They were both due home today, and this is down the block from our building, but what the hell? How many people did Olivia call? Finn finally reaches us and I swear, if he could make thunder with his fingertips, he would have already obliterated me and Tiago. I start to get up, slowly swinging my legs from Tiago’s lap. Finn helps me and once I’m standing, I crash into his chest. The feel of his arms around me and his familiar scent instantly soothe me. I make a noise in the back of my throat that sounds a lot like a sob, though I’m not crying. Damian is asking Olivia a million questions as Finn pulls back and cups my face with both hands.
“What happened? Olivia said you fainted.”
I nod and lick my lips. The concern in his green eyes makes mine water. I open my mouth to speak, but my lower lip wobbles, and another sob escapes me. I bite my lip hard.
“Let’s go home, baby.” He kisses my forehead and pulls away to tuck me into his side. It’s then that I realize he’s shaking. “You’re lucky she’s my priority right now. Otherwise, you’d be headed to the ER with a concussion and a broken arm. Don’t touch myfucking girlfriend again unless you want that threat to become a promise.”
“I WAS HELPING!” Tiago shouts. “You should be fucking thanking me!”
Finn starts to walk, but I stop him and look at Tiago. “Thank you.”
He’s still glaring, but gives a sharp nod.
“What the hell were you thinking, Josslyn?” Damian seethes as we walk out of the coffee shop. “Why would you meet up with a sleazebag from a sex club?”
Finn’s entire body tenses, but he keeps an arm around me. “What?”
“I was talking to Leo about?—”
“You were what?!” Finn stops walking, drops his arm, and looks at me. “Why didn’t I know about this?”
“You were at a game!”
“You knew I was coming home today! Whatever it was could’ve waited a couple of hours!”
I bring my hands to cover my face. “Can we not do this right now? I have a headache.”
“Fuck your headache!" he shouts. "You need to tell me exactly what happened in the next three seconds. Otherwise, I’m going to find Leo and end up in jail tonight.”
I drop my hands, eyes wide. He looks like he means it too. His cheeks are slightly flushed and his ears are red. His arms are crossed and his expression is hard, screaming murder. I’ve never seen him this upset before. My eyes swing to Dame and Livie, who both look worried and angry.
“Uh, Finn, is that your car that’s about to get towed?” Livie asks warily.
Finn keeps staring at me, but I take a step and look behind him, my eyes widening again when I see his sleek black car parked in the right lane. Not on the curb or illegally parallel parked. He parked in themiddle of the street. I bring a hand up and set it on Finn’s arm, but he uncrosses his arms, making my hand drop.
“They’re towing your car,” I say hoarsely.
“I don’t give a fuck about my car! Speak or I go find Leo.”
“He didn’t do anything! He showed me some papers. That’s it.”
His jaw tics. Damian runs toward the tow truck with Olivia at his heels.
“Tate was there,” I say, swallowing hard. “The guy she was writing about in her journal has to be Tate.”
His face falls. “No.”
Tears fill my eyes as I nod, but I blink them away and wait until my lip stops trembling.
“It has to be. He has a red truck. His name starts with the letter T. It has to be him.” I press my hands over my stomach, feeling sick again, but I keep talking because I do owe Finn an explanation. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Leo. The other night when we spoke after your game in North Carolina, my brain was just?—”
“He’d already contacted you when we spoke?” he bites out.
“Earlier that day,” I say. “He told me he had the guest list for that night and that he’d show it to me if we met up. I didn’t want to tell you since our conversation was already…” I bite my lip and look away. “Awkward enough, I guess.”
He brings a hand up and pinches my chin lightly as he turns my face to his. “You knew I’d object to this.”
“I don’t need your permission, Finneas.” My eyes narrow and he mirrors the action. “And I took precautions. We met at a coffee shop and I took Livie with me.”
