Page 14 of Trapped (Sheppard & Sons Investigations #6)
Nathan
I t took time, but I found Finn’s last name and a lot more.
Sadly, there was nothing I could use to justify threatening his stupid ass.
He had money, but unlike me, he hadn’t earned his.
Finn worked for his parents, but his job title hadn’t existed before he joined the company.
He’d had minor run-ins with the law but had never been arrested.
I didn’t find any evidence suggesting other women had filed harassment complaints or orders of protection against him.
His social media pages were full of selfies and humblebrags.
“Another spoiled rich kid,” I said to my empty office.
Knowing that made me like him even less.
Guys like him always thought it was fun to torment the poor foster kids who didn’t have anyone to help them. I did what I could to protect the smaller, weaker kids, but I didn’t gain my height or strength until later and often got my ass kicked.
I’m not a poor, weak orphan anymore . And I’d happily teach the fucker a lesson.
Finn Bentley was an arrogant piece of shit, but not a criminal. But one thing gave me pause. He mentioned Ashley a lot, but not the breakup. Whereas Ashley either hadn’t mentioned him at all, or she’d deleted any posts he was in after breaking up with him.
My computer skills were good, but not good enough to retrieve deleted information, so I’d never know for sure, but I suspected she’d deleted them. A quick scan of her friend’s list, and his absence from it, supported that suspicion.
What I learned was concerning enough that I wanted to keep a watchful eye on her ex. If he returned to Weatherford and so much as stood too close to Ashley, he’d deal with me.
I slammed my laptop shut. Needing to work off the energy burning me up, I went home, changed, and headed to the hotel gym. Some heavy lifting and a long run should calm me down.
The upscale hotel was temporary while I searched for a house.
I didn’t need a big one, but I wanted a few acres of land with a barn.
I didn’t know anything about farming but figured I could learn.
I wanted animals—chickens, cows, and maybe a horse.
Maybe I’ll plant a small garden . It’d give me something to focus on during my downtime.
The heat and humidity of August meant I was dripping in sweat before I finished my warmup jog. I didn’t mind. I wanted to exhaust myself and melt all thoughts of Ashley from my mind.
I should have known it wouldn’t work. The entire run consisted of thoughts of the life we could have together.
I pictured us holding hands while we watched the cows frolic.
Having a picnic and watching the sunset in our backyard.
Picking vegetables together, then cooking dinner we’d eat on our back porch.
I ran my hand down my face. It’d take a hell of a lot more than a few heavy weights and running until my legs shook to erase her from my mind.
Before hopping in the shower, I ordered dinner. My phone rang as I dried off. How long was I in the shower ? No way had the thirty-five to forty minutes the delivery app said it’d take passed.
The caller ID displayed Jamie Sheppard, so I answered. “Blaszek.”
“Hey, you got a minute?”
“Yeah, what’s up?” I rubbed the towel over my hair.
“What’d you find when you researched Finn?”
I hit the speaker button on my phone and put it on the bedside table. Laughing, I asked, “Not asking if?”
“Nah, man, I wouldn’t have listened either.” He chuckled. “As long as you didn’t break any rules, we’re good.”
He understood. Good to know. I wrapped the towel around my hips.
“Not much. Based on his social media, he thinks he and Ashley are still a thing.”
“Jack said the same thing. I’m putting you on speaker.” After a brief pause, he said, “Go ahead.”
“He’s clean, not squeaky, but clean enough not to raise any red flags.”
Jack’s laugh caught me off guard.
“What’s so funny?”
“Sorry, man, but Ashley literally calls him Red Flag Finn.”
“Why?” My question was more of a barked order. Why the hell hadn’t they done something before he laid hands on her?
“Damn, dude, you need to calm down. Especially if you want to fix things with Ashley,” Jack said.
Great, another Sheppard butting into my private life and telling me what I didn’t want to hear.
“There’s nothing to fix with Ashley.” This time my tone was less aggressive, though no one would call it polite or friendly.
“Okay,” Jack said, drawing out the ‘o’ and clearly not buying what I was selling.
Jamie brought us back to the subject that mattered. “Apparently she broke up with him because he was exhibiting controlling behavior, and, I quote, ‘he’s a selfish douchebag’.”
“Why didn’t you look into him earlier?” I growled.
If I hadn’t shown up today, he could have hurt her.
I clenched and unclenched my fists as I thought about pounding the shit out of Finn.
His social media posts gave me pause but wouldn’t have concerned me without hearing what they’d just told me.
But add them together, and Finn could be more dangerous than I thought.
“Because we just found out. That’s why we’re looking now,” Jamie said.
“How’d you find out?” My frustration was obvious from my tone. It didn’t matter that I had no right to worry; knowing she might be in danger was killing me.
“Dude, seriously, you need to get a grip,” Jack warned.
I ran my hand through my hair, then down my face. My fingers brushing against my scar reminded me how quickly a situation could turn to shit. I had to remind myself the Sheppard’s weren’t just my bosses; they considered Ashley family and would do everything in their power to help her.
If they’d known, or even thought, he was a threat to her safety, they would’ve done something.
“I’m sorry. I’m worried she’s in danger and doesn’t realize it.”
“So are we.” There was a pause. “It’s late, and I’m done listening to you growl. Email us what you found, and we’ll discuss it in the morning,” Jamie said.
“Right. Sorry. You’ll have the email within thirty.”
“Thanks. Get some rest,” Jamie said.
Jack said goodbye before adding, “And Blaszek, let’s leave the caveman attitude at home, yeah?”
“Copy that.” They didn’t deserve my attitude.
I disconnected the call and opened my laptop. I hadn’t finished entering their email addresses when my phone alerted me that my dinner was here.
I chomped into my burger before typing out the email. By the time I finished, my burger was lukewarm and my fries were soggy. Shrugging, I took a bite. I’ve eaten worse .