Page 87 of Code Name: Harbor

Finn won’t be on the run tomorrow and I was surprised to learn that he rarely goes. The night he rescued me was an unusual occurrence. It’s usually Connie and Marcus moving the goods through the waterways, under his direction.

So I’ll be here tomorrow night with Finn, on the face a normal night, but in reality, two dangerous worlds still lurking. The Russians are looking for me, even if Connie hasn’t given me up, and Finn’s boat and his people are getting ready to commit crimes on the seas.

My life has gotten very weird lately, but when I look at Finn sitting out there on the patio, so charming, dashing and heroic, I can’t imagine being anywhere else.

I check the chicken and baste it again. I walk a slow loop around the island just to move. Through the windows, Finn, Marcus and Connie are leaning over what I assume is a chart on the table. Finn’s pointing at something, Connie’s nodding and Marcus rubs at his jaw in contemplation. They look like three colleagues having a perfectly normal Monday-night work meeting.

I place the skillet on a burner, turn on the gas and swirl olive oil in the pan. I’ve got sliced garlic on a cutting board ready to drop when the patio door slides open. My head lifts, a welcome smile on my face at whoever walks in, and I see it’s Connie.

Instantly, I’m forced to hold the smile in place as it wants to waver, and I have no idea why. There’s something about her that puts me on edge, and it doesn’t have to do with her unrequited feelings for Finn.

“Don’t mind me,” she says breezily. “I’m just going to use the bathroom.”

“There’s one off the entry, down the hall on the left,” I say and then wince as I realize… that was dumb. Connie’s been in this house more than me.

And she lets me know it. “I think I know where it is considering I helped pick out the tile.”

Ouch.

Connie walks past me, through the great room and disappears around the corner, but it’s confirmed. That little display of being cool with me when she arrived was for Finn’s benefit. If it’s just the two of us, it’s clear… she doesn’t like me.

I stand at the island with my wine.

I helped pick out the tile.

It’s a small thing. A tiny flare. But she’s clearly marking territory and she’s not being subtle about it.

Which is fine.

It seems like an agonizingly long period of time but in just a few minutes, Connie’s moving back through the great room. Rather than heading straight for the patio, she moves into the kitchen, leaning a hip against the island. She crosses her arms over her chest and I brace.

“How are you holding up?” she asks, sounding friendly enough but I don’t trust it.

“Holding up?” I repeat, intentionally bewildered.

“You know… this.” She gestures with a vague wave at the kitchen and at the great room and out through the glass at Finn and Marcus on the patio. “All of it. Moving into a man’s house weeks after meeting him. Finding out what he does for a living. Reconciling it with what you do for a living. That’d be a lot for anybody.”

“Oh, and let’s not forget Russian sex traffickers are after me too,” I say coolly and watch her very carefully for her reaction.

Her face is blank as she returns my stare. “You’re tougher than you look. I’ll give you that.”

“I’m tough enough for this conversation.”

Connie tilts her head and gives me a smile that’s almost rueful, almost sad. It’s a beautiful piece of acting. “Okay. I’m going to say one thing, and then I’m going to go back out there, and you can do with it what you want.”

“I’m all ears.”

Connie unfolds her arms, turns to face me fully and places her palms on the counter. “Finn matters to me and I think if I were you, I’d want somebody to be straight with me, even if it stung.”

Oh, so this is the tack she’s going to take. I can feel it coming… the whole He’s really not that into you thing.

“He’s not going to leave this life for you, Josie.”

I hold my silence because I want to hear every bit of it. I want to hear her entire ploy.

“He’s said he might. I’m sure he’s said it. He probably meant it when he said it. But I’ve watched him for eighteen years and I’m telling you, he’s not going to walk away. This isn’t a hobby for him. He’s not going to dismantle who he is for a woman, no matter how good it feels right now.”

I understand Connie’s trying to get me to walk before Finn might, and I also understand it’s entirely self-serving. I should just nod and let her be on her way.