Burn It Down (The Burn Series Book 2)

by Dee Ellis

  “Finn, you can’t go off the rails. We’ll keep an eye on him. Stay away from him for now. I get you want to protect Red. We won’t let anything happen to her, bro.” Cage had reined me in, but just barely.

  After Gigi came home to that note and rose, and I found out he had been calling and texting, I had been ready to kill him. Gigi claimed she thought she saw him a few times when she had been out.

  To be honest, I thought I had seen him at the theatre once, but considered it a coincidence. After the rose incident, I thought back on the time since their run in at the coffee shop and thought it was a lot more.

  I had gotten a note too. I didn’t share this with Gigi or Cage. Not even Diggs, even though it could have helped the case. The day after we almost got busted fucking in the park, I found a note on my windshield.

  Nothing threatening; hell, it barely even made sense to me at the time. Not until her note and the rose did it make sense.

  “I deserve more.” To be honest, I thought it was Bree; I don’t know why she was my first suspect, but she was.

  Since they had been friends, Bree had used and abused Gigi. Why my woman took her shit, when she was one of the strongest people I knew, I couldn’t figure out.

  Perhaps they had shared something special once. Not now. I thought the note was a last-ditch effort by Bree to fuck us up. I didn't intend to let anyone do that.

  Today, we had met with Diggs before heading to work. Diggs refused to give us too much info, afraid I’d go off the rails like Cage said. I intended to do just that, regardless of what they said.

  I didn’t need info; I knew where the fucker worked. Might kill two birds with one stone if I found that bitch Bree at his class. Tell them both to kick rocks before I made it ugly for them both.

  Before I could do that, I had somewhere important to be. Cage was antsy as fuck, and if I didn’t love the dude so much, he might be pissing me off.

  We had a busy shift until around seven, and the boy watched the clock desperately. Every time after a call, he played with that ring. Lola was holding a book for him that he would tie it up in. Sucker was going soft on me. I couldn’t be happier for him.

  “Relax, bro,” I knew it would fall on deaf ears, but I tried, “we know her answer. Charli Doll was a yes from the beginning.” I knew he had to be nervous to propose in front of both families.

  When I proposed, which now I wanted to more than ever, it would be just us. Gigi didn’t like attention. I had done it right, asked all the important people. Now, I had to do like Cage and get a ring, then figure out my plan.

  “Fuck, I hope so. Charli scares easy, bro. What about you? You mean what you said about marrying Red?” He grinned when I sunk into love struck mode and smirked. I was sure I looked like an idiot.

  “Fuck, yes. You just beat me to it, bro. I love her, man. I haven’t, uh…I haven’t told her yet. Think I should give her the words first. I almost have so many times. This shit with her fucking prof is pissing in my proposal cheerios, bro.” Cage sighed and nodded, turning over the ring again and again.

  “Take Charli with to pick out a ring. Wait till I get my ring on my girl, though, yeah? Look, this shit with her teacher, don’t let it affect you two. Don’t blame yourself either; what happened between them wasn’t your fault. Not really. Dude is not stable, and he wanted Gigi whether she gave him the chance or not.” Cage might be right, but I felt guilty as shit.

  “Yeah, maybe. I don’t know. The whole family is going to be there? The girls and their husbands and everyone?” I had yet to actually meet the two hulking brothers that had tugged Cage outside earlier

  “Yeah. Her, uh…her old boyfriend proposed in front of the whole fucking town. Kind of want to wash that away. Do it right.”

  “It will be right, bro-seph. No worries.” I said this, but then I started worrying about my own proposal.

  I wanted to do it soon, but now I felt even more pressure. Not because Cage was doing it, not really. Anyone who saw Cage and Charli knew he couldn’t wait to make it permanent. In fact, I was kind of surprised they didn’t come back from her hometown married.

  No, I felt pressure because of the other shit going on in our lives. I wanted to make it very clear, ring or not, Gigi was mine. For keeps.

  We had waited so long to be together. I never thought I might get to keep her; that Gigi might even want that. I knew she wanted me, but I just figured it was fun, forbidden. That was not what we were about, and once I figured that out, I knew I was done.

  I loved Gigi more than anything. More than I thought I could. My world would not be the same without her. The night I almost fucked us up for good, I realized that. The second time she walked out on me, I knew I couldn’t stand losing her.

  I wanted Gigi more than I wanted to fight fires, more than I wanted to be at Cage’s back. I didn’t care what I did or where we lived or if she had doubts. If I did too.

  I would love her enough that the doubts didn’t matter. That if she had them, they would seem foolish when faced with how completely I loved her.

  Loving her was all I had to give her.

  I didn’t have a lot of time. Racing through the busy, snow covered streets of Chicago, I was running out of it fast. My head was spinning with what I planned to do. What I told everyone I was not going to do.

  The college loomed on the horizon, and I grew angrier with each block. Another note had showed up, but no one else knew about it. I found it perched against Gigi’s door after work.

  After a terrible day at work, we were supposed to meet at the cottage. Cage was proposing, and we all were meant to be there. I wouldn’t miss it for anything.

  Except, perhaps, what I was about to do. I wouldn’t miss it because this would be short and sweet. Just a few words with the fuck who thought he could ruin the one good thing I finally had going for me.

  I had rushed home before heading to the cottage. Gigi was already there with her sisters, and I knew they were waiting on Cage and Charli. When I got there, the note threw off my entire plan of meeting them there. I wouldn’t miss it, but I had something to take care of first. I wouldn’t let this fuck threaten my woman, my entire fucking world, again.

  “I am owed more.” The note had her name on the front, but it was left where I could find it.

  I was done dicking around, waiting for Diggs to find information. I had all I needed to know. Jordan Dexter had a thing for younger girls who trusted him. My woman didn’t want him and made that clear so he went off the rails.

  Calls, texts, following us was enough. Coming to our place, where Gigi might be, was the last straw for me. Slamming my blazer into park, I stormed up the steps and down the hall towards his class.

  I timed it right because I had just reached his door and the bell rang. The classed filed out and I glared at Bree when she passed me. Jordan had his back to me when I stepped inside the class. The door locking behind me made him turn.

  “Can I help you?” The fucker pretended not to know me; he knew who the fuck I was, but he was about to find out just what I was like.

  “Gigi Cooper is off fucking limits for you, Professor. Stay the fuck away. I see your shadow, smell your expensive fucking cologne polluting her air, or find another note, the next visit won’t be so friendly, Prof. Keep your fucking distance. I don’t share well with others. Gigi is fucking mine. You get me?” For a moment, he looked confused before he smirked.

  “How very caveman of you, Finn. I don’t know what you mean; I have not spoken to Gigi since that day in the coffee shop.” Then his eyes bounced in their sockets so I figured he was lying.

  “Yeah, hundreds of calls and stalkerish voicemails tell me you wanted to change that. It’s not an option. You don’t talk to her. You don’t follow her. You don’t fucking look at her from across the fucking street. You see my woman, you walk the other fucking way. If you need to stroke that limp dick, think about anything other than my woman, you get me? Off. Fucking. Limits.” Jordan backed away with every step my heavy boots c
arried me towards him.

  “I just wanted another chance. You know you are all wrong for her. I’m not. We both know that.” I laughed and crossed my arms at my chest, towering over him.

  “Not even going to say that’s wrong, Prof. Doesn’t matter. Gigi is mine because she wants to be mine. Gigi gets what she wants, if I have anything to say about it. Gigi wants me so that’s what she gets. Even if that changes, you won’t be who she wants, Prof. Get right with that,” I bulked up my frame as I closed in on him, ready to make it very clear what was going to happen.

  “I don’t care about your old money. About the connections your last name might have. I would walk through fucking fire for that woman. Would gladly wear the scars that fire could leave me with. Because they would be for her. You come near my woman again, I will fucking end you. Your pretty fucking face won’t be so pretty after I am done, you get me?” Jordan shrank back against the wide dais and nodded.

  Then I realized he was trembling. Entire body from shoulders to knees. I almost laughed. Instead, I backed away because I thought I’d said enough. Thought he might realize I wasn’t fucking around.

  I would go to jail for breaking his pretty fucking face if it kept him away from her. Kept him from scaring her the way he had. I wouldn’t stand for her spirit to be dimmed by a rich, spoiled fuck like Jordan Dexter.

  Nothing more needed to be said. Jordan was still nodding. Wasn’t sure if that was part of his trembling fear or not. I stalked from the room and rushed to the blazer.

  I had to get across town in the next ten minutes before Cage brought Charli home from the library. With adrenaline pumping through me, I made it in six minutes. Just in time too, because I stepped inside to find the place packed with the Cooper and Dixon families.

  “Hey, Sweet Girl.” I was a bit out of breath and still spiked with energy.

  Gigi tipped her head back, and fuck, I knew it was worth it. My mouth found hers, right there in front of a dozen people. Gigi laced one hand in my hair, the other cupping my jaw.

  When I broke away, we were both out of breath, and Regan let out a low whistle. I winked at her over Gigi’s head. Clutching Gigi to me, I pressed words she couldn’t hear into her neck. Mine. I love you. Always.

  Ten minutes later, we were all blown away as Cage bent on his knee and gave a syrupy sweet speech. Charli deserved it. Deserved the sappy moments and the tears in his eyes and the sweet proposal.

  Cage did too. Charli’s “yes” brought such life into his eyes; it made emotion burst at my chest. To see them love each other that way was beautiful.

  I hoped I looked at Gigi that way when I asked. Hoped I got a chance to ask soon. I wouldn’t take the wind out of their sails, though.

  I wanted to wait until closer to the holidays. Let them have their fuzzy moment of engagement bliss. I would be putting a ring on my woman’s finger, though. And soon.

  After a dinner where all the girls went on and on about weddings, I took my woman home. The light in her eyes as they talked about Charli’s wedding cemented it for me.

  I wanted her to have that. I wouldn’t do something stupid like rush her to a court house or even Vegas. The thought had crossed my mind, though.

  No, I wanted her to have the wedding she wanted. With the dress and the church and her sisters and Charli. Whatever my woman wanted, I was going to give her.

  Even if I wasn’t sure it was what she needed. I loved her too much to deny her anything now. If she wanted a church wedding or one at the park in the snow, that’s what she was going to get.

  “I can’t wait. Charli will be such a beautiful bride. Don’t you think?” Gigi wondered as we sat cuddled in bed, her back to my front.

  “I do think. I think you would put her to shame, though. You want that one day, Sweet Girl? The dress and the church, flowers. That’s what you want, yeah?” We were so high on the excitement, we hadn’t made it to the bedroom before I was inside her.

  Now, we lay in bed, my fingers combing through her hair as I held her. I wanted to tell her I wanted that. To see her head down the aisle in the perfect dress, her father at her side. Cage at mine.

  Cage blew my mind when he asked me to be his best man tonight. I had never felt prouder, not even the day his father handed us our badges for the department.

  “Mmm, maybe. If you want that. Finn, I’d take you anyway I can get you. You thinking about our future again, baby?” Gigi wriggled her ass back against me.

  “I’m always thinking about our future, Sweet Girl. Tell me what you would really like. Forget all our shit. All the complications we might have, all the lies and the bad. Pretend it’s been golden the entire time. Pretend I asked the right question, at the right time,” I whispered against the back of her neck, terrified of doing it wrong, “pretend for me, Sweet Girl. Tell me what you want.” My arms tightened around her as I waited without breathing.

  “I want you. I want a home like Charli and Cage. I want to see the world with you, Finn. I don’t want to stay in school anymore. I want to figure myself out, with you. You make things make sense for me. You’re my compass. I know where I want to go because of you. Know what I think would be amazing?” Gigi’s voice became animated as she twisted onto her back.

  “Tell me, Sweetheart.” God, I loved her. Her excitement made me excited.

  “Getting married some place ridiculous. Super romantic, but ridiculous. Something like…that old fire station on Michigan Ave. The cool one that was a restaurant. That building is amazing; I need to shoot it since they gave up restoring it. Maybe the library. Scratch that, Charli and I decided her wedding will be there. Something not traditional, but still romantic.” Gigi giggled, and I leaned down, rubbing my nose against hers.

  “Whatever you wanted. I’d give you anything.”

  The words were hoarse and full of emotion; we both knew it wasn’t a proposal, but I think she realized at last that I meant them. That I wanted to marry her. I fully intended to.

  I figured that out when her eyes flooded with tears and she cupped the back of my head. Gigi kissed me deep and slow. I pinned her to the bed and cradled her close as I kissed her back.

  When we broke away, we were quiet with the heaviness of what was happening. What we weren’t saying, but were both aware of. It was for real this time.

  Gigi was mine and I was hers. End of story. I loved her, and watching her eyes shimmering up at me in the moonlight, I think I knew she loved me. I wanted to hear her say it but I didn’t need it.

  Once we were golden, I’d tell her I loved her. Then I’d make her my wife.

  14

  Walking into the halls of Loyola, I was excited. Anxious. My brother was getting married, I was madly in love. I was about to drop out of college. Things were great. My mother was thrilled when Charli and Cage decided they wanted a big wedding.

  After Tegan decided a quirky courthouse wedding in the spring was her idea of perfect, Mom figured she had a while to wait for another wedding.

  Mom loved events.

  Loved laughing and drinking expensive wine and seeing the people she loved. The moment Cage decided to marry Charli, she was already making plans.

  The five of us--Mom, my sisters, Charli and I--had talked of nothing else since Cage’s perfect proposal. Details weren’t set, but with the Coopers on it, it wouldn’t be long. We dealt with the details rather well.

  Exactly why I am dropping out. My details don’t include needing a degree to do what I love. Finn proved that to me. That night in the park was the most alive I’ve felt doing what I love.

  After a long talk over the weekend, one that surprisingly didn’t involve wedding talk, my parents agreed. Mom wanted me to do what I wanted to do; she would have loved me to finish, but I promised I still might someday.

  “I have four months left of my junior year. I can take an absence and retain my credits. After things settle down or I decide what I want to do, I can go back. My scholarship doesn’t run out. I thought it all out, Mom. I just need to do this now.�
� Mom agreed because she knew when to trust our choices.

  What I wanted to do now was explore my photography. I had an eye for it, yes, but I was hungry for more knowledge. Lola had hooked me up with a photographer friend of hers who would teach me the basics.

  I was struggling with school so much, I was miserable. Add in the fact that my professor was stalking me, and Bree was in most my classes, and I was less than enthused to go back.

  “Good afternoon, Ms. Kellar. Thanks for seeing me without an appointment.” I smiled at my aging counselor as she greeted me at her door.

  “Of course, Gigi. Sounded very important when you called. Come in, sit. Let’s talk about whatever you need.”

  The office smelled of old books, leather, and lilac. In the window behind her desk, a huge blooming lilac in a pot explained the latter. I sat in the club chair and smoothed my hands over my skirt.

  It was cold outside, and I had second guessed the skirt when Charli drove me over here today. My boots were wet with snow, I noticed as I bounced my foot anxiously. Though certain of my choices, I was still anxious about them.

  “I need to take an absence. It’s been a struggle this semester for lots of reasons. I need to regroup and refocus.” Ms. Kellar glanced at me over the top of her glasses.

  Then, without a bit of discussion, she twisted to the cabinet behind her. Pulling out a file, she stood and opened another drawer. Seated again, she twisted back to me.

  The file was my own and the paperwork she had grabbed was for temporary withdrawal. Sliding them both across the desk at me, she handed me a pen with a smile. I perked a brow and tilted my head.

  “No discussion? No attempts to keep me enrolled?” A smile twisted her face; it wasn’t unpleasant, though.

  “No, ma’am. Every once in a while, I see a look of resolution on someone’s face. You may come back. I doubt you will. Not because I don’t have faith in your intelligence or talent. Because perhaps you will find what you need elsewhere. Could I talk you out of it if I tried?” Her raven hair was pinned back into a bun and her laugh lines crinkled at her temples.