Chapter Fourteen #2
Pop slides a pint of Guinness down before he goes back to serving some other customers and five minutes later, both Ryan and Finn walk in. I can’t help grinning at Ryan; he looks like a fucking mess. His hair’s everywhere and he has what looks like the start of hickey forming on his neck.
“A good hour then?” I ask, heading around the other side of the bar to get them both drinks.
Ryan’s grin gets even bigger as he drinks half his pint in one gulp. “Very good,” is all he says.
I shake my head as I gesture towards a booth at the back where we can talk more privately. After we’re all seated, I turn to Finn and say, “This is starting to get serious.”
He nods at me. “I know. We found over twenty cameras both inside and outside her house. They’ve all been professionally installed and were remote controlled, so he could monitor and record them from anywhere.”
“Fucking hell,” I say, running a hand through my hair.
“What’s the background on this guy?” Ryan asks.
I look up at Finn and he half shrugs as though they haven’t found anything of interest. I turn back to Ryan. “Maybe you could look further into that when you get back to Boston tomorrow. I know the other case we’re working on has all been shot to shit with that fucker changing his story, but…”
Ryan’s nodding before I even finish talking. “It’s cool, I can handle both,” he says. “What about you though, you staying? You’re gonna need to come back for the trial, remember?”
I nod. “Yeah, I know, I will. But I just don’t think I can leave right now. Kels’ nerves are fucking shot and I promised her I’d take care of her, stay until we find this guy.”
“What happens then?” Finn asks and I can’t help feeling suddenly defensive.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I ask, my hand gripping my pint.
“It means, are you going to stick around after we do, or are you just going to fuck off and break her heart all over again?”
I stiffen at Finn’s words, the grip on my glass getting tighter. “Look, Finn,” I bite out. “What happens between me and Kelsey is between me and Kelsey. Not you and not anyone else in this nosy fucking town.”
Finn sits up a little straighter as he looks me right in the eye. “You weren’t the one left to pick up the pieces you selfish little shit. I was and I did. I’ve done more for Kelsey in the past week than you’ve done for her in the past ten years.”
“You boning for my girl, Finn?” I practically shout. “Because I’ll fucking…”
“Whoa, whoa, guys, calm the fuck down,” Ryan says, a hand out to both of us. “We’re all after the same thing here, to catch this guy who’s fucking with Kelsey. And in the meantime, there’ll be no boning of anyone’s girl.”
I exhale, forcing myself to calm down as I sit back in my seat.
Finn is staring at me with a murderous look on his face.
Even though he’s older than me, there’s only three years between us.
Growing up, we were always close, probably because Pop was always working and Mom died when we were young.
We used to get into a lot of shit together, but one thing I knew is that Finn always had my back.
And like the unspoken rule between friends, we never did go after each other’s girls.
I take a deep breath as I meet my brother’s stare. “Look, I’m sorry,” I finally get out. “This whole thing has just got me rattled, okay?”
Finn lets out a deep breath too. “I know, me too.”
I run another hand through my hair. “I don’t know what’s going to happen afterwards, Finn,” I tell him. “Seeing her again, being back here, it’s fucked with my head, opened up a whole lot of feelings that I thought I’d buried.”
Ryan snorts. “Bullshit, you’ve been in love with this woman for as long as I’ve known you,” he says, rolling his eyes. “And for the record, that’s been a long fucking time.”
My eyes close as my head falls into my hand, knowing Ryan’s right.
I might have thought I was ignoring how I felt about Kelsey, that I’d moved on and was over her, but I was kidding myself.
I’ve been kidding myself for the last decade and as much as I have no idea how this is all going to work out, I know that I can’t be without her. I know that I want to try.
I lift my head and look at Finn again. “I really don’t know what’s going to happen.
I won’t lie, I love my job in Boston, but I love Kelsey more, I always have.
And even though I don’t know how the fuck to begin sorting all that out, I do know that I can’t be without her.
Not having her in my life isn’t an option anymore. ”
Finn exhales as though he’s relieved. “Well it’s about fucking time,” he says.
I nod as Ryan grins and slaps me on the back. “I know, right? I’ve only been saying this to him for the last ten fucking years.”
I roll my eyes as I finish off my beer. “Shut the fuck up, girls,” I say, grinning at both of them. They both smile at me, and the tension that was between us, lifts. “Now,” I say, standing so I can get us another round of drinks. “Let’s talk about how we’re going to catch this fucking fucker.”
An hour later and we have a plan in place.
Finn and I are going to look into the make and model of the cameras, try to work out the seller so we can track down where Jason might be when he watches them.
Ryan’s going to do another sweep of the little fucker’s apartment when he gets back to Boston, see if he can’t pick up something the uniforms missed.
I’m also going to hang on to Kelsey’s cell in the hopes that he decides to call her again. In the meantime, I’ll get her a pre-paid with a different number so she can always reach us. And none of us are going to let her out of our sight.
“Where are you guys staying tonight, you want to come over to Erin’s?” Ryan asks as we all stand to leave.
I can’t help but smirk at him, laughing as he rolls his eyes at me. “No, we’re good thanks. We’re staying at the inn so there’s no need for me to have to listen to your sexcapades all fucking night.”
Ryan laughs. “You’re just jealous, O’Loughlin. But are you sure? You might learn a thing or two.”
I shake my head as we wave goodbye to Pop and all head outside. “Trust me, when it comes to making Kelsey scream, I don’t need any help.”
“Whatever,” Ryan says, climbing into his truck. “Your loss.”
We wave him off and I turn to face my brother. “We good?” I ask.
Finn nods. “We’re good.”
Then we say goodnight and I turn and walk back to the inn, wondering how the fuck I’m supposed to make things good with Kelsey. Somehow a couple of orgasms doesn’t feel like it’s going to be enough this time.
“Shit,” I sigh, as I start walking.