“So. You know Jeffrey Dugan,” Jaime said.
Straight to the point. Right. Good, okay. He could do this. He could navigate these questions without scaring Jaime away.
Sure, you can.
“Um, not really. Not in person. I know who he is. I know of him.” Finn winced. He knew that wasn’t the answer Jaime was looking for, nor was it the full truth. But he didn’t know how to explain further without letting the wolf out of the bag, so to speak.
Still, the eyebrow Jaime raised said enough. He owed him more.
“He’s part of an… organization. One we are familiar with. Silas, Sheppard, and I, that is. We aren’t associates of his! We just know what circles he runs in.” He added the last part hastily, trying to sooth the shock blooming across Jaime’s face.
“Anorganization? Like, what, the mafia? Is Jeffrey Dugan in the mafia, Finn? Wait, areyouin the fucking mafia?”
Finn’s eyes nearly bugged out. “No! No! I’m not in the mafia! And no, it’s not like that. It’s not, like, organized crime. More of a… club? Like, they all do business with each other.”
This was not going well. Jaime was starting to panic, and that was the last thing he wanted. Holding his hands out, he pleaded. “Jaime. I had nothing to do with what happened to Vera. Neither did anyone else at the security firm. We only suspected thatJeffrey had something to do with it because of what we know about his… friends. How he does business.”
Jaime slowed his breathing, and croaked, “Explain.”
Finn took a deep breath. “It’s sort of an understood rumor that Jeffrey Dugan married Vera for her father’s business contacts in Monroe. He was a major developer in the area, and when he died, she inherited the firm and all the subsidiary holdings. When she was murdered, all of it went to Jeffrey. So it wasn’t a stretch to believe that he had something to do with her murder.”
All of that was true, Finn wouldn’t lie to Jaime about that. But he was just not ready to tell him that the “club” he referred to was the Salt Creek pack, and Jeffrey Dugan was a high-ranking member who had frequent business dealings with their alpha. With Jeffrey as the sole decision maker of Vera’s substantial holdings, the Salt Creek business interests would greatly benefit, making them just as invested and likely culpable in Vera’s murder as Jeffrey was personally.
But he couldn’t tell Jaime any of that without addressing the giant, furry wolf in the room.
Jaime looked confused and angry. “Do the police know this? Surely, if they can prove that Jeffrey had a financial interest in Vera’s murder they could arrest him, and his goons wouldn’t be threatening me in my driveway. They’d have actual proof, not just the testimony of some guy who happened to overhear a fucking phone conversation!”
Finn tried to soothe him. “They do. The good ones, at least. Detective Sutton and DA Rivera. But Jeffrey’s associates are well connected. They have a presence in Monroe PD. From what we’ve gathered, it’s made prosecuting Vera’s murder difficult, and now that there’s someone to hold accountable, it’s made rooting out Jeffrey’s involvement even more difficult.”
Jaime voiced pitched high in panic. “Are you saying you don’t think that Bishop had anything to do with it? That he wasn’t the one that was in her house that night?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. He’s definitely the guy, Jaime. He’s the one who killed her and hurt you, and after he’s convicted he’s going to go to prison for a very long time for it. He can’t hurt you anymore. But public pressure significantly eased once they arrested him. It may be easier for Jeffrey’s contacts in Monroe PD to convince everyone to shelve the case after Bishop’s trial and conviction.”
They sat in silence for a long time while Jaime absorbed everything Finn had said. Somehow, he had found a way to tell Jaime just enough of the truth while hiding the rest. So then why did he feel like someone had carved out his chest with a shovel?
“Why didn’t you tell me any of this before?” Jaime’s voice was hollow, like it had been when he’d told Finn about his brother disappearing from his life.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Finn scrambled. “I didn’t want to worry you anymore than you already were.” He struggled to find the right words, the right thing to say so he didn’t hurt Jaime and didn’t let on that there was even more to all of this that he wasn’t aware of. That there was more to Finn that he wasn’t aware of.
“I wasn’t sure if you would want to know how deep this goes. You were never meant to be caught up in any of it. You shouldn’t have to worry about this, because it was never meant to affect you. I just thought we could keep you from having to be involved.”
Wrong. Finn knew it was the wrong thing to say the moment it left his mouth, Jaime’s face closing off completely.
He stood from the couch in an unfairly graceful rush. “But it did affect me, Finn. It did. I may not have been their target, but I was there. I saw what he did to her, and I couldn’t help. Andthen he shoved me in a closet and I thought I was going to die. But I didn’t. I survived, and now every fucking person around me wants to keep me from facing it!” He looked away, and Finn’s chest went cold.
“I don’t need you to protect me from the truth. That’s not how this works. You can’t…manageme, like that. I don’t want that from you. Not you, too.” Jaime’s voice broke, and Finn felt like he’d been kicked in the stomach.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!
Jaime walked toward the stairs. “I’m going to bed.”
Finn stood up quickly, following him. “Jaime, please. I’m sorry. Please, you haven’t eaten dinner yet. Let’s just… just, sit, and eat. And talk. I won't?—”
Finn’s plea caught in his throat, choking him. What could he say? He wouldn’t lie to Jaime anymore? What a joke, when Finn was keeping so much from him still.
Jaime kept his back to him, voice pitched low. “You cannot tell me that you want to know me more, and then keep things like this from me. You cannot tell me that I’m not a burden to you and then treat me like someone you need to manage. You told me that I’m strong, but it makes me feel so weak when you and my brother don’t give me a chance to decide for myself how to handle all of this.”
