Bitter Bite (Elemental Assassin #14)(50)

” He stabbed his finger into his chest, right where his heart was. “Not

Owen, not Bria, nobody else. Just me.”

“You and Fletcher,” I said in a soft voice.

Finn’s mouth twisted, and pain flashed in his eyes, mixing with his anger. “

Well, Dad’s not here anymore, but I still am. And for the past year, I’ve

always had your back, no matter what happened and how bad things got. That hot

mess with you and Donovan Caine? I was here. You taking on Mab? I was here.

You battling Madeline and the underworld bosses and anyone else who came at

you? I was always right f*cking here.”

“I never said you weren’t.”

But Finn was on a self-righteous roll now, and he threw his hands up into the

air and went on as though I hadn’t even spoken. “And now, when the tables

are turned and I need something, when I need a little support and

understanding after getting the shock of my life, what do you do? Threaten to

kill my mother right out of the starting gate.”

I shrugged. “I was just making the consequences of being in your life

crystal-clear to her.”

“Oh, you made them clear, all right. As clear as the point of your favorite

knife. It’s a wonder she didn’t run away screaming.”

“Oh, I don’t think Deirdre is quite the delicate flower she appears to be.”

Finn crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me again.

I sighed. “Okay, okay, so maybe I shouldn’t have whipped out the I’ll-

kill-you card right off the bat.”

“But?”

“But she didn’t run away, did she? And now she knows exactly what will

happen if she screws you over. C’mon, Finn. Don’t tell me you’re actually

buying into her act.”

His chin jutted out. “And what if I am?”

“Then you’re a fool.” I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth,

but it was too late to take them back.

Finn stared at me, but instead of the anger I expected, a mixture of hurt and

weary resignation flashed in his eyes. That made me feel worse than if he’d

started shouting. “You really believe that, don’t you?” he said, a sad note

creeping into his voice. “That you’re the invincible superhero who always

knows what’s best for everyone, and I’m just your cheerful, carefree, idiot

sidekick who shoots people for you on occasion.”

“I don’t think that—not at all.”

“Of course you do.” Finn shook his head, his voice even sadder than before.

“Because that’s exactly what Dad trained you to believe.”

I didn’t know what to think about his accusations, much less how to respond

to them. Of course I didn’t think I was a superhero, and I definitely didn’t

view Finn as a sidekick. He was my brother, and I loved him, simple as that.

But the way he was looking at me right now, with such . . . disappointment,

wounded me more than all his harsh, angry words had. Even worse, it was like

every single thing I said only pushed him farther away. I had to fix this—

now.

“C’mon,” I repeated. “Do you really believe what Deirdre said about

Fletcher? That he threatened to kill her if she ever came back to Ashland? If

she ever tried to contact you?”

“You know Dad,” Finn said in a gruff tone. “He was capable of it.”

“Certainly,” I agreed. “And I also know that the only reason—the only

reason—he would have made a threat like that was to protect you. Deirdre

might be your mother, but she’s been playing you like a fiddle. She’s

dangerous, Finn. Surely you can see that.”

“Of course I can see it,” he snapped, a stubborn note creeping into his

voice. “But maybe I want to give her a chance anyway.”

I frowned. “Why would you want to do that?”

“Because I never had a mother,” he said in a soft voice.

Finn stared at me, the same raw, naked longing on his face that I’d seen last

night at the party and again here at the restaurant. A bone-deep yearning for

something that he’d never had, that he’d never experienced, that he’d been

missing out on his whole life.

“I never had a mother,” he repeated in a louder voice. “I never had anyone

to kiss my scraped knees or bake me cookies or sing me to sleep. Yeah, Dad did

his best, but he wasn’t exactly the most open and forthcoming person,

especially when it came to his emotions. And we weren’t exactly alike,

especially as I got older. Not like you and he were. Jo-Jo did her best. So

did Sophia, for that matter, and I’m grateful to both of them that they cared

enough to even try.”

“But?”

He blew out a breath. “But it wasn’t the same. It was never the same. And

now my mother—my real mother—is here, and I can see so much of myself in

her. It’s like I’ve suddenly found a part of me that I didn’t even realize