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Where the Wild Things Bite(81)

By:Molly Harper


“I’ve called an undead emergency response team here, and they’ll take the book to the Council archives,” Jane said. “Frankly, I had them on standby the moment I realized Finn was involved. I knew we’d have to take someone into custody at some point.”

Finn touched a hand to his heart and feigned injury. “I had all the best intentions. Why do you think I had the Kelleys meet me here? I was cooperating. Honestly, your lack of trust hurts me.”

She glowered at him. “Not yet, it doesn’t. Also, how did you get off the hood of the truck? I was more comfortable when you were trussed to the hood of the truck.”

Finn pouted, in a way that was more obvious than the shifters. Men in black SWAT gear poured out of the SUV. Finn held his hands out to Jane, palms up. “OK, Jane, I surrender.”

My jaw dropped. “What?”

Jane lifted her eyebrow. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. I will cooperate and answer any questions you have.”

“Right . . . up to the moment you disappear from the back of the transport truck with my wallet and the keys to my office.”

“Use two sets of cuffs if it makes you feel better,” Finn said drily.

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Jane said. “McElray!”

A stocky SWAT member whipped off his mask, letting his dark curly hair spring free around a round face. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Take Mr. Palmeroy into custody. And put this in level six containment. Protocol: John Carter.”

McElray accepted the book with a grin, his white fangs glistening. “Yes, ma’am!”

With an air of great authority, McElray clapped a pair of titanium-reinforced handcuffs around Finn’s wrists, in a none-too-gentle fashion, murmuring to himself about having the “coolest damn job in the whole damn world.”

“Finn, what are you doing?” I demanded.

“I’m taking responsibility for my part in the plane crash, the book theft, all of it. Because that’s what the kind of man who deserves you would do.”

I thought about protesting. I thought about begging Jane for leniency. I thought about highlighting all the times he’d taken care of me in the woods and how I might not have even survived the crash without him. But honestly, he needed to own up to what he’d done. If I had a pattern of evading conflict and not trying anything remotely new, Finn’s lifelong tendency was to use his charm to get out of consequences. He was like a giant toddler in need of a time-out. So I said nothing.

I would process the part about the kind of man who deserved me when my head wasn’t reeling.

“It’s going to be OK,” Finn promised.

“You don’t know that,” I told him. “They could throw you in jail, give you the Trial.”

“We’ll worry about that bridge when we get to it,” Finn swore.

“If it makes you feel any better, we eliminated the part with the coffin full of bees,” Dick noted in a cheerful tone. “Now we just lock you in a windowless room and play nothing but polka music at top volume for a week.”

I turned to him, a stunned expression on my face.

“Not helpful,” he admitted, stepping back.

Finn’s voice was rough as he said, “Just go home, Anna.”

I turned my face away, anything to avoid seeing the sorrow in Finn’s eyes. I didn’t know if he felt sorry for hurting me or about going to vampire jail. But it hurt me to see it.

“Jane, could you let her know where I end up?” Finn asked without looking at her.

Jane looked none too pleased, but she eventually nodded. McElray yanked on Finn’s cuffs and pulled him away from me. He dragged Finn off while he looked back at me, as if memorizing my face.

“Wait!” I called.

Finn positively beamed as I jogged over to him, a bright, sunny smile that might have had me concerned for his skin if I weren’t so distracted. I pulled his shirt, yanking him closer to give him one last, lingering kiss. Not knowing when I would see him again, I poured every bit of longing and intensity into it, making sure that he felt every last cell of my lips. Because he had done all that he could to keep me safe in the woods. For every hurt he’d dealt me, he’d tried to do something to make up for it. He wasn’t perfect. But nothing in my life was without some complication.

Behind him, I heard Dick coo, “Awww,” until Jane elbowed him in the stomach. “What? They’re cute together.”

Finn smiled, leaning his forehead against mine. “Thank you. That will get me through the next few years.”

I nodded, kissing his nose. “And one more thing.”

“What’s that?”

I brought my knee up so quickly Finn didn’t have time to brace himself for the impact. He yelped and doubled over, and for a moment, I thought he was going to throw up.