Page 44 of Mob Star

“Finn, stop for a moment. Please. You can finish, but I need to sit up and see you while I talk.”

He stops immediately. He helps me up until I kneel beside him.

“This has nothing to do with you. But I’m not ready to talk about it. I understand you want to keep me safe. I need you to trust me about this, please. I need to sort some family stuff out. I trust you, but I’m still getting used to that. My instinct isn’t usually to lie.”

“Thea, I won’t pry if this has something to do with your family. It’s not my business unless you want it to be. But I won’t relent on your safety. Either you accept my expectations and the safeguards I want to put in place, or we can’t go forward. But either way, you are going to have a safety detail until I’m convinced you’re safe. Someone, at the least, wants to scare you. More likely, they want to hurt you, and they’re letting you know it’s coming.”

I close my eyes as I nod. He’s not being unreasonable. I stand and lie across his lap again. I reach back and lift my dress. His hand rubs my ass cheeks, taking away some of the burn. He massages, squeezing and rubbing. I expect more to come, but he helps me to sit up. He settles me on his lap with my ass between his open thighs, not putting any weight on it. He kisses my forehead as he holds me. I’m relaxed, but he isn’t. He’s all hard bone and muscle, even when he’s at ease. But he’s coiled so tight, he feels like a spring about to pop. He’s respecting my boundaries, but it might kill him to do it. He really doesn’t like not having control of this situation, and it’s stressing him out. But I don’t want him involved with Uncle Corey. Nothing good can come of them meeting.

We hear my phone buzz where I put it on the counter. “I have to get that in case it’s work.”

He helps me up, and I pull my dress back into place as I cross the short distance.

Jamie

We’re going to Gamma’s. Asher knows to join us.

Our grandmother lives in New Jersey. She’s our mom’s mom. I don’t agree that they should go there. I glance at Finn who’s watching me. I shoot him a smile, and his face appears less taut.

Me

Keep me posted. I don’t think Gamma’s is a good idea. He’ll think of it as fast as you did.

Jamie

She lives three doors down from a police station.

Me

So?

I don’t get a response. I don’t want to fight with him. I want my family safe. For now, that may be the best choice.

“Everything okay at work?”

“It was my brother.” I won’t lie. “It’s fine.”

That was sorta the truth. It is until Uncle Corey finds them.

“Your nephew?”

He stands, but he doesn’t walk over. He never hesitates to come near me if that’s what he wants. I think that as though we have some long history together. We don’t. But he doesn’t move closer. He’s giving me space, so he can’t see my phone. He thinks I’m going to lie again.

“No. Skyler’s okay as far as I know. We were talking about something earlier, but Jamie was in the car.”

He looks over at the window, then at my phone in my hand. He nods.

“Will you let me have one of my guys board up the hole until I can have the glass replaced in the morning? Your neighbors won’t appreciate the noise if a guy does it now.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Shane owns a construction company. He’s in real estate development. It’ll take one of his guys like fifteen minutes.”

I know it’ll take longer than that, but I won’t turn him down. He’s really trying. I slip my phone into my pocket. I walk back to him and go to slide my arms around him. His longer arms wrap around me below mine. It’s awkward, but I step into his embrace.

“Finn, can we still go out?”

“Of course. If you feel up to it, then of course we can. Are you angry at me for spanking you?”

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