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beauty. She was too beautiful for her own good. For my own good. And that was a
problem.
    My thumb grazed her cheek and I put
my other hand to her pillow. As I leaned down, the smell of warm sleep started
to pull at me, daring me to catch some more z ’ s , only this time I ’ d be next to Shayna. I knew damn
well that if I really got into bed with her, we wouldn ’ t be sleeping. I had to keep that line uncrossed. I
had to stay a mile away from that line.
    So I stood up and put my foot on
the bed. I gave it a kick a few times until Shayna started to stir. She rolled
to her back and the covers moved down her body a little. She was wearing a
shirt, but it was pretty obvious she wasn ’ t
wearing a bra. Her nipples pressed through the shirt.
    Jesus Christ … I better make it two
miles away from that line.
     
    ~ ~ ~
     
    “ Are
you good? ” I asked. “ Full? You need coffee? ”
    “ No, ” she said. “ I ’ m
fine. Thanks for …”
    “ This
isn ’ t a please and thank
you thing. I ’ m putting you
in front of Fiore. Do you understand that? ”
    Shayna nodded. She ran a hand
through her hair. She looked really good. It was amazing how beautiful she
could be right now considering she was wearing some of my old clothes. She had
no make up on and managed to fix her bedhead with some water. She had an old
pair of my sunglasses on that she had found in the living room somewhere.
    “ I
got it, ” she said.
    “ This
guy is a big deal. He ’ s
connected to family. He has connections …”
    “ So
does Zander, ” Shayna said. “ If you ’ re trying to tell me in a round about way that he ’ s in the mob, I get it. That ’ s who Zander is. I ’ ve seen it all. I ’ ve seen people caught, tortured,
and killed. I ’ ve seen
fights. It hasn ’ t been
pleasant. ”
    “ Then
why? ” I asked. “ Why even be there? ”
    “ Because. ”
    That was that.
    I let it go for now.
    I drove from the highway to the
streets to the upscale neighborhood. The houses got bigger by the minute. And
Fiore had the biggest house built up on a ridge. He owned half the town,
probably more than that of the state, not to mention his blood ran through
Nevada and across the rest of the country all the way to New York City. And
then it went international.
    Fiore was that important. He would
know Zander. He would see the value in having Shayna around. Or so I hoped.
    “ So
he ’ s going to ask you
things, ” I said. “ You have to answer truthfully. ”
    “ Finn,
I get it. ”
    I pulled my truck over. Guilt had
officially settled in and gotten the best of me. I put it in park and turned to
Shayna. I touched her shoulder. “ Listen
to me. I ’ m in a bad spot
here. And I ’ m not asking
you to bail me out. But if you want to get away from that guy, this is a chance
to do it. If you think you need to go back, tell me right now. ”
    “ I
don ’ t have a choice, ” Shayna said.
    “ You
always have a choice. ”
    “ Zander
will kill me. ”
    “ Fiore
might kill you. ”
    “ I ’ ll take my chances. ”
    The guilt lifted - a little - and I
started to drive again.
    I wasn ’ t just bringing Shayna to talk to Fiore.
    I was going to offer her to him … to do whatever the hell
he wanted.
     
    ~ ~ ~
     
    Fiore took the cigar from his mouth
and made circles of smoke. He put it down on the edge of the desk and stood up.
He had a putting green next to his desk. It was set up for a shot. He took his
club and lined up the shot. Gently, he pulled his arms to the side and then
released the shot. The golfball rolled with a soft precision.
    If it goes in, he ’ s not going to kill me …
    It hit the edge of the hole, looked
like it was going to fall in, but then jumped the edge and stopped.
    Fuck.
    “ Eh, ” Fiore said. “ My hands are too shaky anymore.
Too much stress, Finn. ” Fiore dropped the club and looked at me. “ Too
much goddamn stress. ”
    I nodded. I knew when not to speak
around Fiore. This had nothing to do with