Bitter Bite (Elemental Assassin #14)(48)

Deirdre might have left, but the show wasn’t quite over yet.

Everyone in the restaurant turned to look at me, whispering and wondering

about the drama they’d just witnessed. No doubt, somebody here had some

underworld connections, which meant that news of the confrontation would

spread like wildfire among the bosses. I ground my teeth. Terrific.

I ignored the curious stares and glanced over at Silvio, who slid off his

stool, buttoned his suit jacket, and went outside. With his enhanced vampire

senses, he’d heard every word of our heated conversation. Silvio had realized

that I wanted all the information I could get on Deirdre, even if it was

something as mundane as what kind of car she was driving.

Finn waited until Deirdre was out of sight of the storefront windows before he

whipped around to me. “Are you happy now? You just chased away my mother.

Just like Dad did.”

I opened my mouth, but he snapped his hand up.

“Forget it. I can’t even look at you right now,” he growled.

He stormed toward the front door, but Owen was already there, blocking his

path. Finn glared at him, but Owen put his arm around Finn’s shoulders.

“Come on, man,” he said. “Let’s go out back and get some air.”

Owen looked at me, and I nodded my thanks. He nodded back, then half led, half

strong-armed Finn across the storefront, through the double doors, and into

the back of the restaurant.

Everyone swung around to stare at me again, wondering what I would do next. I

glared back at the curious crowd, until they all decided it would be better to

focus on their food and started shoving sandwiches and French fries into their

mouths at warp speed.

“That went well,” Bria drawled, still sitting in the booth. “You know you

played right into her hands.”

I huffed out an angry breath and ran my hands down my blue work apron, trying

to rein in my emotions. “I know, I know. I should have been calm, cool,

reasonable. Just like she was. But I just couldn’t sit there and listen to

all those damn, dirty lies about Fletcher. I just couldn’t. And I don’t get

Finn. He’s going to believe some strange woman who shows up out of the blue

over his own father? The man who was here for him all these years?”

I shook my head. “Sometimes I don’t know what is going on in that boy’s

mind.”

Bria picked up the photos. “Think about it from his point of view. He gets a

second chance with the mother he never knew. That would be tempting for

anyone.”

“Yeah, but this is Finn we’re talking about. He usually has women eating out

of the palm of his hand. Not the other way around.”

She shrugged. “And growing up without a mother is probably one of the reasons

he likes women so much and is such a terrible flirt. He’s trying to have that

connection he never had with her.”

My eyes narrowed. “When did you go all Freudian on me?”

“You’re not the only one who takes classes, you know. I’ve been doing some

psychology stuff online through the police department.” She grinned a moment

before the smile slipped from her face. “You need to talk to Finn. Hash out

this thing between the two of you before it gets any worse. If Deirdre really

is a threat, then you need to stay close to him. Not alienate him even more.”

I sighed. “I know. But he’s not going to like what I have to say about Mama

Dearest.”

Bria shrugged again. She didn’t know how to make Finn listen to reason any

more than I did.

But she was right, and I had to try. So I stepped behind the counter, yanked

off my apron, and hung it on a rack on the wall, just to give myself a few

more seconds to cool off. When I felt calmer, I headed toward the double

doors, where Jo-Jo and Sophia were now standing, both with worried looks on

their faces.

I stopped in front of them. “What did you think about what Deirdre said?”

“Bullshit,” Sophia growled, her nostrils flaring in anger. “Every single

word.”

Well, at least I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Then again, Sophia had

loved Fletcher too, especially since he’d saved her from a horrible

situation, and she was just as biased about him as I was.

“Forget about what she said for now. Go make things right with Finn,” Jo-Jo

said. “He’ll come to his senses, sooner or later.”

I nodded and flashed her a smile, but my heart remained heavy as I pushed

through the double doors. Because part of me couldn’t help but wonder if it

was already too late for Finn.

*

The waitstaff must have been as transfixed by the ugly scene with Deirdre as

the customers were, because the back of the restaurant was empty. Good. I didn

’t need to have anyone else see me lose my shit today.

I moved past the metal shelves full of sugar, cornmeal, and ketchup and headed

for the back door. I reached for the knob, but the door had already been left