Regardless of what others might think of him, he wasn’t a stone-cold killer. Every life he’d ever taken weighed heavily on him.
He swung his leg over the bike, stood and stretched. He adjusted the legs of his jeans, then went into the gallery. When he pushed open the door, the chime above it sounded. As he walked into the main room, he glanced around. As far as he could tell, he was the only patron there.
Light classical music played softly in the background, and a faint aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg scented the air. The staging of the various pieces of art was welcoming, and a few small sofas scattered around the large main room invited people to sit and enjoy their surroundings.
Within a few seconds the gallery owner, no doubt having heard the chime, walked out of the office. “Finn! I was hoping you’d stop by this week.” The older man came forward and shook Finn’s hand. “I missed you the other night.”
“Rudi.” Finn clapped the man on the shoulder. “I wanted to come to the opening but got tied up with work.” Actually, he’d been so wrapped up in trying to get into the rogue group that the exhibition gala had completely slipped his mind. “You know how much I love putting on my tux.”
“Ah, well.” Rüdiger Zimmer rolled his eyes a bit. Finn had complained more than once at having to don his monkey suit for opening galas, so the gallery owner was well aware of his aversion to tuxedos. “At least you’re here now.” His round face wrinkled with his broad smile. Bright blue eyes sparkled from beneath graying eyebrows. “I think you’ll enjoy the guest artist exhibit in the Cactus Room.”
“Oh?” Finn glanced toward the smaller side room to his left.
Rudi nodded. “The artist does mostly western-inspired landscapes. You’ll like the colors and composition.”
“I’ll go take a look, then.” Finn patted Rudi’s shoulder and headed toward the exhibit. He entered the room and was immediately bombarded with a sense of wild beauty and riotous color. A light citrus scent freshened the air, and Finn realized it came from small bowls of dried lemons Rudi had stashed on various tables and nooks in the room.
He was standing in front of a watercolor of a Monument Valley sunset when he heard the click of high heels behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see Keira walk into the room.
She wore shiny dark blue, slim-legged pants and a sleeveless button-down blouse the color of lilacs. Pointy-toed turquoise spike heels and her gold cuff watch completed the outfit. Her long hair was pulled back in a haphazard knot on one side of her neck. As she caught sight of him, her eyes widened. “Finn? What’re you doing here?” She stopped in front of him and looked up into his face. “This is the last place I would’ve expected to run into you.”
He tried to ignore how good she smelled, because it made him want to bury his face in her neck and breathe deeply. “Really? Why?”
She gave a shrug. “You don’t seem like the art appreciation type to me.”
Finn figured that most people would be surprised to find out he was a man who enjoyed art. When he looked at paintings or sculptures, he not only recognized the talent behind them, but also found a calmness of spirit from the study of them. Somehow it stung to realize that Keira, in not discerning his connection to art, was the same as everyone else, even though he realized there was no reason she should know this about him. It wasn’t like he’d shared that much of himself with her. “What are you doing here?” he asked without responding to her observation.
Her slender shoulders lifted in a dainty shrug. She seemed a little self-conscious, and her next words told him why. “This is my work. I just stopped in to see if anything more had sold.”
He couldn’t hide his surprise. “You did these?” He glanced around the room, taking in the bright colors in the paintings, the subject matter of all of them connected to some aspect of nature. He decided it fit her, both the subject matter and the fact that she’d chosen to paint vibrant landscapes. It would figure that an earth fey would stick to a subject she was familiar with. “They’re really good.”
“Thanks.” She paused a moment, searching his eyes. She grimaced at whatever she saw there. “I’m sorry. I guess I was wrong about you.”