“Oh, Finn…”
“So I had no place to get rid of the anger and pain,” I said. “Cormac lost his edge too because it was his goddamn sister. He raised Carrie. Their parents were long gone before I ever met them. You know? So Cormac was gone, grieving, tearing through bottles of whiskey and women. I needed him. He wasn’t here. And he needed me and I wasn’t there. We broke apart for a long time. And when we got together, we drank, fought, and hated each other. When I started fighting again, it wasn’t good. I was too violent. I didn’t stop for a buzzer or a bell. I got disqualified, fined, suspended, and even sued. One time I got jumped by a group of gambler bookie guys and then broke three ribs because I was supposed to win a fight… and I ended up going beyond the buzzer and got kicked out of the fight. So they lost money on me.
“Then I had the chance to meet Fiore. I apparently fucked him on a fight too. So he brought me in to kill me. I was dead drunk and I cried my eyes out in front of him. I collapsed and he picked me up. I told him my story and he offered me a job. To be one of his fighters. Where I could do it underground. Where I could get it all out as I wanted to do. No bells or buzzers. There’s death matches, you know. People fight until someone dies. I never got involved there, but, fuck, that’s heavy. My first fight, Fiore told me to knock the guy out in a minute. He put two hundred grand on me that night. He got a couple other big businessmen to match the bet. I went in and broke the guy’s jaw in three punches. He was out cold before he hit the ground. The place was in silence. That was the start of Finn, the underground fighter.”
I wiped the corner of my eyes and turned to look at Shayna.
“Finn, I don’t know what to say,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry you lost her. That you lost your dream and your life. I’m sorry I dragged you into all this. I was selfish…”
“No,” I said. “We’re not going to do that, sweetie. This is where we are now. Nothing can change that. It’s obvious Fiore isn’t doing his job protecting us. And Zander is coming for you. So we will fight back. We will figure something out.” I really had no idea what to do or say. I moved to the couch and crouched down. “Right now, you need to rest. If anything gets worse you better tell me. We’ll figure out something with my truck in the morning.”
“Kiss me, Finn,” Shayna asked.
I had already planned on it.
Our lips touched, played, flirted, kissed. I broke the kiss and whispered, “Have you ever been in love?”
“Not until recently,” Shayna whispered as her eyes shut.
I stood and realized what was truly happening here.
We were falling for each other.
~
I called Fiore.
“Are you alive?” he yelled.
“Yeah. We were attacked.”
“So was the fight,” Fiore said.
Then there was silence. A chilling silence.
“Fiore?” I asked.
“It was Zander. I’m sure he was looking for Shayna. You have to make this happen, Finn. Zander needs to be taught a lesson.”
“Was anyone killed?” I asked.
“Yeah. Half a dozen. It’s going to hurt my reputation for a while. I put ten men out on the run. We’re fighting back.”
“I rolled my truck, Fiore. About half a mile from the cabin. I have no transportation right now.”
“You don’t need it. Just fuck that woman until she’s pregnant.”
The call went dead.
Fiore had lost his mind for good it seemed. In that regard, I didn’t know who was scarier - Zander or Fiore.
~
I woke to hands touching my chest. My eyes popped open and I was in my bed. I was in the bedroom, in the cabin. And right on top of me… was Shayna.
“What are you…”
“Shut up,” she whispered.
There was barely any light in the bedroom, giving hint that it was just before dawn when the most faint sliver of light pressed over the horizon for another to come.
Her fingers wrapped tight around my shirt, nails digging into my chest. Her hair was messy and falling forward, but I could still see her eyes. They were burning.
I quickly touched her waist and felt her shirt. A few inches further down and it was all smooth skin. My hands touched her thighs and then around to her ass. She was naked from the waist down, right on top of me. I dug with my fingers and pulled, bringing her forward. The tips of both my middle fingers grazed between her thighs, feeling her soft wetness. Christ, she was ready to go again. She wanted to fuck me right here… right in this bed… right in this cabin…
I felt the hesitation soar through my body. I thought about what this cabin was meant for. Who it was meant for.