her jacket, probably curling around the gun that she had tucked away in there.
From our position behind the Dumpsters, Bria couldn’t see us, but she would know that we were here somewhere, ready to back her up. She strolled to the center of the lot and stopped, peering into the gray shadows cast by the ice-crusted trees.
“Lincoln?” she called out. “Are you here?”
No answer.
Bria looked and listened, but nothing moved in the cold night, and only the steady thump-thump-thump of the nightclub’s music interrupted the frosty silence.
While we waited for Lincoln Jenkins to show, Finn trained his gaze on Bria, just as he’d been doing inside Northern Aggression. Supposedly, my foster brother had been keeping a watch out for anyone suspicious, anyonewho might have an unhealthy interest in Bria or her source, just as Roslyn and I had been doing. But his eyes had rarely left Bria’s face inside the club, and he hadn’t so much as ogled any of the scantily clad women grooving on the dance floor the way he usually did.
I watched Finn stare at my sister as she paced back and forth across the parking lot. Maybe I should have been jealous. After all, Finn and I had once been an item, way back in the day when we were both teenagers and hadn’t known any better. He’d been nineteen, I’d been seventeen, and we’d spent a rather enjoyable summer getting to know each other before we both realized that we were better off as friends than lovers. Over the years, that bond had turned into a brother-sister connection, one that was very important to me. Probably more than Finn knew.
Still, despite my love for him, I wasn’t above yanking his chain, and this was definitely a prime moment if ever there was one. The great Finnegan Lane, infamous womanizer, lusting after my sister, who, so far, was giving him more of a chase than he’d ever imagined.
“You don’t have to pretend with me, you know,” I said in a soft tone, making sure my voice didn’t carry beyond our position behind the Dumpsters.
“Pretend about what?” Finn murmured, still staring at Bria through a gap between two of the metal containers.
“That my sister’s nothing more than another casual fling to you, another conquest to chase down and have your way with before you move on to the next woman.”
It was like I’d flash-frozen him with my Ice magic where he stood. Every muscle in Finn’s body locked into place, and he didn’t so much as blink or draw in a breath.Then, slowly, he turned toward me, his green eyes somehow still bright in his handsome face, despite the semi-darkness that shrouded this side of the nightclub.
“And what do you mean by that, pray tell?”
He tried to make his voice light, teasing even, but I could hear the undercurrent of worry that rippled through his words. Finn might think that digging up people’s deepest, darkest secrets was all fun and games, but he didn’t want anyone to know his true emotions. Not even me. Maybe it was just because he was afraid of what he was feeling—or worse, screwing up my newfound relationship with my sister. I was a little concerned about that myself, but I wasn’t going to choose between Finn and Bria.
“Don’t play dumb with me, Finn. It doesn’t become you.” I gave him a mocking stare. “I know that you’re into Bria—
really
into her. That you actually
feel
something for her beyond mere lust. I can see it every time you look at her. You think you’re pouring on the charm, being smooth and suave, but it’s there in your eyes. There’s something about her that intrigues you in a way that I think no one has in a long time. Maybe ever.”
“
Feelings
.” Finn shuddered and spat out the word. “You know what I think about
them
. Overblown, overwrought emotion does no one any favors. I, for one, am perfectly happy with my mere lust. It’s clean, simple, pure even.”
I just kept staring at him. Waiting.
Several seconds ticked by before he sighed, shook his head,
From our position behind the Dumpsters, Bria couldn’t see us, but she would know that we were here somewhere, ready to back her up. She strolled to the center of the lot and stopped, peering into the gray shadows cast by the ice-crusted trees.
“Lincoln?” she called out. “Are you here?”
No answer.
Bria looked and listened, but nothing moved in the cold night, and only the steady thump-thump-thump of the nightclub’s music interrupted the frosty silence.
While we waited for Lincoln Jenkins to show, Finn trained his gaze on Bria, just as he’d been doing inside Northern Aggression. Supposedly, my foster brother had been keeping a watch out for anyone suspicious, anyonewho might have an unhealthy interest in Bria or her source, just as Roslyn and I had been doing. But his eyes had rarely left Bria’s face inside the club, and he hadn’t so much as ogled any of the scantily clad women grooving on the dance floor the way he usually did.
I watched Finn stare at my sister as she paced back and forth across the parking lot. Maybe I should have been jealous. After all, Finn and I had once been an item, way back in the day when we were both teenagers and hadn’t known any better. He’d been nineteen, I’d been seventeen, and we’d spent a rather enjoyable summer getting to know each other before we both realized that we were better off as friends than lovers. Over the years, that bond had turned into a brother-sister connection, one that was very important to me. Probably more than Finn knew.
Still, despite my love for him, I wasn’t above yanking his chain, and this was definitely a prime moment if ever there was one. The great Finnegan Lane, infamous womanizer, lusting after my sister, who, so far, was giving him more of a chase than he’d ever imagined.
“You don’t have to pretend with me, you know,” I said in a soft tone, making sure my voice didn’t carry beyond our position behind the Dumpsters.
“Pretend about what?” Finn murmured, still staring at Bria through a gap between two of the metal containers.
“That my sister’s nothing more than another casual fling to you, another conquest to chase down and have your way with before you move on to the next woman.”
It was like I’d flash-frozen him with my Ice magic where he stood. Every muscle in Finn’s body locked into place, and he didn’t so much as blink or draw in a breath.Then, slowly, he turned toward me, his green eyes somehow still bright in his handsome face, despite the semi-darkness that shrouded this side of the nightclub.
“And what do you mean by that, pray tell?”
He tried to make his voice light, teasing even, but I could hear the undercurrent of worry that rippled through his words. Finn might think that digging up people’s deepest, darkest secrets was all fun and games, but he didn’t want anyone to know his true emotions. Not even me. Maybe it was just because he was afraid of what he was feeling—or worse, screwing up my newfound relationship with my sister. I was a little concerned about that myself, but I wasn’t going to choose between Finn and Bria.
“Don’t play dumb with me, Finn. It doesn’t become you.” I gave him a mocking stare. “I know that you’re into Bria—
really
into her. That you actually
feel
something for her beyond mere lust. I can see it every time you look at her. You think you’re pouring on the charm, being smooth and suave, but it’s there in your eyes. There’s something about her that intrigues you in a way that I think no one has in a long time. Maybe ever.”
“
Feelings
.” Finn shuddered and spat out the word. “You know what I think about
them
. Overblown, overwrought emotion does no one any favors. I, for one, am perfectly happy with my mere lust. It’s clean, simple, pure even.”
I just kept staring at him. Waiting.
Several seconds ticked by before he sighed, shook his head,
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