32. Finn
Up ahead in the busted-up plumbing van, Sabrina and Charlie led them toward the Way Station.
Their taillights flickered like spotlights through the dark forest roads.
Fallen leaves kicked up behind them as they drove.
Finn hadn’t let go of Lucie’s thigh since they got into his Jeep that, thankfully, he had the foresight to bring on the mission.
All his focus was connected to where her arms were wrapped around his right arm, leaning against him. Every point of contact with him was on fire.
He wished he could rip out the car console.
He hated those few inches keeping them separated.
Finn needed to touch her, if only to reassure himself she was there and this wasn’t a dream.
But none of his dreams had her clothes hanging this loosely on her.
Or the dark circles under her eyes. Had her father forgotten to feed her for the past month?
The thought was enough; he almost turned the car around three separate times to pummel the life out of the pig. The image of him doing so played over and over in his head. It made him smile.
He was going to put in a good word with Charlie to have her favorite meals and treats brought over constantly. If she wanted, he’d make a couple of stops to their favorite burrito place. It didn’t matter how far he had to drive; if she wanted it, she was going to get it. ASAP.
Lucie’s feather-light touch brought him back to the present, seeing her trace one of his tattoos on his forearm.
Some intricate vine work he’d gotten years ago.
He hadn’t given it much thought when he got it, but seeing her delicate hand following the dark lines made him rethink a lot of things.
Nobody had ever seen him the way she did, and he wanted a lifetime of it.
His communicator beeped and flashed. Charlie. He accepted the call.
“I called ahead,” Charlie’s voice called out from the watch. “Guard shift is doing a quick change. We can sneak in between.”
“We umm . . . Lucie, I’m sorry to ask this, but—” Sabrina started. “Finn, can you cover up Lucie’s eyes? It’s just my dad and?—”
Finn’s heart seized again. He was going to need a pacemaker at this rate.
His grip on the steering wheel tightened.
He didn’t want to ask her to do that. Not after everything she’d been through.
Why didn’t they trust him? Trust her? The thought of asking her to cover her eyes, even just for a few moments, made something twist painfully in his chest. It was wrong.
She had been kept in the dark for too long, by too many people. Now he had to do the same? No.
“Is the world going to end if she doesn’t?” he seethed.
At the same time, Lucie said, “I don’t mind.”
Finn turned to her, swallowing the knot in his throat. She was probably thinking about how to get out of this and how to get away from him as soon as possible.
“You don’t need to,” he said, his voice gruff with emotion he hated his friends hearing.
Lucie gave him the sweetest smile that made his heart seize. “I don’t want you or your friends to get into trouble.”
“Once we get inside,” Sabrina called out, “you can take it off. Technically, nobody is supposed to know where we are. I’m sorry?—”
Finn hung up on them.
“No.”
He ran both of his hands through his hair. It wasn’t like they were in the car with them. They couldn’t make her do it. Not with him there. They didn’t have to know she didn’t wear one. Who was she going to tell? She wasn’t going to blab their location to Legion.
“Finn.” Lucie’s voice was barely a whisper, pulling him out of his thoughts. “It’s okay. I trust you. Do you have something I can use to cover my eyes?”
Finn nodded, though his stomach twisted in horror, still not trusting his words. Once he got her to their home, he was going to make her forget everything horrible that had ever happened to her.
No. Not their home.
His home.
Not theirs.
He ran a hand through his hair.
Images of eating breakfast together first thing in the morning with her in her pink pajamas, hair still messy from sleep, filled his mind. He wanted that more than anything.
Finn wanted lazy days with her. Days filled with hard work, then coming together to tell each other how their day was. Walks around the lake. Dinner with family here. But for that to happen, they needed to do this.
Leaning over Lucie, he fumbled through the glovebox, pulling out an unused handkerchief. As he handed it to her, he couldn’t help but wish it was something better—something softer, like fine silk that wouldn’t dare scratch her skin.
Lucie tied it around her eyes.
Bloodlust for her father filled his veins again, but he wanted to get Lucie tucked into bed before he planned that. He needed time to pull the monster apart bit by bit. And make no mistake—he would enjoy it.
Finn sighed, pulling Lucie a little closer, brushing his thumb along her thigh.
How could she trust him so easily after everything she’d been through, after all the times he hadn’t been there? He wasn’t sure what he’d done to earn that trust, but he would guard it above all else.
He thought about telling her those final three words again.
I love you, hanging off the tip of this tongue. But it wasn’t the right time. It felt like coercion again. Instead, he just brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. Hoping she could feel everything he couldn’t say at the moment.
Focus on the road ahead. Move, Vega.
Soon, she’d be safe. That was all that mattered.
He’d yell at Sabrina for the blindfold later.
Here we go. Deep breaths.
The lantern on the side of the tunnel glowed green, its light reflecting off his watch as the boarded-up tunnel wall shifted to the right until it disappeared into the mountainside.
Charlie and Sabrina’s van disappeared first. The tunnel swallowed them up, his headlights illuminating the rough stone walls as they sped deeper inside.
Finn focused on his breaths. Everything is fine. You aren’t going to die. Images of the tunnel collapsing around him shattered his confidence.
No. No. You’re fine. Breathe. You’re safe. Nothing—More images of his crushed car zapped into his mind.
“Tell—tell me something to distract me,” Finn stammered, both of his clammy hands gripping the steering wheel.
“If I were an ice cream flavor, I would be bubblegum,” she threw out.
“What?” he asked, cocking his head toward her.
“It’s my favorite flavor. I know you are looking at me funny. That’s what I was thinking about,” Lucie explained as she cocked her blindfolded face at him. “Your turn.”
“What? What kind of ice cream would I be?” he said, half laughing, fully panicking.
She laughed. “No.”
He would conquer worlds to hear her laugh.
Did she want to know any embarrassing stories? The time he got gum in his hair before picture day, and he cut it out himself? The accident with the goat and the pie. Anything to make her giggle like that again.
“Tell me something nobody else knows about you?” Lucie asked, now holding his hand.
Ivy pushed through the stones, and deep shadows flickered on the walls. Walls—collapsing walls.
“I’m terrified of the dark,” he admitted as they hit the halfway point of the tunnel. Darkness on either side. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
Lucie’s head swiveled to him.
“You are?”
“I hate it,” he seethed.
“Your friends don’t know that?” Lucie wondered, her auburn eyebrow arched over the handkerchief.
“I have a nightlight. It looks like a shark. That’s what nobody knows,” he confessed, squeezing the life out of the steering wheel. “I unplug it before anyone comes over.”
“That’s cute,” she whispered, squeezing his hand. “I’m here.”
He kissed the back of her hand.
The Way Station’s lights flickered at the end of the tunnel. Tension eked out of his shoulders. Finally.
As soon as they made it through, Finn took a right, following the road, and pulled up to his house, just off the main courtyard.
He parked and turned off the engine’s rumble. Silence filled the cab for a moment. He gripped the steering wheel.
Lucie was here. At his house. What if she didn’t like it? And to some extent, him?
Finn gently tugged at the blindfold. “You can uncover your eyes, Luzita,” he said softly.
“You never told me what it means?” she said, uncovering her eyes. He bit back a gasp. She was so damn beautiful. Her eyes looked like sapphires in the night.
He cupped her cheek and kissed the tip of her nose.
“It means little light,” he confided, swallowing the lump in his throat. “You are my light in the darkness.”
She smiled at him, then focused on the courtyard, shifting from house to house. Finn could see the questions forming in her mind.
“I’ll help you out,” he said, already moving to open the door, missing the contact from her warmth immediately, returning to the passenger door right away.
Holding her hand, he helped her get out of the car, then pulled her close to him.
Charlie and Sabrina were already on his porch, Lucie’s bags surrounding them.
Finn made a mental note to have Lucie make the list of everything she needed and get it from May. He would get her whatever she wanted and more. He wanted this place to feel like home to her.
Lucie gave her friends a little wave as they came up the steps. Sabrina rushed down to her, pulling Lucie into a hug.
“Welcome home,” Sabrina cheered. To Finn’s surprise, Lucie hugged Sabrina back with the same fierceness.
“I’ll get you your own place. This is just for tonight,” Sabrina whispered, offering Lucie a small smile.
“I’ve already picked out the perfect house for you.
It’s so cute. It has a wraparound porch where you could do your paintings.
Look, it’s over there,” she said, pointing to a yellow-painted house, “overlooking the lake.”
“You have a lake here?” Lucie asked, gobsmacked, light flickering back into her eyes. Pride lifted Finn’s shoulders. He loved his home and was glad Lucie was finding the same sort of peace he’d felt when he’d first gotten there, too.
“Yes,” Sabrina squealed, tucking her clasped hands underneath her chin. “Charlie and I are trying to organize a canoe race in a couple of weeks.”
Happiness radiated from the two women, and Finn was grateful Lucie already had a friend here. Maybe he wouldn’t yell at Sabrina for the blindfold after all.
Three-to-one odds.
Charlie picked up all the bags as Finn came up the steps and waved his Way Station communicator over the keypad next to his front door. The keypad turned green and unlocked the front door.
“Each person’s house or room only corresponds with their own bracelet. No one else can get inside without your permission,” Finn told her, turning the doorknob, letting everyone in. Lucie squeezed his hand back in gratitude.
Sabrina let out a short laugh. “Wow, Finn. You could eat off the floor here.”
Finn scratched the back of his neck. “I just like to keep things in order.”
His parents were neglectful. Borderline hoarders, so he did his best to keep his space clean. Now that he had his own place, he promised he would never be the same.
Sabrina shook her head and laughed, looking at Lucie. “All of our houses have the same layout. Except at my house, there’s stuff everywhere, and half the time I’m stepping over books, vinyls, or clothes.”
“Controlled chaos,” Charlie said with a grin.
“But,” she laughed, “I know where everything is. It’s a perfect ecosystem. You touch one thing, and it all falls apart.”
Charlie chimed in, leaning against the doorway with a lazy grin. “Yeah, we’ve had some debates over this, but I still don’t understand it.”
“That’s because you don’t look hard enough,” Sabrina teased. “Just because it’s messy doesn’t mean it’s disorganized. There’s a method to my madness.”
Charlie wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. “I don’t know, I’m pretty sure you’ve lost your keys at least a dozen times.”
“That’s part of the system,” Sabrina shot back, giving him a playful nudge.
Lucie glanced between them, her lips quirking up into a small smile. Sabrina had that effect on people—making them feel happier and events more manageable.
“But you should come and visit sometime. “My place isn’t too far away.” She pointed to the other side of the house. “I’m over that way. The one with the red door.”
Lucie hesitated. “What if someone sees me?”
“People come and go all the time here. No one will notice,” Sabrina said, waving her hand. “We just need to stay clear of my dad for a little bit.” Lucie stiffened next to him.
Finn stood up taller. “You’re not a prisoner, Lu. You can come and go as you please. Even here. We’ll get you your own place. Set you up,” he promised.
“If you get hungry tonight, let me know,” Charlie said. “I live right next to Finn. Green door with the flower boxes. I can bring you something over. Do you have a favorite?”
Lucie shook her head, a small, grateful smile tugging at her lips. Charlie gave her a wide smile back.
“Well, if you change your mind, Finn makes a mean omelet. I would take him up on one,” Charlie said, holding out his hand for her to shake. She took it. “But he burns his toast. You’ve been warned.” He winked at her.
Lucie laughed.
“I’ll take my chances,” she said.
Sabrina nudged Charlie. “See? She’s already braver than us.”
Finn was grateful to his friends. They could have been freaking out, but they weren’t. He knew they would keep Lucie’s secret until Finn had a chance to convince Henry that Lucie belonged there. She was training to be a doctor. They needed a doctor. It was perfect.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Charlie said quietly as if it was only for Lucie to hear.
“Finn’s been really sick lately. He can hardly get out of bed.
” Charlie faked a cough. “He’s been extra moody.
Clingy. Can’t eat. Can’t sleep. Flushed.
He needs a doctor. My diagnosis?” Lucie’s eyes pinched in concern.
Another cough and he mouthed, “Lovesick.”
They all laughed at his expense. Color rose to Finn’s cheeks.
“Okay, get out. Get out, both of you. Before you say something else that makes me want to kill you,” Finn said, shooing them out.
“We were just leaving,” Charlie said.
“Yeah, we’ll let you guys settle in.” Sabrina gave Lucie a quick, reassuring look. “Tomorrow, we’ll figure everything out. Pinkie promise.”
Before leaving, Charlie looked back one last time, his voice warm. “We’re glad you’re here.” Charlie pulled Sabrina closer as they started toward the door.
“Night,” Finn replied, watching them go, leaving Finn and Lucie alone.
Finally.