I bite down on my lip, waiting for him to speak.
“How are you doing?” he asks, almost awkwardly.
Letting out a dry laugh I look up at him. “I’m fine. What do you want, Finley?”
He lets out a deep sigh and stands, rubbing the back of his neck. “Do you have some time to talk?”
“So now you want to talk?” I quirk a brow at him, and he at least has the decency to look sorry.
“I know, I’m sorry. We’ve had some shit to deal with. Mav…” He shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter, not my story to tell. Do you have some time?”
I consider his words. I’d noticed that Maverick wasn’t really himself on Thanksgiving, even though he put on a good show. He’s been oddly quiet around school since then, too. Eventually, I nod. “Yeah, I have time.”
I shut the engine off and go to unbuckle, but he leans back down. “I’ll follow you home.”
“Okay.” I nod, starting the car back up again. He moves back and heads over to his car. I can’t see Maverick’s bike in the lot, but Lincoln’s Porsche is gone, too, so I might have just missed them I guess. I drop Smithy a quick message to let him know that Finley is heading back with me, and he responds almost instantly to let me know he’s out shopping this evening.
Little sneak.
I remind him we said no gifts, knowing full well I have at least five for him tucked away, before pulling out of the lot and driving home through the very festively decorated streets of Echoes Cove. The world would probably come to an end if it snowed in southern California, but apparently no one here cares. It’s fake snow galore.
Finley follows me the entire way and enters the gate behind me as I pull onto the drive.
Jumping out of the car, I head to the passenger side to grab the box from Indi, but Finley catches up to me and lugs it out instead. “What the hell is in this thing?”
“I asked the same thing.” I laugh as I open the front door, pausing when I take in what Smithy has obviously been up to while I was at school today. The giant tree in the living room, decorations freaking galore.
I guess my quiet Christmas plan isn’t what he had in mind. Hell, I was even going to skip the big tree thing. “I’ll put this under the tree.”
“Okay, thanks. Do you want a drink?” I ask as he heads across the room before placing the giant box beneath the tree where there are already more gifts than I care to count.
“Sure.” He smiles softly at me and follows me to the kitchen.
Why does this feel so awkward?
“So what did you want to talk about?” I ask as I stick my head in the fridge, grabbing a couple of sodas before handing one to him.
He sits at the counter, taking a swig of his drink before looking at me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was stalling.
“About the Knights.” I nod and take a seat across from him, waiting for him to continue. “Lincoln told us that you were finally starting to believe us, that he gave you some answers when you went to the range. And I know your friend being one of us was something of a shock. Plus, we haven’t been around much.”
I take a sip of my drink, waiting for him to get to the point. I hate it when they talk in circles. Finley isn’t usually one to use this many words so I know he’s a little uncomfortable, which is exactly why I don’t interrupt him.
“I wanted to know if you had any more questions. I can’t promise you answers to all of them, but if I can answer, I will.”
My eyes go wide at his words. He’s really going to give me information.
Well, color me shocked.
Except, of course now that the opportunity is here, the thousand questions I’ve had on the tip of my tongue jumble up inside my brain and tie my tongue in knots. Why are you guys so interested in saving me from these people? How come I've never heard about this before if I'm supposed to be a legacy? What's so special about the society and why is it such a big secret? If the Knights are such a big deal, why did my dad run and what do they want with me after all these years of being away? Are there benefits to me being involved with them?
But when I try to speak the words, they turn to ash and I have nothing.
“You asked Panda about my dad’s death. Why would you guys ask him that? What did he say after I left?” The question spills from my mouth even though I’m not sure I want the answer to it. I’ve still been too scared to ask Panda myself, mostly because I can’t take him lying to me any more.
“He said again and again that he had nothing to do with it. That he was put on the tour to look after you. It had nothing to do with your dad.” He looks me in the eye as he answers, and it’s the only reason I believe him. “And we asked him, because he’s a Knight and we thought he could be linked to it. We told you we don’t think your dad committed suicide, but Evan didn’t have any other answers for us either.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. I don’t understand any of this.” I sigh, dropping my chin into my hand. “Does it make sense to you?”