All Chapters of Protecting My Heart: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

"My drug addled brain wanted revenge with the hope that I could break free of my addictions.  I guess, I hoped that revenge would heal the pain," Finn started to say before his voice trailed off.He looked miserable and wanted to bury himself forever under the blankets.  For the first time in ages, he longed for a high to hide these lows.When he looked into Lili's trusting eyes, his soul was crushed and he didn't know how to fix this.  "You know, there were three of them.  The first was easy, Martin.  I knew he was forced into it that day.  He whispered in my ear, how sorry he was.  I didn't have the heart to do much to him.  So I emptied all the air in his tires and left it at that.""Ok, that is understandable.  Not good, but I get it," Lili offered as a way to encourage him to go on.He looked like he wanted to cry as he said, "It gets worse.  A lot worse, Lili."Groaning as he started t

The mood in the town was shifting as the winter settled in and the sun set early. Finn could never quite manage to stay warm enough while out in the fields doing his inspections. The fence repairs were mounting after the latest winter storm passed and he needed to head up to meet with Russel to start planning what to order. Dismounting Midnight he tied the horse to the post and headed into the ranch house to meet with Russel and grab a coffee.  Just as he stepped into the kitchen, Reese popped her head in to say congratulations. "Thanks Reese.  I am looking forward to marrying her as soon as possible.  That house is too big for just the two of us," he smiled and winked at her. "If you need any help with planning, don't hesitate to reach out."  "I will let my sweet little Lili know that you offered when I get home tonight," he replied as he walked down the hall.   Russell was sitting at his desk with a p

"Come and sit down!  You are making me nervous!" Stacey ordered Anders as she watched him pace up and down the aisle.   They were waiting for Detective Drake to arrive and help restore the community back to normalcy.   Based on the information that Anders had supplied to Drake, the FBI was brought into the investigation.  Drake had managed to quickly escalate the situation to the higher ups within the police force because of his connection to Finn and the corruption that Anders had presented.  .  As a result, Agent Mia Templeton would be traveling with Drake on the same flight and they would pull rank over Caleb. Not only would they pull rank, they would send him back to the Madison office, where he would face an internal investigation pertaining to his behaviour.   Fortunately, Caleb wasn't aware of the change in organizational structure. Not yet! Anders desperately wanted to k

The handcuffs fell to the bed an Finn let out a small sigh of relief. He felt Anders pick up his wrists and swear at the sores that had festered while Caleb forced Finn to wear them while in his hospital bed.  "Finn, I am sorry for all of this but I have been working behind the scenes with Drake and Caleb has been sent home."  He grinned at he saw Finn's eyes grow large with that announcement. "Yes, Caleb was sent home to Madison and will face an internal investigation.  We also brought Detective Drake and an FBI Angent Mia in to review your case and find the corruption and where this all leads to." Finn still couldn't talk but he gave Anders a thumbs up.   Anders laughed at his feable attempt to communicate but finally placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Listen, I need to head back into the station, but Lili is on her way and she is no longer restricted to just one hour a day." Another thumbs up! "Oh, you

He felt relief coursing throughout his entire body as he walked onto their front porch.  Every step was a struggle, just to put one foot in front of the other.  Each step forward was pure agony but it was a victory over his acusers. He managed to unlock the front door with his hands that didn't want to function, but he won the fight and opened the door. Home! What a wonderful feeling after being in the hospital. All of the lights were off and he tried to be so quiet so that he didn't wake Lili.  It was extremely late now and she probably had been sound asleep for hours.   But in the back of his mind, he wonders if something wasn't right about this situation as he walked into the front foyer.  The sounds were off.  The smells. It was etheral. Almost unnatural.  Something was off and he just couldn't explain it.   He walked into the living room, passed boxes and constructi