Page 9 of Finn (Vampire Vows #1)

CHAPTER NINE

GAbrIEL/ FINN

GAbrIEL

I led Finn down a narrow alleyway and into a quieter, dingier part of town.

The kind of place where people didn’t ask questions and turned a blind eye to strangers, a place where predators could pass unnoticed.

“Where are we going?” Finn finally asked, his voice low, strained.

He sounded more vulnerable than I’d ever heard him, which only made me want to keep him close, shield him from whatever came after us.

“To a safe house,” I said, quickening my steps. “It’s… temporary. And not exactly five-star accommodations.”

Finn’s brow lifted, and I could see him eyeing the worn-out buildings we passed, some with broken windows, others with graffiti coating their crumbling facades.

He looked unconvinced, but he kept following, not voicing the question that must have been on his mind: Why here? And why should he trust me?

That fragile trust I’d fought to rebuild felt precarious, but he kept moving alongside me, his footsteps quiet and steady.

After several blocks, we reached a nondescript building, the door blending almost too well into the chipped and faded wall.

I unlocked it, glancing back, half-expecting Finn to turn and run.

But he was right there, his gaze flicking up to meet mine with a mixture of wariness and… something else.

The apartment itself was as bad as expected. Barely any furniture. A single window covered by old, frayed blinds.

A mattress on the floor, a chair in one corner, and a sink that looked like it might never have been cleaned.

Finn took it all in with a grimace.

“A safe house, huh?” he said, eyebrows raised in doubt.

“It’s safe enough,” I replied, shrugging. “Not exactly paradise, but it’ll keep you off the radar for the night. I have to head back, handle Scar’s… situation before anyone else does.”

He looked back at the door, uncertainty flashing across his face.

“And… what happens then?” Finn asked

“Then, we’ll figure it out.” I took a step back, reaching for my phone. “Here.” I held out my number. “Just… in case.”

He took the phone slowly, typing in his own number with an unreadable expression.

When he handed it back, he kept his gaze down, the usual confidence dulled.

“Don’t keep me waiting too long, okay?” he said quietly, and before I could respond, he tugged the hem of my shirt.

I turned, my chest tightening as I looked down at him. He wound his fingers tentatively through mine.

I couldn’t stop myself from pulling him into an embrace.

His arms slipped around my back, and his shoulders sagged, almost like he was melting into me, finding some kind of solace in our closeness.

He didn’t feel like an enemy right now. In his hold, I felt… human, something I hadn’t truly felt in so long.

I ran a hand through his hair, fingers brushing the back of his neck as he sighed, his breath warm against my skin.

“I need to contact the Elders,” he murmured.

“What will you tell them?” I asked.

Every muscle in my body tightened, wary of his answer.

“Not the truth,” he replied, looking up at me with a faint, almost bitter smile. “What do you take me for?”

His eyes searched mine, and for a brief second, I glimpsed the inner turmoil there, the conflict warring inside him.

“Thank you… for lying to them,” I said.

A hint of darkness flickered in his gaze, his mouth twisting into a grim smile. “They make it easy.”

Our faces were so close that I could feel his breath, warm and steady.

His eyes locked onto mine, and I couldn’t resist leaning down, pressing my lips gently to his.

He returned the kiss, hesitantly at first, but then he deepened it, wrapping his arms around me like he’d never let go.

For those precious moments, the danger, the violence. All of it fell away. It was just us.

Then he pulled back, eyes glistening.

"Wait," Finn said, glancing at me with a troubled look. "The Elders will probably want proof. I need to take a picture of your chest—of where I… you know, stabbed you."

I held back a grimace, then smirked. “I’ll do you one better.”

I lay down on the floor, closing my eyes and letting my body go still, mimicking the lifelessness he needed them to see.

Finn shifted awkwardly, his gaze lingering a little too long before he raised his phone and snapped a few photos.

The flash lit up the dim room, and after a moment, I sat back up, brushing the dust from my clothes.

There was a silence between us, thick with the weight of all the things left unsaid.

I wanted to tell Finn everything. How I’d ended up in this state, the truths he didn’t know, the choices I never wanted to make.

But the words lodged in my throat.

“Go,” Finn finally said. “We’ll talk again.”

I nodded, unwilling to let him see the fear in my own eyes. The fear that this might be the last time. But there was no point dwelling on it.

I had to clean up my mess, and if I didn’t make it back to the nest soon, someone might go looking for me..

Scar’s body was still sprawled on the grimy pavement where I’d left him, his lifeless eyes staring up into nothingness.

The anger and disgust I felt flared to life as I knelt beside him, quickly assessing the scene.

Lady Luck seemed to be on my side tonight; no one had stumbled upon him yet.

I worked fast, hiding the evidence, erasing all traces of the fight.

With Scar’s body concealed in a nearby dumpster, I checked my phone, half-hoping for a message from Finn.

But there was nothing. I pocketed the phone and headed back toward Beric’s estate as the sun began to set.

When I reached the mansion, the shadows cast across the grounds were long, stretching toward the horizon like fingers of darkness.

Most of the vampires were already retreating to their rooms, preparing for the night ahead.

I slipped through the hallways, keeping my head down, hoping to reach my quarters without running into anyone.

But, as usual, luck wasn’t on my side.

“Gabriel.”

I froze, slowly turning to find Beric himself standing just a few feet away, his eyes gleaming with interest as he looked me over.

“Arriving late?” he asked.

I forced myself to meet his gaze, calm and collected.

“Apologies,” I said smoothly. “Had some trouble.”

Beric’s gaze sharpened as he inspected me, his keen eyes taking in the scuffs and dried blood I hadn’t quite managed to scrub off.

He frowned. “Trouble? The lions?” Beric asked.

“No,” I replied. “My food gave me quite the chase..”

He studied me for a long moment, his eyes narrowing as if he could see right through me.

But finally, a smile spread across his face. It was a smile that chilled me to my core.

“I see,” he murmured. “Good.”

He gave a short, approving nod. “At least you handled it.”

“Yes, sir,” I said, keeping my tone neutral, my head slightly bowed.

“Get some rest, angel,” Beric said.

“You as well, master,” I replied.

He turned and vanished down the hall, leaving me standing there, fighting the urge to breathe a sigh of relief.

I’d narrowly dodged a bullet. For now.

Once I was alone, I slipped into my room, shutting the door behind me. My hand shook slightly as I leaned against it.

The truth of what I’d just done, lying to Beric, keeping Finn’s presence a secret, it pressed down on me.

I wondered how long I could keep up this balancing act.

I crossed the room, flopping down onto the bed, exhaustion washing over me.

But as my mind drifted, it wasn’t the violence or the danger that lingered.

It was the memory of Finn, his body pressed against mine, his lips on my own.

And in that fleeting moment, I allowed myself to believe, even just for a second that maybe there was hope for us, however impossible it seemed.

FINN

I moved from one room to the next, searching the dingy apartment for a spot with enough signal to make the call.

Finally, by the cracked window, I managed to get three bars.

I cast a glance around, half-expecting someone, maybe one of Gabriel’s nest mates or another supernatural on Beric’s payroll, to burst through the door at any second.

But no one came. It was just me, alone with the secrets and the lie I was about to tell.

Finally, the call connected, and Elder Marcus’s voice crackled through the receiver, cold and detached. “Report.”

“The job’s done,” I said, my voice rasping from the strain of the night.

“Details, Finn,” he demanded, and I could practically feel his icy gaze through the line.

I took a steadying breath, forcing a bitterness into my tone that I hoped sounded convincing.

“It was… unexpected,” I began, letting a shaky edge slip into my voice.

“Finding out who my target really was. You might have warned me,” I added, keeping my voice low and bitter.

The Elders needed to believe I was just a resentful, obedient soldier who’d followed through.

Marcus was silent for a beat, then responded with a disinterested murmur. “It was a need-to-know basis, Finn. And you didn’t need to know.”

I clenched my fist, fighting to keep my tone steady.

“It was a long, drawn-out fight,” I continued, letting my voice waver just enough. “But I did it.” I paused, catching my breath, keeping the line tense, and then added, “I’m sending you the photos now.”

With a deep breath, I texted the photos to Marcus.

The line went silent as he reviewed the photos, and I could almost picture his calculating gaze as he scanned the images of Gabriel lying "dead."

I had photographed him at an angle that concealed his healed wounds, carefully focusing instead on the bloodstains covering his clothes.

“Finn,” Elder Marcus’s voice returned, now almost approving. “I must admit, we didn’t think you had it in you. You’ve made the Guild proud.”

The words should have felt like validation. They didn’t.

I was a different person now, standing in a grimy apartment, having done the unthinkable to keep the person I once thought I’d lost safe from them.

Hearing Marcus praise me for it made me feel… empty.

“I would head back right away,” I lied, letting a tinge of strain slip into my voice, “but I was injured in the fight.”

It was true, my shoulder was injured.