Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
J
I’m alone in Finn Cross’s room.
There’s no way I can stay in bed and waste this golden opportunity.
“Trade a secret for a secret, Shadow Prince,” I mutter, running my fingers along the spines of his bookshelf.
Shadow Prince would have been Finn’s code name if the Jinx app was still up and running. Now that I’ve actually spent time around him, the name is especially perfect.
Like a shadow, Finn’s presence is silent and haunting.
Mysterious.
Untouchable.
And yet, he lingers in the mind and the heart.
If he were a little less handsome, those dark, glowering stares of his would come off as creepy. But because of his beautiful tan skin, almond-shaped eyes, and perfect, dull pink lips, he’s more like a mystical being that can lure humans to their deaths.
Even knowing what he is, even knowing that there’s only darkness and pain in the hand that he offers, taking that hand is inevitable.
Like the stars.
Like oxygen.
“What makes you tick?” I wonder, tilting my head to see the books on the lower shelves.
The lines of my mission are blurring. I’m not sure if I want to get to know Finn because I have to or because I want to.
“What the—” I stop hard when I see the title on the spine.
Up until this point, all the books have been in line with what I know of Finn’s frosty personality.
There were textbooks on coding.
Special editions of the Collectible Sneaker magazine.
Jackie Chan’s autobiography.
But this…
“Horny at Heart?” I pull the book out. The cover boasts a beautiful cartoon-drawn woman hugging a ripped, half-man half-deer?
He’s got two horns on his forehead and four hooves on his lower half.
I turn the book over and recite. “A cursed faun tries to live a peaceful life—until a mortal woman moves into his forest and wakes every dark instinct he’s buried. ”
“That one was good.”
“Gah!” I startle, and the book plummets from my hands. I make a grab for it before it smashes into the ground, but I’m too slow, and the pages crease as it lands upside down.
My watch beeps.
Finn casually walks in, picks up the book, and shoves it back on the bookshelf.
He points to the title next to it. “That’s about a monster with a tail, and the woman he falls in love with learns to appreciate the appendage.
This one is about a werewolf and his female roommate.
She leaves her bedroom door open after midnight so he can come in and—”
“Stop.” I squeeze my eyes shut. “Why do you have so many monster romances?”
“I started with Hallmark-style cowboy romances,” Finn says, pointing to the shelf below that. “And then I fell down the rabbit hole.”
“You read all of these?”
“I have a lot more on my e-reader. These are the ones that I liked enough to buy in paperback.”
Sputtered noises come from my mouth. I genuinely have no idea what to say.
Finn watches me with that intense, steady gaze. “Since you’re feeling well enough to snoop—”
“I wasn’t,” I protest.
“—come downstairs. We could use your help.”
“I really wasn’t…”
Finn doesn’t wait to hear my lies. Smart of him. He picks up the IV pole that I rolled away from the bed and tugs it.
I have no choice but to follow him like a little lamb to the slaughter.
“Finn,” I say while taking the stairs like a geriatric tortoise, “how did you know I was in the elevator last night?”
Finn stares straight ahead. His cold, regal features absorb the sunlight completely. The Shadow Prince in motion.
I try again. “Were you at the hospital already, or did someone call you?”
Still no response.
I tout my chin up. “Fine. Don’t tell me. I’ll find out anyway.”
In my heart, I flounce ahead of Finn with sass, but in reality, I have to take a break and catch my breath in the middle of the stairs.
I expect Finn to press on, but he’s right there beside me. Actually, despite wearing a face of pure misery, as if he’d rather be anywhere else, Finn is creeping along at negative zero miles an hour.
“Ren informed me,” he says matter-of-factly.
“Ren?” I freeze. Henry still hasn’t found any scrap of information on Ren anywhere. He’s as much of a ghost as his partner is.
Questions burn on the tip of my tongue. I turn to Finn on the stairs, stepping forward so my chest is pressing against his.
Finn’s eyes widen and his gaze dips to my lips.
“That night, you didn’t know who Ren was when he was spying on us from outside. What did he tell you to get you to trust him so quickly?”
“Why?” He grips my chin. “You want tips?”
My eyebrows cinch together.
“Ren is a bodyguard. Now that Dad’s running for governor, he thinks we need protection.”
He must think I’m an idiot.
But I’ll admit, Finn lies a hell of a lot better than I do.
I decide to play clueless and bat my eyelashes. “A bodyguard? Wow. Are things that serious with the governor race? Jarod Cross isn’t even in power yet.”
Finn’s intense gaze slides over my face. He brushes my cheek, right where Ace had gripped my jaw last night. “You have bruises.”
“It’s fine. It doesn’t hurt.”
“How hard was he grabbing you?” The words are spoken at barely above a whisper.
I stop fishing for information and inch back as something dark and monstrous passes over Finn’s face. He tightens his jaw, hiding it behind his bland expression.
But it’s too late.
I saw it.
Memories of Finn smashing Ace’s face in fill my head again. I remember the sound of flesh pounding into flesh. It was relentless and cruel. Ace had already gone still, but Finn didn’t stop…
Right now, he looks composed, but there’s something beastly deep inside him.
And it’s coming out more and more.
I swallow nervously. “It looks worse than it is. Even when the nurses take my blood sometimes, my arm looks like a drug addict’s. It’s just bad genes.”
Finn’s expression hardens. It’s like watching someone rolling down the shutters and battening up for a hurricane. With a firm nod, he gestures to the stairs. “Let’s go.”
I appreciate that he doesn’t scoop me into his arms anymore.
Finn matches my slow pace until I get to the end of the stairs.
My jaw drops when I enter the lavish living room. A giant chandelier with grand, sparkling crystals hangs in the foyer. The living room boasts a large sofa, a coffee table, and a giant television. There’s enough room for a car to drive through. I’m pretty sure my steps are echoing.
The only thing keeping this HGTV millionaire home from feeling like an exhibit are the pictures on the mantle.
From this angle, I can’t see the details, but there are several photographs of Dutch and Cadence in their wedding clothes.
Grey and Zane also have a wedding photo.
There are plenty of family photos with the brothers and Sol.
The photos with just the boys look especially striking, like four models casually staring into the camera for a photoshoot.
I tear my eyes away from the mantle and observe The Kings in real life.
They’re even hotter in person.
Lounging in the chair like a king on his throne is Dutch, amber eyes picking me apart like an eagle seconds before swooping in for his prey.
Sol is watching me with a ghost of a smirk on his lips, flicking his lighter in a cadence of clicks. His smooth features and thick brown hair are enhanced by the gleam of insanity in his light brown eyes.
While Dutch and Zane became a revolving door of scandals, Sol’s descent into madness was more gradual. But now, it’s all over him—that thirst for chaos. He’s looking at me like I’m something he wouldn’t mind setting on fire.
In the sea of distrustful faces, there’s a bright spot. Zane is as gorgeous and intimidating as his twin, but at least he’s smiling.
I smile back, glad to have an ally in this den of prideful lions.
Finn gestures for me to hold my IV pole and juts his chin at the armchair. “Sit there.”
I shuffle past Dutch, who’s watching me with a scowl.
Zane swaggers up to me and takes the IV pole. “Finn told us how close you came to dying. Glad you didn’t croak, J.”
“Thanks.” I have to tilt my head back to continue staring into his ocean-blue eyes.
Zane moves at my pace. “Did your little programming thing find any more messages?”
“Not yet.”
A frown flickers over his face, but he quickly smiles again. “I’m sure they’ll reach out soon.”
“Have you guys considered putting out another song?” I ask, taking a seat in the chair. It’s big enough to fit The Kings—who are all over six feet. The chair swallows me whole, and my legs dangle off the floor.
“With the song… we were just putting out feelers. Code messages aren’t what we’re after. We want to find them and bring them home.”
“I’ll do everything I can to help.”
Dutch scoffs, and I feel his distrust from all the way across the room.
Zane scowls at his brother. “Hey, you promised. Be nice.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” Dutch shoots to his feet. “Why did you call this meeting, Finn? I have things to do.”
Finn folds his arms over his chest and says calmly, “Ren and Hayato have three members of the Grave City Crew.”
“Have them where?” Dutch asks.
“They’re tied up in a warehouse down at the docks.”
My chest tightens with a gasp.
“Tied up how? Like ‘occupied’? Or you mean… with, like, ropes?” Sol asks.
Finn just stares at him steadily, almost unblinking.
Sol swallows so hard, his Adam’s apple threatens to explode from his neck.
Zane shifts in discomfort.
Dutch gives his brother a long, assessing look.
As everyone sobers up, I stare at Finn. He’s acting like this is normal when it’s beyond insane. Abducting people? Tying them up in empty warehouses? That is way out there, even for rulers as big as The Kings.
The threads that weren’t connecting before start connecting now. What if Ren and Hayato aren’t just bodyguards? What if they’re a part of a shady organization…
Kind of like the one that founded The Grateful Project?
And what if Finn is involved in that kind of life way more than I thought?