Hello Everyone!

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After Finn checked my arm for any strains, which there were none of, and decided that it would be a good time to remove my stitches on either side of my shoulder while we were in a proper facility that wasn't my family's infirmary.

That had been fifteen minutes ago. Right now, he stood at the nurse's station talking to Lyla and Tay while I sat here, shirtless. I wouldn't go as far as to say that I was jealous, although I'm big enough to admit that a small piece of it included jealousy, the other hated the way he acted so content around them.

He was always so stiff with me and my family, only on less than a handful of occasions, did he let down a few walls in front of me.

Either way, I'm starting to get highly annoyed with his lack of concentration. However, if I showed that I cared, he would most likely get spooked or shut down on me. I had only ever experienced one or the other.

The third nurse remained behind the curtain with her patient, who grumbled and moaned in protest every few seconds. The rest of the room was quiet aside from the small obnoxious bouts of laughter from Lyla.

There were about fifteen beds in this space alone and it was only one floor. I could only imagine the rest of the apartment building. Finn would have to show me a tour when he finished. I decided to make myself more comfortable by sliding off my combat boots, letting them smack the floor.

The curtain across from me opened. "Anastasia Love?" Pure dread sounded from across the space and I glanced up, making eye contact with the only other patient in this place.

He didn't look familiar. He had a bald head and a short, bulky stature hiding behind a long leather coat and baggy pants. When he didn't elaborate after saying my name I looked at him expectantly. "What?"

Finn's conversation paused when he heard me speak, his attention darting to my face. Mine stayed on the patient still rooted to his spot. The third nurse looked back and forth, alarm crossing her face.

The man sneered at me. "Your father murdered my cousin."

I waited a few more seconds for him to again elaborate. "Okay. And?" I asked plainly.

He sputtered, his face turning red. "What do you mean 'and'? He murdered him."

I raised both hands in confusion. "I don't know what you expect me to do with this information. Nothing I could possibly say would fix your problem," I stated, leaning back on the bed, resting against the pillows.

"You could at least apologize!" He roared and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Why? I did nothing wrong," I replied calmly.

His restraint broke free and he charged towards me, hands balled into fists. I stayed against the pillows, unfazed. Before he could reach my bed, a hand gripped his shoulder and spun him around. Finn glared down at the short man. "It's time for you to leave."

The man pointed at me, outraged. "But-but!"

Finn's knuckles turned white as he increased the pressure on the man. "But nothing, you will respect the laws of The Corner Store and leave now."

I resisted the urge to wolf whistle in Finn's direction. I did say I liked his dominant side. He shoved the man toward the nurse's station and made his way to me. The anger on his face sent a jolt of heat down my body and I purposely crossed my ankles as he approached.

I gave Finn a sweet smile. "My hero," I gushed, placing a hand on my cheek and fluttering my eyes.

He stared down at me, fighting a smile. "You know you're a pain in the ass sometimes."

"'Sometimes'? I must be slacking then. I promise to be more annoying in the future," I joked, throwing my long legs over the side of the bed while sitting up.

He licked his lower lip, trying to hide his laughing smile, and held up the tweezers and scissors. "Ready?"

I nodded silently and braced myself. He used the tweezers to tug at the knot in the stitch and lift it high enough to cut it with scissors. I fought the urge to shiver at the strange tingling sensation and instead blocked it from my brain.

"That's good," he murmured and I wasn't entirely sure if he spoke to himself or me. I didn't mind the soothing voice. "Nearly there." I stared straight ahead. Why did he make it sound so freaking sexual? My head jerked as the weird tingly feeling abruptly ended and Finn held the thread with the tweezers. "Good girl."

My eyes widened, jaw dropped as I snapped up to face him. "You did that on purpose," I accused, narrowing my eyes at the smirk on his face.

He blinked at me innocently but his eyes betrayed him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Fine, play it that way if you want," I said, turning my nose away from him. He chuckled softly, his gloved fingers brushing against the bare skin on my shoulder as he turned me away more, to get the stitches on the back. "Did you manage to get hold of my brothers?" I asked, changing the topic and hopefully releasing the slight tension now between us.

Finn's lips pursed tightly. "I called, no one answered so I left a message that we were here," he informed me.

I nodded. "I understand we're checking on my health right now," I said, pointedly eyeing the tweezers he held delicately, "but are you alright? You were close to the action."

I felt that strange pulling sensation in my back but this time I let it rush through me. "I'm okay," he replied, "Theo got me out of there quickly."

"And how are you emotionally? Was this the first time you ki-?"

"No," he interrupted, his voice a bit louder, "No, it wasn't."

His jaw went taut, no doubt grinding his teeth. I felt guilt settle in my stomach. Obviously, he was affected, he killed someone to save me. "There's no reason to feel guilty, if you hadn't done it, I wouldn't be here," I tried to reassure him. His jaw shifted.

"As a doctor, I'm not supposed to believe in murdering other people, I'm supposed to save them," he said, his voice thick. People always have different views on certain things but I at least understood why he was so shaken. He literally did the opposite of what his career is.

My lips turned down sheepishly. "Then you must hate my family."

He glared at me.

"Oh, I mean you must allegedly hate my family." I smiled up at him innocently. He rolled his eyes.

"How can you be so calm when talking about murder?" He asked, his eyes searching mine.

I shrugged, unable to come up with an emotional excuse. "It's second nature. My family grew up knowing that people who wronged us usually didn't make it out alive and we were forced to accept that and enforce it when necessary."

"Every time you talk about your childhood, I hate your father more," he whispered unfiltered.

My throat tightened and I reached out with my free hand, gripping his arm tightly until he looked my way. "Thank you," I said softly, genuine emotion in my eyes.

No one ever said anything negative against my father, whether he stood in front of you or not. They were terrified of him, as were his own children. But Finn did it without a second thought.

I chalked it up to this place. He was comfortable here, felt safe in this building. It was like looking at a whole new person, not the closed-off, moody one I've gotten to know over the last few months.

When he finished pulling out the last stitch, he cleaned the wound once more before helping me put my shirt and sling in place. "How long did you work here for?"

He took that moment to look around the small space, a fond smile on his face. "Feels like I've been working here my whole life," he replied ominously. Like that wasn't vague at all.

Expecting him to walk away back to his old friends but instead, he pulled up the small armchair next to the bed and sat on it, making himself comfortable. I sat back, leaning on the pillows. He propped his feet up on the bed.

"Have you found any information on the person that shot you?" He asked, linking his long fingers together and placing them in his lap.

"Shan Wei," I muttered bitterly, baring my teeth. "The bastard is trying to kill me off because he's desperate for money." Finn cocked his head to the side, eyes wide. I shook my head. "Don't worry, he'll get his karma."

A breath came from Finn's nose as he laughed to himself. He checked his watch and glanced around the room once more before catching my eye. "Want a tour? It's quiet so I can show you the operating theaters where I primarily worked."

One shoulder lifted in a half-shrug. "Sure." I got to my feet, my thigh brushing against his leg lightly.

Lyla called Finn from across the room and gestured him over with too much enthusiasm that reminded me of my sister. Huh, maybe that's why I don't like her, she's too perky. Finn made some form of gesture I didn't bother paying attention to and instead focused on her facial expression. She frowned but nodded.

"That Lyla is positively infatuated with you," I remarked, exaggerating my hybrid British accent.

Finn scoffed. "My friend Lyla can't take a hint."

"She definitely won't if you keep wrapping her up in your arms the way you do, I would hardly call that friendly behavior," I teased with a wink as I walked in front of him, still in only my socks, deciding to leave my combat boots behind.

He gave me a look. "So I can't hug my friends because then I'm trying to sleep with them?"

"You can hug whoever you want, but it's all about the body language around the hug," I noted, raising a finger to emphasize my words. "For instance, if Santiago hugged me that way I would punch him in the throat."

Finn huffed. We strolled to the elevator, walked in, and watched him press a series of buttons. After a few seconds, the doors opened to a whole new space. The hallway had the same bright lights as before but this time it ran the length of the building with two doors on each side.

Large panes of glass next to the doors showcased inside each room. The first room looked exactly like an operating room you would find in any ordinary hospital. "Amazing," I breathed, curious as to how they managed to get hold of all this equipment. I assumed each room held the same setup in case more than one person needed surgery at the same time.

Finn's hand brushed my lower back as he pointed to the door further down the hallway. "That was my operating room," he said softly.

Together we moved further down but when I glanced through the glass I caught sight of a dark-skinned figure standing in front of the table with an iPad in hand, checking things off a list it seemed.

A smile broke out on Finn's face and he knocked on the glass gently, gaining the woman's attention.

Her smile lit up her face when she saw Finn and she dropped the iPad, quickly moving to the door. "Finn," she said happily, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing tightly. Her eyes were closed as she hugged him and I saw a long scar from her temple to her cheek.

She pulled away, keeping her arms on his shoulder, staring up at him with a loving smile. "What are you doing here?" She asked, tilting her head. She wore plain blue scrubs and her braids were tied back with an elastic.

Finn glanced over his shoulder and bent his head in my direction. "I'm working."

Her eyes locked on mine and her smile slowly died on her face. Crap, she already hates me. "Anastasia Love in the flesh, I'm honored," she addressed me formally but I caught the hint of sarcasm in her last words.

I felt my spine straighten and my chin lift. "A pleasure," I replied before giving Finn a side-eye. "So much for NDA's then," I stated, giving him a pointed stare.

Finn shrugged. "She's my mom, she knows everything."

I paused. Mom? My gaze drifted between the two of them suspiciously noting the obvious differences between them. Finn's mother chuckled. "Adoptive mother," she clarified, smirking at the embarrassed flush crawling up my neck.

"Of course," I said, holding out my hand for her to shake, "You know my name, but I've yet to learn yours."

Her hand was callused and cold in mine. "Dorothy Corners, also known as The Warden of this whole place."

Realization knocked through me. No wonder he got mad at the ring leader for insulting his mother.

"Now, what is your business here? As far as I know, the heir to the Love Family does not frequent The Corner Store," she said, eyeing my sling and then surveying her son.

My lips turned upward in a polite smile. "There was an incident and Finn thought it best to hide out here."

Her eyes snapped to his. "Hide? From who?" she demanded in a motherly fashion.

Finn scratched the back of his neck. "Just a deal that went south," he waved off her concern dismissively, "nothing I can't handle."

Dorothy eyed him with a fixed glare. "I know exactly what kind of trouble the Love family gets into and I don't want you to be a part of it," she ordered, folding her arms, waiting for him to retort.

"Mom," Finn said pointedly, "I can handle myself." I grinned openly, watching the entertainment before me. I wish Elijah were here to witness a twenty-eight yead old surgeon get scolded by his mother.

Her eyes blazed with anger. "Finneas-" I snorted loudly and tried to cover it with a cough. They both turned to look at me. "You better not lie to me or I will kick your ass, child," she threatened.

I cleared my throat and stood tall. "Don't worry, I have him well protected."

She looked me up and down, unconvinced. "As someone with a family history such as yours, I find it hard to believe that you would put anyone's safety above your own." My teeth gritted together, pushing pressure on them so I wouldn't visibly show my bristling anger.

"I never said it was above my own safety, but he is protected, I promise you that," I said, unwilling to back down from her scrutinizing stare. She may think she's intimidating me but I've had a scrutinizing glare on the back of my head since birth. Bring it on.

Without giving me another word she turned back to Finn. "How long will you be here? Are you hungry? Why don't you visit?" she asked in rapid succession.

Finn held up both hands in surrender. "I'm not sure. Yes, always. And there's a lot of work to do at the Love household," he answered each question. A lot of work? Almost every time I've gone down there, he's sitting on a bed reading old papers that are probably less important than he makes them out to be.

Dorothy's eyes darted to me for a second. "So you're throwing your men into dangerous places just for my son to spend all his time fixing them up only for you to do it again?"

At my side, Finn opened his mouth to argue but I held up a hand, silencing him. She didn't seem to like that either. "My men go on various errands for me and I would rather Finn there to help than let them die instead, wouldn't you?"

Her mouth shut.

The ding from the elevator echoed in the quiet hallway and Lyla rushed out, her face worried. "Dorothy, a bunch of men just stormed the patient wing, they're demanding to have Miss Love, one of them threatened to cut off my fingers! They were terrifying," she whined, practically throwing herself towards Dorothy.

My mind immediately raced to the drug lord and his followers. They must have found me. It's starting to get tiresome over how many people are trying to kill me, I'm going to need to keep a list soon.

I rolled my eyes, muttering an 'Oh please' under my breath at Lyla's dramatics. "Finn, give me the knife, I'll handle this."

Dorothy whipped her head to face me. "What knife?"

I didn't have time to care. Finn looked conflicted but I only kept my hand outstretched toward him. "If they're after me, then let me take care of it quickly," I said, snapping my fingers for him to hand me the damn knife already.

Dorothy stepped in my path, blocking me from Finn, and seethed, "We have rules and an honor code that we live by in this building."

"Well obviously those men down there don't give a fuck about your honor code and if that's the case then I'm not dying over some stupid rule," I bit back my gaze hardening. Moving around Dorothy, I reached into Finn's pocket and produced my small cold steel knife, and stalked to the elevator.

Finn marched after me, pressing the button. The two women followed closely behind. Finn leaned closer to me. "What if it's the ring leader's men?" He asked softly, keeping his voice low enough so the other didn't hear.

The elevator doors opened and all four of us got in. "Then I will take care of it."

His hand gripped my elbow and I looked up at him. His eyes stared into mine, showing a hint of fear. "I've got your back," he promised, his fingers tightening on my elbow.

I gave him a small smile, grateful for his words. "Try not to steal my thunder," I warned him playfully, "I have a reputation to uphold." I broke eye contact and turned my head to the side, looking at Lyla out the corner of my eye. "How many men?"

"Five at least, one of them had an assault rifle in his hands," she whispered, her eyes darting between Finn and me.

The doors opened.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I asked loudly, glaring at my brothers and shoving my knife in the waistband of my pants. Franco, Santiago, and Luca stood behind them. My eyes zeroed in on the object in Luca's hands. "Why do you have an M4 in your hands, just out of curiosity?"

Luca clamped his lips shut and lowered the gun. "Sorry Love, we couldn't find you when we got here."

I clasped my hands together, letting them rest in front of me, and slowly walked toward them. Jasper remained silent but Elijah's focus was drawn to a few drops of dried blood on his shirt. "Did it occur to any of you that there's six other fucking floors in this building?"

The other two nurses heads popped up from where they cowered behind the nurse's station, terror on their faces.

I sighed, loudly before looking at Jasper. "My instincts tell me that you're the one who threatened her," I jerked my thumb over my shoulder in Lyla's general direction. "Why did you threaten to cut off her fingers?" I asked in confusion.

Jasper angled his head to the side, gaze locking on Lyla behind me. "She wasn't being very helpful." Lyla whimpered. Jesus Christ.

"You stormed into her place of work with an M4!" I retorted. It honest to God felt like I was scolding a bunch of children.

Dorothy moved to stand next to me. "How did you get past the receptionist with a weapon?" She asked, popping out her hip and leaning her weight on it, unafraid of my men. Respect.

Elijah spoke up. "Corinne is down there looking after your front desk clerk." Corinne?

Dorothy's eyes widened a fraction. "Corinne Robert?" Elijah's confused blink was confirmation enough for her. "That woman is not allowed in this building," she roared, making a move to shove Finn aside but he gripped her shoulder, keeping her close to him.

That information piqued my interest.

Not in the mood to make Finn's mother hate me more, I walked to the bed I had occupied and slipped my combat boots back on. "Well, you've found me, let's go," I announced, making my way to the elevator. "Finn, you're more than welcome to stay behind and spend some time with your old coworkers since apparently, I keep you chained to the infirmary beds," I said, giving him a pointed look.

Elijah cleared his throat, hiding a smile.

Finn's face dropped in guilt. "I'll make my way back in the morning."

I nodded, keeping my eyes forward, and got into the elevator, letting the doors shut behind my men.

My face stared at the wall. "Any casualties?" I asked quietly, slipping back into my role as boss.

"None," Franco reported, "Theo has some scratches but nothing the first aid kit couldn't fix."

"And the shipment?"

Jasper's lips tilted upwards. "All three crates were liberated from the drug lord and the warehouse. They're on route to New Jersey as we speak."

I grinned. "Excellent. Good distraction boys."

The rest of them cheered in the elevator, shoving each other around but making sure to not touch me. Jasper cleared his throat. "My only request is next time we decide to blow up a car, don't choose mine."

Santiago chuckled, smacking a hand on Jasper's shoulder. "Sorry Jasper but when the boss asks you to blow up a car, you don't argue," he said winking in my direction and I dipped my head.

The doors opened and the first thing that came into view was Corinne with a gun pointed at the receptionist. Her hair whipped her in the face when she turned her head, giving me a once over. "Corinne, leave the poor guy alone," I ordered with an exhausted sigh. "Someone pick up my knives on their way past."

Harvey and Lorenzo stood outside the building next to one of the SUVs. They both showed barely any emotion except for a flash of relief in their eyes. "You two couldn't have controlled their little unnecessary rescue mission? It was a total shitshow in there with the way they acted."

Lorenzo stayed silent but Harvey bowed his head. "Apologies, Love."

"Don't apologize," I waved a hand dismissing it, and climbed into the car, "Just get me to the hotel so I can sleep for the rest of the day."

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Where is your safe space? Mine would definitely be my living room at night when everyone else has gone to bed, I can be alone with my thoughts and just relax.

Until next time,

Sammipott xx

© Samantha Pottinger 2021. All rights reserved.