Page 21 of Finn (Dirty Misfits MC 6)
The second I said her name, his face darkened. His eyes grew black as night, and he seemed to grow three feet above my head. His fists clenched at his sides, and he kept taking steps toward me, completely forgetting the fact that I had my finger on the trigger-point of my gun.
And he didn’t stop until he loomed over me with his teeth gnashed together.
“What the fuck did you just say?” he growled.
I jammed my gun into his chest. “I said, I know about Melody. I know about juvie. I know about all of it. So, if you don’t want your shit blabbed to your entire crew, you better let me go right now.”
Tears formed in his eyes, and I wondered if they were real or not. “I had nothing to do with her death. Absolutely nothing, you slimy little bitch.”
“That’s what they all say.”
His head fell off to the side. “You know, I don’t have to fucking explain it to you. But I dropped her off earlier in the evening after I took her out for a little drive to clear her head after she had a fight with her stepfather, and then she turned up dead. That’s what happened.”
“And you’re sticking to that story it, I take it.”
His eye twitched. “You don’t know shit about me.”
I holstered my gun and shoved him away with my hand. “And you don’t know shit about me, either. Everyone had an alibi for the timeframe she was murdered except you. Everyone had alibis that checked out and had multiple witnesses in the process putting them elsewhere except you. And you expect me to believe that some punk-ass biker with a record didn’t do it? Is that really what you’re trying to convince me of?”
His face darkened a bit and the tears disappeared. “You know, your sister told me you were different. She told me you’d work every angle, that you’d search under every rock for the actual truth. But, if you honestly believe the bullshit in that file, then you’re just as worthless as every other cop I’ve ever come across.”
I expected him to rush me. I fully and completely expected him to fight me tooth and nail to try and drag me back to the house. But instead, he left those words hanging heavily between us as he turned his back to me. He stalked off down the road, making his way back toward the house that was two blocks behind us, and as I stood there watching him walk away his words slapped me across the face.
I sure as hell wasn’t worthless.
Nor was I dirty.
He clearly has an issue with her death.
Yeah, he’s guilty as fuck. That’s the issue.
But the way he reacted? What if I was reading the file wrong?
I grumbled to myself before I drew in a deep breath. I hated it when my gut overrode what my mind was telling me. But, my gut had never once steered me wrong. In my entire detective career with the Santa Barbara police, my gut had always been the winning factor in all of my cases. And while some people accused me of fabricating evidence or even planting it, my superiors knew better.
They knew what my gut could do when put to the test.
“Why wouldn’t I understand?” I called after him.
He stopped walking, but he didn’t turn to face me. “You’re too busy jumping to conclusions instead of actually looking into shit, so why the hell should I talk to you about anything?”
Trust is the most important factor in any open case.
My mentor’s words rumbled through my mind, and they almost made me sick. At the end of the day, I had agreed to help my sister, which meant I had agreed to help these guys. I had promised my sister I’d give this case a good, thorough look despite my prejudices and my emotions toward the issue at hand. And here I was, running away because I didn’t agree with what was being said to me.
Just like I had run away from my parents the second I could when I turned eighteen.
Damn it. “Wait up!”
Finn didn’t listen, though. He kept his back turned to me and kept heading toward the house as if he hadn’t heard me yelling behind him. I let out a frustrated sigh as I rushed to catch up with him, but he certainly didn’t make it easy on me. The man had long legs despite the fact that he only had about five or so inches on me, and as I settled into a rhythm beside him we made our way back to the house together.
“Change your mind that easily, huh?” Finn asked as we stepped into the driveway.
I scoffed. “Over my dead body. All I’m saying is that you’re right. I can’t head out on foot at this time of the evening. Plus, it’ll be easier to find a place to stay at in the morning.”
