Page 21 of Finn

Mia

My phone has been blowing up since my parents found out I had left. I’ve gotten sweet messages begging me to come home and messages from both of them screaming about what a disgrace I am. The text messages are just as endless.

Finn keeps telling me to answer, but I haven’t. If I do, they will continue the yelling, especially since I turned the tracker off on my phone. They have no idea where I am, and it’s killing them. They’ve had complete control of my life until recently, and they can’t stand it.

“Your phone is ringing again,” Finn yells from the kitchen.

I finish my makeup and walk out of the bathroom. “I should just change my fucking number at this point.” I power down the phone and toss it back on the counter. “There, now we don’t need to listen to it.”

He shakes his head but doesn’t say anything. He needs to go meet up with his club, which happens much more often than I imagined it would. I’ve been here nearly two weeks, and I’ve already spent a couple of nights alone.

I have no job, no family, and no friends. It’s been a little lonely if I’m being honest, but when Finn walks through the door or gives me that sexy grin, I forget all that. I’ll figure out my place.

Which is why I agreed to go to the club with him today. Normally, he asks, and I tell him, no, but today I’m going. I’m tired of feeling like I’m hiding out in his house. I’ll never make friends or find out my truth if I don’t put myself out there.

“We need to leave in a minute,” Finn says, grabbing his cigarettes off the counter.

Nerves hit me, and I grab his arm. He looks at me with concern, and I sigh. “Maybe I should stay here.”

“What? Why? I thought you finally wanted to come hang out with the girls,” he says, turning to wrap his arms around my waist.

I rest my hands on his muscular chest and shrug. “I want to, but I’m nervous.”

“Nervous of what?” he asks, lifting an eyebrow.

“I don’t know, Finn. The girls are intimidating. The guys are downright terrifying. Not to mention my birth father is walking among them all. I don’t know how to act or what to say to anyone. I’m so out of place. No one had my privileged life, and I think they hold that against me,” I rush out.

He chuckles, and I try to pull away from his hold. His arms tighten around me, and he kisses the top of my head. “I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing because you sound so much like I did when I was first a prospect.”

I tilt my head and ask, “What do you mean?”

He gently runs his thumb down my cheek and grins. “When I was first a prospect, I didn’t know anyone. I wasn’t allowed to know about club business. I wasn’t allowed to ask questions. I did what I was told to prove myself to them. They don’t make it easy, but that’s not because they didn’t want me around. It was so I could prove to them I wanted to be there. That I was willing to do anything to be a part of the MC. They wanted to see if I was capable of handling things without breaking.”

“Sounds like bullying,” I say.

He shakes his head, grinning. “No, it’s not bullying. It’s building up. You can’t be a part of this world unless you can handle it. The only way to know that is to be thrown into it. You either prove you can do it, or you walk away. I fucked up a lot before I proved myself, but they didn’t give up on me. They knew I wasn’t wasting my time or their time.”

I search his eyes, and he grins. “So, how’s this the same?”

He chuckles and presses his lips to mine. “Because, baby, they are going to make sure you can handle it. The girls are going to ask you more questions than you’ll be willing to answer. They are going to make sure you aren’t here to cause trouble or hurt me.” His fingers dig into my sides, and he continues, “They want to make sure you’re gonna stick around.”

Finn hasn’t told me much about his past or present, to be honest. We mostly talk about sex or food. But the way he’s looking at me and holding me makes me think he’s afraid I’m going to leave him. Maybe it’s time we start talking about it all.

“I’m not going anywhere.” I push up on my toes and kiss his cheek. “I’ll handle today. I’ll deal with the nerves on one condition.”

He lifts his eyebrows, searching my eyes. “What?”

“Tonight, we start to share things about ourselves. Not just what position we like or what food is our favorite.”

He closes his eyes and pulls me in for a hug. “Okay, Mia.”

Once we leave, it only takes a few minutes to get to the club. I’d like to say I pushed down all my nerves, but I haven’t. As we walk through the door, I can feel my stomach flipping.

“Christ,” Finn whispers.

“What?” I ask, holding on to him tightly. I look around like someone is going to jump out at me.

He glances down at me, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. “Nothing, baby. You know you don’t need to be scared here. Everyone here is family. No one is going to hurt you.”

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