Page 105 of Manacled Hearts

My gaze shoots to Finn. I don’t want to look, but there’s a twisted desire inside of me that needs to see how Maya’s words landed. The man in question is stunned, I’m not even sure he’s breathing. Everyone’s watching us, but I don’t turn. I can’t bear to face them, yet. Finn’s mood shifts and harsh annoyance strains the strong, beautiful lines of his face. Then he rises and leaves.

The bastard actually leaves.

“Come on! We have work to do!” He shouts for the others to follow.

My gaze finally goes to them, and I have no idea what to think. Madds sighs, annoyed for some reason, Morri looks shocked and amused, Vin shakes his head at her, Carter has this knowing gaze that unsettles me a bit, Mamaw June looks like she’s gonna burst from joy, and Ronan and Annika have a mixture of surprise, happiness, and worry on their faces.

“I am going to kill my sister,” I mutter to myself, mostly.

Then Morri bursts into laughter, and quickly rises, following the others as they get ready to go out. Only Annika, Mamaw June, Carter, and I remain at the table. Aaro follows after Maya.

“Ignore Morrigan. Her and Vincent drove us mad when they were courting.” I turn to Carter, checking to make sure that it was he who spoke those words. It was. “Annika even orchestrated a clever riddle and chase to get Ronan. We were all privy to their crazy ways. Some more than others.”

Annika chuckles from across the table, but I’m too busy digging through my brain to try to remember if Carter has ever spoken so many words to me before. I’m drawing a blank. The longest conversation we had, which is still one-sided, was when he gave me the tracker before I went back in the container. I think.

“Still, Finnigan and I aren’t together. We aren’t like that,” I counter.

Carter turns his head ever so smoothly toward me and cocks it, his stunning eyes fixed on me. “Are you not?”

There is no missing the slight amusement shining in his eyes. He doesn’t want an answer, this question is rhetorical at best. He knows.

“Take it from me”—Annika pulls my attention to her—“don’t try to pretend, hide, or lie to Carter. The man has a sixth sense.”

I would take her words as an eerie warning if it wasn’t for the cheeky smile in her eyes, directed at the man next to me. I take it Annika and Ronan tried to downplay their connection then.

“Wait, did you say Annika orchestrated a riddle and a chase?”

“Yes. After she practically conned us of a few million,” Carter says in a calm way, like he’s telling me about how he went and bought milk this morning.

Annika starts laughing and I turn to her, gob-smacked.

“Hey, I gave it back. Eventually.”

Carter chuckles softly and it sounds deeply unnatural. Intriguing, too.

“I’m going to go grab my laptop and things.” He rises and leaves the room.

“God, it’s so hard to recall good memories from that time.” Annika leans back in her chair, crossing her arms against her chest. “The riddle Carter mentioned, brought them to the annual Midsummer party, at the waterfall in the woods, and it was the night that started it all for the two of us. Well, four, really.”

Four? I stiffen, pondering the words.

“I was always too withdrawn to do anything out of order. We might have been dealing on the black-market, but Hanna was the salesperson, full of spunk and life. I was just the artist hiding in the background, forging all those paintings. So I wanted to be crazy for once.”

I’m sorry, Annika, sweet, kind, shy Annika was a painting forger who sold on the black-market? Oh God, I have so much more to find out about these people.

“When I first saw Ronan, and I realized who we were selling to, I couldn’t help myself. I was so drawn to him, like deep down I knew he was the one. I know, I know, it sounds insane.” She chuckles softly, but then it fades, and her gaze moves somewhere in the distance. “If it wasn’t for my obsession, Hanna and I would be retired now. But I stayed, and she insisted on staying with me. Then Bartiste came for us. Sometimes I wonder if we had left after we struck the deal with The Sanctum, would he have found us? Ronan says yes, and the outcome would have been even worse, but it’s hard to get over the fact that I lost my best friend, and Finnigan lost his first love.”

My mouth falls open, and I fight the gasp too late.

Hanna was his first love?

Annika’s eyes widen and she covers her mouth. “You didn’t know?”

“Oh, well, I told you, he and I aren’t like that. We’re not… anything. So, we don’t share personal things like this.” I try to deflect, but judging by the look in her eyes, I’m not very successful. “I’m sorry for Hanna, losing your best friend must have been terrible.”

“It was. The guilt was even worse. I’m almost over mine.” She shakes her head, chewing on her lip before she continues. “One day, Finnigan will come to terms with his own guilt too, and when he does, I hope you’ll be there next to him.”

CHAPTER 24

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