Page 18 of Unbroken Promises

Shifting, I fold my arms across my chest, assuming a stance of bored resilience. Raising an eyebrow at her, I just stand there, silently waiting.

Finn glances from Jonathan and Seb, over to me, and finally at Danica. Shaking his head, Finn sighs in annoyance. “Oh my god, you two. This is fucking ridiculous and you both need to get over yourselves. T- aside from you being a possessive prick, always hiding in the shadows, Danni has been dealing with a bit of a stalker situation herself.”

Glaring daggers at my friend, “Che cazzo?!” I don’t know if I am more pissed that he insinuated in front of Danica that I have been stalking her (I mean,technicallyI guess I kind of have been but she doesn’t need to fucking know that, not like this), or that she has been harassed for God knows how long by some psycho, and no one bothered to fucking tell me.

Finn continues, ignoring my outburst. “Oh please, Danica is well-aware of your nocturnal activities. As if she wouldn’t be, with all the security we have her hooked up with. Why do you think she refers to you as her fucking ghost all the time?”

At this, Danica now also glares daggers at our friend. “Finn, what the hell?”

Looking between Danica and myself, Finn releases an exasperated sigh. “You two are both being idiots. I’m sick of playing middle-man to both of your antics. Danni, Theo has been fucking obsessed with you since you guys broke up, andas you already know, he has been keeping an eye on you from time to time to make sure you are still doing okay.

“Nothing super crazy, but still technically kind of stalkerish. Theo, Danni has had a different stalker that has been harassing her for years, one that my team has not yet been able to nail down. There is a good chance that it directly relates to the notes that you keep getting, though hers are not quite that direct. And if the two of you,” he glares between the both of us, “would just sit down and fuckingtalk to one another, then everyone could be on the same page, and there is a chance we could have nailed this prick to the wall years ago.”

Throwing his hands up in the air to emphasize his frustration, he shakes his head before continuing. “Now, then. I am tired of the back and forth trying to help you both while having to split my resources. We are all adults, and we are going to act like it. No more of this ridiculous childish behavior.”

“But I-”

“Nuh uh!” Finn interrupts whatever it was that Danica was trying to say. “No excuses, no buts. You have a stalker problem. Theo has a blackmailer problem. You both know about each other’s issues, at least in general terms. You both came to me for help. Now let me do my job, goddammit.”

. . . Wow. In all our years of friendship, I don’t know if I have ever seen Finn lose his cool like this. Out of everyone in our little group, he has always been the calmest and most collected, leaning into facts and logic in circumstances where emotions typically run rampant. In fact, the only time I have ever known him to lose his cool was all those years ago, after what happened with Remy. I blink in surprise, completely thrown off by this side of Finn that I rarely getto see.

Chapter Seventeen

Danica

Finn pulls on the ends of his hair in frustration, before reaching a hand down to start tapping against his thigh. That’s his tell, the true sign of his agitation that very few get to see; and of those few, even less understand the truth behind it. A wave of guilt passes through me.

Stepping over to his side, I reach out and gently grab his fidgeting hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. I move to kiss him on the cheek, but being just as tall as his twin, I have to stand on tiptoes, and he bends his head down towards me absentmindedly, to reach. “Okay.” I glance over at Theo. “I’m sorry for snapping at you, that was uncalled for. Thank you for all your help, but truly, you don’t need to worry about this. Finn and Jay have it handled.”

Jonathan, who was standing next to Bash throughout this whole encounter, the both of them just quietly observing the back and forth like an intense tennis match, finally breaks his silence. Looking from Finn and myself, over to Bash, before finally acknowledging Theo. “Do you two mind taking her home for me?” There are thunderclouds in Theo’s eyes at Jay’s request, an electrical storm brewing under the surface of those intense blues. Bash speaks before Theo has a chance to respond.

“We’ve got it covered.” With a jerk of his chin, he nods in my general direction. “Come on, hotness. Let’s leave it to the geniuses here to figure out this mess.” And with a turn of his heel, and a swagger in his step, he walks out of the lobby and into the night; grabbing Theo tightly by the arm and dragging him along the way. “We’ll just be right out front,” he tosses over his shoulder to me in passing.

Finn glances in my direction, finally giving me a close once-over. “You good?”

My lips flatten into a thin line.Am I good?Going to a hockey game after avoiding them altogether since Theo and I broke up. Running into the one man I was dreading seeing the most- the one who stole my heart before taping together the broken pieces, only to rip it to shreds months later; then being forced to spend a large portion of my evening with said heartbreaker, only to find out that someone broke into and vandalized my business. And this, after years of quiet stalking and months more of threatening “gifts” left on my doorstep? No, I’m not even close to good. But I will be. I didn’t claw my way out of hell only to let this drag me back down once more.

With a dismissive shrug, I brush aside the concern evident on Jay's features and the pointed looks Finn is pinning me with. “I’ve been worse.” And that is the goddamn truth.

The truck is dark, the silence thick and oppressive, for the remainder of the drive back to my apartment. Wedged uncomfortably once more between two burly hockey players, I stare straight ahead, my back rigid as I watch the passing streetlights on the damp pavement. With a start, I am jerked out of my thoughts as Bash drapes a casual arm around my shoulders, hugging me gently to his side. It’s not lost on me that once upon a time, it would have been Theo’s side I was pulled into.

“Penny for your thoughts, Kitty Cat?”

I glance up into the face of my friend, my surrogate older brother. His face is cast in shadows, illuminated by the occasional passing of headlights, but am saved from having to respond as we pull in front of my building. Once again, it is not lost on me that I didn’t have to give Theo directions, he just knew right where to go.

Straightening out of Bash’s comforting embrace, I turn to face Theo. “It was, uh, good to see you again Theo. Thanks for the ride. And everything.” I turn back to Bash, who is opening the passenger door. With a futile push, I try to get my boulder of a friend to move but he won’t budge. “Dude, this is my stop. Scoot!”

Bash just lifts an eyebrow at my pathetic attempt to push him out of the way. Shaking his head, he finally hops out, allowing me to scramble after him. Before myfeet even touch the ground, I am pulled into a bear hug, being lifted off the ground as my arms are crushed to my sides.

“It was good to see you too, Bash.”

He sets me down gently, stepping back once my feet are firmly on the ground.

“Well, this was certainly an interesting night. Not exactly what I had planned with our grand reunion.” My sardonic expression doesn’t deter him as he continues, “I really wish I could stay longer, make sure you are okay. I hate having to leave you like this.” I am hit by that same tingling sense of awareness as Theo walks up to my side.

Shoving my hands in my pockets, I rock back on the heels of my feet as I shrug, feigning an air of nonchalance that I am not currently feeling. “It’s all good, you know. Par for the course with me,” my face is deadpan as I speak. I can feel a tension radiating off Theo, but he remains silent by my side. “Anyway, we’ll catch up again another time. Christmas isn’t too far off. Who knows? By then maybe this whole mess will be cleaned up. You still coming over for the holidays?”

The grin that spreads across my friend’s face is blinding, and looking at him, it is easy to see why he has garnered a reputation with the ladies for being one of the biggest players; currently ranked as one of the top bachelors in the league. “You bet your fine ass I am. Wouldn’t miss it for the world, hotness.” Rolling my eyes at this, I turn to face Theo. “So, uh, thanks again for everything. It was good catching up with you.”

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