Page 25 of Finn's Future

By the time the tension finally eased, the truth crashed into me so hard it knocked the breath from my lungs.

It had been her. Every damned second.

I stood frozen beneath the shower, guilt settling like a weight in my chest.

"Fuck." I dragged a hand down my face. What the hell was wrong with me?

She was asleep down the hall, trusting me enough to feel safe under my roof. Ghost's son's mother. A woman who'd survived more than anyone ever should.

And I'd just...

I planted both hands against the tiled wall and let the water run colder, hoping it would wash away the guilt.

It didn't.

I set the placemats on the table and grabbed the plates from the kitchen as Kate followed with two glasses of water.

“Careful,” she said. “Don’t want you pulling a muscle doing all that work.”

A huff of a laugh slipped out before I could stop it. “Yeah, real dangerous.”

She smiled, a small, real smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes but was getting closer.

We ate for a bit in silence, not awkward, just quiet.

I kept catching myself watching her. The way her shoulders stayed slightly tense, like she was waiting for something to go wrong. She wasn’t used to calm and quiet. Hell, neither was I.

“Can I ask you something?”

I glanced up. “You just did.”

She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“Go on then.”

“Why do you live here and not at the clubhouse?”

“Ah, that’s easy. The clubhouse is also my home, but it can get a little loud and rowdy. I like my own space, and I like the quiet.”

Kate nodded and chewed on her food as she thought over my answer. “I get that. I have another one.”

“Go ahead.”

She hesitated. “Finn . . . is that your real name or your road name?”

I leaned back slightly in my chair. “You know about road names?” I raised an eyebrow, wondering how much Caleb had told her about our life.

“I saw a photo of Caleb and Reaper when they were younger. On the back, it said, ‘Ghost and Reaper’. I asked, and he told me.” She shrugged.

“It’s both,” I replied to her question.

Her brow furrowed. “That doesn’t help.”

A corner of my mouth pulled up. No harm in giving her my name. “Full name’s Finlay,” I said. “No one calls me that unless I’ve done something wrong.”

She smiled.

“Finn’s easier,” I added.