Page 72 of Rake

All eyes in that room are on me.

“And what terms are those, Miss Saunders?” His icy stare is meant to intimidate, but he’d forced me to kill a man last night. In self-defense, yes, but now it just makes his threats seem small and pathetic by comparison.

A smile spreads across my face. “SWU 105 will only negotiate on behalf of Trinity’s staff with their steward and with Finn Carney. He saved my brother’s life last night. I see that as indelible proof of his commitment to justice. While as principal owner of the business, you’ll have final approval of any contract terms, we will not work directly with you in any capacity, as you’ve proven your inability to work with us in good faith.”

A flush rises from under his collar, reaching all the way up his face. He’s livid.

Good.

A woman in the room sighs. “Jim, just take the deal. You’ve already wasted more than enough energy on this.”

I wonder if that’s his wife. She looks younger than him, but in a way that looks like it’s from cosmetics and plastic surgery – and does little to hide her unhappiness.

“Daddy,” Siobhan says. “Please?”

James looks at his daughter, and his face changes completely. He loves her and my heart aches for Finn.

“We’ll have our lawyers talk,” he says to me. “But I think we can arrange something.”

“I’m very glad to hear that, sir.” I say. I turn back to Finn. “I’m going to be stepping down as the SWU representative for the Trinity staff. It’s been a pleasure working with you. My office will be in touch as soon as a new representative is selected.”

He stares at me open-mouthed for a minute.

“Goodbye, Finn. I hope you heal well and quickly.”

“Yeah,” he says, his voice sounding rough. “Yeah, you too, Sasha.”

He looks like he wants to say more, but instead he lets go of my hand. The silence in the room is suffocating. I need to leave, then.

I walk past his family and head downstairs to meet my brother.

21

Finn

Two weeks after I leave the hospital, my father asks me to come to our family home in Back Bay for Sunday dinner.

It’s been a while since he’s invited me personally.

My sisters greet me at the door—all three of them. Siobhan and Bridget fuss over me, Bridget nearly bursting into tears when she sees me in a sling.

“It’s okay, honey.” I say. “I just have to wear it while the bone heals.”

She looks up at the contusions on my face, and then nods, putting on a brave face. Catriona squeezes the back of my uninjured arm.

“Pity you decided to go back to Dr. Smith instead of one of the young hot doctors at Mass General,” she says with a wink.

My father appears behind my sisters and waves at me to follow him into his office. We haven’t talked since that last time I saw Sasha. When she’d told me I was the only one the staff would agree to work with.

I had been so taken aback I didn’t know how to respond. And she’d walked out of that room, and I’d let her go without even saying thank you. Without telling her I was sorry for letting her get hurt. For what she had to do to P.J.

P.J. was a known quantity to the police. The cops called me, and I assume Sasha, in for a perfunctory meeting. It wouldn’t go any further.

Hamish had said he’d gotten what he deserved for breaking the code. He also wouldn’t do business with my family anymore, and I can’t say that I blame him. It feels disloyal to Sasha that I blame my father rather than Hamish for beating her. It’s hard to reconcile.

Constantly, I find myself wondering how Sasha is doing. Is she still having nightmares? I haven’t been able to bring myself to call her. What if she doesn’t want to talk to me?

I sit across from my father, our usual configuration.

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