Page 66 of Icy Heart, Empty Chest
“You haven’t been answering my messages, kid.” His gravelly voice is such a contrast to Dae’s dulcet voice. I’m a bit surprised. Thought he would have dropped in sooner.
I roll my eyes and go to the fridge for a water. Water first and shower second.
“No. I haven’t. There was something else that took priority, unfortunately.”
He tenses. “I’ve been hearing a lot of weird things lately involving you.” Awesome.
“I can probably verify most of them,” I say casually. I’ve been the definition of a liability.
Damien, ignoring my request, wanders out to my side, fully dressed. His face is a mix of cool lethality with distrust. My Damien, the sunny, jubilant man is gone and in his place is this protective stranger. I get the distinct impression that he’s guarding me, expecting this conversation to go off the rails. Just because I’m alright with this intruder, doesn’t mean that he is and he does not like it.
Finneas may look cool on the outside but I know he’s ready to bolt. There’s a slight pinch around his eyes that gives it away. I sigh. The jig is up.
“This is what I’ve been up to the last two weeks.”
Finneas wrinkles his nose. “Your sex life never got in the way of work, kid.” Rude. My nonexistent sex life before now?
Damien bristles next to me and I put an arm out, gesturing to the couch. I join him there.
“Not like that, jackass. This is the heart’s original owner.”
Finneas’s eyes flick to Damien, sizing him up. Damien’s been doing the same. All the warmth in his eyes is gone, replaced with flint. Damien’s close to me, ready to move if needed. With the reveal that it was Damien’s own heart, Finneas’s eyes bulge a bit.
“Ah.” My fence is unsure. Why wouldn’t he be? I’ve never mangled a job this badly before, never stole from a client, never slept with a mark. I can see the wheels in his head turning, trying to figure out why my judgment went so astray.
“Look, I’ve known him since I was a kid. I didn’t know the heart was his. But he reached out to get it back and get it put back in.” I was trying to condense the insanity of the last few weeks into a few sentences or less. Finneas was having none of it.
“How did he know that you had a hand in the original movement?” The distrust seemed to be spreading rapidly.
“He suspected,” I emphasized, “because he’s Magical Forces.” The air dropped several degrees between where he and I sat and the tension ballooned out into the room.
My fence’s eyes glowed angrily. “You’ve been burned for how long and you didn’t tell me? And especially by them?” His words came out quietly but the obvious betrayal was roaring. The blood was pulsating in my ears. I was clearly on dangerous ground. It goes without saying but those with a background in thievery or other illegal activity tend to have had bad interactions with law enforcement. I never met one who didn’t have a chip on their shoulder.
I glared back just as angrily. “He went to Filla to get it taken out in the first place, do you really think he’s going to turn himself in? No one is that self-sacrificing.”
“No idea. I don’t like this, kid. You should have kept me in the loop,” he pressed. “Especially Daemon Whithorn’s son.”
“You knew my father?” asked Damien.
“Who around this town didn’t?” replied Finneas snarkily.
I threw Finneas a look. “I’ve known you a long time. You knew my father and his. He hated his own father as much as he loved mine. I think you’re both trying to protect me in your own ways but you both need to take a few steps back. Plus, he helped me finagle quite a few illegal things that could land us both in jail for a while in the search for his heart. If he rats me out, then we both face ten to fifteen years. I didn’t betray you. Damien didn’t know you existed till you broke in.”
I see Finneas’s eye wrinkles subtly relax more.
“You still should have told me.” The words felt harsh. I’d relied on him for so long. He’d brought me back and forth to court, ordered me food occasionally, given me some support, aswell as access to money. Still, I had to see this one through on my own.
“Yes but I was between a rock and a hard place. I knew I’d need resources, at least to finish this through.” Not to mention, the fewer who knew about this, the better.
“How much did the crystal cost you?” I’m not sure how he knew but I shouldn’t be surprised.
“The price was fair,” I said sharply. “I don’t regret it.”
Damien reaches out to take my hand. Finneas doesn’t miss it.
“You’re in deep, huh, kid?”
“She has a name, you know,” interjects Damien.
