EPILOGUE
She couldn’t breathe even after they walked out of the courthouse, uncomfortable in a borrowed skirt suit and other clothes that were probably more expensive than anything she’d ever owned. Lauren concentrated on not toppling over like a baby deer in the high-heeled shoes that apparently went with the suit, and gripped Finn’s hand so hard she lost feeling in her fingers.
He squeezed back, apparently undisturbed by her trying to crush his joints, and leaned closer to whisper, “You did good.”
The tall, perpetually annoyed-looking lawyer who apparently worked for Grumpy Simon and agreed to represent her against his better judgment grunted. “It’s a good outcome. Although next time, you should just disclose your working relationshipsbeforeyou jump bail, Ms. Tucker.”
Finn cleared his throat and the lawyer rolled his eyes, pulling a set of papers from his leather case. “My apologies.Mrs. Bordelon. Try not to commit any felonies, either of you.”
With that, he turned and strode off, already talking on his cell phone. Lauren would have squealed if she hadn’t been too stunned to both walk and process information at the same time. Talking was completely beyond her ability.
Finn looked a little sheepish as he held up the papers. “I had him do the name change, since you said… You did want to change your name, right? I thought that was what you said, but you were hollerin’ a lot and you just kept telling me to go back to…”
He laughed when she smacked his shoulder, her face burning with embarrassment as he came perilously close to just announcing that he liked to ask her random things in the middle of all sorts of sexy activities. Apparently she’d startled him before with questions so he decided turnabout was fair play, and chose the moment right before she came to ask her important things. Especially since she’d agree to anything if it meant he wouldn’t stop whatever it was he’d been doing to make her all limp and sweaty in the first place.
She would have given him a piece of her mind—quietly, though, so no one would overhear—when a rough voice said, “Well, aren’t you two a sight.”
Lauren froze, every inch of her going cold. Shotgun.
Finn tensed but it didn’t show in his face. “Glad to see you filed the right paperwork. Good thing we got all that cleared up.”
The shorter man’s lip curled briefly, before going back to smiling benignly. He looked even more out of place than she felt in a suit and tie, although a bulge on one side of his belt made it clear he still carried a firearm. Even more frightening than him on his own. Lauren didn’t dare look away, although she definitely didn’t want to meet his cruel gaze.
“Yeah. Now hold up your end of the deal.”
Lauren’s heart beat faster. Finn had a plan, or at least an idea how to deal with the man he’d known for years, but she didn’t trust Shotgun not to have some kind of double cross planned. Like he would give a signal and it would all go away and a bunch of his scary cops would run out to handcuff her and drag her off to jail again for trying to blackmail him. At least the lawyer wasconfident all the charges against her had actually been dropped, and there wasn’t anything irregular that concerned him. It didn’t meant Shotgun wouldn’t come up with new charges, even though Finn didn’t think it was likely.
“…just like I told you.”
Her attention snapped back to reality as Finn squeezed her hand, and she realized he’d been talking the whole time she envisioned a worst-case scenario. Shotgun’s eyes narrowed and he folded his arms over his chest, but he didn’t shout curses at them. He sucked on his teeth and scowled as he looked away, then back at the two of them. Lauren’s hand trembled as she brushed the hair out of her face, and his attention snapped to her fingers.
“You’ve gotta be shitting me.” Shotgun rolled his eyes as he gestured at Finn’s left hand, busy holding hers but still visible. “Fucking married? Jesus Tap-dancing Christ, you’re the lamest fucker…”
Finn didn’t even release her hand as he drew his right arm back and punched the other man so hard he fell backward like in the cartoons, landing with a thump on the ground. She stared, clapping both hands over her mouth, and whipped around to look at Finn. “You’re going to get arrested.”
“No, I’m not,” he said under his breath. He picked Shotgun up by the front of his shirt, setting the other man on his feet and growling some kind of warning so low Lauren couldn’t hear. Whatever he said, it left Shotgun pale and apparently not caring about the blood gushing from his nose.
Another dude showed up out of nowhere, walking aggressively like he was going to make a big deal out of it, and Lauren braced for the rest of the day to go to hell. At least she had the lawyer’s phone number in the fancy smart phone Finn got her, to call him back to help. He would be able to get therequickly, and apparently Kira and Ethan were having lunch in a cafe nearby, so she could call for their help too, and…
She blinked as Finn said cheerfully, “Go fuck yourself, buddy,” as the new guy helped Shotgun stand up on his own.
Shotgun blew his nose into a handkerchief, leaving a bloody gross mess, and focused on Finn through watery eyes. “What the fuck are you wearing?”
The chain around his neck had slipped from under his shirt, the pendant visible as the sunlight caught it. Lauren’s cheeks burned. Just because she’d made the joke, Finn went all in. But that didn’t mean he’d want anyone else to know what it meant. She wouldn’t take it personally.
“LTB,” Finn said calmly. He even held up the pendant shaped like a bear paw so the other man got a good look.
“What the fuck does that stand for?” The new man didn’t seem even half as friendly as Shotgun, which wasn’t that much to start with. “Loser Tripping Balls?”
“Clever,” Finn said. “But no.”
“My initials,” she blurted out, so at least he wouldn’t have to lie. “Lauren Tucker Bordelon.”
It worked out better than she thought at first.
Shotgun made a fake gagging noise, although it could have been genuine as he dealt with his bloody nose. Finn put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, saying calmly, “Also stands for Lauren’s Teddy Bear. Now fuck off, you jealous assholes.”
“You’re lucky I don’t put your stupid ass in jail,” Shotgun muttered, then turned and stormed off. His little buddy followed on his heels, although he paused long enough to flip them off over his shoulder.
