Free Because of You by T. E. Sivec Page B

standing a few feet away from Finn, dressed in black nylon Nike shorts, a pair of running shoes, and an old AC/DC concert T-shirt that's just tight enough to show off all of the contours of his sculpted chest, and the short sleeves put his muscular arms on display.
    “Thanks, but I’ve already got Finn here with me.” I try not to stare at his strong arms or the hint of a tattoo peeking out from under the edge of one of his shirt sleeves, instantly curious about what it is, in spite of my irritation with him.
    “Yeah, we’re good here. This is our routine when we’re home. We’ve been doing just fine on our own without some stranger sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong,” Finn arrogantly tells Brady.
    “That may have been fine in the past, but sticking with the same routine is what gets people killed,” Brady states as he walks closer to Finn, getting in his face.
    “Are you trying to tell me I don’t know how to do my job?” Finn asks him heatedly, his hands clenched into fists at his sides with barely concealed rage.
    Brady casually crosses his arms in front of his chest and uses the two inches he has on Finn to stare down at him, subtly trying to tell him that he could probably kick his ass without even blinking.
    “I’m trying to tell you that your relationship with Layla might be clouding your judgment when it comes to protecting her.”
    The way Brady spits out relationship proves that he’s done his research, at least as far as the tabloids go. For years they’ve hinted at an affair between Finn and I. Of course Eve made it known that we shouldn’t disparage those rumors. Any press is good press and all that bullshit.
    “You’re a real piece of work, you know that!” Finn shouts.
    I grab onto his arm and pull him back towards me. I’ve never seen him so worked up like this. His body is practically vibrating with fury. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, even if I do think the ex-Navy SEAL standing in front of us could use a good punch in the face right about now to wipe that smug look off of it.
    “Alright, that’s enough. Both of you. If you guys are through with your pissing contest, I’d like to get started on my run.”
    I let my eyes shift back and forth between them, putting my hands on my hips to let them know I'm not in the mood for their nonsense. I understand that Finn feels like an outsider is poaching on his territory and trying to tell him how to do his job, but he needs to cool down. For all we know, Brady is going to run to the tabloids himself and let them know Finn has anger management issues.
    “Finn, why don’t you head back to the cabin and make sure the guys installing the new alarm system don’t screw everything up,” I suggest to him softly.
    I don’t want to push Finn away, but he needs to take a step back for a minute. The longer he stays here, the worse it’s going to get between him and Brady. I can already tell Brady isn’t the type of person to listen to orders from anyone. There’s no way he’s going to be the first one to leave. Plus, it will give me a chance to find out what the hell he’s really doing here.
    Finn whips his head around to stare at me, his eyes wide with hurt and disbelief.
    “So it’s going to be like that, huh?” he asks me angrily. “Fine. You two have a great run.”
    Before I can say anything to convince him that I’m not doing this to purposefully hurt him, he’s already stalked off and disappeared around the bend.
    Brady chuckles and I turn to face him.
    “Oh, that’s nice. It’s good you can see the humor in a situation that isn’t funny at all,” I angrily tell him.
    “Sweetheart, that guy is one argument away from blowing someone’s head off with his side arm. Sue me if I think it’s a riot that you’ve put all your trust in someone like that and think I’m the bad guy.”
    Until now, I haven’t seen or spoken to Brady since right before the concert when I handed him the list he asked for of people who