Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

FINLEY

I watched Aidan watching Elenna, Orion and me. She sat with a book in her hand, her legs over Orion’s lap, feet on mine. I massaged her toes and tried to interpret the expression on Aidan’s face.

I’d known him longer than anyone else in the room, but I couldn’t always tell what he was thinking. It could be anything from pleased she was happy, to just about ready to shoot Orion and me in the eyeballs.

Wanting her to get everything she wanted was perfection in theory, but didn’t stop him from being a jealous, possessive man.

She cast him a sidelong look. I figured she’d notice. She hadn’t turned the page for at least five minutes.

"I think we all noticed Aidan has something to say," Orion said. "If you’re about to throw Fin and I out on our asses?—"

Elenna sat up straighter, her foot sliding out of my grip. "You’re not?—"

"I’m not throwing anyone out," Aidan snapped. "That isn’t what this is about." He stalked from one side of the room to the other.

"What is it about?" I grabbed her foot and resumed rubbing the ball with the pad of my thumb.

"This is about the Fiorellis and how sooner or later they’re going to stir up more shit. We need to be prepared." He rubbed a finger back and forth across his lower lip.

"We’re not prepared enough?" Orion asked.

Elenna put down her book and started to wring her hands, like she did whenever the topic came up. She tried to be subtle, but I think we all noticed. I presumed it had something to do with killing Oscar, but unless she was willing to talk about it, I’d never know for sure.

"We’re prepared," I said. "As prepared as we’ll ever be. We take every precaution."

"You don’t think it’s enough?" Elenna said softly. "That no matter what we do, it might not be enough?" To her credit, her face no longer went pale when we had these conversations. She wasn’t going to grab a rocket launcher and lead the charge, but she’d hold her own no matter what came at us.

"What are you proposing?" Orion said bluntly. "If you don’t think three of us are enough to keep Elenna, and each other, safe, then what?"

"Is this where you suggest we put our money together and buy one of those impenetrable mansions on the cliff?" I said, half joking. "I might have a few dollars in my piggy bank."

"It would take more than a few dollars," Aidan said. "I think we need to think bigger than that."

"A few hundred dollars?" I massaged each of Elenna’s toes, one by one.

"Bigger than running away," Aidan said, his expression dark.

"Please tell me you’re not suggesting going after the Fiorellis," I said. "We don’t have the resources for that."

"No we don’t," he agreed. "But who seems to have taken over from Dante?"

"Nicholas and Celine," Elenna said.

"Exactly," he said. "We can sit here and wait for them to come at us again or we can deal with them first."

"They didn’t exactly come after us," I pointed out. "They wanted Oscar’s killer. I don’t think they were in a mind to start anything with us. As far as they knew, killing us wouldn’t achieve much of anything. Apart from pissing off Aidan."

"Exactly," Aidan said. "They want Oscar’s killer. So we give them what they want."

We all sat up higher then.

"What the fuck?" Orion snarled. "You are not handing over Elenna." In a short amount of time, he seemed to have grown as attached to her as Aidan and me. From the look he gave Aidan, he was about to rip his heart out with his bare hands.

"Aidan?" Elenna asked.

"No," Orion snapped. "I don’t care what justification he has, I won’t allow?—"

"I’m not suggesting we hand over Elenna," Aidan said. "Maybe you can shut the fuck up and listen." He shot daggers at Orion with his eyes.

Orion glared, but he fell silent.

I gave Aidan an ’out with it’ gesture with my hand but also said nothing.

"It’s very simple," Aidan said. "We already know they want Orion dealt with. We just have to convince them he’s the one who killed Oscar, on the orders of whichever the fuck Brantley you want to name. The Fiorellis aren’t going to stop to ask questions."

"You’re going to give me up to them," Orion concluded. He seemed undecided if he was furious or not.

"Doing that would solve about ninety-nine percent of my problems right now," Aidan said. "They won’t stop coming until they’ve got you. If they think you killed Oscar, then Elenna is off the hook. They’ll forget all about her and her relation to Ike. She can get on with her life without looking over her shoulder."

She looked stricken. "I can’t ask Orion to surrender himself for me."

"I’ll do it," Orion said. "Aidan is right. This will solve a bunch of problems."

Elenna stared at him. "You can’t."

"I can and I am," he said evenly. "I should have thought of it myself."

"That’s why Aidan is the brains of this outfit," I said dryly. I gave him a long, hard look. Like always, his expression gave away nothing. He was even more of a closed book than Elenna’s paperback.

Aidan smirked. "That’s me. Asshole and mastermind."

Elenna threw her legs off me and Orion and stood, her hands on her hips. "Do I get any say in this? Is this your way of getting rid of Orion? Do you have a plan to get rid of Fin too?"

"He better fucking not." I also stood. "You don’t, do you?" If he did, I might get rid of him first.

Aidan rolled his eyes. "Of course not. Unless you’ve recently done something to put a target on your back with the Fiorellis or the Bells. Or the Brantleys for that matter."

"Unless you count taking care of a few henchmen in the gym," I said. "In which case, you’re just as big a target as me."

Elenna looked around at all of us, horrified. "You can’t be serious? I’m the one they want more than anyone else. If anyone is going to be handed over, around here?—"

"It’s not going to be you," Aidan told her. He took her hands in his. "Do you trust me?"

"I want to," she said slowly.

He squeezed her hands more tightly. "Do you trust me?" he repeated.

She didn’t meet his gaze. Her eyes were looking at approximately the centre of his chest.

He made a sound of frustration in the back of his throat, put a hand under her chin and raised it so they were face-to-face.

"I’d never do anything to hurt you," he said.

"Then why…" She shook her head. "What if they don’t have any plans to come after any of us ever again? Their resources diminished after Dante died. A lot of people won’t touch them."

"A lot of people will," Aidan said. "They have enough resources to send ten people after Orion. Next time, they might send twenty. Nicholas and Celine are pissed off. That’s not going to change while we sit on our hands and hope they forget we exist. People like them, they hold grudges. You know that as well as I do."

"I know but…" She sighed heavily. "You’ve all made up your mind, haven’t you? It doesn’t matter what I say, you’re going to do this anyway. It doesn’t matter how I feel."

"It very much matters how you feel," Aidan said. "But if I have to choose between you and Orion, I choose you."

"I choose her too," Orion said. "I choose her over myself." His expression was just as guarded as Aidan’s.

"So fucking noble," I muttered.

Elenna turned to me. "Fin." She silently begged me to say something. Some reason why this was a really bad idea.

I shook my head. "I’m sorry. I tried to suggest a mansion, but apparently they think this is a better idea."

My attempt at humour fell flat. She pressed her lips together so hard her skin turned white.

"When?" Somehow she managed to keep her voice from shaking. She looked like she might use a knife or gun on one of us if she had one in her hand. When all of this sunk in, she was going to be furious. It was just as well Aidan suggested it, not me. She could be angry with him instead.

"I’ll put out some feelers," Aidan said. "We’ll see how long it is before they take the bait. Knowing them and how desperate they are for answers, it won’t take long."

She nodded. "If you’re determined to go through with this, then I can’t stop you, but if you get yourself killed in the process…"

"I won’t," Aidan said. "Fin and I will be fine. The Demons will be fine."

"Everyone but Orion," she said bitterly.

"I knew what I was getting into when I screwed around with the Fiorellis," Orion said. His voice was completely flat, devoid of all emotion, his expression one of acceptance.

"Sooner or later, I’d end up dead because of it. I have no regrets. Saving all those women was worth the life of one asshole hockey god." He shrugged like he’d just opened the window and let his last fuck fly away on the winter breeze.

"This is bullshit," Elenna said. "Can’t we find some nice remote island somewhere and live our lives?"

She looked ready to run-off and pack a suitcase right now. Honestly, I’d be right behind her. A remote tropical island sounded pretty fucking good right now.

"They’d notice if all four of us disappear," Aidan said. "Sooner or later, they’d find us. We can spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders, or we can do this."

Elenna gave him a sharp look, then took Orion’s hand. "I want to talk to you, alone."

He glanced at us, but let her lead him away. The door closed firmly behind them.

I patted Aidan hard on the shoulder. "Good job. I hadn’t realised you were such a strategist. With hockey, yes, but not with Elenna’s love life."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Inviting him in and letting him get close enough to her that he’d sacrifice himself for her," I explained. "That’s fucking genius. I should have thought of that myself."

He scowled at me.

"You’re not denying it," I pointed out.

"It’s the only choice we have," he said simply. "The only way we can protect her and ourselves."

I’d never heard his voice sound so stone-cold ruthless. Not even when Elenna ran away and he was ready to rip the world apart and kill everyone in it to get her back. This was something so dark, he gave me chills.

I stepped away from him and nodded. "All right. I guess this is what we’re doing then. I’ll get dinner started."