Finn
Continuing with the scheduled run is a mistake. Once I knew my head was no longer in the game, I should have called it off. This meeting is too important, and I am fucking it up. It doesn’t help matters that Cleaver and Trigger also volunteered to go. These two aren’t exactly known for keeping a low profile, and with the potential to reach a peaceful agreement with our sister MC out west, I don’t need the distraction. After how I left things with Winnie, all I want is to get home and figure out how I can salvage the situation. I feel like shit for saying what I did, and I feel guilty knowing that I’ll never be good enough for her. She deserves better. She deserves someone who can give her the life she deserves. I thought it could be me, but I can't even fix the fuck-ups I keep making.
“Yo, Dodger.” Cleaver waves me over to where they’re sitting with the Vikings' VP and one of his enforcers. The hairs on my neck stand on edge, and instantly I feel guarded. Cleaver looks like he’s drunk already, and Trigger is making a sloppy mess of himself, making out with one of the Viking’s club whores.
Keeping my face impassive, I make my way over and take a seat. “What’s up?”
Cleaver laughs and turns to the VP. “See, I told you. This one is all business, all the time. Your Prez is making a good choice by talking with him. Man can’t even enjoy a drink or a beautiful woman to calm the fuck down.”
The Vikings’ VP chuckles, his gaze sliding between Cleaver and me. They’re laughing at my expense, but I don’t have it in me to care. The deal is done, and we can head out. The last thing I need is Cleaver to be so far gone that he can’t ride.
Turning my attention to the VP, I stick my hand out to shake his. “Thanks for your hospitality.”
The man eyes me and glances at Cleaver, who shrugs his shoulders, before turning back to me. “I’m afraid I haven’t offered you anything. I’ll feel like a terrible host unless you have the opportunity to sample all the good things we have here.”
“Bourbon,” he says, while at the same time pouring me a glass and motioning for me to take a drink. Rules dictate that I can’t turn him down. It would be considered a slight, and since we just brokered peace, I’m not willing to ruin it.
I lift the liquor to my lips and take a drink. It burns like hell going down and tastes cheap, too. Another thing I won’t be telling them. “Thank you.” I lift my glass to him and take another drink.
Cleaver is watching me intently, and I’m starting to wonder what his issue is. This isn’t our first run together, but it is the first time he’s purposefully tried to get a reaction out of me. I take another drink, and my glass is nearly empty now. The Vikings’ VP slaps my shoulder.
“Now, you can try Tequila.”
I shake my head no. “We have to drive back. I’m good with just the bourbon.”
The man throws his head back laughing, shaking his head. “No.” He waves his hand, and soon one of the club whores is at his side. “This is Tequila. Baby, make our new friends feel good.”
“My pleasure,” the woman says before dropping onto my lap. She almost teeters right off, and my hands automatically reach out to steady her. My skin instantly burns from where I have to touch her, and I jerk my hands back. Objectively, she’s a beautiful girl. But she’s all wrong. Her hair is deep brown, not golden blonde. Her eyes are an emerald green and not the chocolatey brown I love. Even the weight of her body doesn’t feel right as she perches on my lap. I don’t want this. The realization hits me hard. I need to get home. My gaze flies to Cleaver, and he startles at the look I’m giving him. Brother or not, I could kill him for putting us in this position.
“As pretty as you are, darlin', I’m afraid we have to get going,” I start to help the girl up and nod at the VP.
The man scowls, and his eyes darken. “You’re guests here, and yet you’re turning down the best of what we have to offer? I don’t see a ring on your finger.”
My heart bangs against my rib cage thinking about Win. I want to argue, but I can’t. My mind is too slow to form a response that also keeps our credibility when lips descend onto mine. Anger burns through my blood, and I freeze at the foreign contact. Someone cheers and someone whistles, but I’m already pulling back and standing so fast that she falls to the floor.
“Hey!”
“Don’t fucking put your lips on mine,” I fire back at her and watch her eyes widen in shock. I turn back to the VP who baited me, and I let him. “I don’t have a ring, but I have a woman. A good woman.”
For the first time, the man looks uncertain, wondering if he made the right call or if he just pissed off a senior road captain of the MC he just signed an agreement with. I turn my anger to Cleaver and Trigger.
“I’m leaving in five. If you aren’t there, then ride alone.”
My boots thud against the floor of the clubhouse as I make my way to the front entrance. Cleaver and Trigger follow behind me, both of them silent. I want to ask Cleaver what his deal is, but right now I have more pressing issues. Someone kissed me. Another girl who is not my girlfriend pressed her lips to mine. I feel dirty. I feel fucking shitty and guilty, like I cheated. Something I swore I would never do or become after watching my father and my stepmother for years. I never wanted to be like him, and my greatest fear is that no matter how far I run, I’m still becoming just like him.
The miles tick by, and the hours creep on. We stop once to rest at a motel, and I avoid my brothers until it's time to leave again. Our next stretch of road lasts most of the day until we reach Braham. By then, the sun is beginning to set, the sky darkening by the time I pull up in front of the apartment I share with Winnie. The same apartment I’ve been avoiding, refusing to go to, and blaming the woman I love for the reason why I can’t. The need to see her, to confess all my sins, and hope like hell that she can forgive me overrides everything else.
My key fob lets me in, and I use my garage keys to slide the chain out of the lock. The apartment is dark, with only a single light coming from where our room is. “Win.”
I call her name and hear a shuffle of blankets. She reaches the bedroom door at the same time I do.
“Finn?”
My arms wrap around her, picking her feet up off the floor and crushing her body to mine. She feels damn good in my arms. I missed her scent and how soft she is.
“Why are you here, Finn?” Her voice cracks, and her hands brace against my hold while she wiggles to get free.
My eyes narrow, and a sharp pain hits my chest. “You’re here.”
