Page 42 of Intense (Beneath The Blaze #3)
FINN
Song- Out of the Black, Royal Blood.
“ A re we going to be back in time for the party tomorrow?” Rowan asks just as the jet lifts from the tarmac, the engines humming like a prelude to violence.
“We have no choice. Unless we want Conan and Declan to take free shots at our faces in the ring.” I don’t look at him as I speak, eyes fixed ahead.
Twenty-four hours in London.
One day away from Stephanie, just enough time for her to think about what she’s done.
I open the CCTV feed on my phone. Drago hacked into the strip club for me because…well, because I asked him to. Because I need to know if my marriage is really over before it even began. I need to know if she shows up. If she makes good on her little threat.
Because if she does… she’ll unleash a level of hell she’s never seen from me. Not even close.
This is her test. She just doesn’t know it yet.
And if she passes?
Then when I return home, she’s mine. No more games. No going back.
But right now, I’ve got business to handle.
Charles Bowen is finally fucking dead. Seventy years old, a bullet through his skull, and now London bleeds because of it.
War has begun. Theo has taken over territory. It’s all falling into place.
And we’re here to formally seal our alliance. Me, Reggie, and Rowan, flying in quietly to meet with Theo King and his brothers. Once the handshake happens, the deal is done.
Then we bring our army that Enzo promised. Arthur Bowen and the rest of his men won’t know what hit them.
Rubbing my hands together, I lean back in my chair, closing my eyes. I need rest. I rarely get it. My nights are usually haunted by things I can’t forget, things I’d rather drown in.
But lately? It’s not the past keeping me awake.
It’s her.
The thoughts I can’t kill. The images of what I’d do to her if she gave me her trust. Instead of shoving fucking divorce papers in my face. I still can’t believe how seeing that piece of paper hurt me so much.
“Hey, Finn,” Rowan says.
I sigh. Of course. I can’t get one moment of peace.
“Yes?” I crack one eye open.
“Are you okay?”
I blink at him.
“Yep. All fine over here.” I shut my eyes again, but I can feel it—he’s not done.
“It’s just…” he trails off, unsure.
I sit up slowly and turn to him.
“Spit it out before you choke on it.”
“You seem… more. Or less. I don’t know. You don’t seem like yourself.”
My brow furrows. I glance toward Reggie, the one more likely to understand me.
But he doesn’t contradict Rowan. That alone tells me everything.
“Have either of you said anything to my brothers?” I ask.
Because they don’t need this right now. Their focus should be on their families. Not on me.
“No. We thought we’d talk to you first,” Reggie answers.
I nod.
“What makes you think there’s something going on with me?”
Reggie scratches his beard. Always thoughtful, always calculating before he speaks.
“You’re showing emotions. You don’t seem so cold. Something’s gotten to you, and I don’t think you’ve even realized it yet, Finn.”
I rub my chest without thinking. That ache. Persistent. Unsettling.
Maybe I am sick.
Or maybe—it’s her.
“Have either of you ever been obsessed with a woman?” I ask.
They exchange glances before looking back at me.
“We’ve had relationships, short ones, but nothing to obsess over,” Rowan says carefully.
“So the fact I think about this one every waking second… dream of her every night… and have researched her like a goddamn lab subject for almost six years, writing what could practically be a report on her… that’s not normal?”
Reggie’s eyes widen, horrified. Rowan bursts into laughter.
“No. You’re fucking with us,” Rowan chuckles, shaking his head.
I stay silent, unmoved.
“Is there something wrong?” I ask, deadpan.
Reggie shifts, scratching the back of his neck.
“That’s obsession, yeah, Finn. Does she even know? Have you asked her out?”
I reach into my pocket, pull out my wedding ring, and slip it onto my finger. Then hold it up for them to see.
“I married her,” I say flatly.
Reggie chokes on a cough.
“You are fucking joking, right?”
I shake my head once.
“Married. By accident. She’s trying to annul it. I won’t let her.”
The silence that follows stretches long. I hold up my hand with the wedding ring proudly positioned. How have they missed that?
“Fuck, man. I don’t even know what to say,” Reggie mutters, stunned.
“Have you had sex with her?” Rowan asks.
I raise a brow at him.
“No. I’ve tasted her. Given her a glimpse of what I crave. She’ll fit me perfectly. I’m waiting for her to break and come to me.”
“This is fucked up, Finn,” Rowan says, almost amused.
“I’m well aware. I forgot to mention—I’m her boss.”
Reggie’s jaw drops.
“I have no words, Finn. Sounds like you should take Con’s advice and go see a shrink. Before you end up getting killed by another surgeon.”
His comment sticks.
“Why would she kill me?”
“To take half your fortune? Do you really know her?”
I scratch at the stubble on my jaw, staring at the floor.
“Yes.”
And no.
I didn’t know she was a stripper. I guess it’s possible she could be hiding more from me.
“I’m not going to a shrink. I’m fine. It’ll work itself out.”
Reggie nods, but it’s clear he doesn’t buy a word of it.
“So, you want to stay married to her?” Rowan asks.
“Is this twenty fucking questions, Rowan?” I snap.
He shrugs.
“That was a lot. I just asked if you were okay. Wasn’t expecting a damn confession.”
I let out a laugh. Dry and unexpected.
Maybe I am changing.
And maybe… that’s not such a bad thing.
“Yes. I want to stay married. I have no intention of marrying anyone else.”
“Can you fuck anyone else?” Reggie interjects.
“No. Nor can she.”
My blood boils just thinking about our last conversation. That look in her eyes.
She won’t.
She’ll come back to me. Willingly. She always does.
And just like that, the conversation dies. They know not to push further.
So I close my eyes again, settling into the dark, dangerous quiet.
Letting my mind drift back to the only place it wants to be?—
My wife.
Laid out beneath me.
Hooked up to monitors.
A scalpel in my hand.
And all the time in the world to explore her.