Chapter TWELVE
MITCH FOLLOWEDFinn out into the backyard. The party was in full swing, and most of the guests were a little worse for wear due to the volume of alcohol being consumed, and whatever else it was they were inhaling or snorting or shooting up. The late-afternoon summer sun beat down, hot after the chill of the air-conditioning indoors. It was a typical Sydney summer day, buta slight breeze coming from over the river prevented the heat from being too stifling. Mitch had managed to avoid drinking too much—sipping on a few beers and discreetly draining his bottle or swapping with someone else when no one was looking to keep his alcohol consumption low—but he was grateful for the bottle of water he snagged as he passed by an esky filled with ice. Sunlight reflected offthe surface of the pool, and the faint hint of chlorine filled the air, mixing with the scent of barbecuing sausages.
Mitch sat across from Finn at one of the outdoor settings and smiled. A warm flutter filled his chest as the corner of Finn’s mouth rose and his eyes crinkled. It wasn’t often Finn smiled, but when he did, it lit up his whole face, reminding Mitch of his age. The more seriousside of Finn looked older, more mature and sensible. At twenty-three, the carefree, fun-loving Finn should have been seen a lot more.
Mitch drank from his bottle before gesturing to the half-empty bottle in his hand. “You want one?” he asked as he stood.
Finn shook his head, indicating the nearly empty bottle he held, but instead of drinking, he started picking the label off with his thumbnail.Small bits of white, green, and red paper floated to the grass. By the time Mitch had returned with another bottle of water, Rocky had joined Finn at the table.
The brothers really were chalk and cheese. But it wasn’t the physical appearance that stood out. It was the demeanor that differentiated them. Both of them had fair hair, Rocky’s buzzed and Finn with a longer style. Both had tattoos,but Finn’s were usually kept mostly covered by his shirts. It was only now that he was wearing a casual T-shirt that his full sleeves were on display. Mitch could only imagine what was hidden under his clothing, but the tattoos Mitch could see were much more refined than Rocky’s crude drawings. Mitch had the sudden desire to see the full extent of Finn’s markings and had to tear his eyes away fromFinn’s golden skin before his fascination became too obvious.
“Rocky.” Mitch nodded at his boss as he took a seat.
“Mitch. How’s it going?” Rocky slumped back into the chair, legs spread-eagled, and nursed a can of Woodstock.
“Good. Nice party.”
Ginger walked past with a couple of other women. A brunette with masses of hair in long waves running down her back paused in front of them. She tuckedone of the long tresses behind her ear and peered at Finn over her sunglasses. When Finn looked at her, the unease of jealousy caused a lump in Mitch’s throat, but it didn’t last as Finn’s gaze slipped past the girl and he locked his blue eyes on Mitch. Mitch’s breathing slowed, and he found himself unable to look away from those crystal-clear irises that rivaled the color of the summer skyabove. The girl moved on.
“You should ask her out,” Rocky said, eyes glued to her retreating butt.
“What?” Finn frowned.
“That girl. Cherie. She’s obviously got the hots for you.” Rocky slurped from his can. “Have a chat to Ginger. She’ll get you Cherie’s number. Or better still, corner her today before you leave. I saw the way she looked at you, so I’d say you’re pretty much a shoo-in.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Finn continued to drop small pieces of paper to the ground as he worked away at the Heineken label. He looked up suddenly, met Mitch’s gaze, then addressed Rocky. “I met Lucky like you wanted.”
“Good. That’s good.”
“I’m not exactly sure what it was I was being asked to do and why I needed to speak to him.”
“You don’t need to know why.”
“Seriously, Rocky, he told me nothing. Justthat the guys won’t be available to operate CMC for a few days and you want me to hold down the fort.”
“And that’s exactly right. You need to step up. We need a Cummings at the wheel when I’m not around.”
“But what about Stack? He’s your 2IC. Why isn’t he doing it?”
“Because I need him elsewhere, and like I said, it won’t be Stack taking over the place eventually. It’ll be you.”
Finn paused,and his Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed deeply. “I’m still not sure what’s going on. Why do you need Stack? And Blue? Surely you’ve got other people you can trust to do whatever it is.”
“Not for something this big. And it’s safer if you’re not closely involved, so stop asking so many questions.” Rocky cast a glance at Mitch, and Mitch shrugged. It wouldn’t do to appear too keen to hear thedetails of what was going on, but he wished Rocky would say something, give him anything—just a whiff of what was planned to go down.
Finn snorted. “Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s ‘need-to-know,’ and I don’t need to know.”
Rocky grinned. “Good boy. You’re catching on.”
“I suppose Mitch doesn’t need to know either.”
“Spot-on. So you’ll shut up about it if you know what’s good for you.” Rocky leveredhimself out of the chair with a grunt. “I’m going to find Ginger. You boys play nice now.”
Once Rocky was out of earshot, Mitch shuffled his chair closer. “What was that all about?”
“Fucked if I know. Some deal’s going down, and that’s all I know.” Finn looked pissed off.
“Like he said, maybe he’s keeping you out of the loop for your own protection?”
