From Winter's Ashes: Girl Next Door Crime Romance Series - Book Two (17 page)

Chapter 22

Joselyn Whyte

“What! Those little snakes!”

Her father’s unfortunate news and misplaced blame almost made her forget about kissing Finn. Almost. The rampage also made her want to plunge her fist into someone’s nose.

Finn was the only person present, and if she utilized him as an outlet for her violent urge, well, then she’d probably end up trying to make it all better, and in turn, make it worse. Again. Besides, he had a very nice nose. Nice lips. Nice … too many things she’d experienced quite thoroughly moments before.

As the blows kept coming from her father in the form of some fabricated media scandal she couldn’t care less about, her trusty self-preservation instincts kicked in, muting his ranting, and instead, called upon the feel and taste of Finn’s lips. Both tender and savage, she’d never felt more alive—and terrified. She wasn’t sure where she’d found the strength to pull away but wished she had held on a few minutes longer.

Because if she could’ve stayed out of her head, for once, she might still be in his arms. But those arms were laced with deception of the most treacherous kind. Because although they felt like the safest, most enviable place in the world, Joselyn knew, tucked in Finn’s powerful embrace, she was anything but safe.

Her emotions were spiraling, and there was too much baggage she hadn’t yet sorted out. Too much history. Oh, her shrink would have a field day!

But it wasn’t only the kiss—though she had to admit she’d never experienced anything quite like it. Something about him was drawing her in. She’d always had a weak spot for him, and yet she’d had no problems ignoring him for the past ten years. So this was different. Unsettling.

Nothing about Finn seemed to line up with the boy she’d known in high school. In Joselyn’s experience, people didn’t change for the better.

Sure, he’d adopted an irritatingly arrogant persona, but even that felt like a front.

And then Cody had shown up. A hot swirl of bile churned her stomach at the mere thought of him. How could
this
Finn still be friends with that jerk? The inconsistencies were dizzying. A sudden flood of doubts had hijacked her brain and made her retreat, when honestly, all she really wanted to do was succumb to ignorant bliss and fall into Finn’s arms all over again. To feel wanted. Maybe even cherished. Even if only for a moment.

And wasn’t that pathetic. She was a smart woman. She should know better than be swayed by the man’s—possibly extraordinarily acted—affections. Having been wrong before, she knew the consequences were more destructive than a simple case of heartache.

“… Joselyn! You have to fix this!” Her father’s voice boomed through the ear piece, the sheer volume of his command about knocked the phone from her hand.

“Uh, okay. How?” She curbed the default sarcasm begging to take more creative liberties with her response. Instead she folded an arm around herself, gripped the fabric at her waist, and awaited the verdict.

“You know how. Make a public appearance. Prove them wrong. I’ll set it up. Monday night, the day after tomorrow. And Joselyn, you better sell it this time.”

The metaphorical slamming from her father’s end made her flinch. Like this was all her fault? The tabloid mongers could weave a web of lies at the drop of a hat, and
she
was responsible?

Sell it
, he’d ordered. Those choice words wedged deeper, driving like an ice pick into her heart. As if she was nothing more than a call girl. A pawn. Declan Whyte had weighed his daughter’s stock, cashed in the shares that suited his gains, and dumped the rest. The stab of his manipulation and neglect never ceased to hit their mark.

She lowered the phone, and as if looking into an oracle’s glass ball of misfortune she could see it. Her future—however long or short it may be—controlled by the ruthless dictator.

“Come on.” Finn tugged at her arm, snapping her out of the hellish vision. “We’ve got a meeting with Archer and Sal.”

His voice slipped through her like warm syrup. That dreamy baritone held some mystical power, enslaving her to its commands. She followed like a mindless drone even when he scooped up her coat and eased it on from behind.

Was she a commodity to Finn too? Otherwise, why would he volunteer for this? And why would he kiss her like that? Did she dare hope that this was about something more? That maybe he really did care about her? Hope swelled in the vicinity of her heart. 

Spinning her around as if helping a child, he buttoned her coat and tied the belt around her waist. She noticed he was now fully dressed—thank goodness—and without meeting her eyes he lead her out the door.

How long had she been zoned out?

She supposed it didn’t matter. Time in Finn’s presence seemed to defy the laws of nature. And she was not nearly loathe enough to note that with her new assignment, and the now intimate knowledge of his kiss, it was going to be more difficult than ever to avoid those lawless lips of his.

The atmosphere in the cab of Finn’s truck was strange. Stilted and silent and strange. She couldn’t take it anymore. She needed something to fill the void. Anything to distract her from the alluring Finn-smell and the cloak of fog hugging the windows as if hiding them away in their own cozy cocoon.

“That was my dad who called.”

“Okay. What’d he say?” His eyes flickered away from the road, and his hand came to rest over her anxiously knotted fingers.

She stared at the curious thing, inexplicably rough and gentle at the same time—kind of like his kiss. “Some photographer snapped a picture of us outside the firehouse the other day.”

She remembered the agony on his face, still wishing she knew what had caused it, and knowing that the captured moment could’ve been interpreted any number of ways by the media. The thought of his pain displayed on some trashy tabloid for the whole world to see made her insides ache.

Without thinking, she turned over his warm hand and threaded her fingers through his. “Anyway, they, uh, spun this story about ‘Trouble in paradise’ and ‘The Ice Princess drives another one away’ and something about you ‘Heating things up’ with another woman.” She shook her head, hating these intrusions into her life.

When her father had mentioned something about “another woman” it hadn’t registered in her kissed-senseless brain. But now, she remembered those words all too well and the familiar doubts crept back in.

“But we weren’t even fighting? That’s all ridiculous.”

“Doesn’t matter. My father is livid, and he insists we do damage control.”

Finn’s wagged his eyebrows, his grin downright wolfish. “I think I like where this is headed.”

Nothing could be done about her answering smile so she met his gaze and owned it. “I thought you might.”

“Sorry we’re late.” Finn hurried her through the door of Archer’s office. Not one for sentimentality, Archer’s professional space housed a commanding wooden desk, several tasteful and minimalist pieces of furniture, and two filing cabinets. There was a mess of papers tacked to one wall and a few stacks piled on the desk, but otherwise the space was clean, efficient. 

Archer looked more amused than irritated by the delay, and she could have sworn she saw Finn blush as he slumped into a chair in front of the desk.

Sal lifted his feet from their propped position on the boxy leather sofa and offered Joselyn a seat. When she sat he sidled over and draped his arm across the cushion. “How you holding up, sweetness?”

“I’m fine.”

Finn’s glare absorbed her and Sal’s proximity. Caveman.

“We did get some bad press though. That always stings. Honestly, I’ve never understood their interest. Makes no sense.”

Sal squeezed her in a side-hug. “You’re sensational, they just can’t help themselves.” He winked, stark white teeth flashed against tan skin in the form of a saucy grin. “You look amazing, by the way.”

Sal was an affectionate person. It was his nature, so Joselyn didn’t think anything of it. His time on her protective detail was making them fast friends.

And if that made Finn’s fists clench and a slight growl come from his general direction, well, he’d have to deal.

Then there was Archer. His crap-eating grin so wide Joselyn thought he might split a lip or burst into laughter at any moment. It would appear he and Sal had cooked up the little ruse to toy with Finn. She didn’t know why, exactly, nor why Finn was suddenly acting territorial, but it was pretty entertaining.

“Oh, you know what? You’ve got an eyelash.” Sal’s fingers brushed her cheek, his eyes flashing with secret amusement. “Your skin is like silk. Are you this soft all ov—”

“All right!” Finn erupted from his seat. “That … chair is really uncomfortable. Sal, switch me.”

Sal and Archer cut up with laughter, and Finn rolled his eyes, awaiting Sal’s removal from his new spot. “Can we start the meeting now?”

But before they could kick off, a woman popped her head in Archer’s office. “Hey, Archer. You got a sec?” Sal stiffened next to her with a jolt, making Joss take a closer look. Whoa. She was secure enough to admit that this woman, with caramel skin and vibrant amber-colored eyes, was—for lack of a better word—
arresting
.

Sal leapt from the couch like his pants were on fire. “I’ll get it.” He nearly tripped over his feet but was out the door before anyone could blink.

Still chuckling, Archer shook his head, wiping the corner of his eye. “That’s Candice, our new ME. Sal’s got it bad. The poor dope.”

Settling into Sal’s vacated spot, Finn’s thigh snuggled up against her leg and he leaned back, stretching his arm along the couch. Unlike Sal, Finn’s contact was like a lightning rod. The awareness was so painfully acute, and absurd, she could feel the faint exhale of his breath brushing her skin. The beat of his heart pulsing against her side.

“I guess we should get started.” Archer chimed into her thoughts, saving her from herself. “We sorted through the list of terminations from your father’s companies from the past several months. Not a small list. I didn’t know Whyte Enterprises had extended into so many different industries. I thought it was mainly manufacturing.”

“It started out that way. But when that took off he started buying up other companies and slapped his name on them. I’ve lost track—other than the factories, the cable company, the chemical plants, a few laboratories, distributors, and a small chain of luxury hotels.”

“Hotels, huh?” Finn nudged her leg with his. “I see perks in my future.”

“I’m sure once my father wins his precious campaign he’ll be overcome with gratitude and toss you something for your trouble.” She’d meant to joke, but as the words snowballed she was reminded that this was most likely a business transaction. Finn might be getting some big payout for pretending to like her.

Her spine went rigid.

“You two can plan your honeymoon later.” Archer grinned at Finn, but Joss couldn’t bring herself to look at him.

“Moving on. So far we’re looking at these thirteen out of several hundred employees that were fired or laid off the past few months. They were the most disgruntled of the bunch, and we have confirmed the whereabouts of most of the others that drew red flags from the bureau physiatrist. Wanted to see if any of them look familiar.” Crossing the room, Archer extended a file with eight-by-ten enlargements of old employee keycard photos from her father’s various companies.