All Chapters of Protecting My Heart: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

Finn stared at the photo and just remained silent as he studied every feature of the picture.   Keeping his eyes down he just stayed focused. He was starting to think that Gus was the dirty cop that was gunning for Drake and not the other way around, but he wasn't going to let on.  "So, how do you explain this Thomas James Finnegan? That is you and Drake in the throes of passion?" Gus was gloating and Finn saw victory in his eyes.   His response was not what Gus was expecting, "If you think that is Drake and I then try to prove it in a court of law." Gus gave Finn an odd look as he tried to figure out what Finn was saying. Finally he replied, "Oh, I will." Finn thought, 'Actually you won't but I am not telling you your one big major mistake.' "Now that you have seen the proof, do you want to confess to your affair with Drake?" "No!" Finn replied definitively.  

The house seemed to be empty, even as voices could be heard from the kitchen.  It's heart was ripped out of it, without the soul of Caire's. She was the bright light that had roamed the halls.  Drake was barely functioning and Lili and Finn were trying their best to keep up his spirits.   Nothing that they did worked. He was a different man. Broken. Silent.  Distant. Lost. Finn wasn't sure what to do and he just wanted his friend to wake up and find that the nightmare was over.  Reality was setting in and he realized it would never be over and Drake would never be the same. Every blasted room in the house had pictures of Claire and Drake smiling and laughing and .... Memories were all around Drake and dragging him down the rabbit hole of dispair.   Finn and Lili agreed that they needed to get him out of the house and so Finn called Detective Jim to

He's dead. Those two words rang echoed in Stacey's head. Drake is dead and it's all my fault.   There was nothing that Lili could say to help get Stacey to calm down. She was beyond reasoning with, so Lili just sat with her and let her vent her fears and frustrations.  To Stacey, the verdict was in.  Drake was dead. *** Outside in the woods, the search continued in a grid pattern.  How far could Drake have gotten? Finn wiped the mud off of his brow and tried to keep the pounding rain from drowning him into further dispair.  His one ray of hope was that this was a spring storm and he would not freeze to death, but he could drown just from passing out in a puddle.   As he looked around, zero visability, mud puddles everywhere, he too had a sinking feeling, that Drake was dead.  He had to keep searching.  Maybe there was a sliver of hope.  Maybe

"Let me see it!" Anders put the letter behind his back and held out his hand. "Hold on!" Drake growled, "No! Let me see it!""We need to talk about this first!" Anders took a few more steps backwards as Drake tried to reach behind him.His eyes showed the anxiety that was brewing inside of him and he was losing his patience with Anders, he barked "I'm gonna lose it!"Drake clenched his fists into a ball as he continued to stare at Anders and spoke through clenched teeth, "Let me see it!"Anders rolled his eyes and looked at Drake as if he had two heads before saying, "Chill out, let's go sit in the kitchen with Stacey."Drake begrudgingly followed him into the kitchen and sat down, crossing him arms and glaring at both of them. Anders held out a copy to Drake, who snatched it and started to immediately read her hand written words.My Dearest Drake,I am about to do something that wil

Two weeks had passed and Finn felt like a piece of him was missing.  Drake had always been there, even when he arrested Finn, he supported him when he had been at his lowest.  Lili was standing there in the kitchen and knew what was eating him alive and she decided that she needed to do something about it.   She put down the dish towel and walked over to him and boldly stated, "I am going to see my father in jail and finish this, for good." "What? You can't do that!" Finn said as he voice cracked.  He was not letting her go to see her creepy father.  The guy was a miserable man with nothing but hatred flowing through his viens.  No wait, even worse than that...vindictiveness ran so deep that he spewed nothing but hate. Lili gave him her puppy dog eyes and walked over to him and said, "Listen, he can't hurt me in jail but he can try to continuously surprise us with one hate filled plot after another and one of them mi