Page 64 of Finlay

Friends? Treaty? Violence?

He was gone before I could ask any questions, leaving behind a lingering disquiet. I stared down at the innocent rectangle of cardboard he’d left behind. All that was on it was an address some fifty miles or so from here. No name. No message.

Was that man part of the family Reid had needed savingfrom? If so, what should I do? I didn’t want to cause Reid any stress, but it didn’t seem right to hide this from him.

The bell on the door went again and my hand found the secateurs automatically. I exhaled, letting them go when I saw who’d entered. “Finn. Thank fuck.”

His smile faded away instantly. “Chester? What’s wrong?”

He sniffed the air. Once. Twice. All the colour faded from his face.

“I’m sure it’s nothing.” I chewed on my lip. “I’m not hurt or anything.”

Finn’s frown deepened as he rounded the counter. His eyes searched me all over, like he was checking I was uninjured. When he was satisfied I really was okay, he cupped my face. “Tell me what happened, m’eudail. It’s not nothing if it’s upset ye.”

I couldn’t help the little pulse of surprise. Finn wasn’t dismissing my concerns out of hand, he was actively pushing to hear them.

Whoever had raised this man should be damned proud of themselves.

“This odd bloke came in,” I explained. “He was asking about Reid. I told him I didn’t know him. That was the right thing to do, yeah?”

“Aye.” Finn’s nostrils were flared as he sniffed once more. “That it was. Reid has his reasons for keeping his location private.”

I nodded. “Yeah, he told me a little about the pieces of shit he grew up with.”

“Can you tell me what this man looked like?”

I frowned in confusion. “Wait, do you know Reid’s family?”

“Sort of.” Finn grimaced. “Let’s just say our paths have crossed, and not in a friendly way.”

“He was very tall. About your height. Muscled, but like he was a runner. He was super tense too. It was weird, but he reminded me of a…” My voice faded away as I searched for the right term.

“Big cat?”

“That’s it.” I clicked my fingers. “That’s what I was looking for. Yeah, it was super weird. He stalked over and got all up in my space. He was pretty insistent that I knew Reid and was hiding it from him. He got a bit intense about it, if I’m being honest.”

There was an odd cracking noise. Almost like someone stretching to get cricks out of their back. I glanced around in confusion, trying to figure out where it was coming from. “Do you hear that?”

“What else did he say?” Finn asked, as though I hadn’t spoken.

“Not a lot. He gave me a card and told me to give it to Reid. No idea whether that’s a good idea or not though.”

Finn’s nostrils flared, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “Can I take a quick look?”

I picked it up and handed it over. Finn didn’t read it as I expected, instead bringing it to his nose and sniffing it. His eyes narrowed and a low growl rumbled up from his chest. “Motherfucker.Is he for fucking real?”

My brows shot up. “Finn, what’s wrong?”

Once more, he answered my question with one of his own. I wasn’t even sure he was doing it intentionally. If I had to guess, I’d say Finn was…freaking out. “Did he threaten you at all?”

I gave a half shrug. “Not really. He did get up in my facea bit and suggestpersuadingme and making me talk. Don’t know what he meant by that, but I didn’t back down.”

More cracks filled the air. My gaze flicked around the room. What the fuckwasthat?

I was about to ask Finn again, but as soon as I glanced at him, all thoughts of strange noises left my mind. Something was wrong with him. Finn’s eyes had gone unfocused as he stared at a spot above my head. His whole body was vibrating, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles were white.

Concerned, I put my hand on his chest. “Finn?Baby,are you okay?”

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