Chapter Four
Awkward didn’t come close to describing the grade-A level tension that descended in Finn’s Challenger. Navi hunched forward in the seat, ready to spring out the moment they came to a halt. Her words had been harsh—she knew that. But goddamn, the concern in his eyes, how he got all worried prickled under her skin something fierce and, before she could help herself, the acid had spewed from her lips.
Finn gripped his steering wheel with enough strength to nearly rip the thing off. Even though he wasn’t sniping back anymore, his anger was still palpable in the car and the way those dark eyes burned suggested he remained on the edge.
Navi sucked in a deep breath, regaining some clarity despite the guilt and irritation boiling through her. “How did your end of things turn out?” she chanced, not expecting much in the way of a response from him, since the tension stretched like a live wire between them.
“They’re running something via the usual pickup routes in a nowhere town,” he responded, not bothering to look at her. She lifted her brows in surprise. After his emotional outburst before, she’d expected more of the same, not this calm and collected side. “The owner made a stink when I went to buy one of them, so I bought a regular box of dog food and in the process slipped one of the marked cans into my pocket.”
“Adding theft to the repertoire?” she teased, anxious to return to normal and avoid the whole ugly scene from before. Truth be told, she wasn’t comfortable in the slightest at what feelings emerged the moment those brown eyes glowed with a care she wasn’t used to.
His brow arched, but he didn’t bother looking her way. “You’re not doing that. Not with me.”
“What?” she shot back, crossing her arms over her chest.
“You don’t get to skate on past our fight like it didn’t exist, and we’re not going to play pretend,” he said, his voice cool and lethal. “Either you want to work together—and work as a team—or you can cut me loose now for not fitting your definition of obedient servant.”
Whatever could be said about Finn, the man wasn’t lacking in guts. Few individuals possessed the bravery to mouth back to her like he did. Her abilities scared them off first and her harsh mouth second. She needed to work with someone who could view her as an equal, not a yes-man or someone too cowered to voice an opinion. As much as he pissed her off, she wouldn’t find another one like him in these parts.
“Look,” she said, gritting her teeth to force past the uncomfortableness prickling through her. “The Tribe doesn’t hold hands and Kumbaya. Most times, when we investigate we’re on our own and we accept the brunt of whatever danger is flung our way. That being said, I asked you to help, which entails working with you.”
“Shocking, I know,” Finn interjected, his sarcasm as hot as his temper.
Navi jutted her jaw forward. “If you’re going to be a brat, I’m going to stop right here.”
“Kind of tough to do when I’m driving,” he retorted. She bit back her words, simmering with annoyance. When he glanced to her, his expression softened as did his grip on the steering wheel while they soared down the highway. “Fine, let’s talk. What are your thoughts?”
Her brow wrinkled as she ran a hand through her relaxed strands of hair. Hell, she couldn’t make heads nor tails of him. One second she was sure his temper would send her racing the opposite direction and the next the storm had departed and he was speaking sense.
“We’re going to have to head to the site at night when the Landsliders aren’t spooked from my pursuit, so before then, I’d say we’d better hash out some ground rules. I’m not unreasonable. If you’re bringing up points to assist our mission, I’ll gladly listen. Why don’t we grab drinks at Beaver Tavern and figure things out over a pint?” she asked. “I’m pretty sure we could both use a brew.”
Finn stiffened for a moment, but for the life of her she couldn’t gauge why. Nothing she’d mentioned warranted the response.
He tapped his fingers against the side of the wheel before heaving out a sigh. “Sierra keeps spares at Beaver Tavern, so we can change there. I could use a drink or two myself.”
Navi glanced at her bare thighs, noticing for the first time that she wore his shirt, which allowed his fantastic pecs to remain on full display. With the anger cleared from her headspace, the lust returned in full force, the close proximity fueling her fire. “Don’t suppose you’ve got a back entrance for those spares? It’d be a discredit to my surly Tribe image if I’m walking through the place in your shirt.”
A different scent tingled her nose, the strong note of his arousal that made her want to moan on the spot. She didn’t need to glance over to those gym shorts to notice the erection he was packing. Her panther wasn’t resisting the wolfish scent of him either and, instead, the bitch preened inside her chest. Not helping her ignore the tangled web of need she’d rather leave for a rainy day. Or never.
“Feisty thing like you? No one would dare make a comment. Even if my shirt might as well be a dress on you,” he teased, his dark eyes sparking with amusement.
Navi cracked her knuckles. “You’re playing with fire, babe.”
“Maybe I like the flames,” he shot back while he maneuvered the Challenger right into the parking lot of Beaver Tavern.
Midday, the normal cozy glow wasn’t evident, but the sun enhanced the dark wood accents of the bar and made the cream exterior even brighter. Although the place was still under construction with sections of the wall riddled with bullet holes, the Red Rocks and Silver Springs had rallied fast after Drew Williams and the Landsliders had wrecked this place. Navi had worked with packs her entire life and yet that level of togetherness baffled her. Not like she didn’t work in unison with her Tribe unit once in a while, but all of them tended to operate independently.
Finn buzzed with tension again despite the resolution they’d come to and, for the life of her, Navi couldn’t figure out why. He wheeled his car to park around back in the employee lot, tires crunching the gravel before he braked into Park. Navi hopped out, her bare feet tough enough for the uneven stones to not bother her much.
“Lead the way, pup,” she called over to him as they crossed the lot to the back entrance where the door was held open by an orange bucket.
Finn lifted a brow at her comment, the motion tugging at the raised scar that ran right through it. He loped up the steps, his muscles moving with a piston-like efficiency. Navi followed him inside and he strode straight to a cabinet and flipped the doors open before tugging out a pair of black gym shorts and a faded gray shirt in a smaller size. He tossed them her way.
She caught them quick and slipped the shorts on first, a surprisingly decent fit, then stripped off his shirt to toss it to him. Not like his gaze left her for a second. The way his eyes burned with heat as she slipped into the new shirt scorched through her and he stood there clutching his tee without making a motion to put it on.
“Got a little drool on your lip,” she drawled while she made her way through the kitchen toward the front of house. “Might want to get that before we grab a pint.”
He caught up within seconds, wrestling into his shirt while they walked. “Can’t help it, sweetheart. You’re stunning.” He said those statements like utter fact, making her flush despite herself. She’d been on the receiving end of lines that dripped with sleaze, but the sheer honesty and straightforwardness Finn spoke with was the furthest thing from contrived.
A willowy woman stepped into the doorway leading to the other side of the tavern. She had delicate Japanese features and rich black hair pulled into a bun. Her hands balled into fists at her side and she glared at Finn. He glanced up and the smile vanished from his face.
“Hey, Raven,” he said, attempting casual even though his voice came out clipped.
“It’s been a while, Finn,” she said, her eyes darkening as her gaze settled onto Navi. “Why show up now?”
“We came for a pint,” he said, ducking his head before slipping past her as if to avoid scrutiny. Navi’s brows drew together on instinct and her stomach flip-flopped. Not like she had any reason to pry into his private life, but the tension between them seemed too personal—beyond a disagreement between packmates. This sheepish behavior from Finn didn’t reflect the ballsy guy she’d come to respect.
The small part of her that had begun warming to him iced over. She was Tribe, temporary, and this tension between Raven and Finn was none of her concern. Even still, she swallowed hard, trying to dispel the waves of disappointment coasting over her.
“Hey,” Navi said, extending a hand in greeting. “You’re the bartender here, right? Can we get two pints of your darkest beer? I’ve got some business to discuss with this guy.”
Raven glanced to the hand, and to her tattoos like shifters always did, before she gripped it and shook. “Sure thing. Take a seat, and I’ll bring them right over to you.” The woman plastered on a fake customer-service smile, even though the sharpness in her delicate eyes betrayed the real emotions she pinned back.
Navi wanted to be out of this bar—hell, out of this town—but she couldn’t leave until they resolved the problem with the Landsliders. She felt stupid for even wasting a second of thought on Finn Kelly, when she was a passing ghost, soon to be a memory. She nodded to Raven before stepping past her and walking through the doorway to the front of house. A few glances flickered her way from the shifters at the bar and the other guys clustered around one of the tables, but they averted their eyes the moment they caught sight of the tribal markings swirling up her arms and down her legs. The normal greeting one of her kind received.
She didn’t glance behind her to see if Finn followed, but headed straight for one of the round tables by the door, a smaller one tucked near the corner. Navi snagged the heavy oak chair and slipped into it. A moment later, Finn sat in the one opposite, the chair creaking when he settled down.
He cast a quick glance to the bar. “I’m sorry about that,” he said, a slight flush of embarrassment staining his cheeks. “Raven and I aren’t anything serious, but we’ve fooled around more than a couple times and I owe her a talk.”
Navi clenched her jaw and her insides froze over, but she didn’t betray an ounce of emotion. “That’s your business, Kelly. Unless it has to do with finding the Landsliders and your ability to help me there, I don’t give a damn what you’re up to.” Her voice came out as cool as morning frost.
Finn pressed his lips together tight as he gave a firm nod, even though those too-expressive umber eyes flashed with something like hurt. “Right. My mistake, boss.”
The easy banter between them vanished in the wake of this brittleness, the tension in the air palpable. Navi’s stomach twisted into knots, but she’d perfected her mask by this point. “We’ve got a stakeout tonight, so let’s lay out some ground rules for working together.”
Focusing on the job centered her. She didn’t have any stake in Finn—never could—so she needed to tamp down whatever this sickening swill was.
Raven hustled in their direction with two pints in her hand and the most strained smile Navi had ever witnessed. The Asian bartender’s fine features exuded a natural femininity Navi couldn’t hope for. Despite her short stature, she was all brawn—her survival through the dangers she faced required her body to be a lethal weapon.
Finn stiffened at Raven’s approach and the guilty way he avoided her gaze sparked Navi’s temper. No way in hell would she get sucked into their interpersonal drama. He might’ve gripped her imagination for a half-minute, but she’d been entertaining pipe dreams. She formed a tight-lipped smile of her own as she accepted the beers from Raven. Navi placed one in front of Finn and lifted the other straight to her lips. In the midst of this awkwardness, she needed the stiff drink.
“You mind if we talk later?” Raven asked Finn, her arms crossed over her chest. The woman’s nails pricked into claws, revealing how on the edge she skated.
Finn had spoken about his relationship with her like it meant nothing, so either he was the biggest idiot on the planet, or he was living in a state of perpetual delusion. Based on the guilt gleaming in those dark eyes when he looked at Raven, Navi guessed the latter. She couldn’t resist the bile rising in her throat, no matter how illogical.
“Yeah, we need to catch up to speed,” he said in response, tightening his grip around the pint. He broke their eye contact to stare into the murky surface. Raven nodded, not saying another word while she slipped away as quickly as she’d arrived.
“That’s barely anything to whip out the popcorn over,” Navi drawled, unable to help herself.
Finn’s eyes flashed. “Panther side peeking out, darling? Didn’t expect that sort of cattiness from you.”
“And I expected you to have a bigger set of balls,” she shot back. “First impressions deceive.”
She sucked in a deep breath, the acid spewing from her mouth the sort that squeezed her heart. Few managed to get under her skin like Finn Kelly, but the man had his talents. In the moment, letting her mouth run loose felt damned good, but, already, she regretted those words. What was she heckling him for? Not like she had any future with him beyond their one-night stand.
Navi took another sip of her pint to clear her head. “You’re right,” she said. “I’m being catty. Your relationships are none of my business. I figured the fling we had was complication-free and I’m just not comfortable getting caught in the middle of whatever you have going on with that woman. This is a temporary setting for me and we’ve got enough on our hands with the Landsliders.”
Finn’s brows rose to the point where she wondered if they’d fly clear off his face. In response to her bluntness, all his anger faded and the tension leeched from his features. He lifted a pint in her direction. “You’re more than fair. I’ve let this mess with her go on way longer than I should’ve and I’ve been too chickenshit to confront her. However, that’s my problem, not yours, and you have every reason to be annoyed.”
Fuck. Every time she wanted to hate him and wanted to write him off as a forgettable lay in yet another city, he brandished honesty that disarmed her. Despite the way her veins blazed in irritation, she found communication with him easy and effortless. Not like it mattered. She’d be vacating these premises and he’d be returning to whatever confusing relationship he maintained with Raven once she left. The thought still tugged at her gut in a way she wasn’t comfortable with, but in clearing the air, she’d also cleared her head.
“Let’s get down to brass tacks,” she said, setting her pint onto the tabletop. The near-black liquid sloshed around and the tan foam clung to the sides. “I’ll be the one giving the orders. That’s non-negotiable.”
Finn shrugged in response. “Nothing new to me. I’m pack beta, remember?” He flattened his palms on the surface of the tabletop as those umber eyes locked with hers, sparking with challenge. “However, I’m not going to take orders from someone who can’t work as a team player. I’m fine with you making the calls, but when you dash off with no heads-up while we’re working a section together, I’m in the dark. And honestly, I’m a better asset informed than I am clueless to the situation and whatever dangers it entails.”
Navi leaned back in her seat, arms crossed as she eyed him down. He was making fair points, ones she didn’t mind putting an effort into if they could shut down the Landsliders sooner. She let out a sigh and settled forward at the table to extend her hand toward him. “It’s a deal,” she said.
His callused palm enveloped hers when they shook and Navi chose to ignore the spark traveling up her arm at the mere touch. The complication of him and Raven should’ve doused whatever flames lingered between them, but to her dismay, they still burned strong. He brought the sort of trouble and drama she avoided in every city she’d rolled through so far.
Yet despite the collision she saw coming a mile away, despite the inevitable heartbreak, hurt and wreckage he promised, Finn Kelly was a train-wreck hurtling a hundred miles an hour toward her, and she couldn’t step away..