Fighting for Love

  “What are you going to do?” I asked.

  “Forgive him. I’d broken up with him, and he turned to another woman. Am I disappointed in him? Very much so, but at the same time, I’d told him we were through, so he technically didn’t cheat.”

  Fear gripped my body and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Would Finn do the same thing? Turn to another woman for comfort? The thought made me sick to my stomach.

  Autumn gasped and asked, “What happened?”

  Turning to her, I said, “I’ll catch you up on all of that later.”

  Clearing her throat and checking her makeup in a mirror, my mother turned to me. “I hate leaving you, but I’ve got to run. Will you be coming back to the office today?”

  I shook my head. Seeing my mother dash off as if nothing had just happened made me realize I was doing the right thing. “Not today, Mom. I can’t. And when I do come back it will only be to clean out my office.”

  A look of disappointment washed over her face before she forced a smile. Kissing me on the cheek, my mother whispered, “Good luck with Finn.”

  “Thanks. Bye, Mom. I’ll talk to you later this evening.”

  Autumn hugged and kissed my mother goodbye. As soon as she walked out the door, I turned to Autumn.

  “I can’t tell you how amazing that felt.”

  She walked up to me and drew me into her arms. “About damn time if you ask me.”

  Taking a step back, she lifted her brow. “Now what?”

  There was no way I could deny the sick feeling I had in my stomach. If my father had fallen into the arms of another woman, would Finn do the same?

  “I know what you’re thinking, and he wouldn’t do it. No way.”

  I nodded in agreement. My heart knew the truth.

  I was done listening to my head. It was time to follow my heart.

  Looking intently at Autumn, I asked, “How do I get him back?”

  She smiled. “Call him. Right now, and tell him everything.”

  Racing over to my purse, I pulled my phone out and hit Finn’s number. It rang three times before a female voice answered. My already sick-feeling stomach took a nosedive.

  “Finn’s telly. How can I help you?”

  The lump in my throat made it hard to speak. “Is…um…Finn available?”

  The girl chuckled. “Aah…hold on a second.”

  I snapped my eyes over to Autumn, and her smile vanished.

  I heard Finn ask who was on the phone. “It’s Rory,” the woman said.

  Finn’s voice appeared on the other end. “What do you want, Rory?”

  His voice sounded distant and cold.

  “I was…I was wondering if I might be able to come over and talk to you.”

  Silence.

  “Or we could meet somewhere and talk.”

  “You promised me.”

  His words felt like a knife piercing my heart. “Finn, please let me explain.”

  “I’ve never in my life opened my heart to someone like I did you. I loved you, and I thought you loved me.”

  “I do love you! Do you not remember this past weekend? My note…I’ll always love you.”

  Finn let out a gruff laugh. “That’s not what your father said.”

  I sucked in a breath of air. “What do you mean?”

  Finn let out a frustrated sigh. “I can’t do this, Rory. I trusted you with my heart, and you broke it. No, you didn’t just break it…you destroyed it. You fucking destroyed me. I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t care what you have to say.”

  And with those words, he hung up. I stared straight ahead, my arm dropping to my side as tears burned my eyes.

  “Rory? What happened?”

  “He hates me,” I whispered.

  Autumn walked up to me. “He doesn’t hate you. I read that letter he wrote to you. He’s hurt and angry, that’s all.”

  I hit my father’s number. He sounded relieved when he answered the phone.

  “Rory, are you okay?”

  “You don’t get to ask me that question, Dad. Did Finn show up for his shift today?”

  “Yes. After he walked into my office smelling like alcohol this morning, then proceeded to chew me out and demanded I tell him why you broke up with him.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I told him what I thought was the best thing to say.”

  Fear gripped my chest. I closed my eyes and asked, “What. Did. You. Say.”

  “I told him you only entertained this whole notion of being with him to be rebellious against me. That you agreed Friday night that the best thing to do would be to end this ridiculous affair you had going with him.”

  Anger filled my entire body as my eyes snapped open. “I never said any of that. You lied to him. How could you lie to him?”

  “Because you’re going to see that that boy was never going to be faithful to you, Rory. I know the type.”

  I yelled into the phone, “You know nothing about Finn! Nothing! He is ten times the man you ever were.”

  “Do not raise your voice to me, young lady.”

  Shaking my head, I attempted to keep myself calm. Every inch of my body was shaking in anger. I felt sick to my stomach.

  “I cannot believe you. I’ll never forgive you for this, Dad. Never.”

  “Rory, I’m only—”

  “And I’m going to win his love back if I have to keep trying till the day I die, and there is nothing you can do about it.”

  “I forbid you to see him, Rory Ann Adams.”

  I laughed. “I’m not a child. I’m twenty-six years old, and I neither need nor desire your direction in my life.”

  “You are my daughter, and I have every right to be a part of your life.”

  “No more, Dad. I never in my life thought I would say this to you, but I hate you. I hate you for doing this to me and to Finn. I will never…ever…forgive you for this.”

  “Rory.”

  “Goodbye, Dad.”

  Hitting End, I looked at Autumn. “He lied and told Finn I agreed the best thing to do would be to end things with him. No wonder Finn was so angry.”

  She covered her mouth with her hands. “That bastard!” she gasped.

  “He lied. How could my own father do this to me?”

  My body was numb.

  I did the only thing I knew to do. I threw my phone against the tile floor and screamed, “I hate him so much!”

  My knees shook and I felt my entire body give out.

  Autumn was by my side, holding on to me tightly as I cried hysterically. “I’ve lost the fight. Oh God, Autumn! I’ve lost him forever.”

  “You have not, Rory Adams. You’ve lost one round, but you’re going to win the battle, I swear to you.”

  After I had no tears left to shed, I stood and walked to the window. The gray sky parted and the sun shined through the clouds. It was as if all the crying had totally cleared my head. I wasn’t giving up on Finn. No matter how angry he was at me, or how much he pushed me away. I. Was. Not. Giving. Up. What we had was worth fighting for. A future that we both dreamed of, and a love so amazing that now, finally, it had showed me the light.

  “I’m not giving up. I’ll never stop trying to win him back.”

  Autumn appeared at my side and wrapped her arms around me. “That’s the Rory I know.”

  Chapter 48

  Finn

  Lost hope

  Hitting End, I tossed the new phone Angie had brought over onto the sofa.

  “Well, at least you didn’t break this one,” Angie said with a smirk.

  I rolled my eyes and headed to the kitchen. My head was fucking pounding from all the alcohol I drank last night.

  Opening the refrigerator, I grabbed a bottle of water. “I don’t need a babysitter, Angie.”

  She grinned. “I know you don’t. What did she say?”

  With a shrug, I replied, “She wanted to talk.”

  “And you said no?”

  I drank half the water. “You hea
rd what I said. Her letter to me was pretty damn clear, as were her father’s words this morning.”

  Angie frowned. “You believe him?”

  Wes sat at the kitchen bar and lifted his brow. He’d been with me this morning when we went to Rory’s place before going to the station. Autumn had looked like she was on the verge of telling me where Rory went, but then had gone tight-lipped.

  Glancing around my place, I sighed. Angie and her friend must have spent a few hours cleaning.

  I motioned to the living room. “Thanks for cleaning that all up.”

  “Thank Regina, your neighbor. She had most of it cleaned up before we got here.”

  Nodding, I made a mental note to thank her and Paul.

  “So, what do we do now?” Wes asked.

  With a fake laugh, I replied, “Vow to never love women again.”

  A laugh came from the living room. We all focused in on Angie’s friend Alexia. “So you automatically blame the woman. Why?”

  Flash was all over the young blonde. She wore black leggings and her hair was in two ponytails, which actually made her look sexy and not like a ten-year-old. If Angie had brought this girl around three months ago I’d probably have tried to get into her pants. Now I had no desire at all.

  “They are to blame,” Wes replied.

  “How so?” the young girl asked as she stood.

  Pushing off the kitchen counter, I walked up to her. “We gave them our hearts, and they ripped them out.”

  She pouted. “Aw, poor babies. Did you really think love was going to be all roses and sunshine? No, dipshits. You have to work on that shit. Anything that is worth having comes at a price. A cost that sometimes may seem too great too pay.” She turned to Wes, who had told Angie all about Mandy and his plan to move to Boston to win her back. “So you, Wes. You took a job in New York and the girl you loved didn’t follow you and ended up moving on with her life. Well, fuck her for wanting to have a life and follow her own dreams, right? I mean she should have given it all up and followed you to a completely different state so you could follow your dreams and have her by your side. No, sorry, dude, puppies do that shit. Not women.”

  I glanced over to Angie, who stood silent, but had a huge smile on her face.

  “And you, Finn. You’ve fallen in love with a woman who twenty-four hours ago begged you to remember how much she loves you. Then she all of a sudden gets a wild hair to break up with you, her daddy tells you it was all part of her plan, and you believe him? Oh my gosh. I’ve only heard bits and pieces and I can already tell you the father is controlling, probably has been this girl’s whole life, and she was forced into breaking up with you. Now she’s asking to talk to you and you say no?”

  She knocked on her head with her fist. “Hello? Earth to Finn.”

  Narrowing my eyes at her, I replied, “She’s an adult, Alexia.”

  The girl lifted a brow. “An adult who kept her relationship secret from her father for fear he would find out. Now, I do wonder what in the world would make her so scared to tell her father she was dating you that she would keep it a secret, but obviously it was something—something she just reached out to you for help with.”

  I wanted desperately to ask her to keep going, but instead I glanced over to Angie and said, “Don’t you think you should be taking Dr. Laura home or to school or whatever it is you guys do?”

  Angie walked over to Wes. She hugged and kissed him goodbye. “Let me know if he destroys another phone.”

  Wes winked. “I will.”

  She made her way over to me. She looked at my black eye and shook her head. “You look like shit, Finn.”

  I nodded. “Thanks, Angie.”

  She hugged me tightly. “Don’t push her away, Finn. I know you’re hurt and angry, but trust me when I say you need to talk to her.”

  As she gazed into my eyes, I said, “I can’t right now, Angie.” Glancing down at the floor, I repeated, “Not right now.”

  She kissed me on the forehead. “Don’t wait too long, Finn. If you do, she’ll move on.” Not taking her eyes off me, she added, “Isn’t that right, Wes?”

  My head snapped up to look at Wes. He frowned, then looked away.

  Angie and her friend headed out, though not before giving Flash some love. Once the door shut, I reached down for an unopened bottle of beer.

  “What the fuck do they know?” I mumbled as I walked to the door that led to the balcony. The cool air felt crisp and clean.

  Wes nodded. “Yeah. What do they know?”

  Glancing at the beer in my hands, I turned to Wes. “I’m going for a run. I need to clear my head.”

  —

  Two weeks after Rory had written me her breakup letter, I was lying in my bed at the station and staring at the ceiling.

  “Ward? You up for a run?”

  Colton had been doing whatever he could to get my spirits lifted the last few weeks. None of it had worked, because I didn’t give a fuck about anyone or anything. Every time I saw Captain Adams, I looked the opposite way. I figured he would be rubbing it in. Giving me a smile that said he won and I lost. He didn’t do that, though. In fact, he seemed to be avoiding me as much as I avoided him.

  I wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but I had sat in my car one day and waited all day hoping to see Rory. When a cab had pulled up and she’d emerged from it, my breath caught. She looked tired. I could see the same sadness on her face that I saw on mine every single morning. Before she’d walked into her building she’d stopped and looked around.

  “Nah. I’m not in the mood.”

  “Jesus, Finn. You’ve got to snap out of it. Either talk to her, or move on.”

  I sat up and stared at him. “You still dating Melissa?”

  His face dropped. “No. She broke things off a few weeks back.”

  “Why?”

  He shrugged. “I wouldn’t commit to the relationship.”

  Frowning, I replied, “I’m sorry about that, dude.”

  With a short, empty chuckle, he said, “It was my fault.”

  Nodding, I asked, “You want to go out tonight?”

  He grinned. “Are you going to sulk or try and enjoy yourself?”

  I smiled. “I guess the only way to move on is to enjoy myself.”

  “And is moving on what you want to do, Finn?”

  Before I had a chance to answer, an alarm sounded and we both started hustling. The last fucking thing I wanted to do was go out. But if it meant forgetting the pain in my chest for a while, I was willing to give it a shot. I pulled my pants on, then my jacket. Grabbing my helmet, I slipped it on and went to get into the truck. Cap’s gaze caught mine. It was hard not to notice the sadness in his eyes.

  “You got your head in the game, Finn?”

  I wasn’t sure how to respond. Was he asking because he thought I couldn’t do my job? Or because he knew he was the reason his daughter and I were miserable?

  “Always, sir. Always.”

  He nodded. “Good.”

  —

  There was chaos at the scene. Residents of the building were all over the place, yelling at us to get the fire out. They were losing everything. A lady screamed that her dog was still in the house and begged Colton and me to go in and get him. Captain Adams nodded for us to enter the brownstone.

  Before going in, I hit my helmet three times. Colton walked slightly ahead of me.

  “I can’t see a thing in here,” Colton said.

  “Engine 33,” I called into the mic.

  “Fire alarm answering Engine 33.”

  “We have smoke filling the entire building, making it difficult to see.”

  “Copy that, Engine 33 states a lot of smoke in the building making seeing difficult.”

  I heard a cracking sound and reached out for Colton. “Stop! Something’s about to go.”

  “I hear it!” Colton replied.

  A bark came from the right. I pointed and said, “Over here—I hear it over here.”

  “Engine 33, we a
re heading into the first-floor main living, we hear barking.”

  “Fire alarm to Engine 33, you are entering the main-floor living.”

  Making our way into another room, I caught the silhouette of a young girl holding a dog.

  “Holy shit,” I whispered. “There’s a kid in here with the dog!”

  “Engine 33, repeat please.”

  “There’s a young girl in here. Still conscious…though possibly only barely.”

  “Copy that, Engine 33 has found a young girl still alive in the building.”

  Captain Adams’s voice filled my helmet. “Engine 33, I need all members to vacate the building immediately. It’s about to go. Finn, Colton, I need you to get out of the building. Now! I repeat, get out of the building. There is a fire in the basement and one working under the roof.”

  Fuck. Two different fires; two different places most likely meant the fire was arson.

  “Grab her, Finn. I’ll get the dog.”

  I went to reach for the dog, and the girl screamed, then started coughing. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m not going to hurt you or the dog, but we have to go or you’re both going to be hurt really bad. Do you understand?”

  She nodded and handed me the dog, which I then handed to Colton. Reaching down, I picked up the little girl and shouted to Colton, “Get moving—the ceiling above and below is about to go; I feel the heat!”

  I was just barely able to see Colton give me a thumbs-up, and we headed back the way we’d come in. The creaking and cracking sounds of the floors grew louder as we moved across it.

  “You gotta move faster, Colton! Move it!”

  “I’m trying to find the goddamn way out, Finn. I can’t even see my hand in front of my face.”

  My heart was racing. We needed to get this kid out of here before she breathed in any more smoke.

  “Engine 33. We’re going to need an ambulance.”

  “Fire alarm answering Engine 33. Copy that, ambulance in front of rescue two.”

  Colton must have pulled ahead, or the smoke was getting much thicker, because I lost sight of him. I heard a loud crash from the direction of the floor behind me as I ran.

  “Hold on, sweetheart!” I shouted. I could see the light from the door and ran as fast as I could, praying we got out before the whole damn floor collapsed.