CHAPTER 25 #2
“Confidence, Malik,” I say, cutting him off.
“Because the man I love is in surgery right now and he saved my life twice. Once out on that water and again tonight when he took a bullet that was meant for me. So you and the FBI aren’t getting shit from me unless I know with one hundred percent certainty that Finn is left alone. That he stays safe.”
Malik rubs a hand over the back of his neck and grimaces. “Was Finn involved with Voronin?”
“No!” I exclaim in horror. “No! Finn is a good and decent man. He hates Voronin and everything he does. The only thing Finn is guilty of is harboring me from the Russians and it might just…” My voice cracks, tears pooling in my eyes.
“And it might just cost him his life. If he makes it through this surgery, he stays safe no matter what.”
Malik and Cole exchange a look, and Cole nods at him. A silent message… Trust her, boss. Let’s put this to rest.
“Okay,” he says with a firm nod. “Tell me what you know and I’ll do everything I can—”
“No,” I cut him off again. “You promise me with absolute certainty that he remains untouched. If you can’t do that…
the FBI gets nothing from me. I won’t testify against Sokolov.
You can send me to prison for obstructing justice or some bullshit, but Voronin will go free and you won’t have anything. ”
“Fuck,” he mutters, but then he stares at me resolutely. “Fine. I’ve got your back on this. We won’t let anything happen to Finn. Anything you tell me right now stays between us. I promise.”
I stare at him a long moment and I can see the truth and loyalty there. He won’t let us go down.
“Okay… here’s what I can tell you.”
And I lay out the bare bones. That Mikhail had been looking for me and approached Finn about it. That Finn lied to protect me, then he kept me safe with him. That he put himself at risk, but that it was Finn’s friend Connie who gave us up.
“But how does Finn know Voronin?” he asks.
“That is something I’ll never tell. As far as anyone is concerned, Mikhail was after me because I’m the witness. Finn protected me, but his friend Connie gave me up because she’s got a crush on Finn. It’s as simple as jealousy, okay? And she died because of it.”
“And why was Finn’s boat out on the water tonight?”
“Just a lovely night for a midnight ride,” I say with a shrug. “But Finn was with me, saving my life. Protecting me.”
“And that’s all you’ve got?”
“That’s all you’re getting. You make sure Agent Royce knows that.
I’ll be the best fucking witness the federal government has ever had to take the Russians down, but as far as they’re concerned, Finn’s boat was just out on the water and got caught in the crossfire because Finn chose to protect me. Understood?”
His eyes search mine, but they’re soft and empathetic. “Yeah… I understand. And I’ll make sure Royce understands too. She’ll want your testimony more than she’ll want to nose around on why The Quartermaster got blown up.”
Malik’s phone buzzes. He steps a few feet away to take it.
Cole reaches over, touches my knee. My eyes lift to his and he grins. “This Finn is a hell of a guy, Josie. I’m looking forward to having a beer with him when he gets out of the hospital.”
The long exhale of pent-up breath almost makes me dizzy when I release it. I can’t help but smile. “He’s the best person I’ve ever known. He’d love to have a beer with you, I’m sure.”
I don’t know how long we wait after that.
Time has gone strange. The TV silently plays the news.
Malik makes calls in the corner in a low voice.
The dawn comes up gray and then less gray through the window, and at some point, Cole presses a paper cup of terrible coffee into my bandaged hands.
I hold it without drinking it, just for the warmth, and I keep my eyes on the double doors at the end of the hall.
And when the doors finally open and a woman in scrubs and a surgical cap comes through, I can’t even stand up. She pulls her mask down around her neck as she walks, and she’s scanning the room.
“Family for Finn Marlowe?” she asks.
It’s Cole who puts his hand to my elbow and lifts me from the chair. The doctor’s eyes lock on mine as she walks my way and a reassuring smile graces her face.
Without her saying a word, relief rushes through me so violently, I start to sag. Cole holds me up straight.
“He made it through,” she says first, the kindest thing she could possibly do, leading with the only words that matter.
“He’s got a hard few days ahead and he’s going to be in the ICU for a while.
But the round missed his heart and the major vessels.
We repaired the lung, we stopped the bleeding, and his vitals stabilized at the end.
He’s alive and he’s strong. Quite the fighter. ”
The room tilts and I start crying. I’m crying so hard I can’t breathe through my crushed throat, ugly and loud and without a single ounce of composure left in me.
He made it through.
He’s alive.
“Can I see him?” I get out.
“Soon. He’s in recovery and then they’ll get him settled in the ICU. It’ll be a little while, and then family can go back, one at a time, briefly.”
“She’s family,” Cole says immediately, his hand still gripping my elbow.
The doctor smiles again and leaves, and then I collapse into Cole’s arms where he hugs me tight.