45. Finn
This was the second time he’d had to wait for Lucie behind locked doors today. If he had bet on those odds that morning, he would have lost. And if Lucie stayed in Henry’s office any longer, Finn was going to rip out all his hair and kick down the door.
It couldn’t have been that long, he thought, but it felt like hours. Or maybe a year. Yeah, it must have been years since he’d last seen Lucie.
If he didn’t stop himself, he was going to tear the lodge apart, log by log. He’d wanted to be in there with Lucie when she faced Henry, but Henry had given him a look that said, “Stay put.”
Finn paced in front of the Way Station lodge. He hated that he had no control over what was happening; every instinct urged him to protect her, to fight for her if it came to that.
And when Sabrina and Charlie burst through the door, he nearly went in anyway, half hoping they’d be able to change Henry’s mind.
But he doubted it. Henry was as immovable as the mountain itself.
Once he made a decision, that was it—no room for negotiation or compromise.
Finn had resigned himself to the reality that Lucie would be forced to leave and that he would be court-martialed for disobeying Henry’s orders, even if it meant Isla survived.
The thought twisted his gut, leaving him more desperate than he’d ever been.
He couldn’t just let Lucie go. If she had to leave, he’d go with her. It was the only option.
The Way Station could find someone else to fill his place.
Screw them.
If Henry didn’t see what a damn miracle Lucie was, they would go somewhere else. He’d make his life with Lucie outside these walls.
They’d keep in touch with Sabrina and Charlie somehow, but it’d be the two of them on their own. He would find a place where she could have a room all to herself to paint, with a view of the ocean.
They could build a happy life together somewhere.
He’d miss the Way Station, his friends, his routine, and his training.
He’d miss movie nights with Charlie and Sabrina and helping people.
But Lucie was worth more than that to him.
Today was his last day at the Way Station if Lucie wasn’t by his side.
As his resolve solidified, the lodge doors opened.
Lucie wouldn’t look at him. This was bad. He needed to see the blue of her eyes looking back at him, anchoring him to her soul. Her brow creased in that way he knew meant she was deep in thought.
“Henry’s making you leave,” Finn confirmed.
Lucie nodded, fidgeting with her hands.
Dammit. Look at me, baby.
Without hesitating, he pulled her close, cradling her face.
“Lucie, look,” he said in a low voice. “We’ll run away—just you and me. I’ll leave this place with you, no questions asked. We can go together.”
Her lips parted in surprise. Lucie’s eyes finally found his—radiant navy blue. They were only that color when she cried.
“What if . . . what if that didn’t need to happen?” Lucie whispered.
He blinked, frowning slightly. “What do you mean?” A surge of hope flickered in his chest. “Is Henry lettin’ you stay?”
Sabrina shook her head. “My dad said she has to leave in twenty-four hours,” Sabrina said.
His heart spasmed. That wasn’t enough time. Not nearly enough. In that warehouse, he had a revelation; he wanted to spend forever with Lucie, and nothing would get in his way.
“Unless—”
“Unless what?” Finn said, cutting off Sabrina. Finn’s heart dropped at the word.
“Unless she was family with someone affected by Legion or family to someone at the Way Station,” Sabrina said.
Charlie jumped in, grinning like an idiot. “Unless you two get married!”
Finn froze. The words hit him like a shock, halting him in his tracks. He stared at Charlie, then at Sabrina, and finally at Lucie, his mind racing.
Married?
Something shifted inside him, a warmth settling over the initial shock, but Lucie was as red as a sunburned tomato and still wouldn’t meet his gaze with her sapphire eyes.
“Lucie—I um?—”
No matter how much he wanted this . . . she looked like she wanted to run.
She didn’t want him—didn’t want this. He couldn’t keep her shackled to him.
There was no way she would agree to this.
Leave it to his friends to ruin everything and blurt out a solution without consulting him. He was going to murder them.
“Sabrina, Charlie,” he said. “Could you both . . . give us a minute?”
Charlie and Sabrina exchanged a look, still grinning, then nodded and slipped away toward the lake, leaving Finn and Lucie alone. Finn turned to her, his mind reeling.
He wanted this. So badly he could taste it. The idea of marrying her had been on his mind for months. But he wanted to make sure she wanted this. He didn’t want to marry her if it wasn’t something she wanted.
“Can we go home and talk?” Finn asked, bringing her hands to his lips.