Page 81 of Heir of Fire
Gianna let out a real laugh, shaking her head. “Yeah, he could have. But I was an asshole.”
“And now they’re totally going to give him the full mafia tie-down lecture,” Blair said. “It’s kind of funny when you think about it. They think torturing him will get him to spill on the details of your relationship.”
“Is that what they’re planning on doing?” she asked, panic rushing through her.
“They’re seriously the most dramatic people I’ve ever met in my life,” Cecilia said. “Hate to break it to them, but her innocence is long gone if that’s what they’re trying to protect.”
Gianna slapped her on the shoulder, eliciting an “ow” from her. Despite hearing what could have been happening to Finn,she felt a huge sense of relief lift off her shoulders knowing that her relationship with Luna was fine.
For a moment, she wondered if it was an act. If Luna was pretending that it was fine and then she would quickly turn it around and decide she wanted nothing to do with Gianna after all, but she had to let that type of thinking go. The people in her life loved her, despite the fear that pushed her to such extremes to believe otherwise.
“Is Finn okay, though?” Luna asked her. “After what happened this morning, I didn’t know what kind of shape he would be in.”
Gianna nodded. “It was a lot. He had an emotional day, but he’ll be okay.”
If she hadn’t just completely destroyed everything by not standing up for him when she had a chance. God, she wanted to beat herself up. After everything, she was a coward. She was selfish and disgusting. He needed her and she completely let him down.
Luna’s shoulders relaxed and a breath of relief escaped her. “I’m glad. Thank you for being there for him.”
What did it matter when Finn would want nothing to do with her anymore?
Her brain was telling her that even if Luna and Allister stayed, she had lost Finn. Wasn’t that what she had decided on so long ago? That she was willing to sacrifice her relationship with him to save the others? So then why did she feel like ripping out her heart at the thought of him leaving her?
She couldn’t imagine a world without Finn in her life. She needed to talk to him, make sure he understood how sorry she was. She would prove it to him.
And she would hope he still chose her in the end.
THIRTY-SEVEN
FINN
When Finn opened his eyes,the last thing he expected to be was tied up to a chair downstairs. Everything from earlier in the night came back to him, and suddenly Allister, Dante, and Valerio standing in front of him made complete sense. He just had no idea what Augustus was doing there, sitting on a chair in the corner nonchalantly.
Every movement of his head sent a rush of pressure through it, so he decided to continue staring straight forward, hoping everyone would stop their dramatics soon. Nothing was worse than a fucking concussion and a potentially broken nose after the day he’d had.
“Oh good, you’re alive,” Dante said, alerting the others. “None of us knew if you were going to pull through, Valerio’s hit was a little too hard.”
“What is all this?” Finn asked.
“This is how I’m going to learn about you, Finn Kingsley,” Allister said this time. His eyes had returned to a normal shade of blue, but the bite in his voice was still present.
“Believe it or not, but there’s actually not much to learn about me.”
Augustus snorted. “Isn’t that the truth.”
“What the fuck are you doing here, by the way? Whose side are you on?”
“I’m here to make sure nothing goes too far, dumbass. Without me here, you probably would have already been missing fingers.”
Finn let out a huff, attempting to roll out his shoulders. “Do I really have to be tied up for this?”
“I think we should end everyone’s misery and bury him alive like I suggested,” Valerio said. “You’re not going to get anything out of him. At least, nothing useful.”
“You’re too kind, brother-in-law.”
Allister stormed up to Finn and wrapped a hand around his neck, taking the joking vibe out of the room. He could feel his throat closing, the need for air building more and more the longer his hand stayed glued in place. The fire in his lungs was unbearable, but that was suffocation. It wasn’t meant to be pleasant.
“What the fuck did you do to my sister?” Allister hissed.
