Totally His Read online

  Finn glanced down at his script. “I don’t care about that. I need you.”

  She laughed humorlessly. “You need me? You can’t even tell your friends about me.”

  He grabbed her again. “I’ll work it out. Give me a chance, Angel.”

  “You had your chance.” She tried to pull from his grip, but he held tight and turned her, starting to walk her back to the fake wall.

  “Faster, Finn,” Angie said. “You’re upset. You’re not escorting her. You’re forcing her.”

  Finn dropped his hold on Sophie and looked at his mom. “Yeah, okay.”

  Angie gave him a look. She’d said she knew he would need more time with this scene. “Again,” she said.

  They went over it three more times, and by the time Finn got Sophie against the wall the fourth time and pinned her hands over her head as directed, he was wound tight. Pinning Sophie’s hands over her head was not something he would ever do…unless he was about to kiss her, and strip her down, and then hold her there while he thrust deep and hard and—

  “I think that’s enough for tonight.”

  His mother’s voice broke into his thoughts, and he realized he had Sophie pinned to the wall quite effectively. And she was staring up at him with heat in her eyes, her breaths coming fast, the pulse in her wrist hammering under his thumb.

  “Yeah, okay,” he breathed. He let Sophie go and stepped back.

  “Stay after,” she said quietly. “We can work on this some more without your mom.”

  He nodded. He didn’t know if she was actually offering more rehearsal or if she was thinking about a different take on the against-the-wall thing too, but he would stay after. No problem at all.

  The three of them chatted about a few other points in the upcoming scenes with Angel and Tony, and then Finn walked his mom to her car.

  “Are you okay?” she asked him as he opened the door for her.

  “Yeah,” he said. “This acting thing is just new.”

  “I knew that scene would be hard for you.”

  “Being aggressive with Sophie like that is hard,” he admitted. He saw a lot of domestic assault in his line of work, and it always got to him. How people could do some of the things they did to people they claimed to love was beyond him. Even as crazy as his family drove him sometimes, he couldn’t imagine getting truly physical while angry with any of them. He and his brother and cousins had wrestled and shoved, of course. The guys still punched each other in the arm once in a while. And two of his aunts would smack the backs of their heads if they swore at the dinner table. His family was physical, but it was always controlled and never motivated by anger.

  “That’s not it,” Angie said.

  “It’s…not?”

  “It’s because those are some really intense emotions in that scene, and you’re not good at public displays of emotion. And that’s because of your dad.”

  Finn opened his mouth to respond and realized he hadn’t been expecting that at all. “What do you mean?”

  “Your dad was a really physical guy,” Angie said. “He threw you boys up in the air, he swatted your butts when you misbehaved, he picked me up and swung me around the kitchen, and sometimes he backed me up against the wall when he was angry.”

  Finn blinked at her. Something niggled in the back of his mind, but he couldn’t quite put a finger on it. “I remember Dad was a big guy and he filled up a room whenever he came in. He had a deep voice and a loud laugh.”

  And he did remember that same voice yelling at times. But he didn’t remember his dad being aggressive with his kids or wife.

  “He was big and loud, just like his family,” Angie said. “When he was happy you knew it, and when he was angry you knew it.”

  Finn frowned. “He never hit you, did he?”

  Angie should her head quickly. “No, no, nothing like that. And I wasn’t afraid of him. Your dad worked and laughed and yelled and loved the same way—with everything he had. He was an open book. You always knew exactly what he thought and felt and stood for. You remind me of him that way.”

  “Really?” Finn thought about that. People had always told him he was like his father, but he’d assumed it was in looks and build and his mile-wide protective streak and his love for his family.

  “You’re not loud and physical like him,” she said. “But you are steady and strong and do everything with your whole heart.”

  “And you think I avoid being loud and physical because that traumatized me when I was little?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know that you were traumatized, exactly. But I don’t think you liked how…he took everything over. When your dad was around, it was hard to focus on anyone else. You like giving everyone a chance to shine.”

  “I do?” Finn felt the corner of his mouth curl up. He’d never really considered all of that.

  “It’s like you and Colin each took half of him to emulate after he was gone,” Angie said with a smile. “Your brother is the outgoing, make-everyone-laugh, soak-up-the-spotlight clown. You’re the rock, the one that never wavers in what is right, the one that puts all you have into things, and the one that builds everyone else up. And you’ve let Colin have that spotlight and be that guy.”

  Finn shook his head. It was true that Colin was the joker and the charmer, but Finn hadn’t ever thought about letting Colin be that guy. “You think that because Dad always took over a room and no one else got a chance, I hang back?”

  She nodded. “I do.”

  “But I took the part of Tony away from him,” Finn pointed out.

  “Yeah. That says a lot about how you feel about Sophie, don’t you think?” Angie asked.

  It did? Finn cleared his throat. “Maybe it just means I’m not such a giving guy after all.”

  “You are,” Angie said. “Which is why I brought all of this up. You’re one of the stars. You have to step up and take that spotlight for yourself, Finn. You’re going to want to hold back and let Sophie be the center of it all, but…” Angie frowned slightly.

  “But what?”

  “I just realized—I’ve been thinking that you and Sophie are so opposite, but really, you have this in common.”

  “We have what in common?”

  “You both want other people to feel special and to have their shot. That’s her whole purpose at this theater,” Angie said. “So she’s going to try to make this show about you and you’re going to try to make this show about her and…you both have to be willing to take center stage. Together.”

  Finn felt his heart thump in his chest. “Okay,” he finally said. “I get it.”

  Angie touched his cheek. “Yeah, I think you do.”

  Finn watched until she drove off and then started back for the theater. He was about ten yards from the front doors when he suddenly saw movement in the shadow by the corner of the building. There was a man there one moment, and the next he’d ducked down the side of the building, taking the same route Sophie had taken the night of the fire.

  Finn frowned and headed in that direction. It could be someone just cutting through to the next street, but there was a back door to the studio, and he had no idea if Sophie was as inconsistent about locking that one as she was about locking the front. He’d just make a quick check.

  But as he rounded the corner, he saw the man at the back door of the theater. Finn picked up his pace, automatically feeling for his gun and then cursing when he remembered he was a civilian tonight and his gun was locked up in the back of his truck. He jogged the remaining thirty feet as the door shut behind the man. He was now inside the theater, and Sophie was in there alone. Finn’s heart pounded, and he willed his adrenaline to slow. He couldn’t panic just because this was Sophie. He was the rock. His mom had just said so. Though he hadn’t been acting or feeling very rock steady since he’d met Sophie. He’d been acting very out of character, as a matter of fact.

  Finn tried the knob and was surprised to find the door locked. Had the guy jimmied the lock? Had the d
oor been unlocked but he’d locked it once inside? Finn didn’t know or care. He ran to the front of the theater and burst through the door, making a beeline for the costume shop.

  “Finn!” Sophie was just outside the inner theater doors.

  “Stay here!” he told her, sprinting across the lobby.

  “What is—”

  Finn ripped the door to the costume shop open but found the room empty. He spun and looked up and down the hallway. He heard a noise in the greenroom and lunged for that door. He shoved it open and found a man with his jacket half-on and half-off staring at him from the middle of the room.

  Finn advanced on him quickly, grabbed him by the front of his shirt, and backed him up to the wall. “You’re under arrest for trespassing,” Finn told him, his nose centimeters from the man’s, adrenaline-filled blood pumping through his body.

  “Who the fuck are you?” the man asked, grabbing Finn’s wrists.

  Finn shook his slightly. “You don’t get to ask questions.”

  “Just what in the hell—”

  “Frank!” Sophie exclaimed a moment later. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Me? This asshole burst in here like a lunatic,” the man said, looking over Finn’s shoulder. “A friend of yours?”

  “Yes.” Sophie stalked to them and put a hand on Finn’s shoulder. “You can let him go.”

  Finn looked from her to the man and back. “You know him?”

  She sighed. “Unfortunately.”

  “I’m Frank,” the man said. “Birch. I’m Sophia’s dad.”

  It took a moment for his words to sink in, but when they did, Finn let go of him quickly, stepped back, and let out a long, slow breath. Well, fuck.

  “Frank, this is Finn. He’s the lead in our new show.”

  Her dad. The potential arsonist. The guy who had made Sophie sleep in a car as a kid. Finn clenched a fist, remembering the things she’d confessed to him about her childhood. He definitely wanted to grab the front of Frank’s shirt again. He made himself breathe.

  “Frank,” he finally managed tightly, “I didn’t realize you might…stop by.” He hadn’t known how much Frank was in Sophie’s life at all, actually.

  “You’re the new bouncer around here?” Frank asked, smoothing the front of his shirt.

  “No, I saw you come in the back door and knew Sophie was in here alone. I didn’t think she was expecting anyone else, and I…”

  “Came to her rescue.” Frank gave him a grin. “I’m always happy to know my little girl has people looking out for her.”

  “Finn’s here to work on one of the scenes in the play,” Sophie said, a firmness in her voice that made Finn lift an eyebrow.

  “Oh sure, that’s fine.” Frank eyed Finn. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.”

  Finn gave him a short nod. “I’m sorry for the confusion.” He wasn’t sorry he’d shoved Frank around a little, though, and he should probably feel bad about that.

  “Well, it certainly makes this father’s heart feel better knowing you’re here,” Frank said.

  “I’m definitely here for Sophie.”

  Sophie cleared her throat. “We’re lucky to have Finn in the lead. But I’m sure you’re not interested in all of this, Frank,” she said. “We’ll just head back into the theater and leave you alone.”

  “Oh no, I don’t want to interrupt. You’ve got…work to do.”

  Frank shrugged back into his jacket as Finn wondered if he’d imagined Frank pausing before the word work.

  “I’m going to head out and get something to eat,” he told them. “I’ll be back later. Probably a lot later.”

  He definitely hadn’t imagined Frank’s emphasis on a lot.

  Finn had the urge to stall the man. Not because he wanted Frank’s company, but because Finn knew he had a hell of an instinct. Fifteen minutes with Frank, and Finn would have a definite feel for whether Sophie’s dad had set the fire. It also wouldn’t hurt for Frank to know that Finn absolutely wasn’t going anywhere and that Sophie would never, ever be without a safe place to sleep again.

  Which was crazy. Sophie was a grown woman. She could, obviously, take care of herself. Still, Finn had a definite itch to let Frank know that Sophie was well protected.

  “Frank.” It sounded like Sophie was talking through gritted teeth. “You don’t have to do that.”

  “Yeah, no need to rush off,” Finn added, watching Frank carefully.

  “It’s fine,” Frank said, moving toward the door. “I’m out.”

  Finn couldn’t actually detain the man, and he didn’t have any reason to question him directly about the fire. Chuck had already done that. But he did say, “What do you think of the new show idea, Frank?”

  Frank turned back. “The show?”

  Sophie had said that Frank wasn’t involved in or interested in the theater. But he was sleeping here. Which meant he probably didn’t have any intention of trying to burn it down again until he had somewhere else to stay. But that was small consolation. The guy had full access to the place. If he wanted to torch it, he had ample opportunity. But surely he knew that he’d be suspect number one?

  Finn didn’t like that he was staying here, but it really wasn’t because of the fire. It was about Sophie. Finn really didn’t like having Frank this close to her so much of the time.

  “Yeah,” Finn said, putting a friendly note into his voice that he didn’t feel. “What do you think about putting firefighters and cops up onstage to raise money for a theater that caught fire?”

  Frank smiled widely. “I think it’s great.”

  “You do?”

  “Sure. Should bring in a ton of cash, don’t you think?”

  Right. The money. Sophie had told him that Frank needed money. So even if he had set the fire, maybe the show was enough to postpone another attempt. That way Frank could get half of the box office and the insurance money if another fire occurred after the show was over. “I do think so,” Finn agreed. “I think it’s going to be huge.”

  “Well, maybe not huge,” Sophie said. “Maybe a little bigger than a regular show around here.”

  No, Finn wanted Frank thinking the show could have a big payoff, so he’d keep his matches in his pocket. His alleged matches, Finn corrected himself. He didn’t know that Frank had done anything but be a terrible father. But Finn’s feelings on that subject were not making him forgiving toward the man in general. “Mom said that we’re nearly sold out for the first show already,” Finn said.

  Sophie chuckled lightly. “Mostly your fellow cops and firefighters wanting to come see you guys onstage.”

  Finn groaned. Yeah, he should have known.

  “I have high hopes for the whole thing,” Frank said. “Can’t wait to see it myself.”

  “You bought a ticket?” Sophie asked drily.

  Frank gave her a wink. “I just went into the computer and reserved my favorite seat.” He grinned at Finn. “Should be some perks to owning the joint, right?”

  “You got into the computer?” Sophie asked, before Finn could respond.

  Frank nodded. “I have the back row, center seat, for all of the performances.” He started for the door again. “And now I’m starving. I’ll see you kids later.”

  So Frank had access to the computer. Finn filed that information away.

  “Oh, hey, Finn,” Frank said, turning back. “I don’t suppose you have twenty bucks? I’m gonna grab a pizza but I’m a little short.”

  “Frank,” Sophie protested.

  But Finn reached for his wallet. His choices were being friendly with Frank and hoping that sometime the guy might relax and spill some important information or beating the shit out of him for ever hurting Sophie. Finn went with friendly. This time. “Sure thing.” He pulled out two tens and handed them over.

  Frank gave him a bright smile, and Finn suddenly saw the resemblance between Frank and his daughter. “Thanks. You’re a good man.” Frank gave him a salute, and then he was across the room and out the door before
anyone could say anything else.

  Sophie made a soft growling noise.

  Finn looked around the room and took in as many details as he could. “How long’s he been staying here?”

  She nodded, looked resigned. “Only a few days. And it’s temporary. I am so sorry that he asked you for money. That was…” She sighed. “Totally him.”

  “Not a big deal.”

  “But it is.” She looked frustrated.

  He crossed to where she stood. “It’s twenty bucks, Sophie.”

  “But he doesn’t need it. And he knew, within just a few minutes of meeting you, that you’d give it.”

  Finn frowned. “What am I missing?”

  She lifted her chin and met his eyes. “He was testing you.”

  That tweaked Finn’s cop instinct too. Was Frank here trying to get a feel for the investigation? Or here to cover something up? Or was he kissing up to the cops and firefighters in his daughter’s new show, hoping for a friend to vouch for him if he found himself in trouble? Maybe Finn would pretend to be that friend and find out what Frank Birch was up to.

  No, he was not objective about this case. And it had very little to do with the fire and almost everything to do with the woman now looking up at him with the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. But he didn’t care.

  “Testing me for what?” Finn asked.

  “To see how easy it was to get something out of you.”

  “I had twenty dollars, and he wanted a pizza. This is not a problem.”

  “It’s a huge problem,” she said.

  “I don’t mind.”

  “Finn!” she finally said, raising her voice. “I know it doesn’t make sense to you. You and your family are all about giving. All it took was for you to see that your mom cares about this place and you and your family came. And you didn’t just work, but you all brought food, and music, and you made it fun. But my dad hasn’t lifted a finger, ever, for this place. Despite the fact that it was his mother’s pride and joy, despite the fact that I love it, despite the fact that he owns half of it.”

  “Sophie—”

  But she wasn’t done. She paced across the room. “Frank takes. That’s all he does. Money, trust, affection—whatever people will give him. But he doesn’t give it back. He took advantage of all of my stepmoms. He took advantage of my grandmother—taking her inheritance even though he never understood her love of this place. He took me away from every home and family I ever had. And every time we moved, he took me away from my friends, my schools and teachers, my Girl Scout troops, my dance classes, the best ice cream sundae I’ve ever had in my life, the only tree house I ever had.”