Finn stood in front of the brick building that housed Gretchen and the group she was working with to bring his entire world crashing down. As he stared at the tall building, he couldn’t help but think how perfectly it fit the woman he had fallen in love with. From the outside it looked like any other building, there was no way of knowing it held so many secrets and power, like Gretchen, who seemed to everyone at the club to be no more than a dancer who had been able to sleep her way into Finn’s good graces. They had no way of knowing what she could do to all of them, or what she had already done to him.
He took a deep breath and pushed through the large glass doors, following the signs to the elevator. He exited on the third floor, as his sources had reported he should. He stood, taking in the gray cubicles and the sterile walls. He tried to picture Gretchen working here, interacting with these people on a daily basis, but he couldn’t make the picture of her laughing as she lie beside him in bed fit into this place.
“Is there something I can help you with?”
He turned, coming face-to-face with Gretchen’s partner. He could see the immediate recognition in the other man’s eyes, and they stood for a moment, sizing each other up.
Finn felt his jaw clench instinctively, though he had believed Gretchen when she said there was nothing romantic between them, there was a possessiveness to the way the man eyed him that made him want nothing more than to get his hands on him.
“I’m looking for Benjamin Carpenter,” Finn managed through clenched teeth.
The other man nodded, meeting his cool gray eyes.
“Neil Anderson.” He held out a hand to Finn.
He considered not taking the hand, but he reminded himself that this man was someone very important to Gretchen and her safety.
“They call me Finn,” he finally conceded, shaking Neil’s hand.
Neil’s eyes narrowed before he nodded and motioned for Finn to follow him.
“You have a last name?” Neil asked as they rounded the corner, walking down a row of cubicles toward an actual office.
The corner of his mouth turned up mockingly and he shook his head.
“I’m like Cher,” he told him and watched as the other man’s brown eyes darkened.
Neil knocked on the door of the office, opening it quickly when he heard the call to come in.
“You have a visitor.” There was just a hint of disgust in his voice and he made no move to get out of Finn’s way.
Benjamin Carpenter looked around Neil and, spotting Finn, smiled slowly.
“Let him in.” Carpenter leaned back in his desk chair.
Neil stepped away so Finn could enter the room.
“Thank you,” Carpenter told Neil when he didn’t move. “I’ll let you know if we need anything.”
Finn turned just in time to see the vengeful look Neil shot him before he disappeared, closing the door behind him.
“Jay Finley,” Carpenter murmured. He came forward now and rested his forearms on his desk. “What brings you to see me?”
“I’m about to make your fucking day,” Finn answered and made himself at home.
* * * * *
Gretchen approached her desk, trying to keep her head down as much as possible to avoid the questions she knew everyone would have about the bruises still healing on her face. She had called her captain soon after the attack, but hadn’t talked to Neil or anyone else. She slid into her seat, quickly opening her laptop and letting her long blonde hair fall over her cheek. She was more determined than ever to bring Ronnie Sinclair down, and she was certain that while she didn’t have all of the necessary information to do that at present, she wasn’t far from it.
“Hey, Gretchen, you know that…” Neil stopped when, without thinking, Gretchen looked up at him, and he took in the bruises around her eyes and jaw.
“What the hell?” he demanded, stepping forward and pushing his way behind her desk.
He made a move to grab for her, and she flinched, her sore body reacting instinctively.
“Who did this?” he asked, his voice was barely a whisper, but the venom was clearly evident to Gretchen.
She shook her head and backed slightly away.
“That guy from the club?” Gretchen knew that he was referring to Finn. She shook her head no, but he wasn’t convinced.
“Did he do this because you took me back to your room?”
She shook her head again, but she was sure the cocktail of emotions on her battered face were only fueling his anger.
“Jesus,” Neil cursed and stormed out of her cubicle toward the captain’s office.
Gretchen watched him push through the door, slamming it behind him. She thought about following him but decided to let Carpenter explain things to him. There was no way she was going to let Neil use this as a reason to pull her off the case.
* * * * *
Finn turned slightly at the sound of the door slamming behind him. He took a fist to the face with only a slight jerk of his head before he was on his feet facing Neil.
“I’ll fucking kill you,” Neil yelled, lunging for him.
“You’re welcome to try,” Finn dared, easily batting the other man away before lifting his own fists.
“You son of a bitch,” Neil spat. “I saw what you did to her.”
“Who?” Carpenter asked, finally stepping between the two men. “What are you talking about, Anderson?”
“Gretchen,” Neil told him without taking his eyes from Finn’s. “He beat the hell out of her, her face…” His voice faltered, but the fire in his eyes didn’t die down.
Carpenter turned slightly and met Finn’s cool gray eyes. Finn shrugged, the captain knew what happened, but Finn wouldn’t explain things to Neil.
“I’ll fu—” Neil lunged for him, but Finn had pushed past the captain and had the other man against the wall with his large hands around his neck.
“Don’t make idle threats, boy,” Finn threatened through clenched teeth. “Because I make assurances, and I can assure you that anyone who touches Gretchen dies…” he paused for a moment before adding, “anyone.”
“Let him go,” Carpenter said behind him, but Finn didn’t move. The rage inside him at the memory of how Gretchen had looked with the makeup washed away was too much for him just to let go.
“Finn,” Carpenter said more calmly. “He’s her partner; he was just looking out for her, same as you.”
“No.” Finn shook his head, squeezing for a moment just a bit harder on the other man’s throat. “Not the same as me. Understand that, partner, you’ll never be the same as me.” He locked eyes with Gretchen’s partner, aware of what that had meant once, but also wanting to make clear that it would never be the case again. He gave one final shove before stepping slightly back. He was impressed when Neil stood and met his eyes coldly, despite the pain obvious in his gaze.
“Where is she?” Carpenter’s voice cut through the thick air of tension growing between the two men.
Neil glanced toward his captain, but Finn could tell he was reluctant to drop his gaze.
“She was at her desk. I don’t know.”
Carpenter nodded and turned his attention to Finn.
“You better get out of here,” he told him. “I can’t have her seeing you here. She’s going to be angry enough at me without knowing you’re a part of this now.”
He spoke to Neil, and Finn watched with disdain. “I guess we might as well fill you in so you can help babysit.”
Finn flinched a little, and Neil met his eyes with a smirk.
“Just remember what I said about people who touch her,” Finn reminded him. “I don’t discriminate much between the types of touch.”