Chapter 15
Finn
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Finn woke with a jolt, gasping for air before he even understood why.
There was no sound in the house, no nightmare clawing at the edges of his mind, no sudden movement that should have startled him awake.
The alarm was a deep pull in his chest, unmistakable and familiar, as if someone had hooked a piece of thread through his ribs and given the end of the string a deliberate tug.
He sat on the edge of the mattress, heart thudding, trying to steady himself as the sensation lingered, refusing to fade.
He pushed himself to his feet slowly, feeling the weight of the moment settle over him. The room looked the same as it always did. The bare walls, worn floorboards, and the faint morning light filtering through the thin curtains greeted him each morning.
But the air was charged and at attention. He moved through the house with quiet steps. Something was happening. Something he had experienced twice before in his life. Something he had hoped for and feared in equal measure.
When he stepped outside, the town greeted him with its usual monotony.
Boone pushed the mower across the same patch of grass he'd cut the day before.
Vaughn swept dust off the restaurant steps, even as the wind kept undoing his work.
Mace leaned against the lamppost, half-asleep, arms crossed, eyes unfocused.
None of them looked up. None of them sensed anything.
Their world was unchanged, unmoved, untouched.
But Finn was highly attuned to the changes. There was a deep vibration in his bones, drawing him closer.
He walked toward the edge of town, each step growing faster as he gained ground. The air thickened around him, humming with a tension that made the hairs on his arms rise. He recognized his reaction.
He'd seen men hooked on drugs who would do anything for one more hit. His dependency on Kallie was the same.
It happened to him when Kallie was ten. She'd stumbled into Everstill as if she'd been dropped from another world and set before him.
He felt it again when she was sixteen. She was older, hurting, and desperate for a connection she couldn't name or explain.
Both times, the veil had stirred before she appeared.
And now it was stirring again.
He stopped at the cracked line where the pavement changed, where the road looped back on itself in a way that defied logic.
The wind shifted, brushing against him with a strange, deliberate warmth.
He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the sensation wash over him, letting what he could only describe as a difference settle over him.
He'd lived so long without emotions, he'd forgotten what it felt like to hope that there was more to his life than living in Everstill, day after day. Though he'd sent her away, he wanted her back. She belonged to him.
"Kallie," he whispered.
He touched his wrist, his fingers brushing the frayed bracelet she had made him so many years ago.
He had worn it so long that it felt like a part of him.
The threads were soft now, worn thin from years of rubbing against his skin.
He traced the knot with his thumb, as he always did when he thought of her.
Unlike the other men in Everstill, he regained the ability to remember what happened. It started with Kallie's first visit. Something about her appearance had changed him, only him. He became acutely aware of her and their time together.
She would be twenty now. A woman. The moment it clicked, his breath faltered.
He finally understood. He had tried not to think about her like that, tried to bury the warmth that rose in him whenever he imagined her older, stronger, more beautiful, standing in front of him again.
But desire stirred anyway. It had been years since he'd felt anything like it.
Years since Everstill had allowed him to feel anything at all.
He swallowed hard, trying to steady himself, but the pull in his chest only tightened. The air ahead of him moved faintly. A ripple, and then a distortion. It flickered once, then again, like a heartbeat struggling to steady itself. Finn's breath hitched as he stepped closer, drawn to it.
The veil was opening.
The wind rose suddenly, swirling around him, tugging at his clothes, carrying the faintest hint of a scent that lingered in the back of his mind. The shadow deepened, stretching across the road in a slow, deliberate pulse.
Finn's heart pounded.
She was coming.
The black seam on the road thickened. The change came before Finn fully registered what he was seeing. A low vibration built in his chest, making it hard to breathe. He stood there, rooted to the spot, as the world around him tightened with a strange, electric anticipation.
The wind surged without warning, tearing down the road in a violent rush that sent dust spiraling into the air. Loose shutters rattled. The old courthouse groaned. The men in town stopped what they were doing and watched.
The force blew into Finn, almost knocking him back. His breath hitched, his pulse hammering as the seam deepened, twisting into a vortex of light and shadow. He took a step forward, then another, drawn to the opening.
The air split in half.
A figure tumbled out of the distortion, hitting the pavement hard enough that Finn flinched.
She landed on her hands and knees, hair whipping wildly around her face.
The wind died as abruptly as it had risen, leaving a ringing silence in its wake.
Finn's heart slammed against his ribs as he stared at her.
A woman. The realization hit him hard, leaving him unsteady.
She pushed herself upright, breasts rising and falling in quick, uneven breaths.
When she lifted her head and her gaze found his, something in him ignited, rising from a quiet spark to a fierce rush that left him fully aware of the woman she was now.
He knew her instantly. The shape of her face, the way her mouth trembled when she was overwhelmed, the fierce determination in her eyes, even through the fear of traveling through the veil.
His breath left in a single exhale. He didn't remember deciding to move, but suddenly he was walking toward her, boots striking the asphalt, unable to stop himself.
"Finn," she whispered, voice shaking, and the sound of his name on her lips nearly brought him to his knees.
She scrambled to her feet, stumbling once before catching herself, and reached for him with a desperation that mirrored the storm within him.
He caught her without hesitation, his hands closing around her arms, steadying her, drawing her in.
She pressed her forehead to his chest, her breath shuddering against him, her fingers curling into his shirt as if afraid he might disappear if she let go.
The moment her body touched him, he refused to let go. She was real and warm in his arms. He cupped the back of her head, holding her close as something sharp pierced him. He closed his eyes, holding her as if he'd been waiting for this his whole fucking life.
Kallie stayed pressed against him, curling her fingers tightly into his shirt, gasping for breath. Finn held her without hesitation, letting the reality of her returning sink into him. She was no longer a little girl.
The warmth of her body, the trembling in her hands, the way she fit against him, he shuddered. She wasn't the girl he'd pushed through the veil. She was older now.
Her body was lean and strong with soft curves in all the right places that pressed against him. He felt every bit of her, fitting against his body as if she was made to complete him.
When she finally pulled back, he kept his hands on her arms, steadying her as she regained her balance.
Her eyes were bright, wide, and wild. He couldn't stop looking at her, trying to remember what the young girl had looked like, but failing because the Kallie standing in front of him was a beautiful woman.
The soft jaw. The high cheekbones. The full mouth.
The way her hair fell in loose waves past her shoulders.
She was breathtaking in a way that scared the hell out of him.
He didn't have time to process it.
Behind him, the men were starting to talk about their visitor.
Finn stiffened instinctively, turning slightly to see Boone standing in the street, the mower abandoned, his gaze fixed on Kallie.
The other men followed one by one, with Vaughn stepping out of the restaurant, Mace straightening from his usual slouch, and Nolan and Wade drifting toward the street as if pulled by an invisible force.
They had one focus.
Their blank expressions were the same hollow calm they wore every day, but the intensity of all of them coming toward Kallie made Finn's pulse spike. They were content to do their job each day, but now, with Kallie standing in the middle of the road, they were distracted and paying attention.
He stepped in front of her.
His body moved before his mind caught up, positioning him between her and the men, shoulders squared, stance widening to make his intent clear. Kallie lightly touched his back, confused, but he didn't move.
He couldn't.
She had no idea what these men were capable of. In her world, they were not good men. He was not a good man.
But he'd die protecting her.
The men drifted closer. Boone's gaze flicked between Finn and Kallie, then back again, as if trying to recall a memory that wouldn't come.
Vaughn tilted his head slightly, studying her with a curiosity that was too intimate for comfort.
Even Copper, who rarely left the restaurant, stepped into the street.
He'd gone out of his way to count the days, remember Kallie coming to Everstill, and hold on to the desire to find her again in his lifetime.
Maybe he should've paid more attention to the others.
Maybe the other men were also recognizing that something wasn't right.
He didn't know what they remembered. But he knew one thing with absolute certainty.
Kallie was back, and he wasn't letting anyone near her.
"Finn?" she whispered behind him.
He didn't look back. "Stay close."
Her fingers curled into the back of his shirt again, and the small, instinctive gesture sent a rush of heat through him.
"She's back," Boone said.
Finn's muscles tensed. "Yeah."
Vaughn stepped forward, eyes narrowing slightly. "Didn't think she'd return."
Finn shifted his weight, subtly blocking their view of her. "She did."
So much for them forgetting her. His body hardened.
Mace's gaze flicked to the shimmer fading on the road. "The veil opened for her."
Finn braced. He understood what they were thinking. They'd linked Kallie's arrival to the opening of the black seam they couldn't penetrate. He gritted his teeth. They might not have their emotions, but they'd put together that Kallie could walk between two dimensions.
They'd want to use her to get themselves out of Everstill. If that failed, they'd realize Kallie was a woman. That was one thing missing here, and it wouldn't take long for them all to want to experience something readily available in the real world.
All hell would break loose. He needed to get Kallie out of here.
The men exchanged glances. He spotted Moe walking slowly to the group. He was the only one wearing a frown. All those questions Moe used to ask were now bothering his friend.
Kallie pressed closer to him, her breath brushing the back of his shoulder. He felt her tremble, her uncertainty, her exhaustion from traveling through the glitch. And beneath it all, she trusted him. She leaned into him, letting him shield her.
He straightened, meeting each man's gaze in turn. "She's with me."
The claim came with a warning. He wasn't going to let any of them hurt her.
The men kept watching him. He wasn't backing down. The other times Kallie came to him, she was young. She was a woman now, and the men hadn't seen anyone of the opposite sex in a long fucking time.
He knew how he was feeling. He could only imagine what it was like for the others. There were no weapons here. He would need to protect her.
Boone turned first, going back toward the courthouse. The others followed him.
Moe stayed behind, visually confused. Last time, Moe was the one who kept asking him questions about Kallie's arrival and the glitch. It took him longer to forget. He exhaled. Another part of Moe's brain was waking up. He wasn't going to be as easy to control as the others.
"Leave her alone, Moe," he said.
Moe's shoulders broadened, and then he turned around and walked toward the store. It wasn't over with Moe. He'd be back with questions on how Kallie was able to return. Moe would want to find out how they could all walk through the rift.
He turned to Kallie, finally letting himself look at her fully. Her cheeks were flushed from the wind, her eyes bright with emotion, her lips parted as she tried to catch her breath. She looked up at him with a mixture of relief and disbelief.
"Come on," he whispered roughly. "Let's get you inside."
She slipped her hand into his. He held on, afraid he'd hurt her. She was the softest, most fragile thing he'd touched since arriving in Everstill.