Chapter Nine

A dull headache thudded behind Finn’s eyes. He’d spent the majority of the night reasoning his way through Connor’s proposal. The demon’s complicated offer wouldn’t unravel properly. It offered him much, denied him little and yet—he clenched a fist and banged it against the desk. With a demon, if something seemed too good to be true, it almost certainly was.

Leaning back in the chair, he closed his eyes. Perhaps a few hours of sleep would clear it all up. He would be better off to pack his bags and head back to Washington. 

A knock on the door dragged him awake. He’d told the demon he would answer him when he was ready and not a moment before. Exhausted and worn, he wasn’t up for any more of Connor’s double dealing. The second knock told him whoever it was wasn’t going away. Rising, he rubbed the back of his neck and stretched his legs on the walk to the door. His joints creaked.

He answered on the third knock and stared stupidly at Pepper. “Oh hell.” He rubbed a palm across the stubble on his face.

“I’m sorry.” She retreated a step. “You mentioned breakfast and when you didn’t come, I thought…”

Finn held up a hand and sighed. “Not at all, let me apologize. I…” He glanced back at the window and the sun shining around the edges of the curtain. “I didn’t realize it was morning.”

“It’s okay. We can chat over lunch. I’ll call over next time.”

Irritated with himself, Finn caught her arm before she could flee. “Pepper…wait. Please. Come in.” This wasn’t a conversation they needed to have in the hall.

She came inside, feet dragging. “You look exhausted. I should let you rest.”

“Not at all.” He shut the door and leaned against it, but held firm to her hand. “The last place you should be is away from me right now.” Pepper stared at him. The fact that he said it like he’d just discovered tinfoil hats as the must-have fashion accessory of the season might have something to do with that. Calm shouldn’t be a struggle. “Please—sit, I’ll shower and change and we can talk.”

“I can leave you be while you do that.”

“No.” He wouldn’t move from the door until he had her word she wouldn’t leave. “I know I look a bit crazy.”

“A bit?”

“But I need you to stay in here, promise me you won’t leave. Go sit in that chair by the window and stay there. I’ll clean up.” Normally, he’d ignore the need for a shower and shave, with so many threats in the offing, but Pepper enjoyed her grooming, so no doubt she expected the same from him. And I enjoy her enjoyment, to be completely honest. 

She watched him warily. “Finn, you’re scaring me.”

“I know. I’m sorry for that, but can you promise me to stay and wait for me to clean up? It’s important that I talk to you.” He sucked in a deep breath and forced his shoulders to relax. Looming toward her all dark and threatening helped no one.

“Okay. Go take a shower and I will sit here by the window.” She retreated as she spoke and perched uneasily on a chair. “See, I’m sitting.”

He flipped the security latch into place. “Do you promise?”

“I can promise you, but there’s nothing to stop me from walking out the minute you’re under the water.” She clasped her hands together. “Go shower. Sober up.”

Fantastic. She thought he was drunk. “Telling me you can promise, and actually promising are two different things. So—promise me.”

Impatience replaced the wariness in her voice. “Finn, go take a shower.” Folding her arms, she leaned back and crossed one leg over the other. “Before I throw something at your head.”

He grinned at her. “Ten minutes.” Pushing off the door, he slid into the bathroom. The shower took him less than five and he shaved as smoothly and as quickly as his razor allowed. Wrapping a towel around his hips, he poked the door open and found a stack of clothes waiting for him at the door.

“You forgot to bring a change of clothes in,” Pepper called and he grinned again.

“Thank you.”

He dressed and gathered the debris from his shower and his soiled clothes. Carrying the lot out, he fed them into burn bags. A frown knit her brow. “What are you doing? And what’s that smell?”

“Trying to wipe away my footprints.” It wasn’t much of explanation, but how much could he tell her without endangering her further?

“By putting your clothes in…what are those things?” She sucked her upper lip between her teeth, as though biting back any further criticism. “You realize you’re acting pretty nuts, right?”

“It’s not hard to act like it when you are. These? These are burn bags. They destroy all biological trace.” After destroying the last of the towels he’d used, he stuffed the burn bags into the trash. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you something. Before I dive in and hang us both, is there anything I can do at all to convince you to leave the Arcana Royale? Move to any other resort you choose—enjoy your vacation to the fullest. I’ll cover any and all your expenses. You shouldn’t have been dragged into all of this in the first place.” 

“Finn, I get that you’re upset with the casino. But they aren’t a front for any mafia activity—as much as that sounds like some crazy television show or film. It’s actually a lot weirder, but they’re not mob.” If not for her earnest sincerity, he would have laughed.

“What?”

“They told me you were here to investigate the people who run the casino and you’ve been setting up surveillance because you were disgraced in some way.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Finn struggled with the dark feeling bubbling up. “Who told you I was here to investigate the casino?”

“That doesn’t really matter. The problem is you want to shut down the casino and you can’t—too many people call this place their home. Too many…too many need it. I can swear on a stack of bibles that the mob has nothing to do with the running of this place. Can you accept that and leave them alone?”

He gaped. “So you are a plant?”

“No, we have dryads in the lobby, but I’m a person…”

“No, I meant a spy. You were sent to spy on me?” His gut tightened, not because he hadn’t suspected her, but for the simple reason he had and dismissed it. Duped into her role? That he could believe. But not a willing participant.

“More or less.” She winced, her face heating pink. At least she looked embarrassed about her attempt to deceive him.

He leaned forward. “First—” 

“Finn.”

“No, it’s my turn to talk now. You had your turn, now I have mine. That’s how it works.” What a ridiculous tangled mess he’d walked into. “First, I know there’s no mafia connection here and I didn’t come to the Arcana Royale to investigate them. I knew you’d been placed in my path to distract me—I just didn’t think you were in on it.” He wasn’t upset with her or how easily he’d fallen for her innocence—because that part hadn’t been an act. “What do they have on you to make you work for them?”

“That’s not important…”

“Oh yes, it is.”

“It’s my turn now.” She snapped. “You said that’s how it worked. You said your piece and I say mine.”

Amusement flamed under his irritation. “Very well, but answer the question while you’re at it.”

“It’s really not important. Look, I was asked for a favor that I owed. The only thing I was asked to do was be flirty, and distract you. Maybe mess with any surveillance you took so I could protect them and you wouldn’t have any reason to keep pursuing this line of inquiry. Not that I had a chance to mess with anything. I’m sorry for my lame romance author story and for making you think whatever it was I was trying to make you think, because this place isn’t what you believe it is.”

He paused, trying to let the gibberish sink in, then laughed. “Okay, I’ve had some really stupid conversations in my life, but I think this one takes the prize.”

Pepper’s scowl deepened. “I’m trying to apologize for deceiving you.”

“So was I.” He could throttle that damn demon, and his mother for getting him into this mess. “Pepper, what kind of casino do you think this is?”

She eyed him. “What kind do you think it is?”

“Not a normal one.” He tried to gauge her reactions. “But do you understand how not normal?”

“Define not normal.” 

“Vampires. Werewolves. Witches. Even gods, if the rumors are true.” He hadn’t intended to just blurt it out, but he was done with the games and the doubletalk.

“Oh, thank God.” Pepper exhaled a relieved laugh. “You do know what’s in the Arcana Royale.”

“And so do you.” 

“Yeah.” Her smile faded along with his humor. Her knuckles went white where she clasped her hands together in her lap. “And I know you’re a threat.”

“Yes.” He sighed. “Yes I am.”

Silence stretched taut between them. Heidi never promised Pepper a future…she didn’t promise her anything. She merely dangled the possibility of one. Finn’s jaw flexed and she could almost hear the pop and grind of his bones. “So, why are you so dangerous?”

He refocused on her. “What?” 

“Why are you so dangerous? Why are they worried about you?” Of all the explanations Heidi gave, none of them really gelled. It made sense that if the glamours wouldn’t work on him, he could out them to the world. But he already knew about the Arcana Royale, he knew about the creatures dark and light who passed through its doors. So why? What purpose did any of this serve?

“I…” He scrubbed his hands against his face. “I spent a lot of years getting away from all of this. I made it a point to stick to normals, to humans, to the hum and drum of life as boring as I could make it. I embrace every new technology that comes along until I make it my bitch. I work surveillance because I am good at it. I knew what they would think when I came here. I wanted them to piss their pants worrying about why I was here. That’s why you’re in the middle of this, because I wanted to be a dick and I wanted to screw with their heads so they wouldn’t look at the real reason I came.”

A snicker escaped before she could stop it. Finn arched both brows. “Really?”

“Sorry.” She clapped a hand over her mouth, muffling the word. It wasn’t funny—but he looked so damn grim, and fierce. He reminded her of Bruce Willis in that movie. All he needed was a cigarette and a gun. Another giggle escaped.

“No. Tell me. What’s so funny?”

She stopped trying to contain the laughter and let it out. “You. You’re a real bad ass, aren’t you?” 

“Apparently not.” His tone couldn’t get any dryer.

“I’m not laughing at you, really.” But she absolutely was. “Look, I know that—I know the—” she fought to say a word, but couldn’t quite push it out. “The bosses are all about the secrets and the code of silence and Fight Club mentality, but most of the people who work here are just people. Some are furry, some glitter, some like blood—but they are people. They don’t really mean any harm.”

“Sure they don’t. They just trap you with a game and steal your soul and make you work for them for eternity. Nothing wrong with that. Hell, they even convince you that you like it. Which, apparently, you do.”

Sobering, Pepper sat up straight in the chair. “They didn’t take anything from me. I’m not a victim, so don’t try to put that on me.”

“So, you work for them willingly?” His mouth compressed into a thin line.

“Yes. I do. I get that they aren’t perfect. But only a fool lives in a world where everything is black and white. People can be kind and cruel. They can be generous and selfish. They can do great acts of kindness and they can do horrible things to each other.” Pepper rose.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m standing up for what I believe in. You have a chip on your shoulder—it’s huge. Like some great camel-sized burden you’re carrying around. I get that you wanted to ‘fuck’ with them. But you’re not going to ‘fuck’ with me.” She wouldn’t normally use that kind of language. It even sounded odd coming out of her mouth, but it definitely had an effect on Finn.

“I don’t get you.” He studied her like she was some fascinating specimen from the Believe it or Not exhibit.

“You don’t have to get me, but I don’t understand you. Let’s just go back to the beginning. Why are you here? Really? No lies. Drop the shields.” Anxiety twisted her insides like a blade being turned around and around.

“I was told that my mother died here under questionable circumstances. Why are you here?”

“I have stage four bone cancer. Working here keeps me alive.”

The tough guy persona drained out of him and Finn paled. “How long?”

“Weeks, best case scenario. That’s what I had left when I came here. They gave me a second chance. I’m not wasting it.” Her anger cooled.

“I meant how long ago?”

“Thirty—thirty two years? I think. I met…I met some rather remarkable people and they offered me a chance. Well, actually that isn’t entirely true. I asked for a chance. They explained to me that it would cost and the price wasn’t too high to pay for life. So I paid it.”

“What price?”

“No, it’s my turn for a question. What are you doing about your mother?” Why on earth she kept score in this, she didn’t know, but Finn seemed like a bull in a china shop. He wanted to take the lead and if she gave him even the least bit of opportunity, he took off with it.

“Pepper.” Finn closed the distance between them and took her hands. Awareness shivered up her arms from the friction of their palms sliding together. “What price did they ask of you? Did it have anything to do with me?”

“Thirty-two years ago?” She blinked. “Were you even born yet? I didn’t even know who you were two days ago.” And how much dimmer her life had been without him in it. Meeting him turned on a light switch she would miss when he left.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. “And they didn’t threaten you…?”

“No. Not at all. But I owed them a favor for being allowed to stay here. I would have done it anyway because I don’t want the Royale to go away. I don’t want to lose my home. If you shut this place down, I’m going to die. Hei—” She bit her lip, sucking the words back in before they got away from her.

“Hi, what?” He prompted, rubbing his thumbs against the back of her hands. It was such a soothing motion.

“Nothing. It’s just a friend told me that she would do everything she could for me, but she isn’t a god and she can’t keep the spell in place if the Royale closes. As long as I honor my contract, I live.” But Heidi thought she might be able to do something else. Wasn’t that why she sent her back? Wasn’t that the point of the conversation in her office?

“What specifically do you have to do to honor your contract?” Finn was too close. The scent of him, the feel of him, it surrounded her and she tried to extract her hands, but he didn’t let go.

“You’re being pushy again. Stop. What about your mother? You said she died here?”

“She’s dead. And that isn’t important…”

A buzzing filled Pepper’s ears and she missed the rest of his statement. “It’s not important? Your mother died and it’s not important?” What kind of a man said that about his mother?

“Of course it’s important, but it’s not important to this conversation.”

Surly now, Pepper shook her head. “If you came here because of her and I was asked for this favor because you came here, then I would think it’s very important.”

Bewilderment chased away his irritated expression. “We’re really having this argument?” 

“Yes.” She gave another tug and pulled her hands free. There wasn’t anywhere to go besides the bed, so she sat back down on her chair. He knelt down next to her, effectively boxing her in.

“Pepper, my mother was an Overseer.”

Shock smashed through her. An Overseer? She put her hand over his mouth and Finn lifted his eyebrows in question. “You can’t say things like that. We’re not supposed to talk about them and no one is supposed to know who they are… Why would you tell me that?”

He chuckled, and his eyes softened. His breath tickled as he pressed a kiss to her palm. Heat scalded her and she jerked her hand away as a whole new level of anxiety ballooned inside of her. “You’re adorable. She’s dead, Pepper. You knowing she was my mother doesn’t hurt anyone.”

“You can’t be sure.” Hardly mollified, she tried to ignore the tingles rippling through her. But she couldn’t stop looking at his mouth.

“Yes, I can. Knowing who the Overseers are—or not knowing—it’s just another power game for them. You fear what you don’t know. They can mingle in the crowd, involve themselves in the everyday activities, and you’d never know it was them. That’s why they keep it a secret, it’s just another game.”

“I don’t care, I don’t want to know who they are.”

Finn’s mouth curved into a deeper smile. “I thought you just said they are all people—good and bad?”

“The people are. The Overseers aren’t.” She shuddered. “They’re creepy.”

Instead of responding, he bowed his head and his shoulders began to shake. Pepper shifted, twisting sideways to see his face. Was he crying? 

Finn burst out laughing.

“Don’t.” She thumped his shoulder and he looked up, mirth dancing in his eyes.

“You really are adorable.”

“It’s not funny,” she grumbled.

Finn cupped her face and leaned in. “Oh yes, it is.” Then his mouth slanted over hers and his kiss took her breath away. Her anger and embarrassment fell apart. If she thought that first kiss had been her imagination exaggerating the passion she’d experienced, she was wrong. If anything, her imagination had failed to hold onto the bold strength of his tongue seeking access or how flame heated up her blood. Need erupted inside of her, shattering the fragile threads of their argument.

It was hardly her first kiss, but the strength of her reaction turned to a cascading series of internal disasters. She drowned, went up in flames and tumbled over the cliff all at once. Her thoughts trembled on the precipice, fighting to come together only to fly apart again. When he broke the kiss and trailed his mouth across her cheek to her ear, she became aware of how tightly she clung to him, her hands fisting his shirt.

And she wasn’t in the chair anymore, he’d pulled her completely out and she straddled his lap. He roamed his hands up and down her spine and everywhere he touched, she melted a little more. When he latched onto and caressed her earlobe, she forgot whatever complaints she’d been trying to muster.

She wasn’t supposed to be in his arms, but she couldn’t imagine anywhere else she wanted to be. Pleasure came from everywhere and nowhere. Twisting, she sought his mouth again and it was her turn to guide the kiss. She teased her tongue against his lips and he made a low sound in his throat.

His excitement fanned the flames consuming her. He responded to her silent request and rose, carrying her with him. They tumbled onto the bed, and he alternated between deep tongue dueling kisses and nuzzling her throat. The aggressive combination culminated with his hand against her breast and a grazing caress of the hard pointed nipple puckering beneath her blouse.

Electricity pulsed through her and she clenched her thighs, all too aware of the press of his arousal straining at her groin despite their clothes. “Stop,” she whispered, almost choking on the word.

Finn froze against her, his breath coming in hard little pants. “Please tell me you had a don’t in front of that?”

She closed her eyes and shook her head. If she looked at him, she would cave. And no matter how desperately she wanted to feel him touching her everywhere…they weren’t ready for that.

She wasn’t ready.

“No. Please…stop.”

He groaned a hard, almost mean sound and pushed himself away, levering off the bed and pacing to the window. Chilled with his absence, she shuddered again and passed a hand against her mussed hair. “Finn…”

“Shhh,” he snapped. “Not another word. Give me a minute, or we’re both going to be naked and have a lot of regrets…”

Since he put it that way, she swallowed her apology and went still.

Waiting.