Page 109 of Shattered Hearts

“And…today?”

“From the phone Cian snagged, we learned that Enzo De Luca is the one orchestrating things these days. He’s Matteo’s younger brother. He’s likely the interim head of the family. As long as Leo’s in prison, anyway.”

My brain works overtime to process everything I’ve just learned. “And now that we know they’re working with the Red Hill Mafia…”

“That information, plus everything you’ve told me, helped us connect the dots. All the random shit happening around here is connected. Enzo wants me to pay for killing his brother, and he’ll use whatever means necessary to strike, directly or indirectly. However he can. And he won’t stop until one of us dies.”

At the thought of Finn dying, my eyes prickle with tears.

Imagining how Finn could’ve died three years ago is nothing compared to the reality of the enemies trying to take him out now.

I push out a shaky breath. His story is more tragic than I ever expected. There’s no way I could’ve known everything he was going through in the past several years. I remember the shadowthat fell over him after his wife’s death, but I had no idea just how dark it was.

I rock forward on the couch and wrap my arms around his neck. He pulls me into his lap, squashing us together as his arms slide around my waist.

“You’re more than your job, you know.” I draw back to gaze into those brooding eyes. “There’s more to you than what you do. What you’ve done. A lot more. More than most people realize.”

We just stare at each other, locked in this embrace. And when I break the trance he has me under, my face is so hot, I can barely breathe.

Slow and horribly self-conscious, I detangle myself from him and remove myself from his lap, standing up and turning away.

Resisting the urge to squirm, I suck in a deep breath and whirl back around to face him.

He stands at the same time.

I lose my nerve the minute our gazes connect, and my mouth falls open, speechless. The loneliness and longing in Finn’s eyes melt me like hot candle wax…

“Um.” I drop my gaze, staring hard at our shoes.

Finn reaches for my waist. He’s hesitant, almost as if he expects me to pull away. I can’t think with his hands on my body and the scent of his skin in my nose, but what I need to tell him doesn’t require thinking.

Just honesty. And more courage than I’ve ever had.

“Your third question.” I clear my throat, trying to dislodge the knot. “Before I punched him out, Troy was in the middle of saying, um…”

Finn grips my chin, tilting my face until I’m looking into his eyes again. “Saying what?”

“That guy I liked…who used to work for my dad? It was you, Finn.”

Finn’s head tilts to the side, his face blank. “What?”

My heart struggles so hard in my chest, I’m worried it’s going to give out.

“Riley?” Finn hands move to my shoulders. His eyebrows come together in confused disbelief. “Slow down.”

Nervous, I ramble on. “I feel awful about what happened to Brianne. And I’m so sorry about Harper running away, and that I kept it from you. I was just trying to protect her.”

“Start over. I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“What I’m saying is, I’ve had a crush on you for years.”

What I’m unable to say is,I’m in love with you.

Chapter 26

Finn

Well, fuck.

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