’t fight off the smile. “Huh. I didn’t expect that.”

  “Well…” This time Justin did a quick look around, then stepped in closer. He lowered his head and his voice. “I’m trying not to be a dick here.”

  Was he blushing? That was pretty fucking hot. “Because you want sex?”

  He made a rough sound that didn’t quite form into a laugh. “That and I don’t actually want to be a dick with you anymore.”

  A lightness washed over Finn. He had to swallow a few times to find his voice. He couldn’t describe the sensation spinning through him. Relief, maybe? Something that signaled to his brain that he could relax, let his guard down for a second.

  “That’s a change.” His voice sounded husky, but Finn blamed the whispering.

  “Do you want me to be angry?”

  Just then Karim pulled the car around and Rania stepped up to the door. The timing was damn near perfect. Finn was impressed.

  He waited until Rania took the front seat to whisper one last sexy promise to Justin. “I want us to get home so I can strip you out of that nice date outfit and concentrate on nothing but you.”

  Justin froze in the act of getting in the car. He stepped out again, meeting Finn on equal ground. “You’ve got my vote.”

 
They needed to go and to be careful. Finn knew all that was true, but he balanced his arm on the top of the sedan and let his gaze wander over Justin’s shirt. Across those shoulders. “Blue looks good on you. Probably has something to do with your eyes.”

  “The two color thing? It’s called heterochromia. I’m the only one in the family with it. It spooked my mom.” When Finn started to comment, Justin held up his hand. “I didn’t know her. An aunt told me that.”

  Sounded to Finn like he wasn’t the only one with a load of family baggage. “She was wrong. They’re sexy as hell.”

  Justin winked, then ducked and climbed into the car. He slid across the seat and Finn followed. As Karim pulled away from the curb at the front of the restaurant, Justin and Finn sat on their respective sides of the car, each right near a window. They didn’t talk or touch. For once, they finally seemed to be in sync.

  The restaurant was a short drive from the villa. On any other night, in any other place, he would have suggested to Justin that they walk back. The mile or two of fresh air would be invigorating. But there were rules and they needed to be smart. They couldn’t exactly walk about Morocco holding hands. Not that Finn could imagine Justin doing that, but to be safe they settled for the ride.

  The car turned off the main street and started up the hill toward the residential area, away from the hotels and the water. There were a few other vehicles on the road. People stood on the street, talking and laughing. A few couples and groups were out walking. Finn watched it all from his closed backseat window, wishing he’d eased up on the protective duty, at least for one night.

  Lights passed by in a blur. Kamir kept the speed steady, which sucked, because the voice in Finn’s head screamed for them to rush. He wanted to shout for Karim to hurry, but he stayed in his seat. Buckled in and quiet. Anticipation churned inside him. The only relief came as they inched closer to the villa complex.

  Not that he was counting, but just two more intersections. Finn shifted in his seat, trying to find a comfortable position. Nothing worked.

  He concentrated on the trail of lights outside, on the other cars braking and turning. At the last intersection he watched a vehicle race toward their car from the right-hand side. The growing lights mesmerized him. He counted in his head, trying to calculate how much room the car needed to stop.

  His gaze switched to the cars lined up in front of them. To the broken-down white truck and the two men walking around it, inspecting the flat tire. An older car was trapped between them and the truck and the driver had his window open and gestured, clearly ticked off.

  A thought tickled Finn’s brain but he couldn’t grab onto it. Something about the truck and how it looked…The one without any markings or writing on it.

  Damn it. “Karim—”

  Finn’s sentence cut off because Karim was already maneuvering the car. He swerved to the left, turning to get around the car stopped in front of them, but slammed into the back bumper.

  Horns sounded and one of the men in the street started yelling and pointing. Panic rushed through Finn. He grabbed for Justin, hoping he’d put on his seatbelt. His fingers touched Justin’s sleeve right as banging started. The car jolted as the runaway vehicle that had been headed for them slammed into the back right side, near where Finn was sitting.

  His body flew and the tight band of the seatbelt snapped him back. He felt his neck twist and a shock of pain in his shoulder as the car began to spin. The world rotated around him. Lights and sounds blurred. He could see Rania whip around in the front seat. He tried to look at Justin, but gravity or physics or some other scientific principle held him in its grip.

  The car stopped moving but the dizziness didn’t leave Finn’s head. A muffled sound echoed in his ear. He felt a tugging, then a hand…Justin’s hand.

  “Finn, answer me.” Justin’s fingers fumbled with Finn’s seatbelt but the lock refused to disengage.

  Finn wanted to help but his brain refused to signal his arms. The urge to throw up hit him and he tried to rest his head against the seat. He could hear moaning and smelled gas. A man stood outside his door, pulling on the handle. Rania tried to open her door and Kamir kept yelling in a language that refused to register in Finn’s brain.

  He couldn’t tell if five minutes or five seconds had passed. He wasn’t even sure what had happened but it hurt to turn to the right. “What the hell?”

  “Hey.” Justin slipped his fingers through Finn’s hair and chips of glass fell on his lap. “Talk to me.”

  “I don’t…” Finn saw the smoke outside then. The world shifted back into focus and he could see the people gathered around the vehicle and the men helping Karim and Rania. He looked down and saw small cuts on his hands and the rainfall of glass on his pants.

  “The car hit us.” That fact finally registered in Finn’s head.

  As he said the words, the door next to him creaked open. He looked out to see Rania standing there with a man Finn didn’t know.

  Why does the world keep spinning? The dizziness had his stomach heaving.

  “We need to get you two out of here,” Rania said.

  “It’s a little late for that concern.” Justin slipped his hand into his pocket and took out a small pocketknife.

  In a few steady cuts he’d sawed through the seatbelt locking Finn in. The strangling band gave way and he almost fell forward.

  Rania’s focus stayed on Finn. “Can you move?”

  Of course…right? “There’s glass everywhere.”

  Then he saw the blood dripping down the side of Rania’s head and her ripped jacket. And Justin. His face was a mask of fury. He had his seatbelt off and was leaning forward with an arm around Finn’s shoulders.

  All those pieces started to clear in Finn’s mind. He hoped his brain would click into gear a little faster. The hazy confusion only added to the nausea.

  “The windows next to you and behind you blew out from the impact,” Justin said as he brushed glass off Finn’s legs.

  One thought kept replaying in Finn’s head, so he went ahead and said it. “Where’s the other driver?”

  “He ran. A few men went after him. Karim tried, but he cracked his head.” Rania seemed to mentally give herself a shake. “None of that matters.” She looked over at Justin. “You?”

  “Focus on Finn.”

  “No.” That’s all Finn could get out because the damn car kept spinning. At least that’s what it felt like. “I need…”

  His mind went blank. He had no idea what he intended to say. People were pulling at him. Justin was yelling. Finn thought he heard his name. It was the last thing he remembered before the world went black.

  Chapter 13

  “He needs to rest.” Kit Asato made that declaration after bandaging Finn’s shoulder and cleaning the cut on his head.

  She insisted the injuries looked worse than they were and that head wounds bled a lot but it didn’t mean they should worry. Justin knew all of that was right, but it didn’t stop the anxiety from welling inside him.

  He paced the small area between the edge of the cot and the thin curtain drawn around them for privacy. He needed to burn off some of the adrenaline bouncing around inside him, but nothing worked.

  They’d arrived on Kit’s doorstep within an hour of the crash. Justin yelled every minute of that hour, trying to close the gap and get the officials and witnesses at the scene to hurry. That was two hours ago. Kit had examined Finn but he still looked dazed. His head lolled to the side as if he were having trouble holding it up. Every time he shifted, he winced.

  Justin couldn’t feel anything but the anger surging through him. The only thing keeping him from firing Rania and Karim—a task he didn’t actually have the authority to do—was their injuries. They’d both been bandaged up and now stalked around the clinic, their weapons on display.

  Kit gritted her teeth and tolerat
ed them all. Ty was a bit less welcoming, clearly not happy at having his evening plans with Kit canceled. But seeing Finn stumble in the door seemed to subdue his frustration.

  “What about a concussion or internal injuries?” Justin wanted to call Alec and have Finn airlifted out of there. Hell, he’d drive Finn to the best hospital in Morocco or anywhere else nearby.

  He just had to do something.

  “You okay?” Ty asked.

  “I’ve been checked out.” Justin knew he’d ache in every part of his body tomorrow. For now, the adrenaline push kept him up and moving.

  But he’d be fine. Finn’s side of the car took the brunt of the hit. Just thinking about the stolen car that hit them and the driver who was still on the run sent anger spiking through Justin. He honestly thought he’d strangle the driver if he popped up at the clinic right now.

  “He should stay the night.” Kit stepped away from Finn where he sat on the side of the bed with his legs hanging over the side. “I’ll watch him.”

  Like hell. Justin was not about to let anyone else handle this job. “No.”

  “That’s not…” Finn made a hissing sound as he inhaled. “No shaking my head. Got it.”

  “That was a serious accident—”

  “It was intentional.” Justin refused to believe this was a mistake or a coincidence. Too many near misses near Finn had Justin on edge and skeptical.

  It all seemed so clear now. Someone wanted to send a message or take Finn out. If it was the latter, they were pretty sloppy about it, which likely meant the person wasn’t a professional or at least didn’t hire professionals. Justin couldn’t figure out if that was good news or bad.

  Kit sighed. “What I’m saying is I need to watch Finn.”

  “I really want to go back to the villa,” Finn said in a voice that still sounded shaky.

  “You’ll stay here.” Justin was done arguing. Finn was not going anywhere. He’d also have a bunch of guards and Justin hovering over his bed. That was the only option Justin would accept. “I need to call your brother.”