Chapter Seven

 

“You need to stop doing that.”

Wyatt shook his head at the straightened wire hanger insinuated between the cast and Solomon’s skin.

“What? It itches.”

Even a saint would be sick of this thing after wearing it for over three weeks. It itched like crazy and it was always getting in the way. The other night he’d rolled over and accidentally socked Hugo in the stomach with the damn thing.

“It’s a miracle I haven’t cut it off by now. Speaking of miracles, what are you doing in my living room?”

“I have to pick up the Z-man, and you were on my way so I thought I’d check in. You haven’t been around that much lately.” He held up his hand. “I don’t need details. I’m happy for you and Hugo but Younger chatting about his sex life is not something I can handle at the moment.”

Solomon chuckled. “What’s the matter, Wyatt? Still afraid you’ll catch it?”

“Funny.” Wyatt leaned back on the couch and studied his paint-spatter jeans. “What’s up with the yellow?”

“It’s butter. Kind of a gold… I’m painting the kitchen, and it’s not yellow. That’s all you need to know. What’s about you? Picking up our nephew? I hear you’ve been doing more for Noah lately. What changed?”

“I got some free advice from a professional,” Wyatt grinned. “And apparently, Green was right. I’m a natural. While you’ve been gone I’m Zachary’s new favorite. The boy loves me. He stops crying every time I pick him up.”

“It’s good to know you listen to someone, even if it’s not me.” Solomon wrinkled his brow. “Green? The writer dating Brady’s friend? That one? Tasha’s mentioned him once or twice when she was giving me dating advice.”

“That’s the one. Seriously, stop itching with that or you’ll give yourself tetanus or something.” Wyatt grabbed it out of his hand.

Solomon’s shoulders shook. “Uncle Wyatt, to the rescue. You’ll be the one that warns him not to run with scissors.”

“I’ll be the one that does safety drills, wrapping bananas in condoms as soon as he hits puberty, so he doesn’t make his father’s mistake.”

He shook his head, but held his tongue. “Where’s Zachary now?

“Visiting Baby Bookend with Tasha and the twins.”

“You need to stop calling him that.”

“Baby Bookend? Jen loves it, and she’s his mother.”

“His name is Finnegan. Finn for short.”

“We’re all named Finn. We eat during Finn Agains. You can see the confusion.”

“Don’t be dense. You know why she chose it.”

Wyatt shrugged. “I know, I know. Finn Dunham-Kelly, the merging of names, the joining of worlds, the breaker of chains. Very dramatic, we all get it.”

He snorted. “You’re being a dick. She’s going to be a great mother.”

A new generation of Finns. All these babies were blessings, and he was happy for every one of them, but occasionally it made him feel old and tired.

Sex is making you old and tired. Marathon sessions of amazing, hot, dirty, epic sex.

That too.

“Oi, anyone home?”

Solomon scowled as the Irishman opened the back door without knocking and stomped into view.

Wyatt got to his feet. “What are you doing here, Billy?”

He sent Wyatt a warning look before walking around him. “You don’t get to call me that, fireplug. And I’m here to offer my apologies and services.”

Solomon took in the state of William’s battered face. In one of his regular fights, he rarely let anyone get far enough to do that much damage. “What the hell happened to you now?”

“Steal another car?” Wyatt interjected with a smirk.

“Spot of trouble with a group that didn’t take kindly to losing a bet.” He winced and placed his hand on his side gingerly. “They also weren’t aware that you shouldn’t bring knives to a fistfight.”

His irritation replaced with worry, Solomon stepped closer. “Someone stabbed you? Do you know him or could you identify him if we brought you to the station?”

William was genuinely amused. “You can take the cop out of the job, yeah? But no, it’s been sorted.” He waved that problem away with his hand, ending the discussion. “And before you ask, I was already stitched up nice and tight by a Nightingale of the Florence variety. As soon as I’m fully mended, I plan on thanking her properly. Until then, I thought we walking injured could help each other out.”

“I don’t need any help.”

William studied the bright streaks of paint on his sweatshirt. “That’s not what I’ve heard, cuz. I heard you’ve been about putting your house in order for your man. Building bookshelves, buying cushions, painting walls. I can help with that.”

He was intrigued. “What would you want in return?”

“Call off the dogs.”

He’d asked with the same genial smile, but there was a warning in his words.

“What dogs, William?”

“That green-eyed hellhound that’s been following me around. Our talk after he pulled me over was good fun, but I think I’ve paid for borrowing big brother’s wheels, and I’d like to enjoy my last few months of freedom in peace.”

“James? Why would James be following you?”

“That’s what I’ve asked myself the half dozen times I’ve seen him entering my favorite establishment. Spoiling the view, as it were. And I’m not the only one that knows he’s a cop. He shouldn’t be there in the first place.”

Solomon glanced at Wyatt, who was shaking his head. Neither of them had any idea what James was up to. “I swear, I don’t know anything about it, but I’ll talk to him. There’s no reason for him to be tailing you.”

William smiled in relief, patting Solomon’s shoulder. “That’s good then. I don’t think the locals like him much, from what I saw, so you’d be doing us both a favor. What are we painting?”

“The kitchen,” he said before he could think to stop himself. “But you don’t have to help me with that. It’s almost done.”

“Never turn down an extra pair of hands. Not when you only have one at the moment. And not when you have someone you want to spend all your free time with.”

Solomon flushed. “You don’t know anything about it.”

“I know more than I’d like to. You’re all the family’s been jabbering about for weeks.” He jerked his thumb toward Wyatt. “You already know who you can thank for that.”

“I told you it was an accident,” Wyatt said, irritation evident in his voice as he glared at William. “I was with Fiona when Hugo’s brother called her. Then Rory called me and… Look, things got out of hand.”

“Where I’m from, that kind of slack jaw could lose you a hand.”

“Oh for Christ’s sake, Lucky Charms. Quit acting like your quaint little Irish village is run by Don Corleone, or that going back is a sleeping-with-the-fishes type of death sentence.”

“Want to switch places?” William asked, a clear threat in his tone.

“Break it up, guys.” Solomon forced himself not to laugh, but it wasn’t easy. “Wyatt, William is a Finn, and you need to start remembering that. William, Wyatt is a fireman, and they’re notoriously bad at keeping their lips zipped and their hoses under control.”

Wyatt swore and rolled his eyes. “Seamus was naked with a stranger,” Wyatt defended himself hotly. “And you were basically on a date and meeting Hugo’s parents. Both times had extenuating circumstances and neither were life or death. I know how to keep a damn secret.”

“I believe you.” Solomon patted his back. “Seriously, no hard feelings. I already told you that at the inquisition.”

The morning he’d left the hotel and gone back to Seamus and Bellamy’s house, his brothers were waiting for him in the living room. All of them. They knew all about his dinner with the Waynes, and that he’d been out of pocket for the last few days.

And they had questions.

But he only had one answer. His relationship with Hugo was on probation.

“We had something good and I wasn’t ready for it or for him. I don’t know how I’m going to earn his trust back, but he’s giving me a chance and I’m not wasting it. I’d appreciate it if I had your support in this. Your silent support.”

Brady, Noah, Wyatt, Rory and James had stopped their jokes and the incessant barrage of questions immediately. Of course they were on his side. He shouldn’t have been surprised at how easy it had been.

The knock at the front door had the three men turning as one.

“Oh I forgot to mention,” William said, a slight snarl enhancing his accent. “I saw Green Eyes parking with the senator. What did I tell you? He follows me everywhere.”

What the hell?

He walked toward the door, remembering the last year when he’d had nothing but his routine to keep him company. Now his small house had developed a revolving door.

“Time to vote again?” he joked when Senator Stephen Finn strolled inside, loosening his tie as James fell in behind him.

His smile was tired. “If I have to work for your vote, I’m definitely doing something wrong. Hey, Wyatt. I just got off the phone with my wife. I think the ladies are ready for Zachary’s favorite uncle to pick him up. Would you mind?”

“I was about to head that way, anyway.”

William chuckled. “Sure you were. Bet you’re dying to know why our busy politician is paying a visit. You haven’t had anything good to gossip about this week with your luscious bartender.”

Solomon physically turned Wyatt away from the troublemaker and toward the door. “The best way to upset him is to not give him what he wants. Go. Take care of Zachary so Noah can get some sleep.”

“I’m going.” Wyatt shook his head. “Just don’t leave your wallet lying around. Or anything else you care about keeping. I swear, I’m throwing a party the second he’s gone.”

Knots of tension were already forming on Solomon’s neck when he turned to see James and William squaring off in his living room with equally hostile expressions.

“Damn, William, you’ve clearly discovered the secret to making friends in this family.”

Stephen was staring between the two men with concern. “What’s going on here?”

“That’s what I’d like to know,” James growled.

William stepped further into his space. “I don’t appreciate your brand of familial concern is all. You should rethink your nightly haunts, James Finn. Some people might take offense.”

Solomon’s eyes narrowed when he noticed James flinch and automatically step back. “I don’t know what business it is of yours where I go, but you can back the hell off now.”

“It’s my business when you harass me for no—”

“William,” Solomon interrupted sharply. “You said you came to help.”

The big man rolled his shoulders and nodded once, taking a deep breath. “I did.”

“Help me by leaving now and coming back tomorrow. I need to stain some shelves.”

Icy blue eyes clashed with his for a long, tense moment, then he stepped away from James and jammed his hands in his pockets. “I’ll be here.”

He watched their wayward cousin’s belligerent stride until he disappeared out the back door, the same way he’d come in.

Stephen whistled. “That boy has some anger management issues.”

So did James. His fists were clenched so tight at his side Solomon was worried he’d sprain something.

“And then there were three. Let’s all calm down so you can tell me why your unlikely duo has shown up on my doorstep.”

He had a feeling he didn’t want to know.

Wyatt mentioned not seeing him for a while, and his uncle had called once or twice with the same concern. They were giving him space and for the first time in his life, he wanted it. He didn’t want to resolve issues or be the one his family relied on. Not right now.

It was selfish, but all he wanted to be responsible for was painting his kitchen the soft shade of buttery gold he knew Hugo liked, and then celebrate that home improvement by fucking his lover on the kitchen table.

But now, getting a visit from the two relatives he saw the most sporadically—the ones coincidentally most connected with his previous career—told him his selfish plans might get put on hold.

He stopped in the living room and turned to face them. “I take it you aren’t here to plan a surprise party for Aunt Ellen’s birthday.”

“You know Mom hates surprises.” Stephen opened his jacket and cupped the back of his neck with a sigh. “I’ll get right to the point. I’ve been in contact with the mayor’s office, off and on for the last few months, and I thought it was time to bring you in the loop.”

“Sounds serious. Why would a retired civilian be in a loop like that, Stephen?”

“I told you he’d be stubborn about this,” James said with a shrug. “Half the department is wishing he would answer his phone, and he’s been holed up in this fortress of solitude. Bad plumbing and all.”

“The plumbing’s fixed,” Solomon replied. “And they need to be focusing on moving forward.” Like I’m trying to.

Stephen was studying him. Reading him the way any good politician would. And Stephen was good at his job. A pain in the ass as a cousin, but a good senator. “What does he want? Our illustrious mayor.” 

“What do you think he wants? His constituents are in an uproar, and he’s scrambling for a way to fix it.”

“I’m getting a beer, anyone else want one?” James walked toward the kitchen, making himself at home while he and Stephen talked.

“Since I’m in this loop, I’ll take a wild stab and assume the uproar has something to do with law enforcement.”

His expression was grim. Angry. It wasn’t a look Solomon had seen that much on him or his twin, Seamus, which made it more pronounced. “Miller is a problem.”

“It’s an adjustment. When I started I—”

“Stop.” Stephen held up his hand. “This isn’t what an adjustment looks like, Solomon. This is what chaos looks like. Back me up, James.”

His brother walked back in with three bottles, passing them each one before popping open his own. He sat down on Solomon’s new couch and opened his mouth.

Then closed it again in surprise.

Jesus.” James bounced. “Jesus H, this damn couch is like a cloud. My ass is on a cloud right now.”

Stephen studied the light brown leather and his lips quirked. “We’re in the middle of a serious conversation, James. Forget about your ass.”

“It reclines.” Solomon wouldn’t tell them how he and Hugo had enjoyed that recliner to break it in.

James was glancing around the room now, as if noticing it for the first time. “Yellow kitchen, pictures on the wall, a new rug… You’re decorating. This place is actually starting to look like someone lives here.”

Solomon sipped his beer. “I was thinking about selling it and getting something with more room in a different neighborhood, but I wouldn’t get anything for it in the condition it’s in now. I figure as long as I’m here, I might as well fix things up and make it homier.”

Stephen’s smile was still tense, but genuine. “I’ll have to tell my wife she was right again.”

“About what?”

“You’re nesting. She said she recognized the signs.”

“I’m not nesting. I’m realizing life can be enjoyed, not just managed and controlled.”

Stephen narrowed his gaze. “There’s a petition going around to get you back on the job.”

“I know.” Solomon sat on the armrest of his couch and took a stiff drink. “Foster told me.”

“Who?”

“Hugo’s father,” James told Stephen. “Good man. Did he tell you that more than half the city has signed it? Or about the protests at the council meetings after the new asshole in charge reversed or suspended most of your initiatives for review? Did anyone tell you that Miller is a jealous, crazy, narcissistic shit that’s making life miserable for any cop that tries to express a grievance? Particularly if that officer shows any loyalty to you.”

He shook his head. “To me? I find that hard to believe. I barely know the man.”

“But he knows you,” Stephen countered. “He was already an outsider, brought in after his last job as a peace offering to the mayor’s more vocal critics. And now he’s had you rubbed in his face for a year. Hell, Solomon, I hadn’t even realized how much you were responsible for, program-wise. Not until I got a detailed list via the council. And every bit of the goodwill you established is being squandered because one guy is letting his ego guide his actions. He’s even threatened James with suspension.”

That got his attention like nothing else could. “Why? Did he give a reason?”

James held up his bottle, as if to stop that train of thought. “Don’t break out into a bad case of big brother, Younger, I’m not the issue here. Honestly, I was close to burn out before you bailed, and the badge was always more your thing than mine. It’s the point of it that pisses me off. He’s trying to erase your legacy and all the good you did. So I’m staying on to hold down the fort, because fuck that guy.”

Solomon was at a loss. “If it’s that bad, the mayor should have him suspended until he has a chance to replace him.”

“He’s more than ready to. But with all the damage that’s already been done, he wants it to be you.”

He shook his head. “He can’t do that. I can’t do that, but there are other people. Good men and women who are more than capable.”

“None of them are Chief Solomon Finn,” Stephen argued. “There’s only one of you.”

James read his instinctual grimace as only a brother could. “Hell, Younger, was that it? You resigned because of the old man?”

Solomon’s warning glare didn’t hold James back.

“You know that’s a sign of how badly he twisted us up, don’t you? I tried to bleed mother’s milk from a stone cold bi—” He cut himself off, shaking his head. “And you decided you needed to pay for his sins, since he didn’t have the balls to do it himself. You always paid for all of us.”

Stephen loosened his tie again, clearly uncomfortable. “I’m getting the impression that your reticence has something to do with your father.”

“Very PC, Senator,” James snickered.

“He was your father. What am I supposed to say?”

James shrugged carelessly. “Since he slept with your mother, used women as baby machines and hurt each one of his children in different ways before he died, you can say whatever you want. Personally I think he was a—”

“James.” Solomon interrupted his brother, wishing he hadn’t brought Aunt Ellen into this.

“Sorry, Stephen.”

“It’s fine,” Stephen muttered. “I can’t say any of it’s a lie. I just don’t like thinking about it.” He sent a speaking look towards James. “Ever.”

Solomon shook his head, breathing out on a laugh. “And we’re still talking about Elder, dredging up bad memories we want to forget because he’s connected to all of it. That’s the problem. I’m trying to live my own life. One that has nothing to do with him. And there’s actually a chance I can have that now.”

James pinned him with those green eyes that had always made him a target for their father. Just like your mother. “You love being a cop. And you were better at leading than he ever was. Everyone knows it. The proof is right in front of you. No one wanted him back, Younger. He resigned, the same as you, earlier than he needed to. People took off their hats in respect, and then forgot all about him.”

He set his beer down. “He said it was all about the Finn name, but that wasn’t true. It was about his name. It was always about him. And the big joke is that if he had put anything else on your birth certificate, the name Solomon Finn would be a side note in someone else’s history.”

Solomon had only seen James like this once or twice before. “Did you have anything to drink before you got here, James?”

“No. And don’t interrupt me.” He pushed himself to his feet to look Solomon in the eye. “The entire city is signing on the dotted line to prove it wants you back.”

“All I want is Hugo.” He hadn’t meant it to sound so plaintive.

“Can’t you have both?” Stephen leaned forward earnestly. “You don’t have to choose, Solomon. I didn’t.”

Solomon looked over as James turned away, and knew what he was thinking. That there were different rules for Shawn Finn’s children than there had been for Sol’s. Maybe not anymore, but it was such an ingrained belief for so many years, it was hard to let it go.

“Look, a few people want to meet with you. Say you’ll think about it. At the very least, having your input on potential replacements could go a long way to calming frayed nerves. Everyone is on edge now. Your men most of all.”

That sounded fair. “Give me a day or two, Senator Finn.”

Stephen looked relieved. “Now that that’s out of the way, I think I need to go home before these paint fumes go to my head.”

He stood and grabbed him in a warm embrace, patting his back before walking him to the door. “Thanks for stopping by.”

“Thanks for not kicking me out.” Stephen grinned. “I like the changes, Younger. They all look good on you. And like I said, you don’t have to choose.”

Solomon leaned against the closed door after Stephen left, staring at his brother. “Why did Miller threaten to suspend you, James?”

“I came here to talk about you getting your job back, not my personal problems.” When Solomon continued to stare in silence, James sighed. “I wasn’t where I was supposed to be.”

That sounded familiar. James had been MIA more than once back when he was police chief. “And why does it sound like things have changed with Donna?”

James leaned his head back and stared up at the ceiling. “You never liked her.”

“Since we’re talking, let’s try the truth. I tried to get in touch with her more than once. It never ended well. The last time I talked to her, I got the feeling her fight for custody had never been about us at all. Since we already had a hard enough time dealing with one dysfunctional parent, I let it go. Let her go.”

The sound his brother made was wounded. Raw. “You were always smarter than I was.”

“What happened?”

“I’m not sure I’m ready for brutal honesty.”

“No.” Solomon held up his hand. “We are not doing this again. After that shitstorm a few years ago, I gave you the space you asked for. That was my first mistake.”

“Shitstorm?” James rubbed the back of his head. “You mean that bust when I shot an unarmed kid? You can say it out loud, you know.”

Solomon gripped his shoulders, tempted to shake him. “Not a kid, a twenty-two-year old convicted drug dealer who threatened to shoot you and rushed your position. And you winged him. He’s alive in prison because of you.”

Solomon knew it was that incident, more than anything else that sent James seeking out their mother. He also knew that if he said the wrong thing now, he could erase all the work he’d done this year to bring him back into the family.

“That wasn’t my first instinct, Younger. You, on the other hand, would have found a way to bring him in without a shot fired. I’ve seen you do it. Hell, you’ve given us so much training on the subject you could write a damn book. It’s funny, I might not have the blond hair and blue eyes, but I’m the most like Sol. Like both our parents. If only Laney had been our mom, right? Noah and Wyatt really lucked out. For a few years, so did we.”

“James, what happened with Donna? Give me something. The smallest fucking clue about what’s going on with you, and I’ll take it.”

“Did you know she was a stepmom?”

Solomon shook his head, stunned. “I didn’t even know she’d remarried.”

“There are three of them. Their father married her and then he died, and they didn’t have any living family. If Donna hadn’t taken them in, they would have gone into the system. She needed help. So I tried.”

He rubbed his face, his expression haunted. “I did some things I’m ashamed of. Lied to get her out of trouble. I thought she was like us, another victim of Elder but… I didn’t understand that keeping them with her was making things worse.”

Solomon put his arm around his brother’s shoulders, wishing there’d been a way to stop him from discovering the truth. Donna was a professional victim. He wasn’t sure if Elder had ruined her or if she’d been like that before, but there was nothing maternal about her. “Did you fix it?”

“I’m working on it.”

“Was that what you were doing at one of William’s hangouts? Because I know you wouldn’t follow him for borrowing my keys. Not when you’ve done the same, more than once.”

James flinched again, which was all Solomon needed. “Can I help?”

He lifted his head, wet lashes blinking fast. “What if the kind of help I needed wasn’t strictly legal?”

“You think I wouldn’t cross that line for the people I love? That I haven’t already done some bending of my own, because it was the right thing to do?”

“I know.” James nodded wiping his cheeks roughly with his knuckles and running his fingers through his short, brown hair. “I know you would. But not yet. Let me try to find the answers on my own.”

“Can you at least tell me that they’re away from her? The kids.”

“Two of them are safe. One is… old enough now to make her own decisions. But I’m working on that too. I need to take care of them. Call it penance.”

“As far as I’m concerned, you have nothing to pay penance for.” Solomon held his gaze. “Promise me, James. You call me if you need help. Between Stephen, Tanaka and me… You know we have the connections. And Donna’s my mother too. If she’s done something wrong, I need to help make it right.”

“I know, Younger, and I promise.” James sigh was shaky and he looked away. “We have to protect the things we care about, right? You taught me that whenever you got between me and Elder’s fist. You’ve always been pulling me out of one scrape or another. I think it’s about time I paid that shit forward.”

“You’re a good man, James. Never doubt it.”

“About Hugo.” He hesitated, and then offered, “He’s one of the best guys I know. I can see how you two fit together.”

“I hear a but.”

“A worry,” James corrected. “We weren’t raised the way Seamus and Stephen were, the way Hugo was. Communication and trust aren’t things we excel at.”

“You think I’ll hurt him again?”

James shook his head, his hand gripping Solomon’s bare forearm. “Not on purpose. I’m just asking you to look at what you’ve done to yourself because of Elder. Rory and I aren’t the only ones used to keeping secrets and getting in our own way. Or worse, wanting things we aren’t strong enough to handle without breaking.”

He wanted to shake him off, to tell him he was different now. With Hugo, everything was different. But he couldn’t deny that part of the reason he didn’t want to take that meeting with the mayor had to do with exactly that.

“Shit, don’t listen to me, Younger.” James patted his arm and backed away, his eye on the door. “God knows my life is too fucked up for me to be giving advice.”

James left and Solomon was alone, staring at all the changes in his living room and wondering if his brother was right. A new coat of paint and a few frames wouldn’t fix the cracks in the foundation.

Last year, he would have ignored it and waited for the roof to fall down on his head. The way he’d ignored his problems with Hugo. The way he’d ignored those phone calls from his old life and refused to push James or Rory when he knew they needed him.

He reached for his phone and went to grab another beer. His worries could wait. James needed his help. This time he wouldn’t let him down.