The Omega and the Assassin (10 page)

Tate let out a sigh. “Get up. There’s no way I can kill you. First of all, I would never strike down an unarmed man. Second, I could never break Finn’s heart that way. I love him too much.”

Simon looked up. “Are you sure? This is the only chance you’re ever going to get.”

“Yes, damn it! I’m sure. Now get up, so we can talk face-to-face.”

As soon as Simon stood, Finn ran over and threw himself into Simon’s arms.

“If you ever do something that stupid again, I’ll kill you myself,” Finn declared, even as he clung onto Simon so tightly that he was in danger of breaking Simon’s ribs.

“Don’t worry. I already told him he only had one chance, remember?” Simon said, as he placed a kiss on top of Finn’s head.

Tate made a face in disgust. “Oh God, you guys really are in love, aren’t you?”

Finn let out a low growl. “Yes, we are. So, you better get used to it, because Simon is a permanent fixture to our family now, and you’re going to be seeing a lot more of him.”

“Please, somebody help me or shoot me and put me out of my misery,” Tate groaned.

“Stop being such a grouch. I already told you that you can’t control my life anymore,” Finn said. “This is just the start of it. Pretty soon, Kline will be finding his mate, too.”

Tate looked so horrified by the thought that Simon almost burst out laughing. The guy must really be overly protective of his brothers if the thought of them dating or mating threw him for such a loop. No wonder he had such an issue with Finn being with an assassin. When Tate had found out, he must have had a coronary. So for him to now accept it was a huge step in the right direction and made Simon respect the man.

Avery took a step forward, then cleared his throat. “If we’re done with all the drama here, we really do need to go give Chris a report. I’m sure he’s in his office waiting for us.”

Simon threw an arm around Finn’s shoulder. “Let’s go. We have a ton to fill him in on.”

* * * *

Four weeks later, Finn sat in his room, packing up his belongings. After much deliberation, he and Simon had decided that Finn would be moving in with Simon. While Finn didn’t want to leave his brothers, he wanted to be by his mate’s side. It was where he belonged now, and Finn knew that was where he would be the happiest.

There was a soft knock on the door before Tate and Kline walked in. Since the lights were dim, Kline didn’t have on his sunglasses, so Finn could easily read his twin’s emotions. The sadness there broke Finn’s heart, but not enough to make him change his mind. They were no longer children who constantly needed to be by each other’s sides. The time had come for them to grow up, and as sucky as that might be, that meant living apart.

“Tate and I were talking,” Kline said, by way of greeting.

“About what?” Finn replied, wearily.

He knew that they weren’t going to let him go without a fight. Finn was prepared for some sort of scene before he made his final exit and this looked like it was it. He took in a deep breath and waited for it to hit the fan.

“I could move into Tate’s bedroom, and that would leave this bedroom just for you. Then Simon could move in with you. That way you wouldn’t have to leave at all,” Kline said.

It was tempting. So, so tempting. But Finn knew that he needed to leave. Otherwise, he would never be able to know that he could function on his own. A few months ago, that wouldn’t have mattered to him. But now it meant everything. He wanted to know that he was more than a pair, that he could be his own person.

“While that’s sweet of you, I have to do this,” Finn said.

“But why?” Tate said.

“It’s the only way all of us are going to grow as a family. We all depend on each other too much.”

“How is that a bad thing?” Kline demanded, his voice harsh with anger.

“You barely get out. There’s a whole world out there that you haven’t seen, and it’s all because you let us shelter you too much. It’s time we gave each other some breathing space and let each other spread our wings,” Finn said.

He prayed that he was getting through to Kline, but going by the confused expression on his face, it was going right over his noggin. Finn let out a sigh. He could only hope that someday, Kline would grow to understand it and that in the meantime, he wouldn’t be too mad at Finn.

Simon walked into the room. “You ready to start moving things?”

Finn gave a huge grin. “I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life.”

Tate turned to Simon. “So, Finn tells me that you guys think you have all the Spiders gone from the park.”

“Yeah, there were a few stray ones, but we haven’t see any signs of any more in a week now.”

“God, I hope none of them managed to find their way out of the park,” Tate said with a shudder.

“You and me both,” Simon agreed.

He bent down and picked up one of the heavier boxes. “What in the hell do you have in here? A dead body?”

“It’s my clothes,” Finn said with a laugh.

“I should have known. You’re such a clothes whore.” Simon rolled his eyes.

Tate smirked. “So, you do really know Finn well after all.”

“I gotta go,” Kline said as he rushed out of the room.

After he left, Simon looked at the others. “Was it something I said?”

“No, he’s having trouble with me leaving. You would think I was moving out of the country instead of just down the hall,” Finn said.

He wanted to go to his twin and comfort him, but Finn knew that it would only make things worse. Kline would have to work this matter out for himself. Finn would just have to wait and hope that Kline would eventually get over it.

“He’ll be okay. It’s just going to take him some time to adjust,” Tate said. “Don’t forget, I’ll still be here to help him lean on.”

“Just make sure you don’t smother him too much,” Finn admonished.

Tate held up his hands. “Don’t worry. Those days are far behind me. I promise. I’ve learned my lesson.”

Tate held out his arms and Finn ran to him and gave him a great big hug. After they broke apart, Tate turned to Simon, “You’ll take good care of him?”

“I’ll protect him with my life,” Simon replied.

Finn picked up a backpack and said to Simon, “Are you ready?”

Simon smiled at Finn, “I’ve been ready since the moment I met you.”

Stephani Hecht is a happily married mother of two. Born and raised in Michigan, she loves all things about the state, from the frigid winters to the Detroit Red Wings hockey team. Go Wings! You can usually find her snuggled up to her laptop, creating her next book.

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