Chapter 29
Looking at his watch, Finch saw Nina had been gone for thirty minutes. It was dark and cold, and she hadn’t returned. He was getting worried, even if he was pissed off with her.
“What?” Sawyer asked from beside him.
“Nothing.”
“Something,” Lynx said from his other side. “You’ve been emitting grumpy vibes since Nina left. What happened between you two?”
“Nothing.”
“Something.”
“She told me to back off,” Finch snapped, still hurting from Nina’s words.
“And what?” Sawyer asked.
“She hurt your feelings, bro?” Lynx asked.
“No.” He sounded like a sulky five-year-old.
“With all the shit going on in her life right now, don’t you think lashing out at someone because she’s confused, and scared is a normal reaction? That for whatever reason, she’s chosen you to be the one closest to her, so you get it when she blows,” Sawyer said.
“Blows?” Lynx asked.
“The pressure valve finally goes,” Sawyer explained. “Nina’s been dealing with plenty of crap, and maybe it got too much for her.”
“When did you get all insightful and shit?” Lynx asked, while Finch’s mind worked through what his brother-in-law said. He should have seen it coming. Nina had been holding stuff together. She’d shed a few tears, yes, but something had to give, and he’d been there when it had.
“I’m an idiot,” he muttered. “I’m going to find Nina.”
Pushing his way through the crowd, he reached his sisters.
“Have you seen Nina?”
“She went to use the bathroom. Give the poor girl some peace,” Blue said.
“I think it’s cute our big brother has fallen hard—finally,” Birdie said.
He didn’t agree or disagree with this statement; instead, he searched the area for Nina again.
Tripp had organized two bouncy castles manned by teenagers so the kids could play before the tree lighting.
The town had turned out for the first official Lyntacky Christmas event of the season.
The scent of hot chocolate and cinnamon filled the air, and there was that certain level of excitement you only got at Christmas time that affected even the adults.
Carols played in the background, but not so loud you couldn’t talk, like when he’d last attended two years ago.
Finch pulled out his phone and called Nina. She didn’t pick up.
“Did she even bring her phone?” Blue asked.
“Not sure,” Finch said, dialing her again.
“Greetings,” Dan said, arriving with Leah and Hudson. He wore a plaid checked hat with earflaps that he’d tied up on top of his head.
“You look like an idiot in that.”
“I look cool, big bro. It’s just you don’t know the difference,” Dan replied, undaunted by Sawyer’s insult.
“Did you see Nina on your way in there, Dan?”
The laughter fell from his face as he looked at Finch. “No. Why?”
“He’s overreacting,” Lynx said. “Nina and he got into a bit, and she went to the bathroom twenty minutes ago to cool down.”
“Twenty-five,” Finch added, not denying what his brother said. “I’m going to check on her.”
“I’ll come,” Dan said.
He didn’t respond, just started walking in the direction Nina had gone.
She was fine and probably chatting with the staff. He knew that had to be true, but he couldn’t stop the icy tendrils of panic slithering inside him.
“You’re worried,” Dan said.
“I don’t know why.”
“It’s called instinct, and I’m sure, like me, you’ve lived with it for years. So what happened between you and Nina?”
He didn’t answer, as they’d reached the diner. Finch entered first.
“You two want hot chocolate for the tree lighting? Because we all know Tripp’s going to string things out for as long as he can before he announces who’s turning on the switch this year,” Frank, who co-owned the Do Si Do with his wife, Linda, said.
He wore jeans and a shirt, but Linda usually dressed like diner staff from days gone by.
“Not now, thanks,” Finch said. “Have you seen Nina, Frank?”
The man frowned. “Nobody’s come in here. It’s just me prepping for after the tree lighting.”
“Fuck,” Finch muttered. “Where is she?” He ran back out the door.
“Maybe we missed her, and she was already back there, talking to others?” Dan said, following him. He then took off back down the street.
Finch pulled out his phone and called Nina again, but he got no answer.
Where are you?
He was on Dan’s heels as he rejoined all the locals waiting for the ceremony.
They walked, checking groups of people for her as they went, but she wasn’t here.
The desperation inside Finch had him climbing up the rotunda steps and raising his hands for everyone to be quiet.
All eyes turned to look up at him as he roared, “Is Nina Winters here?”
The gathered Lyntacks looked around themselves for her and were soon shaking their heads.
He had a good vantage point, and the streetlamps allowed him to check faces.
She wasn’t here; he was sure of it. Dan was now with his uncle, and they were making their way back to the road.
Finch jumped down the steps and joined them in seconds.
“We’ll find her, Finch,” the sheriff said.
He felt others arrive and knew without looking it would be those closest to him.
“She went to use the bathroom at the Do Si Do, but didn’t reach there,” Finch said, his voice tense.
The thud of footsteps had them looking to the street, and they watched Caleb and Jonathan appear.
“I think you’re actually getting better,” Caleb said. “You sound less like a train and more like a real person.”
“Fuck you” was Jonathan’s response.
Caleb saw them first and slowed, walking the few feet to close the distance. “You all look serious. Don’t tell me the lights aren’t working again this year? I thought we’d fixed them.”
“We can’t find Nina,” Blue said from behind Finch. “We’re worried about her.”
“No need. She was just leaving her house with Amber and Kurt. There was some other guy with them. A handsome older man,” Caleb said.
“Well put together,” Jonathan added as he wiped the sweat from his forehead onto Caleb’s back.
“Her father,” Dan said. “The bastard chose tonight to come to town because everyone would be at the tree lighting.”
“I didn’t think to stop—we should have,” Jonathan said, looking worried now.
“What car were they in?” Sheriff Dans asked.
“White sedan, but I don’t remember the plate number,” Caleb said.
“White sedan will do for now,” Dan said, pulling out his phone. “I’ll call it in and get the others at the station out to look for any white sedan in town or heading out of it. Right now it won’t be hard to find, as everyone is here, not driving their cars.
“Amber and Kurt clearly have a connection to Falcon,” Sawyer said from behind Finch.
Turning, he saw every Duke brother, Lynx and Blue, plus JD.
“And likely robbed Nina’s house and tried to burn it down,” Blue added.
“So he’s here looking for whatever they didn’t find,” Finch said. “They clearly didn’t find what they wanted in her house, so where else would they look?”
“The Murrays’ farm has that storage barn, and Nina put some of her mom’s furniture there,” Blue said.
Finch remembered her talking about that. They were going to take a look there tomorrow.
Dan started talking into his phone about the Murrays’ being the location they were heading to.
“Right, let’s go,” Sheriff Dans said. “My nephews and your brother can come—”
“I want to come,” Blue said. “My brother and my friend need me.”
Finch recognized that belligerent look on his sister’s face. She wouldn’t be moved.
“This could be dangerous, Blue,” Lynx said.
“But you’re going?” She had her hands on her hips now.
They went in the two police vehicles, and Finch was with Lynx, Blue, and the sheriff. He sat in the front with his knee bouncing, both hands pressed flat against his thighs as if that could hold the rest of him together. Behind them in Dan’s cruiser were Sawyer, Brody, Ryder, and JD.
“She’s smart,” Sheriff Dans said, not looking away from the road. “She’ll have kept her head. You keep yours, too, and we’ll get her back, Finch.”
The drive wasn’t long, and he felt Blue’s hand on his shoulder the entire journey. The solid weight of it gave him no comfort because all he could think about was Nina. Were they hurting her?
“Cut your lights,” Sheriff Dans said into his radio, and soon they were rolling down the long drive that led to the Murrays’ farm in darkness. “The barn is to the right of the house.”
They parked at the main house. Dan and his uncle then got weapons out of the back and pulled on protective vests. Finch also received a vest from the sheriff.
There was a crunch of tires and then the third cruiser pulled up, and another of the Lyntacky deputies got out.
“Right. Dan, Finch, and I will go into the barn if we see the white sedan outside,” Sheriff Dans said.
“Why Finch?” Blue asked.
“Because he was trained in the military and knows how to keep his shit together, unlike you,” Dan said. “Even though it’s his girl in danger, he’ll stay controlled.”
Finch hoped that was the case, but Nina pulled all kinds of emotions out of him he’d never felt before. The thought that anyone might harm her enraged him.
“Connor, you take Sawyer and Brody to the rear, and you others remain out front, but stay hidden.”
They nodded, and Blue thankfully kept her mouth shut.
“Right, let’s go,” Sheriff Dans said.
The tension was high in every one of them.
Finch could feel it as he moved through the dark toward the barn.
He saw the shape of it before he noticed the car pulled up out front.
A security light clicked on, making them all stop briefly, but it was only one of the Murrays’ three cats.
The large tabby wandered by on his way somewhere.
The white sedan was parked to the right, and no doubt the car that had brought Nina and her father here.
Asher held up a hand as they came to a stop. He then pointed to Deputy Connor and then the barn, and the man slunk off into the shadows with Sawyer and Brody.
“Stay,” Dan hissed to Blue, Lynx, and JD.