Page 68 of Exile and Embrace

I glance at Finn, wondering what that was about, but he and Cillian are already talking about business again.

After a moment, I shake it off and join in the conversation, hoping that this night ends soon.

I can’t bear the thought of being the reason something terrible happens to Finn.

17

FINN

Rain pours down on the windshield of Dawson’s car as he pulls into my driveway.

I reach into the backseat and grab the bag of groceries we stopped for on the way home.

Dawson drums his fingers on the wheel as I flip up my hood. “Cillian is giving us a couple days to relax after that Dorian Roach debacle. One less Roach infesting our town, I guess.”

“Funny. But thank fuck. I could use a nap. He was at my house for dinner Thursday night and things haven’t slowed down at all since then.”

“I’m sure Ava is going to be happy to see you for more than a couple hours at a time.”

I roll my eyes as the rain pounds down. “I’m sure that she will be if she can tear herself away from her father’s yearbooks. Her aunt dropped them off last Friday and as far as I know, she’s spent most of Sunday pouring through them with her friend. Probably today too.”

“You don’t sound like you’re a fan of that.”

“Ava is brilliant, but she’s got an attachment to a piece of shit father that has her exhausting herself to try and figure out what was going on in his life. I want her to slow down and actually get some sleep for once, but she seems to want literally anything else.”

Dawson snorts. “I know what that’s like. My girlfriend is the kind to throw herself into things and not come up for a breath. Sometimes, you just have to put an end to things yourself.”

I turn his words over in my head.

Ava is going to work herself to the bone trying to figure out who her father really was. Brooklyn isn’t stepping in to stop her either.

But at least she is watching her when I can’t.

Dawson nods to the house. “You better get in there before she starts to think you’re not coming home.”

I open the door and step out into the rain, hurrying up the steps.

As soon as my feet hit the porch, Dawson pulls out of the driveway.

A couple of days without having to go on a job will be nice. I finally get to sit back and spend some time with Ava.

It will be nice to spend time with the one person I don’t have to lie to.

Ava looks up as I kick off my wet shoes and coat. “Hey, I didn’t think that you were going to be home so soon. You’re never going to believe what I found out today.”

The stack of yearbooks sits in the corner of the coffee table. One is spread open in front of her and Brooklyn, pictures of people circled in bright red.

I head into the kitchen and put the groceries away. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” She taps the book. “This man right here is a bookie, and this other one is a known drug dealer.”

A pit opens in the bottom of my stomach. Her tone suggests that it’s just the beginning of what her father could be involved in. I’m hoping that she hasn’t dug any deeper than that yet.

I walk over to her and take a seat on the couch while she and Brooklyn kneel on the floor.

Brooklyn offers me a tight smile. She doesn’t look any happier than I feel with Ava’s obsession.

Ava shifts to show me the pictures. “I thought that these men looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite place why. So, I started looking through some pictures of my dad at different events. These two men appear in the background a couple different times.”

---