Rocky’s nostrils flared, and Finn immediately regrettedhis words, but then Rocky shot him a sly smile. “I’ll tell you what. You move into my place, and you won’t need to have a shadow. Insist on staying out in the boondocks, then he stays.” Rocky jerked his head in the direction of the guy who stood quietly on the sidelines, observing them. Finn couldn’t read his thoughts but suddenly wished Rocky weren’t making him seem like such a moron.What sortof twenty-three-year-old lives his life under his brother’s thumb? Fuck.
It was another case of picking his battles, and in this instance, Finn decided to back down. There could be worse things than being driven around by someone who looked like an action movie hero, and it appeared he wouldn’t be able to change Rocky’s mind, anyway.
“All right. I’ll take the driver.”
“I knew you’d see sense.Mitch will bring you to and from work. He’ll keep an eye on things to make sure you don’t get into any trouble.”
Finn rolled his eyes. “What sort of trouble would I get into?”
“Keep your nose clean, do what I say, and there won’tbe any trouble.” Rocky looked at the guy. “I’ll leave you two to get acquainted, but I want to speak to you before you leave. You can show Finn to his office when you’vefinished here. Here’re the keys to the Range Rover. It’s parked out back.” Rocky tossed a set of keys the guy easily caught with lightning-fast reflexes.
“No worries,” he said as he pocketed the keys.
With another curt nod, Rocky turned on his heels and left the room. Finn immediately followed and grabbed Rocky outside. “Who is this guy?” Finn hissed. “You haven’t told me anything about him.”
“He’s new around here. He’s a friend of Peter’s. They used to work together.”
“And you fully trust him?”
“Not on your life.” Rocky laughed. “But Peter’s got a lot riding on this, or else he won’t get his patch, so I trust his judgment. He’s not going to vouch for someone he doesn’t believe in, and if he’s stupid enough to do so, then it’ll be more than just his patch he’ll lose. But I’m nottaking any chances. We’ll check Mitch out, and he’ll need to prove himself in case Peter’s assessment is off. But don’t worry, little brother, he’s only going to drive you around, nothing dangerous, and we’ll keep an eye on him. Once he’s proven himself and he checks out,thenwe’ll look at how else he can add value around here.”
“So I’m part of his test?”
“If you want to look at it that way.Now rack off. I need to get some shit done, not stand around gas-bagging to you all day.”
Rocky stalked off across the back parking lot, returning to the main building. The only thing that made Finn feel a little better was the knowledge Peter knew and vouched for the man. If he was someone Rocky had dragged from wherever it was he usually dragged his arsehole people from, it would be a differentstory. He turned and went back to the staff room.
The guy was still standing where they’d left him. Finn paused momentarily at the door, then took a deep breath and approached. The hand that shook his was strong, with a sure grip. The surge of electricity was instant.Oh fuck.Maybe it wouldn’t be so easy to hang out with a guy who looked like an action movie hero, particularly one who sent allthe blood racing to his dick.
“Mitch Nielsen,” the guy said. “Looks like we’ll be spending a lot of time together.”
Oh fuck, indeed.
