Bitter Bite (Elemental Assassin #14)(27)

escorted her away.

Finn watched them go, his gaze locked onto his mother, while Bria, Owen, and I

hovered around him.

All around the lobby, people talked and texted, chattering in louder and

louder voices to one another and the cops who had arrived on the scene. But

our group was still and silent. I squeezed Finn’s shoulder, letting him know

that I was here for him.

He shrugged off my hand without even looking at me.

“Finn?” Bria asked. “Are you okay?”

He didn’t answer her. Instead, he watched Deirdre slowly cross the lobby. She

reached the front doors, stopped, and looked over her shoulder at him. Their

eyes locked, and she smiled at him a final time before leaving the bank. The

door banged shut behind her, seeming as loud as a clap of thunder, but Finn

kept staring and staring at that spot, as if he couldn’t believe everything

that had happened, all the bombs that Deirdre had dropped on him.

Deirdre Shaw might have lost some blood and her favorite dress, but she’d

also gained something from being shot. Something far more valuable than the

jewelry, watches, and phones that Santos had tried to make off with. Something

far more important in the grand scheme of things. Something she wanted most of

all.

Finn.

*

Finn continued to stare at the door that Deirdre had stepped through.

Bria looked at me. I shrugged, so she eased up and put her hand on Finn’s

shoulder. He blinked, as if her gentle touch had finally roused him from his

fuguelike state.

“I can’t believe that Dee-Dee is my mother. That she’s alive. That she’s

in Ashland . . .” His voice trailed off, and he stared at the door again.

Bria looked at me, then at Owen, who shook his head. He didn’t know what to

do for Finn any more than we did.

Suddenly, Finn whipped around on his wing tips, throwing off Bria’s hand. He

stared at her a moment, before fixing his gaze on me, his green eyes growing

colder and harder the longer he looked at me.

“You knew,” he accused in a loud, harsh voice. “The two of you knew that

Dee-Dee was my mother. Owen was as shocked as I was, but you two? Not so much.

Not at all, really.”

My heart dropped, and my stomach clenched. This was the moment I’d been

dreading ever since I found Fletcher’s file, but I had no one to blame for it

but myself.

“You’re right. I knew about Deirdre. Now, let me explain—”

“That’s the reason for all the soft touches and sympathetic looks,” Finn

said, cutting me off. “How long? How long have you known, Gin?”

Before I could answer, Owen nudged me with his elbow and jerked his head to

the right. I looked past him and realized that Finn’s coworkers were staring

at us, along with Stuart Mosley. So were the cops and everyone else still in

the lobby. They all knew a juicy bit of drama when they saw it. Finn hadn’t

exactly screamed his accusations at me, but he hadn’t whispered them either.

I turned back to Finn. “This isn’t a conversation I want to have here,” I

said in a low voice. “And I don’t think you want to have it here either.

Besides, we need to get you to Jo-Jo’s so she can look at that knot on your

head. Let’s go to the salon, and I’ll tell you everything.”

His gaze flicked around the lobby. His mouth tightened, and an angry flush

stained his cheeks as he realized that we were the center of attention.

“Fine.” He spat out the word. “But you’d better hope that Jo-Jo has some

alcohol hidden in the cabinets somewhere. Because I need a drink. Several of

them.”

He whipped around again and strode away without another word.

Bria gave me a worried look.

“It’s okay,” I said. “Go with him, and make sure he doesn’t do anything

crazy. Owen and I will finish up here and meet you at Jo-Jo’s.”

Bria nodded, grabbed her purse off the bar, and hurried across the lobby after

Finn, catching up with him just before he reached the doors. She shot me one

more worried glance before following him outside.

“Well,” Owen rumbled. “I guess I know what the bad news is.”

I winced. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. But I wanted to let Finn

know first. I just never thought that Deirdre would beat me to the punch. That

she would be here tonight. That she would already have her hooks into Finn.”

Anger surged through me, and I kicked the stool where Deirdre had been

sitting. The metal chair skidded across the marble floor before banging into

the wooden bar and teetering to a stop. The noise made everyone stare at me

again, but I didn’t care right now.

“I’m such an idiot,” I growled. “Finn has been going on and on about his

great new client for weeks now. I should have realized there was more to it

than just him schmoozing with someone. I should have considered the