Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 76396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
He’s not wearing a shirt, and his skin is glistening with sweat. When he turns our way, my eyes widen at the tattoo across his chest. Sitting right over his heart, is my name. My chest clenches and I swallow, unable to take my eyes off the words that are scrawled over his heart. Next to it, is a flower design, five of them, all tangled in an intricate design. And I could swear I’ve seen that before.
My hand goes up to my neck, as if to grab a necklace, but nothing is there.
I shake my head, and turn to Finn. “Is he hurt?”
Finn shakes his head. “That’s not really what I wanted to show you. Come with me.”
He pulls me through the crowd and towards a back door, we go through it and come to a screaming halt when we run into Lincoln. His dark eyes swing to mine, and his jaw tightens. “Finn, what in the ever lovin’ fuck is she doin’ in here?”
“Fuck me,” Finn growls. “Was told you weren’t here tonight.”
“Answer the damned question!” Lincoln barks.
My heart starts racing.
And I step back, just a little.
Lincoln looks to me, closes his eyes, and then exhales. “Fuck, sorry sweetheart. But you shouldn’t be in here.”
“I wanted her to see Slater, but I want to show her something else. You know what.”
Lincoln looks to Finn. “You’re messin’ with shit that ain’t yours to mess with, Finn.”
“No,” Finn grunts. “I’m puttin’ our family back together. Let me show her.”
Lincoln exhales. “Ten minutes, then I never wanna see her in here again.”
Finn nods, and grabs my hand, dragging me into a room. It looks like an office of sorts. It has a desk, a few papers, some safes, things like that. Finn walks over to a safe and looks to me, “Turn around.”
I turn, and he dials a number into the combination lock. Then I turn back just as he’s opening it. What I see inside, nearly knocks the wind out of me. There is just mountain after mountain of cash sitting inside the safe.
“What exactly does this have to do with me,” I whisper.
“That’s yours.”
I blink, staring at Finn. “Excuse me.”
“That’s yours. Every fight he wins, he puts every cent into this safe. When it’s full, he puts it into a bank account under your name. He does it, because he wanted to be able to buy you a home when you came back to him, he wanted a safe haven, he wanted you to have something. Now you’re back, he still wants that. He wants you safe, but most of all, he wants you taken care of.”
I blink, because my eyes start to burn. He’s putting all this money away, just so I can have a home of my own?
He’s doing all this...for me?
He’s fighting and risking his life...for me?
“He’s never spent a cent of it, every single dollar goes into this safe for you. He hasn’t been doing it long, because he was working for Shanks for so long, but in the time he has been doing it, he’s probably fought enough to buy you a home.”
I swallow, because I feel like I’m going to cry, or throw up, or just lose it completely.
I don’t know what to feel.
Or what to do.
Something catches my eye, and I step forward, shoving my hand into the safe and hooking my fingers around it. I pull it out and stare down at it. It’s a necklace, with the exact same design that was tattooed across Slater’s chest.
It’s so familiar.
And I know it’s mine.
I know it with all of my being.
“This is mine,” I whisper.
“You remember that?” Finn asks.
“No...No, but...I just know it’s mine. I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Yeah. We got it for you for your eighteenth birthday. Five flowers. It stands for all of us. Family.”
My heart aches. It literally feels like it’s going to bust out of my chest.
Family.
Us.
The five of us.
I clutch the necklace in my hands.
I’m overwhelmed.
I turn and start rushing out of the room.
“Ellie, wait!” Finn calls, quickly locking the safe and following me. “Let me show you something else, please.”
“I don’t know how much more I can take, Finn.”
“Please.”
I rub my hands down my face, and turn to him. “I want to go home.”
He reaches for my hand, eyes locked on mine.
I take his with a deep exhale.
He leads me down the hall a little more, to a big glass window, and I stare into a small locker room. And there’s Slater, sitting on a bench, head in his hands, elbows on his knees. Seeing a man like him, so big and strong, in this position, makes my heart burn. It makes my soul ache. He looks so broken. So hurt.
“He sits like this for hours after every fight. Sometimes, I think fighting is the only way he can get out his frustration. He spent so long looking for you, he did shitty things hoping it would get him information, he lost every single piece of who he was. All because he loved you so damned much. He still does.”