Cozy looked up at Finn as everything began to make a small amount of sense. “You didn’t leave the night of our engagement party because you wanted to, did you?” she squeaked as tears filled her eyes.
Finn cupped her chin, his eyes warm. “Honey, I’ve loved you since I met up with you again in the middle of the cereal aisle two years ago. I’d have never left if I didn’t have to. But I had no choice. I took an oath and it was all hands on deck.”
“That’s true,” Pembroke confirmed, pulling off his black knit cap. “He didn’t have a choice, and I’m damn sorry for all the harm it’s caused, ma’am. We just didn’t realize it would go on for this long, but Finn here found a way in, and we had to take it.”
Finn held up a finger, his next words sarcastic. “Yeah, about that. Did you morons have to trash the farm? Ridge hates my guts right now, thank you very much.”
Pembroke barked a laugh, revealing a flash of perfectly straight white teeth. “We had to make it look real, didn’t we? We wanted everyone to think you’d left the farm in a mess and took off—it lent credibility to you running away.”
Cozy was just beginning to get the real picture. “So you went undercover to try and find out who this Executioner is?”
That explained why he went to jail so willingly. Sort of.
“I did. I hooked up with a group of people who had The List and pretended to want in on ‘the hunt’, as they call it. After we agreed to share the bounty, we got caught at some warlock’s house because I wanted us to get caught. I tripped the alarm accidentally on purpose. They got away, and I did the time. You know how it is with one of our kind—when we commit a crime, Baba takes over, wipes the local PD’s memory clean, and hauls us to jail.”
But Cozy was still confused. “So why didn’t you just tell Baba Yaga about this List and the Executioner rather than give yourself up like that?”
“Because whoever this Executioner is, he’s part of the council. He has to be. I’m convinced of it. Who else is privy to the kind of information he has? It made sense to at least investigate the possibility. Easiest way to do that is to become a prisoner, right?” But then Finn shook his dark head. “I was so damn sure there was a mole in the council…”
Then something else hit her. Like a punch to her gut. Remorse washed over her in a thick coat of guilt. “Oh, Finn… I can’t imagine how it must have felt to find out you had to come back here to Paris to finish your sentence.”
He cocked one of his infamous grins. “I welcomed it. It gave me the chance to see you and Ridge, didn’t it?”
She clutched at his soaking wet shirt, all the dreadful things she’d said coming back in waves. “But we were horrible to you, Finn.”
Oh, Jesus, they’d been horrible.
“Which is exactly what you should have been. Anyway, I needed some hardcore proof of who the Executioner was, honey. Baba doesn’t even know the Coven exists. If I was on the inside in the prison, the chances of finding out who the mole was were pretty damn good. Except, they weren’t that good. Whoever the bastard is, he’s better at this than we are.”
“Jesus,” Pembroke said on a huff of air. “Whoever’s funding this List is beyond good—and a son of a bitch. He kills anyone who’s unsuccessful on a hunt. Just wipes ‘em out, no remorse, no questions. But we have a lead on him now because of the bastard who tried to kill you. We’ll make him talk. Don’t you worry about that.”
“We originally thought the hit the other night at the senior center was for me,” Finn explained. “My intention while on parole here in Paris was to try to keep my cover and get back in touch with the guys I’d served time for—both humans, by the way. But somehow my cover was blown and they found out I was a warlock. I’m guessing the idiots I’d banded with found out because the Executioner, aka someone from the council, had me in prison for the very crime he’d offered up some big money to complete.”
“But the hit wasn’t for you,” she murmured, her stomach turning inside out.
Finn nodded, squeezing her hand. “I just found out tonight the hit wasn’t for me at all. It was meant for you, and if you’d have just kept your adorable backside inside the center, you wouldn’t look like your gorgeous face just hit the side of a building.”
Cozy began to shake again as a tear seeped out of her eye. “I heard that maniac, Finn. I knew something was wrong. How could I not try to do something?”
Finn closed his eyes and swallowed before opening them again and looking down at her. “I swear to Christ, Cozy, the second I saw you come out the door, I didn’t know what else to do but let him shoot me. He told me to keep my mouth shut and not say a word to you—”
“So you did what you do best, Donovan—opened that fat, smart mouth of yours, didn’t you?” Pembroke asked, slapping him on the back.
Finn looked at the man Cozy now guessed was his superior. “Damn straight, I did. Visibility was low out there from all the ice. I had to take the chance it would work in my favor if I positioned myself right.” He pointed to the bloody wound at his shoulder. “And I was right. He just nicked me. Clear shot through and through.”
Cozy’s mind finally accepted what was right in front of her eyes and horror washed over her. “Finn, we have to get someone to look at your shoulder—”
“Gentleman?” Baba Yaga called as she strolled into the kitchen.
She wore a glistening red dress that looked like it had come right off Joan Collins’s back and straight out of the show Dynasty, complete with shoulder pads. As beautiful and youthful as always for someone of her ancient age, she planted her hand on her hips, staring down the two men.
Austin and Finn both straightened. “Baba Yaga,” they said in sync, dropping their heads low.
“I want explanations, boys!”
As Cozy tried to wrap her brain around what had just happened, still shivering, she listened to Finn and Austin explain.
Baba finally spoke, her words tight with tension. “I assure you, there will be a thorough vetting of the council, and if I find the punk-ass bitch, he’ll never see the light of day again. Now tell me about this List. How did you find out about its existence? How did something so heinous come to be?”
“We were tipped off after Arwin Mayor was almost killed about a year ago,” Austin said.
Baba’s eyebrow rose, her eyes glittering. “Ah, Arwin. He has The Book of—” Baba stopped short, clearly unwilling to reveal what book was in Arwin’s possession.
Finn’s nod was sharp. “That’s him. We caught the fool who tried to take him out. Lucky for us, he had access to The List.”
“Where is he? Is he human or mortal?” Baba asked.
Austin’s lips went thin. “He was in our custody, ma’am, and I hate to say it, but he’s one of our own.”
“Did he suffer in your care?”
Austin’s chuckle was deep. “Well, I can tell you for sure, whipped peas would’ve tasted like a steak dinner to him when we got done.”
“And where is he now?”
Pembroke’s eyes shadowed. “They got to him before we could get anything else out of him.”
Baba didn’t even flinch when she asked, “And The List? How do we go about ensuring no one else is hurt until we can find our perpetrator?”
Austin held up his phone and showed Baba. “I think we may have found a break.”
“Good!” Baba said with a curt tone before her eyes went soft. “Now, no more of this for tonight. Cozy and Finn need a hot shower and some time alone. The rest we can cover after the holiday. I trust your men will look out for the two of them until we sort this out?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Austin muttered, tucking his phone back in his pocket.
On a deep breath, she approached Cozy with a gentle smile, gripping her hands in her warm fingers. “Sweet Cozy. I’m sorry for all the hurt this has caused you and Finn, but your boy’s a brave man and he’ll be rewarded—maybe a farm of his own? You too, of course, Austin. Only do me a favor, would you both, boys?”
; “Anything,” Pembroke said with obvious reverence, his voice low.
Baba’s eyebrow lifted before her next words exploded from her mouth. “Keep me in the damn loop next time! I might have been able to help spy on the council. Finn wouldn’t have had to spend four months in the hoosegow, eating my infamous whipped peas, if you’d trusted me with this secret group of yours. Of which I want to hear every detail. But not tonight. Tonight is for family and presents and singing carols. Now, I’m going to go enjoy Christmas Eve with my family. I suggest you all do the same. Especially the two of you,” she said on a wink and a grin at Cozy.
“Yes, ma’am,” Pembroke said again, taking the arm Baba offered him, leaving Cozy and Finn alone.
“Lemme look at your chin. You’ve got a pretty deep cut there, honey.”
But Cozy shook her head and set the coffee cup down on the stainless steel counter, looking up at Finn. “So I guess this means I can’t hate you anymore,” she said on a smile, taking a step closer to him. “I was getting so good at it, too.”
“Well, you could, but it would be pointless because what’s to hate about all this?” he asked, pointing to his soggy turtleneck with the matching belt.
Her throat threatened to close up as she fought tears she didn’t think she could hold back any longer. “I’m sorry, Finn. Oh, my God, I’m so, so sorry. I…I thought you’d abandoned me and none of it made any sense, but the longer you were gone, the worse it got and then… I said awful things to you. Awful,” she said on a sob.
Finn grabbed her fingers and smiled down at her. “You were supposed to think that, darlin’. The Coven is a top-secret organization designed to protect our community. By the time we met and got engaged, things had been pretty quiet. I was just about to ask for a discharge when this List thing went live. We were at DEFCON. I had no choice.”
Tears fell from her eyes and she bit back a sob. “But I feel like I should have known better. Known you better.”
“It’s okay, honey. Really.”
She squeezed his fingers as a slew of angry, sad, fearful months lifted off her shoulders. “So you were going to ask to leave the Coven because of me?”
He pulled her fingers to his lips, brushing them against his mouth. “Yep. It’s not exactly marriage and family oriented. When I joined, I was a single guy. But after I met you, I knew the time would come when I’d want out. I just wasn’t quick enough.”
A grin began to poke at her lips. “Wow. You really nailed the whole deserter thing.”
Finn nodded and grinned back. “And I’m here to tell you, next recital you have, I get the starring role for pulling that off.”
“No kidding. You were like all Bradley Cooper-ish in American Sniper.”
“Ya think? I felt the pull of Pitt in Meet Joe Black, personally.”
She slid in even closer, leaving them but inches apart. “Oh, good point. Poignant yet humorous.”
Then quite suddenly, the vibe turned serious. “I’m sorry, Cozy. I’m sorry I ruined our engagement party. I’m sorry you were so hurt all this time. There were a million and one times I wanted to just throw in the towel and call you—tell you everything, but I took an oath. One I take very seriously. So when I finally got the chance to come back, I grabbed it, knowing I was coming back to a lot of hate. I figured I’d work out the details once I was here. I never expected to find out you were on The List.”
Her heart thrashed inside her chest. All the blame, all the months of anguish melted away. Finn was as honorable and kind as she’d always thought. But there was just one more small thing.
“So the blonde in Galveston?”
Finn chuckled, his eyes sparkling. “A plant. We got word someone from Paris was at the bar, and we needed to reinforce my douchebaggery to you and everyone else here in town. We knew Freemont would come back and tell you—it was the perfect way to cement my shitty behavior. And I only did it because I didn’t know how long I’d be in the field. It was killing me, but I didn’t want you to sit up nights and wonder if I was dead or alive anymore.”
“The rumor was she had big, poofy lips.”
“She had big, poofy everything. So you know what I did?”
“What did you do?” she asked, her voice hitching.
“I closed my eyes and pretended she was you.”
A thrill shot straight to her chest, but then she sobered. “So what happens next? Where do we go from here?”
Finn’s beautiful face went serious. “Well, I’m hoping you still love—”
Cozy threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him soundly, relishing the warmth of his lips and the security of his embrace as his arms held her close.
“Yes!” she murmured when she tore her mouth from his. “Yes, I still love you. Yes, yes, yes.”
There was a roar of cheers as Winnie and Calla and the seniors all piled into the kitchen, bringing more warm towels and plates brimming with food.
And as they gathered her and Finn into hug after hug, Cozy squeezed her eyes shut and sent up a silent thank you to the falling star she’d wished upon just a few nights ago.
She’d gotten her Christmas wish in spades.
Sometimes, wishes really did come true.
Christmas Day
“ATCHOO!” COZY LOOKED up with guilty eyes from behind her umpteenth tissue and winced. “Sorry, Ridge,” she apologized for interrupting his speech as Finn fussed with the front of her sweater to be sure she was warm enough.
The storm from the night before had turned Paris into an icy winter wonderland. Tree limbs draped almost to the ground, heavy from the new thick coats they wore, streets looked like sheets of glass, and the sky, just now turning purple with the coming of night, left everything beneath it with a dream-like glow.
Ridge laughed at Cozy and held up his glass as he looked around the enormous table they’d set up in Winnie and Ben’s dining room so they could all share Christmas dinner together.
Everyone had decided to turn this Christmas dinner into a celebration of Finn’s return home, each of them bringing the dishes they’d planned for their holiday meals to incorporate one big bash.
Ridge’s fiancée Bernie, the seniors, Baba Yaga, Daphne and Fate, Greta, Calla and her husband Nash, and assorted children and grandchildren sat at the table and the smaller surrounding tables, as they, too, raised a glass to Finn.
Jorge sat at her feet, happily gnawing on the ham bone the women from the knitting club had wrapped and given him.
Ridge cleared his throat and looked at his brother, his eyes glassy. “I won’t keep you lot from the spread for long, but it’s damn good to have you home, brother. It’s the best Christmas present I could have asked for, bar none. The damn best. Merry Christmas, y’all!”
Glasses clinked, music played and the feast began. The tables were heavy with hams and turkeys, stuffing and luscious white mounds of mashed potatoes, as tray after tray of rolls and thickly sliced bread passed before her eyes.
But Cozy wasn’t as interested in the food. In fact, most of it was a blur, partially due to the fact that Nyquil packed quite a lingering punch. But mostly, it was due to the fact that she was actually sitting beside the love of her life again.
And he was safe, and still as in love with her as she was with him.
Letting her head rest on Finn’s shoulder, she sighed, unbelievably content to be with the people she loved so much, wincing a little when her sore chin grazed his shirt. She looked exactly like Finn had described—as though she’d hit a brick wall with her face.
Her chin was all shades of purple and yellow, and had a swollen lump right in the center—but she hadn’t ended up needing stitches—and her hands were scraped up, as well as the soles of her feet.
“Honey? I wish you’d eat something. You know, feed a cold?” Finn said, dropping a slice of turkey breast to her plate.
“I can’t believe I caught a cold. What kind of weak-ass ninja am I?”
“Even ninjas who threaten to take out the b
ad guy’s eyeballs and save the loves of their lives are fallible, sweetheart,” he teased, planting a kiss on her really red nose.
Cozy frowned. “How’s your shoulder?”
“Nothing some aspirin and you naked won’t cure.”
She chuckled and tilted her stuffy head up to look at him—she’d never be able to get enough of seeing him again. “Did I tell you today that I’m crazy about you, Finn Donovan, and I can’t wait to be your wife?”
“Whoa, whoa, Ninja. Slow your roll. I don’t recall anything about a wife. I think I said I’d live in sin with you, didn’t I? I’m pretty sure that’s what I said.”
“Hah! You only wish I’d taken that much Nyquil, buddy.”
Last night, once everything had settled down and explanations had been handed out, Finn had taken her home and put her in a hot shower while he changed Jorge’s diaper and made her some hot tea.
Afterward, as they sat on her couch, the soft strains of holiday music playing, they’d talked for hours, catching up, kissing, and catching up some more. It was the perfect Christmas Eve, just she and Finn and Jorge, together—finally.
And later they’d made love, and he’d held her close and confessed to her how he’d suffered losing her. How much he loved her. How he’d do whatever it took to help them find their way back to each other again.
And it was bliss—perfection, snuggled against the strong length of his body and falling fast asleep while the ice pelted her apartment’s windows and his heartbeat lulled her off to sleep.
This morning, after Pembroke had reassured him they were very close to finding the Executioner, Finn had talked long with Ridge while Bernie pumped her full of aspirin, orange juice and scrambled eggs, and the brothers made peace with one another just before they’d headed off to Winnie and Ben’s.
Alphas Unwrapped: 21 New Steamy Paranormal Tales of Shifters, Vampires, Werewolves, Dragons, Witches, Angels, Demons, Fey, and More Page 47
