Chapter TWENTY-NINE
FINN’S OFFICEwas neat as a pin. Its orderly appearance, with clear desktop and everything in its place, was a reflection of the man himself—dedicated, organized, and focused. Finn did what needed to be done, whether it was here in the office or back at their house. Their house?Since when did it become my house?Mitch chuckled, the sound loud in the small office andmaking him suddenly self-conscious. Fuck, he was losing it.
He tore his mind back to the immediate situation. He’d extracted himself from the gathering in Rocky’s office because he needed to get ahold of Ross and let him know about the shit that was about to go down.
Rocky Cummings was about to do something incredibly stupid. His plan was to set up the Brutes. He was going to lure them to “neutral”ground, supposedly to negotiate territory. He intended to use the drug haul as a bargaining chip to sweeten the deal. His aim was to set up the opposing club and take out its leader, Steve “Slider” Popov, and his right-hand man, Joker Dunstan. It wasn’t proven that Rocky hadn’t done it before, but Rocky was now officially moving into the world of murder.Fuck!
Mitch’s fingers felt thick as heswiped them across the surface of his phone and typed out a brief message to Ross. He didn’t have long, and his haste seemed to slow his typing. He’d only just hit Send, quickly followed by Delete, when the door opened. At the sound of the door, he shoved his phone away and turned to face Finn.
“Everything all right?”
He nodded. “I guess so. As all right as can be expected.” It would be allright if Ross were able to ensure a tail was on them ASAP, make sure they’d be covered as they headed to the rendezvous.Wherever that is.“What about you?”
Finn’s usually tanned face was pale, his eyes dull. “Not really.” He closed the door and stepped toward Mitch. “I hate all of this.”
“I thought you wanted the confrontation?”
Finn’s eyes widened. “Are you crazy? I thought you knew me betterthan that by now. I hate everything to do with the club, or at least what Rocky’s made it. I hate the drugs. I hate the violence.”
“So when you wanted to plan the attack…?” Mitch was having trouble keeping up.
“I wanted to delay anything happening, Mitch. I wanted to give us—me—a chance to stop it, or at least change the course of action. Like I said before, if Rocky goes out with guns blazing,the whole thing’ll be a catastrophe. It just may well be a disaster anyway. Rocky’s crazy, and he’ll get us all killed.”
Finn’s lip quivered, and Mitch couldn’t resist the urge to pull him into his arms. Finn slumped into his hold, shoulders shaking as he obviously tried to get himself together.
“Sorry,” Finn mumbled. He took a deep breath and stepped back slightly to meet Mitch’s gaze. “I knowyou probably don’t want to hear this, and you’ll hate me for it, but if I could fuck Rocky over, I’d do it in a heartbeat,” he whispered. “If I could bring this club down to its knees, I’d be rejoicing, not commiserating. I wish he was dead.”
The strong words, spoken so quietly and calmly, were like a balm to Mitch’s soul. The leaden weight that had pressed on his chest ever since Finn talkedabout being involved in planning the attack lifted, and Mitch could breathe again.
“Oh, babe,” he whispered back. “Nothing could be further from the truth. I couldn’t ever hate you.”
Finn tilted his head for a moment, a flash of confusion crossing his face before his mouth settled in a soft smile. “I’m hope you mean you’re not pissed off at hearing me saying that about the club.”
Mitch tightenedhis hold and pulled Finn back to him. “Your words are like music to my ears.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
At Mitch’s nod, they gravitated together. Finn relaxed into the hug, raising his face and bringing his lips to Mitch’s. At first the kiss wasn’t sexual; it was gentle and slow and full of hope. Mitch moved his mouth over Finn’s, trying to convey how much Finn meant to him and how much happinesshe felt at that very moment.
Finn returned the kiss with a soft touch of his mouth on Mitch’s lips, enough to give Mitch a hint Finn wanted more. But before Mitch could deepen the kiss, Finn took control. He placed his hands behind Mitch’s neck and pulled, drawing him closer. He pushed his tongue between Mitch’s lips, and Mitch accepted it eagerly, sucking and moaning into the kiss. They stumbledbackward as they kissed until Mitch’s back was against the far wall. With nowhere else to go, he reveled in Finn pushing against his upper body, kissing and grinding and taking exactly what he wanted.
An instant later, the perfect moment was ruined as the door crashed against the wall.
Instead of celebrating that Finn had shared his thoughts about the club and wondering what that meant for thetwo of them, Mitch realized that was the least of his worries.
“What. The. Fuck!”
Mitch shoved Finn away.
“Huh?” Finn grunted as he regained his balance and stared in surprise at Rocky.
Rocky’s face was a mask of shock and disgust. His lips curled as he spat words. “What the fuck is going on here?”
“N—nothing.” Finn looked as if he were going to be sick—pale and shaking.
Rocky snorted andstepped toward Finn. “Nothing my arse. I know what I saw.”
