Page 93 of Manacled Hearts

“Call the cleaning crew,” Finnigan tells his friend.

“Done. I’ll take Morri and Mamaw to Vin.”

Just on cue Mamaw June climbs out of the car we’re heading to, giving me a kind, worried smile. I mirror that smile in hopes of providing her with a bit of comfort and confirmation that I’m okay. “Thank you for looking after Maya.”

“Anytime, sweetheart. Call me later, okay?” God this woman is an angel.

“Keep Lulu with you!” Finnigan turns to Madds as he puts me in the car and straps me in, refusing to let me do it myself.

“The fuck he will!” I hear Lulu’s protests.

“Shush, woman. We’re not risking any of you,” Madds says, and I would laugh if small hands weren’t wrapping around my neck from behind, and the car door shuts.

“Evie!” there’s such an innocent enthusiasm in Maya’s voice.

“Hi honey! Are you okay?”

I avoid turning to her in case there’s still blood on my face. She’s not going to see the splatters on my blouse, since it’s luckily a dark burgundy.

“Yes! I spent the evening with Finnigan. He read to me!” She sounds calm, unaffected. Mamaw June must have shielded her.

“He did?” My gaze wanders to the man in question, who climbed into the driver’s seat and slams the door.

He nods as he turns his attention to the road and drives off.

“Yes. He’s so good at reading with… what do you call it? Intonation? Can he read me to bed tonight? Will you let him, Evie? Pleaaase?”

“Oh, honey, I don’t think Finnigan—”

“Of course I will.” He cuts me off and answers my demanding sister.

“Thank you!” she squeals, excited.

So, I guess he intends to stay over at my apartment until Maya falls asleep. Right, well, that’s going to be interesting. Though, the idea makes me feel a lot safer, especially as Frankie B might know where I live, now that he’s made his intentions pretty damn clear. We knew he was pissed about his shipments being screwed with, but we didn’t know I was even on his radar. There’s security in Lulu’s building, but I’ll stay up tonight just in case. There’s no way I can sleep, anyway.

I had hopes that I could fake my way through the system and enroll Maya in school, but that is fully squashed now. Not until Frankie is out of the picture and into a grave.

“So, what happened out there? Mamaw June was hugging me, and I couldn’t see a thing,” my sister asks.

Oh, thank God. Okay, I need to bake Mamaw June the biggest cake ever. The woman is a saint.

“We just needed a little help to go home. Car trouble,” I lie to her as I gaze out the window at the pretty streets of Queenscove.

Only, the bar we went to was quite close to our apartment building, and we just drove past it.

“Wait. Finnigan that was—we just passed my street.”

He doesn’t look at me, his gaze running over all the mirrors, on high alert. It makes me look too, but I don’t notice anything out of place. He’s probably just checking to make sure we’re not being followed.

“We’re going to my apartment.” He grunts.

“What?” I exclaim but lower my voice so my sister doesn’t catch onto my surprise. “Why? We’ll be perfectly fine at mine.”

“You will be alone,” he says with another grunt. “I told you, Evelyn. Never. Again.” He punctuates each word with such finality, I’m left with parted lips, unspoken words hanging between them, and a new, burning ache between my legs.

Not again.

Why does this always happen in the most inappropriate moments?

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