The Middle Man Read online

  “Oh God,” he wails, trying to move, only the rest of us came into the light standing behind her and what does he do? Blows ass. “I’m sorry, Finn!”

  “What for?” she gags at the scent, we all did. “And don’t forget to be specific.”

  “The fake video, bad press, taking your money, and cheating on you.”

  And that’s when the room went electric. Forming a tight circle, we press in closer to her when Eagle growls, “You cheated on Raven?”

  “Raven? No. I cheated on Finn.”

  “Guys,” she says on a groan. “I’ve got this.”

  Grabbing his jaw tight, his eyes go wide and he cries, “Please don’t kill me!”

  “Why did you do that to me?”

  Wild with fear, he blurts, “Because you never saw me, never listened. It was always about Ryan!” Finding my face in the crowd, he shrieks, “Oh my God! It’s you!”

  “Focus,” she slaps him again. “Talon, I hired you when no one else would. I gave you a decent lifestyle asking nothing in return except that you look out for my best interest. Instead, you tried ruining my career, and I’m sorry, but what you did-didn’t set me back. You set women who wanted to be like me back. Women who love to jump and climb, repel and free fall. However, I am dead and looking to stay that way, so what do I do with you? I mean, it’s in the manual that loose ends are a no-no.”

  “You died skiing,” he sobs hysterically.

  “Which proves you didn’t know me at all, considering you bought into it.”

  “Finn,” he pleads pitifully.

  Leaning down, I see it and ask the room, “Did he piss his pants?”

  “I know, I know,” she sighs. “You’re holding this mistake over my head for eternity.”

  Grabbing Talon’s phone, she opens up his Facebook page and instructs us to, “String him up.”

  Then she remembered,” And don’t get piss on your hands.”

  Properly displayed in his wet cotton boxers, she turns on the live feature and tells him to, “Confess your sins or die dangling in the air.”

  Hitting play, and like he couldn’t get the words out fast enough, Talon started babbling away and wasn’t stopping anytime soon. My Finn was so over it, that we cleared the room and he was still going.

  Locking in, we repel as a group and finish by sliding silently into to our vehicle.

  While she drove, we were watching the live feed and laughing so hard the SUV shook.

  Grabbing her hand, I smile, “You cleared your name.”

  Squeezing back, she agrees, “I cleared my name.”

  And I was lost in the moment, in her, until Crow says, “Guys, he just shit himself.”

  “I can't believe we've been reduced to fucking in a closet,” I groaned into her neck. “They need to leave before I kill them.”

  “I said I was willing to lock the door and do it in bed.”

  “Those bastards listen in,” I griped. “Fucking Loon started taking bets on how long I'd last.”

  “So are we going to bitch or are we going to – ”

  Covering her mouth with my hand, I used the other to slide her panties aside and plunged home.

  My brothers gathered in Detroit long term, curious about the woman who triggered a chain of events none of them expected. The moment they met her, they fell hard. So hard they refused to fucking leave.

  While we were competitive by nature, each of them tried to out-do Finn but none have succeeded.

  The Operator loved this.

  And because of our new-found closeness she continued to dole out odd jobs to keep us together and train Finn in our ways too. The Operator made it clear we were to 'Fast Track' her and we were.

  Case in point: The nine of us were broken up into pairs walking through the park at Grosse Isle.

  Actually, the only three pair was Finn, Loon, and I. I swear to God, he was in love with my woman, but she loved him too so I didn't shoot him.

  Speaking to each other through our comms, I was watching Finn's hip sway when a man stepped out of the bushes. Loon and I cover Finn's sides and the others close in when this idiot locked eyes on my woman, dropped his pants, and started to jerk off.

  “Is he – ” Finn gasps.

  “Hard too,” Loon adds.

  “Let's shoot him,” I say reaching for my gun.

  Staying my hand, Finn snickers and says, “The least we can do is let him finish before we kill him. No one should die with blue balls, baby.”

  Never breaking his stare, the pervert grunts and moans while fucking his hand. “He's jacking off to my woman,” I growl. “Am I the only one not happy about this?”

  “Guy’s got balls,” Loon adds.

  Cocking her head, Finn zeros in and then says, “Little balls, but yeah, balls.”

  The others were silent behind us while this asshole continued to publicly masturbate, and the commentary from Finn and Loon almost made me smile. Almost.

  “You have to give him credit,” she says biting her lip. “Even faced with a group of killers, he's still going strong.”

  “He's watching you, Raven,” Loon laughs. “He doesn't even see us.”

  “In that case,” she says stepping forward.

  “The fuck do you think you're doing?” I demand loudly.

  Kissing my cheek, she whispers, “I love you, Nix.”

  Then she cups her tits, licks the seam of her bottom lip and tells the guy to, “Come.”

  And he did, all over his hand and the dirt. I didn't know if I wanted to hi-five him or skin him alive.

  “We are going to have words about this,” I warn her.

  Rolling her eyes, she skips over to the dickbag who can hardly stand after coming a river (which I totally understood) and delivers an uppercut any man would envy.

  When he goes down, I stand over him ready to do far worse when I noticed the smile on his face.

  Ryan and I had just surfed the Pipeline in Oahu and were relaxing on the beach watching the sun set when he said, “I've had the time of my life, Finn.”

  “We're just getting started,” I promised him.

  Suddenly, I was yanked to my feet, twirled into his arms, and we were dancing. Laughing at his antics, he caught me off guard when he dipped me and said, “And I owe it all to you.”

  “Look, spaghetti arms,” I said clutching his shoulders. “This is my dance space. This is your dance space. I don't go into yours, you don't go into mine. You gotta hold the frame.”

  “You just put your pickle on everybody's plate, college boy, and leave the hard stuff to me,” Ryan said standing me back up.

  “I still can't believe Dirty Dancing is your all-time favorite movie,” I laughed. “Every Swayze fan knows it’s Roadhouse.”

  Sobering, Ryan pulled me in for a tight hug and said, “Love you, Finn.”

  Rain was coming, I could feel it.

  But I wasn’t in a hurry nor was I afraid to get wet.

  The words on my tongue were nearly as heavy as the weight on my chest.

  The weather could wait but, I could not.

  Not any longer.

  Dusting off the top, tossing the weeds I had picked and replacing them with beautiful flowers, I stretch out over the earth resting my cheek where I imagined his would be.

  “His name is Phoenix,” I say clutching the grass for support. “You would have loved him so much, Ryan.”

  Taking a deep breath, I let the tears fall hoping that good came from them by watering the earth. “You were right about Talon, you were right about a lot of things actually. Except that jump. I will never know what compelled you to do it, but I’m pretty sure you only did it because you truly believed that you could. I have to believe you did it knowing the risk, because you were fearless too.”

  Closing my eyes, I let the guilt go. As much as I could, anyway. And I told him, “I need you to know, I was so proud of you. You died not understanding there was no one more proud. God,” I say sniffling. “I just miss you so much. I ache with it but, I pr
omise I will always think of you when I jump, fall, or fly. I’ll always be grateful that I had you by my side. Though it won’t be you holding my hand anymore or filming, or cheering me on, you’ll still be with me. Anyway, I hope you’re cloud jumping, banging angels, and keeping God on his toes. Put in a good word for me, okay? I have a feeling when the time comes, I’m going to need it.” Getting to my knees, I wipe my eyes and whisper, “Use the hell out of your wings, Ryan. I bet they look really good on you.”

  Coming to my feet, I reach into my bag placing my favorite picture of us on the ledge. When the air shifted, I closed my eyes and felt new tears falling as Nix’s arms wrapped around me in comfort. In a gentle voice, he says, “Thank you for taking care of our girl until I could get to her. Rest easy, Ryan, I’ve got it from here.”

  When I heard Loon whisper, “We've got it from here,” I turned to see all my guys present with their heads bowed.

  The first half of my life I had Ryan. And for the rest of it, I had them. The Middle Men.

  Resting against Nix's chest, I don’t resist when he turns me to leave. But I was a few steps away when I had to tell him, “He lets me soar, Ryan.” Cupping Nix’s cheek I whisper, “He’s my greatest adventure.”

  And when a flock of doves flew over, I knew he was among them.

  At a pub in Germany, Corbin and I were content to watch Finn and Jordyn talk.

  Both used their hands, were very animated, and smiled constantly.

  For every glance Finn snuck my way, Jordyn did the same.

  Their laughter was contagious and we found ourselves joining in even though neither of us had any idea what was so funny. The people around us watched them too. Some probably wishing they had women like this and others just because they were contagious.

  Leaning toward me he said, “All these years it's been the Operator.”

  “Finn figured it out,” I praised her. “I was clueless.”

  “I was too, brother,” he laughed. “You did it, Phoenix. You really fucking did it.”

  Raising my mug to tap rims, while looking at Finn, I told him, “We did it.”

  The Operator (whose name is actually Janet Jackson-Finn calls her Janet-Miss-Jackson-If-You're-Nasty and it drives her crazy) made it an order that us men get accustomed to doing things differently. She wants each of us to be diversified. In repelling, climbing, defensive driving, martial arts, and sky diving to name a few. The Operator wants an elite force fighting for her and all new recruits will have to pass intense training to qualify.

  Apparently, Finn inspired her because we were no longer only ground fighters.

  And since Finn is the expert in these areas, she’s been our instructor.

  Fortunately for me, I’ve had private training and have a come a long way in conquering my fear of heights.

  The others, not so much.

  Case in point, Loon.

  “I’m choking on my balls right now, Raven.”

  “Then open your throat and swallow like a lady,” she says. “It’s what I do. Right, Nix?”

  “A true lady,” I agree whole heartedly.

  “If we get caught,” Hawk interrupts. “It’s jail time for people who do not exist, so are we going to do this or what?”

  “How much time?” Loon counters. “Might be worth it.”

  “It’s only three thousand feet,” Finn rolls her eyes.

  “When you said vacation, you didn’t say base jumping from Dubai’s tallest fucking building, Raven!” Loon explodes, allowing his fear to show. Loon, who I should mention, has a bigger issue with heights than I ever did.

  “Duh,” she says nearing the edge. “Because you wouldn’t have come.”

  “She also said if we did it, she’d take us to Angel Falls in Venezuela,” Cardinal adds.

  “Yeah?” Jay laughs. “Do you even know what that is?”

  “It’s a waterfall, asshole,” he quips.

  “It’s the highest waterfall in the world, dipshit,” Cardinal nearly yells into his comm. “You think she’s taking us there to sightsee?”

  “She’s not?” Eagle gulps.

  “Pussies,” Falcon laughs loud.

  “Fuck you,” Crane growls. “You’re so fearless, you jump first.”

  Glancing over to Finn, I couldn’t tell if she found it funny or frustrating. Having had enough of their stalling, I announce, “Swan goes first.”

  “Me?” he shouts while flipping me off. “The fuck did I ever do to you?”

  “Actually,” Finn chimes in. “We’re all going together. As a team.”

  Giving her his standard puppy dog eyes, Loon asks, “Will you hold my hand?”

  And that's the moment Raven stepped back and I watched my Finn take his hand.

  “When did you know it was me?” the Operator asked, brushing my hair. While it was strange that she enjoyed this, it was wild that I did too. Plus, it helped she was really good at it.

  “It was just a hunch,” I admitted truthfully. “And you weren't detached. In fact, you seemed too invested. But when you said you were sorry, I think that's when I knew. Because you didn't expect us to survive and I heard the mourning in your voice.”

  “I cried for hours,” she said softly. “And for the first time ever, regretted what I had done. To both of you, and all of them.”

  “It worked out,” I said casually, not wanting to dwell on the past.

  “Finn,” she said, pausing mid stroke. “Had anything happened to either of you, I was shutting it all down. And I need you to know that I always believed you two would survive.”

  Fact: without the Operator, I wouldn't have Nix. So instead of replaying what if, I told her, “Thanks for giving Phoenix that number.”

  Kissing the top of my head she whispered, “Thanks for giving Phoenix your heart.”

  For the last two days we've been at the Aloft's hotel working on intel for an upcoming meeting.

  A meeting where Operator was specific in her instruction that no one dies. Which is fine since I happen to be amazing at mediating. So much so that people in the know have actually been requesting me.

  Yes, that appeased my competitive nature.

  Being back here was amazing and every second we weren't working, Nix and I were in bed.

  Only nookie had to wait because I had just hit a glitch.

  We were all suited up and ready to go when Operator called to say I was sitting this one out.

  At her insistence, Nix and the boys were doing tonight's job alone. I was making it known that I refused to be left behind as I was literally fighting for my spot in the van when 'she' showed up.

  She being the enemy. And my boss.

  “Girl time!” she squeals throwing an arm over my shoulder and thrusting a bottle of wine in my hand.

  “I don't like you, remember?”

  “I didn't forget,” she smiles uncaring of my wrath. “ – -That you love me.”

  And damn her, I kinda did.

  Because the more I got to know her, the more I admired what she's done. And because she had, how she changed my life for the better. How could I not love her for bringing Nix to me?

  When the second bottle was empty, I noticed her checking her phone often so I took it.

  “Give that back,” she says, falling off the couch.

  “What's the password?”

  “I don't negotiate with terrorists,” she slurs.

  “You're a horrible drunk,” I snicker.

  “And you make it impossible to keep a secret!”

  Stilling, I cock my head asking, “What secret?”

  “I didn't say secret,” she hedges.

  “Yeah you did, Janet.”

  “Don't call me that!” she shrieks. “Unless you're singing to me!”

  “Where is he?” I ask, then look out of the window and down to the street to notice he, “Stole my fucking car again!”

  “The word is commandeered,” she adds helpfully.

  And knowing how she felt about speed, I literally drug her ou
t of the hotel, through the side exit and motioned, “Get on.”

  “Uh nope,” she pales. “There's a reason I'm the Operator, Finn. I don't do fast, you do.”

  “You're going to do fast or I'm kicking your ass and roping you to the back,” I threaten. “Get on that bike and direct me to Nix.”

  “It's not your bike,” she snaps. “And we don't steal.”

  “You don't steal,” I snap right back. “And like you said, I'm commandeering it.”

  “No one likes a smart ass,” she says backing away.

  “Take me to Nix and my team, woman.”

  “I promised I wouldn't until he said it was time.”

  “You're stalling.”

  “Damn right, I am,” she huffs. “You're crazy enough on a bicycle and that,” she points. “Has an engine.”

  “Last time,” I warn. “Tell me where he is.”

  “Fine,” she says stomping her foot. “But only because I bruise easily and because you're going to regret it.”

  I wasn't lying, Operator really didn't do speed. If her screaming, clutching, and panicking were anything to go by.

  So I went faster, wove in and out of traffic and when she begged me to stop, I gunned it harder.

  It didn't take long to realize she was having me drive in circles. So when we pulled back in front of the hotel, she jumped off to puke on the sidewalk when I demanded to know, “What the hell is going on?”

  “I'm never eating Funyons again,” she says spitting.

  “Janet...”

  “Whatever happens next is your fault,” she says waving me to follow. Hot on her heels, I walk into the lobby and doing as I'm told, sit at the bar.

  “Order a drink,” she suggests. “You'll need it.”

  Doing as she said, I was lifting my glass for a sip when the air shifted.

  Thrusting inside of Finn was akin to an out of body experience. Her tight pussy was always wet and ready to receive me. Everything about her amped me up. From her greedy mouth to her strong grip. Toned thighs and tight ass. Whether we fucked or made love, her eyes never left mine. She liked to call me husband dick thinking it was cute and I loved hearing it more than she could possibly comprehend. Because there was not a God damned thing I didn't love about my Finn.