And I’d go to bat for him, just as he was currently doing for me.
“You think my arse is attractive? Thank you.”
Finn’s attempt to deter Chester’s ire failed. “Don’t get all cute on me now, Finn. I’m very protective of Reid, and I won’t have him upset again.”
Tears welled up in my eyes. What had I done to earn such loyalty? It was strange; I’d grown up knowing no loyalty, even from those who were supposed to protect me. Now, out in the world, I was getting it from people who had no vested interest other than liking me.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to it.
“I’m not here to upset Reid or excuse Evan’s behaviour. I just want to make sure he’s okay. Can I talk to him? Please?”
“Absolutely not,” Chester said. “Tell me what you have to say, and I’ll pass the message on.”
There was a long pause and I pinched the bridge of my nose. Finn wouldn’t be able to leave a message, not without revealing a shit-tonne of lore and backstory. Not that I wanted him to hide it from Chester, especially if he was serious about the two of them. But it coming out now…that wouldn’t be ideal for Finn.
Steeling myself, I went into the front of the shop. “Chester, it’s fine. I told you Finn is safe.”
Finn blinked at me in surprise. Did he think I’d tar them all with the same brush? There was no way. I’d grown up with every human stereotype imaginable thrust upon me. That I was weak. Fragile. Useless. It was hard to simply exist while carrying the weight of all that.
I wasn’t about to do the same with Finlay.
“Let’s go outside,” I said to Finn.
He nodded and opened the door. He gave me plenty of room to get around him, which I appreciated. I wasn’t skittish about shifters, but it was nice that he’d thought of it.
It also meant Evan had told him everything about my past. I bit back a sigh.Joy. This was going to be a fun conversation.
Finn hadn’t left the shop yet, saying something to Chester. I used the moment to pull out my phone and shoot off a text to my group chat.
REID
SOS. Need lots of drinks and company tonight. 7:30 at mine.
That was assuming I didn’t need to leave my home and life behind me following this conversation. It’d break myheart to do it, but I’d rather that than end up back in the Clarksons’ clutches once more.
I looked up to see Finn in front of me, pity and sadness in his eyes.
“Don’t,” I said sharply, before he could get a syllable out. “If you’ve come here to just give me platitudes and pity, you can jog on.”
“I’ve not,” Finn said quietly. “I would like to discuss a few things, if that’s okay with you?”
See, that right there was what made Finn different from my father. Clyde wouldn’t have asked if it was alright. It wouldn’t even have occurred to him that someone might not want to discuss certain topics. As far as he was concerned, his word was law. You listened and you followed.
It was evident that Finn was a very different leader.
“That’s fine. Can we walk and talk though? I get edgy if I stay still too long.” That was true even when I wasn’t anxious about an upcoming conversation. There was nothing worse than being still. I hated it.
“Of course.” Finn stepped to the side and gestured. “After you.”
I made my way down the street with Finn at my side. “I assume you’ve put up a compulsion net?”
Supes used them to hide their nature from humans. They were vital in various situations.
Imagine, for example, a crane falling from a building in a capital city. It takes whole floors of buildings with it before crashing through the road below and onto a packed tube line. Imagine the injuries. The deaths. The absolute chaos that’d erupt.
I didn’t need to imagine it. That exact thing hadhappened in London a few years ago, sending shockwaves throughout the United Kingdom. Despite the carnage that had been unleashed, there were very few deaths reported, and even fewer injuries. None of the humans interviewed could explain exactly how they’d survived, just that they had.
A miracle, the press had called it. A lucky escape.
