Making Home with You

by Claire Raye

  I turn in my stool, see Sarah smiling up at me, Joe standing behind her. I automatically lean down, press a kiss to her lips. “Hey,” I whisper. “You okay?”

  Her smile widens. “I am now,” she says, kissing me again.

  “We’ve definitely got enough to hold him,” Joe says. “Eliza has agreed to make a formal statement, too. And while we can’t get him for what he did to her, it will add to what we have from tonight. The fucker’s going away for long time, I promise.”

  “Thank you, Joe,” I say, standing as I reach out a hand. “I really owe you.”

  He shrugs, his gaze turning to Sarah. “Nah, it’s all good. Besides, she’s kinda worth it, isn’t she?” he adds, winking at her.

  I glance down at Sarah, find her smiling face looking up at mine. “Yeah,” I say, my words quiet. “She is.”

  Sarah pushes up on her toes, and presses her mouth against mine.

  “You should let Greenwood know,” Ryan says, nudging me and kinda killing the moment.

  He’s right though, and as I pull back a little and grab my phone from my pocket, Sarah asks, “Who’s Greenwood.”

  Swallowing I say, “Yeah, about that. There are some things I need to tell you too.”

  Sarah glances at her brother, who just shrugs as if he’s got no idea what I’m talking about, before she looks back at me, a confused look on her face. “Tell me what?” she asks.

  I offer a small smile. “We’ve got a long drive ahead of us,” I say. “Talk in the car?”

  “Okay,” she says, nodding before turning to hug Joe and thanking him for everything he did tonight.

  “I’m just gonna text Beck,” I say. “Let him know we’re all good.”

  Ryan nods and pulls out his own phone as if he’s going to let Erin know too.

  “Alright, let’s bounce,” he says, sliding his phone into his pocket. “Joe, always great seeing you,” he adds as he shakes Joe’s hand. “You should come up and visit us sometime.”

  Joe returns the shake. “Yeah maybe I will,” he says, grinning. “Come visit this pub you now work at, have you serve me for a change.”

  Ryan rolls his eyes, but he’s laughing. I watch as Sarah kisses Joe on the cheek, telling him he definitely has to come and visit before all of us head outside to the car.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Sarah

  “Start explaining,” I say as soon the last car door closes, and Ryan laughs so hard that I swat him in the head from the backseat.

  “Like you have room to demand that someone start explaining,” Ryan interrupts smugly, reminding Finn that I also kept things from him.

  The problem is that if either of them knew the vastness of the situation, it never would have played out the way it did and Andrew would still possibly be raping women and paying them off.

  I knew I could handle the whole thing myself; I just needed some help in the investigation department. That’s where Joe came in and I owe him for keeping it all on the down low.

  I do realize I put myself in a ton of danger, but Andrew wasn’t raised in house with a brother who wanted to be a police officer more than anything. I was Ryan’s training buddy, and even after he started working for the Boston PD, he continued teaching me everything he knew.

  I knew I could outsmart Andrew, but he just looked at me like another one of his easy conquests; a stupid girl he could take advantage of. It couldn’t have worked out better.

  But now we’re on to something else, or should I say someone else who seems to be in the way of keeping our relationship simple, easy and happy.

  “So you gonna fill me in on what’s going on with Carla?”

  Now it’s Finn who lets out a low chuckle, but there’s something about it that tells me he wants to hold back.

  “No more secrets,” I say pushing him along, but letting him know that from now on, I too won’t be keeping secrets from him either.

  “Where do you want me to start?” Finn asks, glancing over at Ryan and I now realize I’m the only one who has been left in the dark about what’s been going on with Carla.

  “You told him?” I ask, appalled that Ryan was Finn’s confidante.

  “Hey, hey, I don’t want to be involved in this lover’s quarrel,” Ryan defends, his hands up acting like he isn’t involved.

  Finn sighs, and then sucks in a long deep breath. Reaching from the backseat, I run my fingers along the back of his neck. I imagine it’s difficult for him to talk about it. Maybe he’s embarrassed he got involved with a woman like Carla or maybe he worries that I wouldn’t believe he’s innocent. Whatever it is, there’s no judgment on my part. I’m here to support him.

  “Honestly Sarah, I don’t even know where to begin,” Finn finally admits, his hands scrubbing over his face.

  “How about you just start from the beginning. Act like you’re telling a story and fill me in.”

  And that’s exactly what he does. Telling me about how they went to high school together, but never really ran with the same crowd despite the small town. They ended up hooking up at a graduation party with both of them agreeing that it wouldn’t go beyond that. Thinking since Carla had gotten married that she had moved on, but it turns out she’s been harboring a creepy obsession with Finn for years.

  It was my arrival and our subsequent relationship that pushed her crazy to the forefront. She has been silently stalking him ever since.

  “I mean, we both knew something was off when she accused you of assault, but how did you figure out it was all a ruse?” I ask, knowing Finn is obviously leaving something out.

  “Strange things started popping up and I just kept a record of everything, passing it along to Detective Greenwood.”

  Finn then goes on to explain that the Bureau of Criminal Investigations sent Detective Greenwood. He’s basically the guy who handles complaints against police officers, and was there to investigate the claims Carla made. But he wasn’t only there to investigate Finn, he was also there to make sure Carla’s claims were valid.

  Even though we knew those claims didn’t hold water, Greenwood did not and he began his investigation.

  “What kind of strange things?” I question, since Finn seems to skirting around how Greenwood came to the realization that Carla is off her fucking rocker.

  Finn looks at Ryan and I’m growing impatient about being in the dark, my foot tapping the floorboard as the two of them have a staring contest.

  “Dude, you gotta tell her,” Ryan urges, shrugging his shoulders.

  Finn turns to look at me, he reaches back and takes my hand, and every time I think he’s going to speak, he shuts his mouth.

  “I don’t even know how to tell you this,” he finally says, and my heart jumps into my throat. Whatever he has to say has more to do with me rather than him. I hate that Carla has somehow inserted herself into our relationship and made Finn this worried about sharing something with me.

  Whatever has happened isn’t his fault, and I would never hold against him what she did.

  I squeeze his hand and give him a reassuring smile, trying to help him move this conversation along.

  “So, remember that day we had sex in the living room?” Finn asks, and I watch his face flush bright red and spread down his neck.

  I nod my head, now feeling completely uneasy and my mind is wandering to all the horrible scenarios that could have come from that day.

  “Carla was watching us,” he quickly spits out and my mouth drops open even though I know that isn’t the worst of it. “She recorded us having sex and sent it to me from an unknown number.”

  Once Finn gets that out, everything else falls from his lips in a rush, but he spares no details.

  “Detective Greenwood used the video to determine that a reflection in the window of my house was of Carla and that was enough to execute a search warrant for her house.”

  “Who else knows about this video?” I ask, my voice shaky as I try to hide my embarrassm
ent and the fear it brings over my total lack of privacy.

  Ryan’s head whips to look at Finn and I suddenly want to punch Ryan and then throw up.

  “Oh my fucking god! You told my brother before you told me?”

  “Fuck, Sarah, I know. I’m sorry. I realize now what a stupid idea that was, but please trust me, I had the best of intentions.”

  I do trust him, but it doesn’t mean this invasion of privacy that has now been shared with more people than I ever wanted to be, makes it any less horrible.

  “Detective Greenwood and the investigation team are the only people who saw the video, though,” Finn adds, as if complete strangers seeing me fucking my boyfriend is any better. It’s awful no matter how I look at it.

  “I’m going to fucking kill her,” I mutter, my embarrassment now turning to anger.

  I hate that Finn kept this from me, that Carla made him feel so uneasy and so uncomfortable with what she did, that he felt he couldn’t tell me.

  “I don’t doubt you could,” Finn jokes, giving me a cheeky smile. “But hold that thought because Greenwood can’t seem to find her.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask, my anxiety returning full force.

  “After the search of her house, they found enough evidence to arrest her for stalking, but she seems to have disappeared.”

  Finn is trying to remain impassive but I can see the concern that washes over his face.

  His hand is still in mine and he clutches it tighter as he begins to speak. “When I couldn’t get hold of you, I thought she had found you. I was so scared, Sarah.”

  I hate that our relationship brought this on, but she can get fucked if she thinks I’m giving up that easily. Finn was never hers and her delusional behavior doesn’t make him hers either.

  “Well, what’s next?” I ask, running on adrenaline and anger. She’s pissed me off once and for all, and I’m not sitting idly by and letting her ruin what Finn and I have. I’m also done with her making Finn feel like he can’t share what he’s going through with me.

  Ryan shakes his head and mutters something about me being Finn’s problem now.

  “What’s next,” Finn echoes, his eyebrows rising on his forehead, “is that you are staying out of this. You’re already involved by proxy and that’s more than enough for me.”

  “You’re no fun,” I quip back jokingly, but knowing full well what happens now is out of our hands. We need to let Greenwood take it from here. Finn has done all he can without compromising the integrity of the investigation.

  Ryan drops us off at Finn’s house, but walks in with us and helps Finn check the house for anything amiss. When everything looks to be in place, Ryan gives me a quick hug and tells me he’s proud of me despite his annoyance with my need to take things into my own hands.

  “Stay out of this Carla bullshit,” Ryan warns, shaking a finger at me as he walks out to his car.

  And as much as I’d like to get involved, I’m out because I wouldn’t risk Finn’s reputation. Our relationship is a reflection on him and as the Chief of Police he needs to maintain a persona that shows his professionalism, even more so now than ever.

  As soon as the front door closes, Finn pulls me into his arms, his embrace firm and comforting.

  “I know it sounds completely idiotic, but I thought I was never going to see you again.”

  “It doesn’t sound idiotic,” I say reassuringly. “You were worried about me. I didn’t respond to your text at the same time you were learning about Carla. I can see how you would put those things together.”

  “I don’t know what she’s capable of and it’s even worse now that she’s gone.”

  She has Finn on edge. I can feel it in his touch, in the way he holds me, so I make a quick decision. While I know it doesn’t make what’s happening go away, it might ease both our anxiety.

  This thing with Andrew may be nearly over, but I still have to work there. I’m going to have to deal with questions, they’ll have to fill Andrew’s position, and just because he’s gone, doesn’t mean that I still want to work there.

  We also still have this Carla bullshit hanging over our heads, so I think we both need some peace and quiet.

  “Pack a bag,” I say, pulling back so I’m now looking at Finn, a smile on my face. “We’re staying at the inn tonight.”

  “Are we hiding?” Finn asks, a cheeky smile on his face as he pinches my side, and I imagine he’s thinking back to when our relationship was a secret. I’d be lying if I said the sneaking around wasn’t a total turn on.

  “Do you wanna role play, Chief?” I ask seductively, my tongue poking out to wet my lips. “I could be your damsel in distress, hidden away.”

  “I have a hard time believing you as damsel in distress after what I witnessed today, but I’m sure we can come up with something.”

  Once we both have bags packed and I’ve texted Kelsey asking if there’s a room available, we’re in my car heading over there.

  Kelsey offers us the room free of charge, but Finn won’t hear of it and insists we pay. She finally relents and takes his credit card, but tells us that dinner is on her at least.

  It’s late and the kitchen is already closed, but Kelsey calls in a few favors and gets her chef to throw together a charcuterie, a bottle of wine and a few slices of lemon cake.

  Everything is waiting for us on the small dining table off to the side of the room, the king-sized bed and fireplace taking up most of the space along with the amazing bathroom.

  “This place looks better than I remember,” I say falling back on the bed. I photographed these rooms for Kelsey’s Instagram page and they turned out so good I used them on her website, too.

  Finn steps between my legs, hovering over me, his blue eyes shining with everything we both know is about to happen.

  “Watching you kick the shit out of your sleazy ex-boss was the biggest fucking turn on ever,” Finn murmurs, his lips brushing against mine and I push my hips up to meet his.

  “Oh really?” I purr, my tongue tracing his bottom lip. “I’ve got a few more tricks up my sleeve, Chief. Wanna try them out?”

  Finn growls and slides his hands under my sweater, his teeth nipping at my neck as I squirm underneath him.

  “But I don’t want you to get away,” he teases, locking my hands above my head, his large fingers wrapped around my wrists.

  I rub my knee over the bulge in his pants making us both moan in response. “You got those handcuffs by chance?” But our naughty moment is interrupted by the sound of his cellphone ringing out, halting both of us in our tracks.

  “What the fuck?” Finn mutters, his hand fishing around in his pocket and when he answers it his tone is clipped and harsh, “Finn O’Loughlin.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Finn

  Even though taking this call is the last thing I want to be doing right now, given the circumstances, I can’t really ignore it.

  “Finn?” comes a male voice.

  “That’s what I said,” I bite out. “Who is this?”

  “It’s, um…it’s Craig Robinson,” he says nervously.

  I feel my fingers tighten around my phone as my heart starts to pound. What the fuck is he calling me for?

  “What do you want?” I ask. “And how did you get this number?”

  “I ah, I called the station,” he says. “They gave it to me.”

  I don’t bother to hide the for fuck’s sake that falls from my mouth, mentally reminding myself to have words with my staff tomorrow for randomly giving my number out to people. Especially this guy.

  “What do you want?” I repeat.

  Sarah is still lying on the bed, but she’s propped up on her elbows now, watching me. I don’t walk out of the room, instead, switching my phone to speaker so she can hear what’s going on. I’m not hiding this anymore, not now that we’re past keeping shit from each other.

  “It’s Carla’s ex-husband,” I whisper as Sarah sits
up.

  “I saw the article in the Boston Met,” the voice says, filling the room that just moments ago felt like a peaceful haven away from all of the shit we’re still dealing with. “The one where they interviewed Carla about what you’d supposedly done to her.”

  My gaze locks with Sarah’s and straightaway I can tell from the look on her face that she knows about the article, that she’s read it too.

  “Sorry,” she mouths, frowning a little.

  I step forward, place my phone on the bed next to her before lifting her hand to my mouth and kissing her knuckles.

  “What about it?” I ask, turning toward my phone. “It’s all bullshit anyway.”

  “I know it is,” Craig says, his voice more confident now.

  “What?”

  “Carla has been obsessed with you forever,” he continues, shocking me. “All throughout the time we dated and even during our marriage. It’s part of the reason we broke up,” he says. “Well, that and a lot of other things,” he quickly adds as though he realizes how that sounded.

  I take a deep breath. “Yeah I know about the weird obsession,” I say, shoving a hand through my hair. “Shit has been happening here,” I continue. “And the police actually raided her house. Found a lot of stuff.”

  “Hmmm,” is all Craig says, as though he isn’t surprised by any of this.

  “They can’t find her though,” I add. “No one has seen her for a few days.”

  “Really?” he asks, a ruffling noise coming through the phone.

  “You don’t know where she is?” I ask.

  “No,” he says quickly. “I haven’t seen her since the divorce was finalized three years ago.”

  “Shit,” I mutter. “Okay, well thanks for the call,” I add, ready to end this conversation.

  Craig exhales now, as though he’s sorry for what he’s about to tell me. “Look, Finn,” he says. “I should’ve told you stuff way back when I still lived in Rockport, when I was married to Carla,” he says. “Things weren’t right, the way she acted around you, the way she constantly talked about you. None of it was normal. After the divorce, I moved to Boston and tried to forget about her. But then I saw the article yesterday. I’ve been away on business,” he adds, almost as an afterthought, as though he wants to explain why he’s only contacting me now.