24. Finley Chase
Chapter twenty-four
Finley Chase
I keep sneaking glances at the beautiful dark haired vixen that has occupied my mind since I first saw her, bruised and fearless walking into the belly of danger without flinching with two little girls attached at her hip.
I knew at that moment she was all the good in this world, dealt a bad hand.
Forced to live for others and never herself.
The music continues to play, drowning out the silence that would eat me alive if left in it. We take the next left onto Delta Avenue towards the place we've come to make home, the world seeming abandoned of all life at this time of night .
The only other person on the road is my brother , who follows closely behind me as we wind through the darkness with a fourth of our ragtag crew of misfits.
A soft whimper escaping from Soren has me stealing another look at the beautiful girl beside me as her face scrunches up in pain.
No doubt the memories of her almost death playing in her sleeping state , especially after hearing that sick fucks voice again. I wanted to smash the fucking tape as soon as I realized that's who was talking with Ben, but I couldn't. They're not my demons to slay, and she would've hurt more if she didn't hear what was left on the tape. If information to help keep the ones she loved safe was still there and I destroyed it she's never forgive me, and fucking I couldn't forgive myself if I robbed her of that.
So I did the only thing I could do, I offered my silent support holding her up when her legs wobbled . I kept her up through the heartbreaking tape of Ben confessing the love we already knew he held for our girl, and the warning he tried to tell her about before the tape just stopped working all together.
Cleo said it didn't look like it was tampered with, but she could try to see if she could run more tests to see if she can uncover the lost files . So we can know who we aren't supposed to trust, in the pit of snakes we've found ourselves in, that information is valuable .
Soren's soft whisper filters through the car, I can barely make out what she's saying but the names she's repeating has my throat closing up .. she sounds almost pleading as she begs for us, and Scar's boys.. She reaches out in her sleep like she's trying to grasp the images before her but she can't.
I reach out and take her outstretched hand into mine, holding it tightly to ground her a bit so she doesn't send herself into a full-blown panic attack. Ease seems to grace her features at the contact, and my heart beams that my touch itself can bring that for her. Taking the next right, into the private road that only has two houses on the whole damn thing.
As I pass the driveway that leads to Scar's boys, a slight movement catches my attention as I see Reed's bike. Fuck.
We cannot deal with this shit right now, thankfully both vehicles have the darkest tint money could buy. No one can see in, but we can see out just fine. Looking up in the rearview mirror reveals what I dreaded happening. Reed is following us as we turn down the driveway. GODDAMN IT.
I press the call button on the steering wheel and wait for the voice to ask who to call, as soon as it does I'm barking Miles's name like it's the poor computers fault I'm in a shitty fucking mood all of a sudden.
“ How may I serve you Finny?” Miles says with a laugh
“Cut the shit we got someone on our asses, or have you not been paying attention?” I scold him, my hand gripping tighter on the steering wheel .
“No I haven't, Lena has been busting my balls the whole ride about feelings and my taste in music. “ He says softly, as he shushes Lena.
“JESUS. Miles you have to always pay attention, what are we going to do? He cannot see Soren or Len.” my voice comes out as a whisper, so I don't wake Soren from her sleep.
“Joder, conozco a Finny? ” Miles questions, waiting for my next order.
“ Keep Len in the car, Soren is asleep.I'll handle this and then we get our girls inside. Understand?” I take a moment before ending the call making sure he understands.
“10-4” Miles confirms ending our call. Just before we pull in front of the house.I slowly pull the handle to the car door , and push on it until it creaks open. Sliding from the front seat, looking back, Soren stirs in her restless sleep. and I hold my breath praying this beautiful girl stays asleep through this shit show I'm having to deal with to keep her hidden in plain sight.
“I need to see her.” Reed demands, not even giving me a chance to breathe. Five words spoken by a man I cannot kill.
“ Why the fuck are you here Reed? Whose this girl you're talking about? Scarlett? She's not here, just us.” I look at him with a slight tilt of my head. Taking in every inch of the man in-front of me.
He ignores me, his eyes tracking the movement behind me. Miles comes to stand by my side right on cue, I'm grateful that in this very moment, Len finally decided to listen to us and stay put and that Soren is still asleep.
“Mira lo que arrastró el gato a una putita” Miles' Spanish accent is thick with disdain as he takes in the unwanted man before us.
“ Watch yourself pequena hormiga. Also, Cut the shit, I know Soren is here. I saw her myself.” Reed's voice says with a little warning lacing his annoyed tone.
And with his words, the woman of the hour decides to exit the car , dazed and confused from her sleep. Barely registering, we are not alone, and she just blew her cover to shit.
“ Goddamn the gods themselves,” I grumble out blocking her from Reed's view even though it's too late, he saw her..
“Babe, why am I still in the car if we are home?” She stretches out like a cat yawning through it, before she finally looks up and her face is the perfect mask of hurt and shock. “No.No.No.No” she backs up from the three of us, bumping into the hood of the car. Her hands are up in front of her, as she shakes her head back and forth in denial, like it could cause this to go away.
“ Miles, Finn.. please tell me that's not who I think it is..” Her voice comes out broken, and the obvious shaking wracking her petite body has me clenching my teeth.
“ Little Mama, go ahead and head inside with Len. We'll handle this and be in shortly.” Miles says softly, stepping up to our fearless leader like he would a scared cat, he takes her hand into his and leads her to the car behind mine where her sister is now stepping out with the same shocked expression. Len wraps Soren's arm within hers and goes to pull her forward.
But before she can make it even ten steps, Reed is in front of them looking at Soren like she has all the answers.“Little creature, it's really you.. you're real. “ He goes to lift his hand to her cheek but my gun pressed against his temple has him stopping and turning a deadly scowl in my direction. “You better use that on me or get it out of my fucking face. “
I pull the hammer back and place my finger on the trigger to do just that when a stern feminine voice breaks the rage at the audacity of this stupid prick trying to place his dirty hands on My Queenie.
“ Lower it now Finn.” Soren snaps, her teeth bared and her eyes at the gun.
My eyes raise to Soren's, as I do as she asks, lowering the hammer and turning the safety back on before slipping it back to my holster.
“Now behave or go inside, Do the others know?” She takes his hand into hers, rubbing her thumb across his tanned skin. Like she's trying to see if he's really in-front of her.
I sit there quietly, not wanting to leave her outside with him, and also wanting to know if I should expect the rest of Scar's boys .
“No, I haven't told anyone..” He says solemnly, looking at her like he's never seen her before and that she's a stranger wearing someone else's mask. “You look like a different little creature, not the same innocent little girl from before? What have you been doing since you left us ?”
She smiles softly, placing the palm of her hand on his cheek, creasing it gently. A wave of fresh jealousy has me reaching for my gun again, this man doesn't deserve this side of her. She's ours. “ I've been surviving, clawing my way up from the hell I've found myself in. You're right I'm not the same girl as before, she's dead now. I'm every bad thing that has ever happened to me and I'm every bad thing I've done since..”
I sit back with Miles beside me fidgeting with his blades as we watch the two of them, Len has since given up dragging her sister inside and has left to get some rest before she leaves for her recon mission.“Can we talk without Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb, over there? Who are they by the way? Your new boyfriends?” He looks at us like he would rather will us to disappear.
“That's none of your concern. But just know, if you wish for me to still stand here In front of you when I'm tired and cold, you will respect my men. Understand?” She tilts her head looking him up and down before stepping back closer to us to put some distance between them.
“Why are you at my house Reed? What if the others followed you? They cannot know I'm here right now, it's not time. ” Her voice is soft as she treats him like a bomb ready to explode and not a man intruding on her privacy.
“I just needed to see you..I needed to know if it was real.. No one followed me, the others are freaking out over the summons you left with Radley.” He looks like he's ready to break, at her refusing to talk with him , like he cannot believe that she would not jump at the opportunity to be alone with him. He's in for a rude awakening. Because even if she had agreed to be alone with him , we wouldn't have, and she'd respect our choice to stay even when she asked us to leave because she respects us and knows deep down that we wouldn't allow her to be alone with someone without making sure her safety isn't threatened.
“ I'm here, I'm real. But like I said , it's not time. We will talk at the fight. Now if you don't mind, today's been exhausting in more ways than one.” She leans up and places a gentle kiss on his cheek , whispering softly into his ear something that has his eyes widening..
“ Speak soon, love, please don't come back to my house uninvited again.” She pats his shoulders and looks back at us waving us inside. “ Come on you two, turn the cars off and let's go to bed.”
“ As you wish little mama” Miles' smile is cocky as he takes one last look at a sad looking Reed, and does as she asks, turning both cars off , making sure to lock them before bounding past me to our girl .
“ See yourself out, and make sure no one catches wind that she is here until she is ready for it. Understand?” My words are harsh, and my tone leaves no room for argument. I mean every word, if the others come here before she's ready. I will take her , and we will go. She's done being forced to be uncomfortable to please others.
Not waiting for a response, I take off after the two most important people in my life. My Brother and My Queenie. The door shuts as I sneak one last look at Reed , The pain etched across his stupidly handsome face makes me feel a little guilty that I've got the girl , and he's alone. Maybe she'll allow them a spot in her life, maybe she won't. Only time will tell, I know no matter what the decision is, it isn't ours to make.