Free Game by London Casey, Ana W. Fawkes

’ t? But to let him in my body
with the intentions of getting me pregnant, that was completely something else.
Yet I was almost trapped in the situation, unless Finn got us out. He promised
he would think of something. And he was right about the timing of things. Even
if we had sex tonight and I managed to get pregnant right away, we still had
time. Time until my body let it show on a test. Time until my body actually
held onto the pregnancy, which was weeks away. So we had time to come up with a
plan.
    I started to feel a little more
relieved.
    I turned the water off and grabbed
a towel.
    I dried my hair and then my body. I
wrapped the towel around me and wiped my hand to the mirror. It fogged up
again, a little, but I could still see my reflection. Bottom line, we both
needed rest for tonight. Whether I was alone in bed or with Finn …
    I caught myself smiling.
    There was nothing wrong with Finn,
at least physically. With his touch, he was perfect. With his tongue kissing my
skin, he was perfect. It was when he talked that there were problems. He was
arrogant, cocky, and mean. Sometimes he had a look in his eye where sympathy
existed, but most of the time, he was the typical fighter. Always looking to do
something to someone.
    I wanted nothing more than both of
us to agree on a plan. Because it was Finn ’ s
life at stake too. Did he really want to have a baby? With me? And then, what,
just give that baby up to his boss? To replace a grandchild he lost? None of it
made sense, but the world we lived in didn ’ t
make sense. There were no laws and justice was dealt in a way that remained
totally unpredictable.
    I opened the bathroom door and
found Finn sitting on the edge of the bed. Part of me wanted to drop the towel
right there and just go at it. Maybe have a little practice at what we were
supposed to do. My body was still on fire from his touch and, to be honest, I
could have used the distraction from life for a little while. Even just one
crazy night.
    But then Finn looked at me.
    He stood up and put his hand out.
The look in his eye had nothing to do with passion or wanting to fuck. He was
angry.
    His fingers slowly curled open and
I sucked in a breath.
    Oh, shit.
    “ Tell
me, ” he said. “ I want to hear you say it. ”
    “ Finn,
you have to listen …”
    “ Just
fucking say it. The truth. Right now. ”
    I hung my head. He found the ring.
I had stuffed it in my pocket and left it there. Because it wasn ’ t supposed to be what it was. I also
thought maybe I could pawn it off for some easy cash to stay on the run.
    But now Finn found it.
    He wanted me to say it.
    So I looked at him. Dead in the
eyes. I nodded. “ Yeah,
fine, Finn, you want the truth? I ’ m
engaged to Zander. ”
     
    ~ ~ ~
     
    Finn tossed the ring to the bed and
left the room. I considered chasing him down, but I needed to get dressed first.
I scrambled, dropping the towel a second after he was out the door, and I
lunged for fresh clothes. I grabbed jeans and then grabbed the same t-shirt I
had been wearing and threw it on. The ring caught my eye and I snuck it back
into my pocket. Whatever the hell the damn thing meant it still had cash value.
That was the whole point of having it.
    I didn ’ t love Zander. I didn ’ t
want to get married to Zander. I didn ’ t
even have sex with Zander! The engagement was basically a prop. It was the way
Zander showed affection and claimed women he wanted to eventually fuck, use,
abuse, and leave for dead.
    I ran out the front door of the
cabin. The sun was getting extra heavy and starting to fall. A thin line of
brilliant colors battled their way through the gaps between the branches and
leaves on the trees. It was getting cool out already and my wet hair was not
going to serve me well. But I needed to get to Finn.
    I hurried around the side of the
cabin and ran.
    I then heard a thud! Then a
grunt followed by another thud! .
    When I stopped, I saw Finn standing
at a chopping block. He put a piece