“It’s also a bit of a ploy to lure Zander close again,” Fiore said. “So don’t fuck anything up. I wouldn’t want anything to explode, you know?”
I just shook my head even though Fiore couldn’t see. “I’ll be there.”
“Finn, this isn’t personal,” Fiore said. “This is all business. And let’s not forget how it really started. You stuck your nose where it didn’t belong. Now I’m trying to clean up the mess.”
The call went dead before I could rebut. Not that I had a real argument; Fiore was right. I had gone to that fight on my own, hadn’t I? I had looked up at Shayna and instantly wanted her more than any other woman I’d ever met.
I felt something touch me and looked down to see two hands sliding around the front of my body. Carrie used to do it to me. She’d interlock her fingers and pull at me.
But it wasn’t Carrie.
Carrie was dead.
It was Shayna. And she didn’t interlock her fingers.
“Finn,” she whispered.
“Sweetie,” I said.
“It’s going to get bad, isn’t it?”
I nodded. “It is. But we’re going to be together, Shayna. I promise you. No matter what happens, we will be together. I promise.”
“I like hearing that,” Shayna said.
“I like…”
I saw a pickup truck appear out of nowhere in the distance. It was going way too damn fast for its own good. I pushed back from the railing and turned, grabbing Shayna.
The truck swerved to the left, to the right, and sped toward the cabin.
“Finn,” Shayna said.
“Get inside,” I ordered. “That truck is going to crash into the fucking cabin.”
36.
(Shayna)
I didn’t go inside.
And the truck didn’t crash into the cabin.
It came flying toward the cabin and at the last second it turned and kept going, right along the side of it. I heard the sound of sticks snapping and popping, the roaring of the engine, and I felt the anticipation of an accident.
“Oh, fuck,” Finn said. “That was goddamn Cormac!”
Finn ran to the side of the porch and jumped over it. I should have gone back inside, but I ran off the porch and tried to chase after Finn. I made it around the house and watched him barrel deep into the woods. I heard the sound of Cormac’s truck engine still yelling. Then came a wild thud sound, following by even more crunching and grinding.
Then silence. The kind of silence Finn and I had gotten to know all too well.
Cormac had crashed his truck.
I couldn’t keep up with Finn so I just ran where I hoped he was going. Then again, it wasn’t all that hard to look for the smoking heap of metal that was Cormac’s truck. The front of the truck was crunched up. The back looked beat up. The windows were all shattered.
Finn tore open the driver’s door and Cormac toppled out and down to the ground. He was on his hands and knees, coughing and gagging. I thought for a second he was dying. But then Cormac popped up and leaned against the truck. The moment his head swayed, I knew he was drunk.
I got closer and within a few feet of Cormac, I smelled the booze pouring off him.
Before any of us could say a word, Cormac popped Finn in the mouth with a punch.
I gasped and jumped back.
Cormac pushed forward and stumbled at Finn. He tried to swing again but missed. Finn grabbed Cormac by the shirt and threw him back against the pickup truck. Finn brought a fist back and I jumped forward, right into the fight. I used both hands to grab at Finn’s arm. My two hands couldn’t wrap around his flexed bicep. If he threw his fist forward I would have hit Cormac along with the fist.
But Finn eased up.
He lowered his fist.
“He’s drunk!” I cried out.
“I know,” Finn said.
“You… fuck…,” Cormac slumped down to his ass. He lowered his head and started to bawl.
Finn just stood there.
I was the one who then dropped down and I wrapped my arms around him. He threw his arms around me and hugged back.
“Cormac, tell me,” I whispered. “Tell me anything.”
“She’s gone,” Cormac said. “And now you’re here. You’re stealing her.”
“Fuck no,” Finn growled.
Finn grabbed me by the shoulders and peeled me away from Cormac. He then grabbed Cormac and put him to his feet again. He slammed Cormac against the truck over and over.
“Say that again!” Finn yelled. “Don’t you fucking dare come here and blame Shayna for anything.”
“She’s dead,” Cormac cried.
“And you’re driving like this?” Finn asked. “You fucking moron. You want to end up like her?”
Cormac’s head then stopped swaying. His eyes went wide and he showed his teeth. Suddenly, Cormac was sober and ready to fight again. He pushed at Finn and the two started to get tangled up together.
They wanted to fight, but not each other.
I watched them spin in circles, yelling, cursing, taking cheap punches that barely landed.
I didn’t know what to do.
So I grabbed the bottom of my shirt and lifted it.
Yeah, that’s right… I flashed them to get the fight to stop.
~
And it worked.
The fight stopped dead and they both looked at me.
“Wow,” Cormac said.
“What the hell?” Finn growled. “Put your shirt down.”