Finn checked his phone,and saw that he had a missed call and a message from Luna. He wasn’t interested in what she had to say. Pulling up into the lot behind the Ward house, he parked his car. It was dark, and he made sure to take his pistol out and set it in his lap. Headlights shined, coming up the driveway, and Finn didn’t flinch. The truck parked beside his whip, and he watched as Rose, Mille, and Minx all got out. Thunder rolled as the sky darkened even more, threatening additional rain. Finn hopped out as well, and they all started toward the house together.
He brought up the rear, and heard Minx using her keys to let them inside. When she hit the light switch on the wall and the lights didn’t come on, she huffed and sighed with frustration.
“Fucking fuse must’ve blown,” Minx muttered.
“I’ll go check it. Stay here.” Rose nudged past her while Finn remained in the doorway to the house.
He sparked a cigarette and blew smoke from his lips as he peered around the darkened kitchen. Mille remained near the counter, and his foot scraped against something sharp that scuffed against the floor. Minx glanced down and saw that glass was broken. Turning her face up, she squinted at the ground. Eeriness swept over her, and every bone in her body went on high alert. Throat tightening, part of her thought she might have stopped breathing. She heard Rose’s footsteps on the steps as he descended into the basement and then a gun cocked nearby. Frozen where she stood, Minx spun toward the doorway to the living room and watched a gun emerge from the shadows first and then Gannon’s face. He looked hardened, inhuman, gripping the gun with a tight grimace etched into his face.
Grabbing her brother, she shoved him behind her instinctively. Finn stepped inside with his weapon drawn and ready. Gannon fired off, and the buckshots spread as Minx grabbed Mille and dragged him down to the linoleum with her. Glass shattered, and she heard Finn grunt in agony before his body slid across the kitchen floor into a wall. A loud thud filled the room as he sank to the ground, gripping his shoulder wound and wincing. He still carried his pistol in hand, but Gannon focused on Minx.
“We could’ve been something together, Minx. More than some tortured adolescent love like you and that nigga Rose. Or even the tragedy that is your parents. We could’ve been bigger than all of that.” Obsession cloaked his tone. “But this is what you chose. This life… this mediocre, basic ass existence when you could be more than that. You could’ve leveled up. Because we all know that Rose is stuck in his ways. He’s going to end up just like Max. The hood is all he knows and all he will know.”
Eyes the color of ink, soaked in rage as he waved his gun, for a split second they landed on Finn. He took the opportunity to fire a shot right into Gannon’s leg, startling him.
“Aghh!” he hollered, wobbling over.
“You’ve lost your mind, Gannon. Whatever was between us, it definitely wasn’t some grand love affair that changed my life. It was what it was. You can sit there and try to pretend like Rose and my father aren’t men because you can’t even comprehend what it takes to be a man like them! They put their family first. They live by a code and have more honor than your weak ass can even fathom!” Her sharp words triggered him.
Gannon continued to rage, ready to fire another shot. Minx and Mille remained on the floor while Finn covered his wound with one hand and raised his gun with the other. Gannon was quicker with the trigger, and when he squeezed off, suddenly he got snuck from behind. A wired rope wrapped around his throat,throwing his balance off. The buckshots sprayed the wall a few feet from where Finn was propped up.
Max used both hands to hold him tight, squeezing the rope with all his might. Gannon was losing the fight, and the gauge fell from his hands and clattered to the floor. His hands went to his throat, and he fought against Max while he robbed him of air. He whipped him around with force so that they were face-to-face, just as Rose charged up the stairs, ready for action. Gannon choked and clawed, eventually growing weak and limp in Max’s grasp. When he finally gave up, his mouth was wide open, eyes stretched so far it looked as if they would pop right out of his sockets. Max yanked him to the side, forcing him onto the ground.
Minx shielded Mille’s eyes from seeing his corpse displayed right in front of them, and she shut hers to block out the last image of Gannon that she would see. She held her brother tight, rocking on the cold tile in a fetal position. Rose rushed to Finn’s side and extended a hand to help him to his feet. Max continued to coldly glare down as Gannon’s chest heaved. He brought Mila along and kept a tail on him and another on Rose and his children.
A false tip was sent to Max, sending him on the opposite side of town to trace Gannon. He was halfway there when something clicked, and he hit a hell of U-turn and smashed the gas all the way back to his home. He could hear Gannon ranting from outside. All he had to do was follow his voice. Gratification put him on a high as he kept his eyes glued to the ground. Finn held himself up against a counter, sweat on his chest as pain spread through him. Rose grabbed Minx and pulled both her and Mille up. She rushed into his arms and held him tight, burying her face in his chest.
“It’s over,” she whispered. “It’s over.”
Hours later…
Finn sat shirtless in the living room of Rose’s house. His shoulder patched up, and making a sour face as he took a large swig from the bottle of D’Ussé perched on the table. He winced while reclining in his chair and taking in a few deep breaths. The footsteps behind him were light, and he remembered that he wasn’t alone.
“Mmm, how are you feeling?” Rye asked, sliding her arms across his shoulders while she whispered in his ear.
Finn was drunk, and he didn’t know what the hell he was thinking calling that girl. Luna had him fucked up in the head. After getting the doctor to take care of him and making sure everyone else was good, Rose told him to come here and crash and he would check with him in the morning. Finn pulled up and didn’t want to be alone, so he went through his call log and scrolled. He came across Rye’s name after lingering over Luna’s for about five minutes. His mind went against even calling her back. Rye was his best bet, and he didn’t even have to sweet-talk her to get her to come by and play nurse for him. She missed him and was eager for the chance to please him.
“I’m straight,” he replied, resting the bottle on his knee.
Rye massaged his shoulders and kissed his neck, then climbed over the sofa and joined him at his side. In nothing but a big t-shirt, she was still recovering from them fucking all up and down Rose’s hallway the last hour or so.
“I got dinner in the oven. You need anything else?” she asked, eyes focused on him.
Finn didn’t answer, and the doorbell rang, interrupting them.
“You can get that,” he told her.
Rye hopped up like she lived there. Finn brought the bottle to his lips to sip again and stared off. He heard the door open and then Rye’s raised voice.
“I’m sorry, did he ask you to be here?” The attitude she carried alerted him.
He slowly brought himself to his feet and went into the foyer. He stopped dead in his tracks when he observed Luna standing there. He couldn’t read her, but she was definitely pissed, judging by the glare in her eyes. Sucking her teeth, Luna slowly shook her head, a bitter grin claiming her lips.
“No, he didn’t. I guess it doesn’t take much to move on, right?” Luna questioned, lifting a brow.
Finn remained there, unphased, gripping his bottle between two fingers. His heart was actually happy to see her, but then he was reminded about the anger he felt for her. When she turned to go, he called out to her and took a couple of steps forward.
“Why are you here? Thought of some more bullshit to say?” he asked, clearly intoxicated as she studied him.
