Lies Inside (13 page)

Lucy wiped her hand across her cheek, tucking a few stray hairs behind her ear. “I won’t let him take any more away from Finn. I’m being patient and supportive, but there is no way in hell I will let that monster ruin our future. Not now when everything is coming together.”

“What’s coming together?”

“I had promised you’d be the second to know about anything like this, but Aiden was already there, so we told him first. Then your parents.”

“You told my parents?” She clasped her hand over her mouth flabbergasted.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “No, not about sex, even though they had their assumptions too.” Lucy caressed Rylan’s tear streaked cheek. “Finn proposed last night. Here, on this very floor.”

“He did? Really?” Shock rang through her voice at the sudden announcement.

“Yep. No ring. No down on bended knee. Just the overwhelming desire for us to be together forever.” Lucy took in a breath then let out a sweet sigh. “He even promised to take me to Italy.”

“Then, we’re really going to be sisters?”

“Looks that way.”

Rylan started screaming as she brought Lucy into a hug. Seconds later, Jack was barreling through the door.

“What the hell?” He looked completely confused.

“They’re happy screams,” Lucy assured him.

“What the hell does she have to be happy about? God, Lucy. I can’t believe you!” Jack spit the words filled with anger. “Finn told me everything about Two Roads and Viktor, and you two are in here rejoicing?”

“I hadn’t got to the good news yet.” Finn was standing in the doorway. He patted Jack on the back. “You okay to come back out?”

“Yes, now I can.” Jack helped Rylan up.

Lucy and Finn settled on the window seat as the others looked to them for another explanation.

“After everything that has happened, the one thing I know with absolute certainty is that I love this woman more than my own life. I have asked her to marry me.” He kissed Lucy’s left hand. “And she has accepted.”

“That’s what the scream was about, honey. Don’t be mad at Lucy.”

Jack shook his head. “I’m sorry, Luce. You got to know if you’re happy, I’m happy, right?”

“Yeah. It’s fine. You didn’t know.” Finn wrapped his arm around Lucy as the bedroom door opened.

Lane’s eyes surveyed the room. The sight of the girl’s tear stained cheeks and red noses made him slightly uncomfortable. “Everything all...we’ll...you all...getting along okay?”

“Yes.” When they’d told Lane about their engagement earlier, he didn’t seem happy, but so many things had happened that day. Lucy knew her father well enough to realize he would share his true feelings about her engagement later when they got home.

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you kids to leave for awhile. The FBI will be here to interview Finn, and they really want him alone. Just Claire and Murphy. You understand?”

Lucy did understand, though it didn’t make it any easier. She had barely left Finn’s side in over a day. They wouldn’t let her hold his hand while they asked him about the most intimate details of his life.

Finn stood up and brought her arms around his neck. “Whenever I start feeling like I can’t handle it, if it gets too much, I’ll remember you in this moment with your arms around me and your breath on my neck. Safe.”

Lucy brought her lips to his before they rested their foreheads against each other’s. “I’ll be waiting. Maybe we can find a wedding dress. We’ll probably be looking online the whole time.”

“No toilet paper, right?”

Lucy smiled. “Right.” She pulled back to look into his eyes. His whole face was smiling, eyes sparkling and everything. At that moment, they both realized he was finally strong enough to do whatever he had to do.

Every minute felt like an hour. Finn waited and waited and waited. He felt as if he really needed the rum and cola that he was pretending to drink. He wanted to be drunk for the first time in a long time. He didn’t want to face what was coming next. He needed to remember Lucy, her arms, her skin. He could do it. Just one more night and everything would be all right. The door finally opened. It closed and he heard it lock before he turned. He knew who it was.

Viktor came into view, and Finn began the most important performance of his life.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Finn knew why he was there, but he was interested in what Viktor would say.

“Your father tells me he wants you to come back to California. He’s afraid you and that girl are getting too close. From what I saw last night, I’d have to agree.”

“You’re jealous.” Finn slurred his words as he pretended having trouble standing up. When Finn fell back on the couch, Viktor sat next to him. Finn already felt his skin crawl, and Viktor hadn’t even touched him.

“Your father said the two of you have been friends for years. I must say, I was surprised. You never mentioned her to me.”

Viktor was jealous. He wanted to know Lucy meant nothing to Finn. Was she his toy, like Finn was his?

Finn wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “I won’t violate the beauty of even her name by uttering it in your presence.”

Viktor sat back and put one arm on the back of the couch. “Come on, Finn. Don’t be that way. We’ve always been so close.”

That’s when Finn felt Viktor’s finger caress his forearm. Finn jerked it away and stood up, successfully making it over to his desk. Finn had a bottle of Rum and a two-liter of cola sitting there. He poured himself a drink. “You want a drink?”

“Your favorite if I recall.”

“Yeah, funny. Me making you drinks. Usually the other way around. Mine don’t come with that something extra though.” Finn handed him the drink, sloshing it a little against the sides. He sat back down on the couch and tossed his drink down in one gulp. “Ah. That really hit the spot.”

“How many of those have you had?”

Viktor needed to know when Finn was weakest. He always knew Finn’s limit. He was always right there before Finn blacked out or passed out completely.

“I lost count around ten.”

“Is this because of Lucy?”

“Don’t you dare say her name.” Finn voice was low and husky as he turned and pointed his finger at him. Viktor sat back and took a sip of his drink. Finn had put the real stuff in his.

“I love her, and I want to be here with her and my family.”

Viktor let out a soft laugh as he shook his head. “Things haven’t been the same since you left.” He dragged his finger across his lips.

“Camille not doing it for you these days?” Finn sneered.

Viktor’s finger dropped to his chin, making its way across his Adam’s apple. “She’s not you.”

Finn dropped his head back against the couch and closed his eyes. He needed to do more, be braver. He pretended to laugh as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, I have a dick.”

Finn heard Viktor adjust his position. Finn lifted his head and saw Viktor had moved closer.

He always made Finn say certain things to him. Finn knew Viktor was turned on by the look he gave him when he rested his hand on Finn’s forearm. His touch burned, but Finn didn’t move. He had to see how far Viktor would take it.

“You know, you’re the only boy for me.”

Finn swallowed hard and blinked his eyes slowly as Viktor trailed his fingers up Finn’s arm. He knew what Viktor was planning, and his ears started to burn in an all too familiar way. He knew even in his own room, knowing Finn’s father was in the house, Viktor would try something.

“I can’t do this anymore. I can’t take being so far away from you.” Viktor’s hand cupped Finn’s cheek.

Finn couldn’t help the tear that escaped from the corner of his eye. “You know you’re ruining my life. Is that what you really want?”

“I love you, Finn.” He stroked his fingers through Finn’s hair, terrifying him while he caused each hair on the back of his neck to stand on end. “Come back and take that scholarship at UCLA. You don’t even have to live in the dorms. We can be together.”

“Yeah, like that’ll happen.”

“I still have our room all set up. It’s waiting for you. It’s so lonely being down there without you. I only have your pictures to entertain me.”

“Thanks for that. Veronica saw one and told the whole school I was gay.”

“You can’t deny yourself, Finn.”

He was so close Finn could feel his breath against his neck. Finn pushed him away. “No matter how much you might want it, I’m not yours anymore. I never was. I’m hers.”

Finn got up to pour himself another drink. Finn heard Viktor laugh. “I never said I wouldn’t share. That Lucy is a beautiful woman. Those breasts, that tight little ass. I bet you had fun with that.”

Finn turned to lunge at him, to rip his throat out, but there was a knock at the door.

“Finn? Can I come in?” Finn was never so happy to hear his father’s voice in his entire life.

He unlocked the door and let him in with the drink in his hand. “Come in. Join the party.” Finn turned back to making his drink.

“Finn, my God. You’re drinking again? After what happened, you promised.”

Viktor perked up. “What happened?”

“He almost got himself killed. A few nights after he got home, we had to take him to the emergency room. We thought he had alcohol poisoning. He swore it was a one time thing.”

“I lied.” He hadn’t lied. Finn did get drunk when he came home before Christmas, but not as bad as his father had described. Finn swore he wouldn’t drink like that again. He was even a little uncomfortable about pretending to be drunk.

Murphy grabbed the drink out of Finn’s hand. He slammed it down on the desk before turning to Viktor. “I’m sorry for dragging you away from Camille and the girls. I guess we need more help here than we thought. Maybe going back to California isn’t the best idea.”

“Don’t count it out yet, Murphy. Finn could come to live with Camille and me. We’d be sure to keep an eye on him.”

Finn couldn’t believe he was still trying. The guy was truly sick.

“I’ll call you next week. We can talk then. Right now, I think Finn has more than a little explaining to do.” Murphy grabbed the bottle of rum from Finn’s desk. “We are going to talk after I show Viktor out.”

Viktor came over and patted Finn on the shoulder. “I hope we’ll be seeing you soon.”

Finn shrugged his hand off. Murphy pulled Viktor by the shoulder and out the door.

Finn went to the couch and collapsed. He turned to his bookcase. “Please tell me you guys got that.”

Lane slowly opened the door, and at first, Finn was afraid Viktor hadn’t left. “It’s me.”

Finn got up and walked over to him. “Did they get it?”

“Almost all of it. That’s why we had your dad come in. The feed from the video camera went down.”

“Fuck.” Finn turned around and threw his fist through the wall.

“Calm down, Finn.” Lane grabbed him by both of his shoulders and led him over to the window seat. He threw Finn down as Finn clutched at his pulsating hand. “They think we have enough with what we got along with the pictures to get a judge to sign a search warrant. If we find the pictures anywhere in his house or in his office, we’ve got him.”

“I just...shit!” His hand was really hurting. He could feel it start to swell. The cuts bled as he held it to his chest.

Murphy came back in and noticed the hole in the wall and then Finn’s hand. “Finn.” He shook his head as he examined it. “I don’t think it’s broken, but it’s going to swell. We should get those cuts cleaned up.”

“I need Lucy. Go find her for me, please.”