The Moon Rises (17 page)

“At least we know she’s got a good poker face,”
Finn said with a grin.

Michael motioned for them to follow him upstairs
to his apartment. Gigi thought it looked like a place someone just moved into,
but she sensed Michael had lived here for a long time. Wondering about his
decorating habits, she sat at the kitchen table while he retrieved a deck of
cards.

Joining her, Finn stole little glances at Gigi
while Michael shuffled the cards. Gigi tried to focus on what Michael told her
about the rules, but he spoke too quickly and seemed to be leaving out important
details.

Gigi decided if she agreed to play cards again,
she was going to read up on poker so Michael couldn’t trick her. Even if
Michael hadn’t skimmed over the rules, Gigi was seriously distracted by Finn
sitting so close. She hadn’t seen him since their date and her mind kept replaying
his kisses.

Flustered before the first hand, Gigi felt
overwhelmed by the time Finn folded and moved closer. He helped her play
against Michael who was taking the game very seriously. The enforcer glared at
Gigi, trying to intimidate her into making a move quickly. Finn told Michael to
fuck off. Instead of getting mad, the older Were grinned.

Finn leaned over and whispered to Gigi what her
hand could mean and her options. His breath on her skin made focusing on his
advice impossible. When she felt his hair brush against her bare shoulder, Gigi
just stopped thinking. Her eyes met Michael’s and he realized what was
happening. His grin widened because he really wanted to win and Finn was distracting
his opponent.

Gigi liked Michael even though he wasn’t nice to
her. He also started the game by referring to Finn as a dipshit repeatedly.
Michael was helping to find the missing waitresses though and Gigi also sensed
the enforcer was very fond of Finn.

Gigi was also fond of Finn, but she really wanted
to win. Ignoring Finn’s advice, she put in twice Michael’s bet. Next to her,
Finn inhaled as if worried she had made a mistake. Michael frowned though, no
longer liking how Finn was helping Gigi.

Even though Michael said there was a time limit to
each player’s move, he took a long time to react. Gigi ignored him and turned
to Finn who was sitting too close. His lips were right there, waiting to be
kissed. Gigi wouldn’t kiss him in front of Michael, but she stared at his lips
anyway.

“Screw it,” Michael said and folded. “Finn, you
can’t help her anymore.”

Finn looked at Gigi and smiled. He learned closer
and his warm breath made her flush with heat.

“Your hand sucked, but the idiot folded because
he’s scared.”

The enforcer growled at the younger Were who was
grinning at him.

“Stop touching the broad, Finn.”

Finn sat back in his chair, still grinning.

“Michael’s an only child and his parents spoiled
him. It’s why he’s such a bad loser.  He’s also a bad winner. I’m honestly not
sure what he’s good at.”

Gigi smiled brightly and took each quarter slowly
from the pot, taunting Michael who was growling deeply. The louder Michael
growled, the more Finn laughed.  Michael finally sighed.

“I’m taking every quarter she has and you’re not
helping her anymore.”

Finn nodded with a grin. “You just wanted Gigi
here because you can’t beat me. I’m starting to wonder if you can beat anyone,
Mike?”

Growling again, Michael looked amused as he
shuffled the cards. “I’m going to crush both of you.”

An hour later, Michael ended the card game by
throwing a massive fit when he lost all his quarters. At first, Gigi was
startled by his anger and worried she did something wrong by challenging him.

Finn though was laughing hysterically as Michael
raged around the apartment, throwing pillows and yelling in some other
language. When Gigi realized how Michael freaking out was normal, she laughed
too. Once Michael stormed onto a balcony, Finn’s laughter faded even as his
face remained amused.

“We play every Tuesday, if you want to join us
again.”

“Can I?”

“Of course.”

“But Michael seems mad.”

“I tend to win so almost every Tuesday, he freaks
out. Then he comes back in and orders pizza. It’s fine. You did really well.”

Gigi stared at Finn and sucked on her bottom lip,
flustered because she wanted to touch him, but couldn’t. Maybe he noticed her edginess
because he sighed and his smile faded.

“I wish things were different,” Finn said.

“Me too.”

“I knew I scared you that night, but I didn’t
know how to fix it.”

“How could you have known I thought you wanted to
eat me?” she teased and Finn smiled.

“I just figured you thought I was a greedy pig.”

Gigi frowned, not understanding the pig reference
because Finn was a dog. Sometimes the way people spoke gave her a headache.
Finn must have noticed her confusion because his smile softened.

“Males, especially Were males, can expect too much
from human women. Like they expect sex on the first date. I thought that’s what
you thought I wanted.”

“You didn’t want sex?”

“I just wanted to be close to you.”

“Like a friend?”

Finn took a deep breath and glanced upward. “No,
not like a friend, but I wasn’t expecting you to have sex with me on a first
date. A lot of Were males might have expected sex, so I assumed that’s why you
got upset.”

Gigi smiled as she reached out and pushed hair
behind his ear. Finn swallowed hard and she knew he wanted to kiss her. She
wanted to kiss him too, but they just sat there, watching each other.

“We’ll be friends,” he said.

“Do you really want to be friends or are you just
saying that to be nice because we can’t date?”

“Being around you makes me happy. While I think
you’re beautiful, it’s not just attraction. I like talking to you too and watching
you make Mike freak out.”

Gigi laughed. “He was so mad.”

Finn nodded with a smile. “He thought you would
be easy prey, but you’re a quick learner.”

Gigi nodded, but she wished her learning curve
was faster so she wouldn’t have ruined their date. Maybe they wouldn’t have had
sex that night, but they could have kissed more. Now they were just friends and
Gigi wasn’t sure sitting next to Finn all the time and being unable to touch
him would be enough.

Finn waited in the expensive seafood restaurant
for Anton to arrive. Their weekly dinner was a tradition going on nearly ten
years now, ever since Anton took over a rival pack and became Declan’s enemy.

Clearly dodging someone, Anton entered through the
back of the restaurant. Finn waited for his friend to explain, but he didn’t.

“Sorry,” Anton said, finally looking Finn in the
eyes. “I heard about your date with Gigi.”

“Why would my date lead you to take a different
path into the restaurant?”

Anton frowned a minute then grinned. “She thought
you were going to eat her.” Laughing, Anton opened his menu. “Poor Finn.”

Rolling his eyes, Finn just smiled. “It went well
until that moment though.”

“I’m sure it did.”

“You’re not going to tell me why you came through
the back?”

Anton shook his head.

“Fine then we can’t talk about my date with Gigi.
We both know you want to hear about it.”

“I already did from Ella. Everyone did. She sat on
a pool table and used a microphone to share the story with the whole floor.
Even the cooks got a kick out of the part where Ella punched you.”

Finn sighed, hoping he wasn’t turning beat red.
Anton glanced up from the menu and smiled softer.

“Ella said someone threatened Gigi and you two
aren’t going out again.”

Finn now wanted to change the subject. The men
ordered and sat silently for nearly five minutes.

“My mom doesn’t like Gigi.”

“Your mom doesn’t like anyone.”

“She likes Ella. Says I should marry her. Well
assuming Mom and Declan don’t use Ella as a way to steal your territory.”

“How would that work?”

“Ella seduces you and they steal your territory
while you’re on your honeymoon.”

Anton laughed. “Savvy, but I don’t want to get
married.”

“You’re lying.”

Anton’s smile faded. “I don’t want Ella then.”

“Since when?”

Anton’s gaze met Finn’s and he didn’t really need
to say the words.

“Gigi says she helps out in your office.”

“Melanie conned her into doing her work.”

“Having Gigi around every day gives you a chance
to make your move,” Finn said, resigned to the idea of Gigi with Anton.

“Dating Gigi, only to turn around and dump her
doesn’t interest me. You know I can’t have a mate. While I do enjoy seeing her
every day, it’s solely a ‘look, don’t touch’ situation.”

Finn thought to ask if Anton ever considered
leaving the Circle and having the family he wanted. He had asked the question a
few times over the years and Anton always looked at him like having a family
was a pipedream.

Before he could say anything, Finn spotted the man
Anton was avoiding. Playboy Moore was also one of the reasons Anton desired a
family so much and would never enjoy one.

Playboy Moore didn’t live in the Circle anymore,
but thirty years ago he was a common fixture. John and Rose Moore were a power
couple, both children of Alphas. They were also one of those beautiful couples
others envied. Playboy was a fun character and everyone in the Circle knew him.
Everyone also knew how he got the name Playboy.

Everyone knew how thirty years ago, while being
his playboy self, John shacked up with Olga Volkov, the Circle’s only female enforcer.
Not only did he bed the powerful female, but he left Rose for her. His wife
even put out a few hits on Olga in revenge. Finn always noticed how whenever everyone
spoke of that time that they behaved as if the whole affair was a fun soap opera.

Except John eventually left Olga. Or she shoved
him out the door. Everyone had a different story. Romantics figured John missed
his precious Rose. Cynics figured Olga liked John better as a lover than a man
who was always at her house, telling her what to do. Whatever the reason their
relationship ended, John returned to Rose. Then the Circle pretended as if the
paternity of the kid born months later was a big mystery.

No one mentioned John Moore’s relation to Anton,
not even Anton. He avoided any discussion of it and apparently avoided the man
himself. Ainsley always said she figured once Anton became Alpha, his absentee
father would show up to take credit. Having left the Circle decades earlier, John
and Rose hoped to protect their children as the pack wars heated up. When Olga
died, there was never any thought to having Anton live with his father.

Rose wouldn’t have allowed it. She accepted her
husband’s wandering eye, but refused to acknowledge the offspring he created
with other women. If the pregnant female couldn’t be bullied into an abortion,
she was just ignored. Olga was too powerful to be ignored, but she didn’t want
John and she never made any effort to connect father and son.

Denying the biological tie was difficult when
Anton looked so much like his handsome father. The dark eyes and thick lashes
that females swooned over with Anton were the same qualities females loved
about his father.

Anton didn’t notice his father enter the
restaurant and Finn wasn’t sure if he should warn his friend. Before he could
decide, Anton heard John’s voice and glanced up from his phone. Some kind of
emotion flooded Anton’s eyes then was gone. Returning to his phone, Anton
sighed.

“Silas said he and Declan both looked into Gigi’s
past,” Anton said, setting his phone aside. “Declan hired a PI from outside the
Circle while Silas called a guy from the Corners where he once lived. They
searched for missing person reports, going all the way back to when Gigi would
have been a baby. They found nothing. Wherever Gigi came from, whoever her
family was, they’re not looking for her.”

“Maybe she was taken in a way that made the police
think she was dead?”

“Silas thought about that and they couldn’t find
anything that could be tied back to Gigi. They even looked overseas because of
Gigi’s accent. One of the cooks, Damon, I think, told Silas that Gigi’s accent
wasn’t foreign, but southern.”

“I guess it’s nice that Silas cares enough to
check for her.”

Anton frowned. “He’s freaked out about his missing
waitresses, Finn. He thought it was weird how Katia disappeared and Gigi showed
up in the Circle right afterwards.”

“He doesn’t think she’s involved.”

“Of course not, but he figured maybe the person
who took Katia, left Gigi in her place. You know how witches and sorcerers like
to experiment with humans. Test their reactions to certain changes.”