He lifts a hand, eyes still on me. "And what's your excuse? I waited an hour at the gym. Kept thinking you'd return my calls or texts."
Guilt expands, but I force a smirk. "Sorry. I was sleeping. We had a late one."
He doesn't blink. "Late one?"
"Yeah." I lean back, trying to relax. "Sean and I went out. Blew off some steam. You know how it is...beer, cards, bad decisions."
Brenna laughs lightly. "Boys' night, huh? No wonder you look like you haven't slept in days."
"Do I?"
She winces and puts her two fingers together. "Little bit."
I laugh, hoping it sounds natural.
Finn isn't amused, and he isn't buying it. He studies me with his weathered green eyes that saw straight through every lie I ever tried to sneak past him.
I drink more beer.
"Where did you go?" he asks.
"The new club downtown. After that it gets a little blurry," I fib.
He scoffs. "That makes sense for last night, but where has Sean been all the other days?"
As upset as I am that Sean won't tell me everything he knows about the Underworld, my loyalty toward him will never fade. So I lie further, "Like I said. He's been busy."
Brenna interjects, "Hopefully, things will calm down for him soon."
Finn doesn't move. He pins his stare on me. "If he's mixed up in something, you can tell me. I'll help him figure out how to handle it."
His offer twists in my gut. I wish I could accept it, but he has no idea what "it" even is. Hell, neither do I, really. And if he knew about Kirill, or Valentina, he'd be livid. Plus, there's no way he could figure out how to get me out of the 24-hour problem I have.
It's less than 24 hours now.
My gut flips. I decide I have to give him something. "It's not a big deal. We got into a brawl, and we both spent the day recovering."
"Last night you got into a fight?" Brenna asks with worry all over her expression.
"We're fine," I assure her.
Finn exhales through his nose, unconvinced. "You're loyal to a fault, kid."
I keep my eyes locked on his. "Guess you taught me that."
"Yeah, but I also taught you when loyalty gets you killed."
The words hang there. I take another long drink, hoping the cold will wash away the lies coming out of my mouth.
Across the pub, someone shouts at the dartboard, and Brenna laughs. "There's Stacy from the vets. Haven't seen her in ages." She slides out of the booth. "Let the boys be boys. You were young and dumb once, too," she teases, patting him on his hand.
He grunts.
As soon as she's gone, Finn leans forward again, elbows on the table. "All right. No audience. Tell me what's really wrong."
"Nothing."
He gives a humorless laugh. "If you're lying to protect him, fine. But don't protect him from me."
