Furious Fire: Grimm's Circle, Book 8 Read Online Free Page A

into a noose and strangle Finn with it before the metal even cooled, so that might explain why Will didn’t so much as change his expression.
    “I. Hate. You,” Finn bit off, fury beating and chewing at his nerves with jagged, gnawing little teeth that left him wanting to scream.
    “You aren’t the first.” Will reached up, closed a hand around the barrel and pushed.
    Because he knew he wouldn’t shoot, Finn lowered the gun and then, weary, he shoved it into the holster and turned away.
    “I don’t want to know this,” he said. “I have enough nightmares in my head.”
    “He never hurt her. Not physically. She went to her grave bearing guilt. That alone is an awful burden, but you and I both know that there are much worse sins in this world.”
    Slowly, he turned his head and looked back at Will.
    The other man was staring into the sky, his expression serene. “He slept with her once, only once. He didn’t hurt her. He had her convinced that you’d abandoned her and she was upset, lonely.”
    “Abandoned…but…”
    Finn stopped, shaking his head. He didn’t bother to ask how Will knew. The man seemed to know everything he wanted. Or at least what he needed.
    “He took your letters. He took hers.” Will shrugged. “He planned it to the last detail, even knowing just how long to wait to make her start to wonder. He planted the seeds of doubt early on, and even before that, he’d let her know how he felt. He was subtle.”
    “ Incubae don’t know what subtle is,” Finn said, shaking his head.
    Will didn’t respond.
    Slowly, Finn turned, stared at the other man. “What aren’t you telling me?”
    Long, heavy moments of silence passed. It could have been moments—it could have been hours. But each heartbeat drew Finn tighter and tighter. When Will finally turned to look at him, Finn’s nerves were drawn too tight and his skin felt sunburnt from the effort it took to keep himself locked down.
    “You were too young,” Will said, his voice low. “You were too young and too new and you didn’t feel it. The fact that you even recognized Sawyer as broken was amazing—of course, you knew him from before and you likely saw the wrongness in him because of that. But he wasn’t the only demon we’d gone there to face. Once you were in stasis, Sina and I went after the other one. She was the one who had the most influence on the girl. Apparently she’d been working with Sawyer. If it hadn’t been for her, the incubae wouldn’t have even found his way into town.”
    Her—
    Finn roared and spun away, going to his knees and plunging his hands into the earth.
    There, he unleashed.
    The fire flowed deep, deep, deep—
    The scent of scorched earth flood his head and he sucked in air, fought to control it.
    Head spinning, he opened his eyes.
    Around him, birds sang.
    Off in the distance, he could hear the river.
    The footsteps were nearly soundless and Finn found himself eyeing the white toes of Will’s boots while he continued to fight for air. “Her…” he panted, memory raging inside him. “It was her mother.”
    “Yes.”
    Jerking his hands out of the ground, he rose. The air smoked, steamed. The fire had cooled to something almost manageable and he felt empty, almost numb. His legs were stiff and he practically stumbled as he moved a few feet away.
    “She was the one who told me I should go, make my mark and better myself if I truly wanted to be worthy of her daughter,” Finn said, looking down at his hands, streaked with dirt but unmarred. He’d damn neared killed himself trying to make his mark . Trying to make himself worthy .
    “She wanted you out of the picture. That town was to be her hunting ground, but you were always picking up the pieces, stopping fights…starting them.” Will paused. “You were always the hero type, Thom.”
    Finn growled under his breath.
    “It’s the truth and you know it. You’d rescue a cat from a tree, put yourself between a town drunk and his wife even