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CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN 
MARCUS
It’s been three days since Finn went missing. I’ve bounced between rage, fear, and a sense of worthlessness that the one person I swore to protect is out there with a man who has killed so many innocent people.
Since Claude is doing what he can back at the department, Alexei is with me even though I tried going alone. I’m frustrated and fed up with myself enough that I want to be alone, but Claude refused to hear it.
At least of all people it’s Alexei who hasn’t asked me anything senseless. I don’t know why anyone bothers to ask me how I’m doing when it’s quite clear that I’m not doing well. How the fuck could I be doing well with Finn gone?
“Finn has a unique talent…” Alexei starts as he glances over at me while we walk down a dark street on the rough side of town. “It’s this weird ability to both get out of shitty situations and con whoever put him there into trusting him. There’s a reason Ender wants him, and it’s apparently not to draw your attention or he’d have called us to him. There’s another reason, so have faith in Finn.”
“I have faith in Finn. How could I not? But I also know who Ender is,” I say. “Back before Ender was believed to be dead, Kaden had begun working together with Landall, forgoing the protection and care that I gave him because he—as well as Landall—was thirsty for power. They became so obsessed by it that they had this… idea or something that Ender must have the secrets to it.
“Of course Kaden came crawling back to me wanting me to save him from what he’d done but I knew I couldn’t trust him. I don’t know what Landall did to try to convince Ender, but it backfired because the next time Kaden found him, he was nearly dead. This human who Ender had enslaved was ripped to pieces like he was nothing. I told him to leave him, but Kaden insisted on turning him.
“It was the first real awakening for Kaden of how brutal Ender was, but I swear he still pursued him seeking this power he thought he could gain from him. He never seemed to care or notice that Ender always left bodies in his wake. Ender is a cruel man who gets joy from torturing people and slaughtering innocents. And now he has Finn. Who knows what he’s done to him,” I say before stopping near a run-down house.
“I’m sorry,” Alexei says. “The reason some people do things will always be a mystery to me. But we’ll find Finn.”
“Yeah… I hope we do,” I say as I walk up to the house and hammer on the door.
A young teenager answers, expression immediately turning to fear. “H-Hello?”
“I’m looking for this woman or girl,” I say, showing him pictures of the young girl named Rylee and her mother, who we could find little information on.
The teen seems to draw in on himself. “Are you a cop?”
“No.”
He still seems uncertain as a woman, probably his mother, comes to the door and looks out at me.
She wraps a protective arm around the teen and draws him back. “We don’t want any trouble.”
“I’m looking for these two,” I say. “Seen either of them?”
The woman seems nervous but I feel like there was a hint of something in her expression, so I pull all the cash I have in my wallet out and hold it before her. Her eyes are fixated on the money, and I know it’ll be enough to hook her. “Tell me where.”
She hesitates before pointing to the far side of the street. “Brown house right there. I’ve seen the woman leave it a few times… haven’t seen the girl in a while though.” She quickly takes the money and closes the door. Immediately, I hear the lock switch into place as I head back out to the street and cross the road.
“Should we wait for backup?” Alexei asks.
I refuse to answer as I storm across the street and over to the brown house.
“I’ll take that as a no.”
“Very clearly a no.”
“If we get murdered because of your stubbornness, I’m haunting you in the afterlife,” Alexei assures me.
I shrug. “I’m not too concerned.”
Alexei sighs as I reach the door and start hammering on it. I can hear noise inside and see someone push a curtain back before promptly deciding that they aren’t interested in talking.
“Open the fucking door,” I growl.
“I take it I don’t need my badge for this,” Alexei says when I kick the door open and storm in.
“What the fuck, man?” a vampire asks as he rushes up to me. I pull the pictures up and hold them before his face.
“Where are they?”
“You break into my fucking house and start demanding answers?” he asks as he tries to shove me. I stay rooted to the ground, which perplexes him a little but not enough to refrain from throwing a punch.
I grab him by his head and lift him straight into the air, leaving his feet dangling above the ground. “Where. Are. They?”
“She’s in the back room! Please don’t kill me!”
I decide not to kill him, but I still toss him to the side, where he crashes into a chair and busts it.
“Good reward for answering your question,” Alexei says sarcastically.
“Thank you,” I say, not seeing issues with any of this. I’m not here as a detective. I’d chuck my fucking badge out the window if it meant some answers.
Instead, I head into the back where I find a woman who looks perplexed to see me. Her pupils are a bit dilated, and if I had to guess, she’s just gotten done drugging herself. And while she looks like she’s aged twenty years since the picture of her was taken, it’s quite obviously her.
“Where’s your daughter?”
“Rylee?” she asks before thinking for a moment like she simply misplaced her. “I haven’t seen her in a good year. I don’t know.”
“Who’s she with?”
“Why?”
“Is she with Ender?”
She shrugs, and it honestly looks like she just can’t find it in herself to care. “She might be.”
“You have no idea where she’s at?”
“No… Ender bought her from me. He was better to her anyway. She liked him, so I think it was a good trade. I think I did a good job,” she decides.
“Yeah… splendid job,” I say sarcastically, but she doesn’t seem to catch it. “You have a number for Ender?”
“No, sir. He would just come around every now and then.”
“And what about the doctor? Watson?” I ask.
She thinks harder about that one. “Oh, I haven’t seen him in years. He visited Rylee a few times and brought me money. He told me he’d pay me to keep quiet about her… nature, so of course I did. Very quiet… the money’s stopped now, though. Ender said he’s dead.”
“What do you mean by nature?” Alexei asks.
She glances between us like she’s still not sure if she’s supposed to remain quiet even with Watson’s passing.
“She was born a vampire… you know, like those true vampires,” she says. “I didn’t know right away but Watson did. Recognized it immediately… made me wonder if he knew.”
So what we suspected was true. Watson gave her some variation of whatever Miller created, meaning that her children would be true vampires… would Finn’s?
“Do you know if they’re in this city?” Alexei asks.
“Not a damn clue. I’m not lying. Haven’t seen either of them in about a year. Ender told me if he ever saw me again, it’d be to kill me, and I’m still alive, aren’t I?”
“Did she go to school?” I ask.
“Nah, never put her in school. If I think of anything, I’ll let you know.”
I hesitate, knowing there has to be something more. Something that I’m missing… but what?
Alexei hands her a card with his number on it. “Call if you do think of anything.”
“Will do. If you find her… tell her that her momma says she’s sorry,” she says before turning away from us.
I walk out with Alexei by my side, wondering what any of that gained us. “Well, fuck.”
My phone rings and I see that it’s Kaden. Reluctantly, I accept the call and put him on speaker as we head toward my car that’s parked on the end of the street.
“Where are you two at?” Kaden asks.
“Just finished talking to the girl’s mother but she had nothing to give us beyond the fact that Ender took her a year ago,” I say.
“Oh, you found her? That’s fantastic… I mean, it’s too bad she couldn’t tell you anything, but we’re getting closer, Marcus. Where’d you find her?”
“Have them come back here!” Claude shouts from somewhere in the background. “I found something!”
“What is it?” I ask a moment before Claude must snatch the phone from Kaden.
“A note Watson made about the tracker located inside Rylee. Now we just need to figure out how to find the information on it.”
      
“I might have it!” Claude shouts.
Everyone in the room rushes over to the computer, leaning in close to see what he found.
“What is it?” Kaden asks from the back. Alexei refuses to move so he can see until I squeeze past him.
“I found out how he was tracking her,” Claude says eagerly. “If this tracker is still working and hasn’t been removed, we should be able to find her location as well as Ender’s… they’ll probably be with Finn.”
“Where is it?” I ask as I lean in, hoping we finally have something to assist us.
“It’s searching the exact location now. We can’t be sure Finn’s at the same location, but find the girl, we find Ender, and hopefully, then we find Finn.”
Kaden shakes his head in disbelief. “I’m calling the council. We can get backup for this. We’ll surround the area; he won’t get away this time,” Kaden says as he squeezes my arm. “Give me a location the moment you have them, and I’ll have them parked on the surrounding areas. As we close in, the council will help and create an outer ring to keep him from escaping. I’ll help at the forefront, of course, but we’ve lost this guy more than once… it can’t happen again.”
“It won’t. I’ll make sure of that,” I say, positive that I will make Ender suffer for what he’s done and keep him from ever touching Finn or anyone else again. He’ll never be able to even touch again, because I’ll destroy him. I’ll destroy every part of him.
Now that we’re so close, I have absolutely no patience to wait for the exact coordinates. I want them now, and I feel prepared to do anything to make it happen in an instant.
Needing to get out of this suffocating room, I walk out into the hallway, soaking in the quiet for a moment before Kaden walks over to me.
“I have a group prepared and ready,” he says.
“Thank you.”
Kaden looks at me in surprise. “I have no idea why you’re thanking me.”
“The council doesn’t have to help with any of this. Technically, it all falls on the VRC,” I remind him.
“Which is ridiculous. The council has gone far too long working as a shadow and only coming out when things are convenient. Bowman controlled quite a bit of the council while he was chief. His standpoint was that the council was there for specific jobs, things like keeping an eye on who came and went. But everything else fell on the VRC. It was like what use were we, you know? I feel like we could have prevented so many things, but instead, we hid in the background. Bowman didn’t want the possibility that we would see what was happening behind the scenes. Not now. I know that with Addison in control, she’s willing to listen to me. We won’t let this continue to happen,” Kaden assures me. “The vampires need to stand up for themselves. They need to take control of themselves.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear it.”
The door down the hall swings open and DeGray peeks out with River behind him. “We found it. It’s a small house outside of the city. No close homes. We’ll be able to encircle it quite easily. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” I say. I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life.
OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT 
FINN
“I don’t think it’s working,” Rylee says as she trots down the stairs holding my prosthetic arm. Rice is spilling everywhere, and I hope Ender realizes that it most definitely isn’t my fault.
“It still won’t wake up?” I ask as she presses the button.
“No! I wanted to see you turn into a robot!” She’s grinning at the silliness.
“What, you think I’m like a Transformer?”
Rylee thinks this is hilarious and passes me the arm. “I tried.”
“Thank you for trying.”
She gets a look of enlightenment. “We could make you a stick leg! You could be a pirate and carry a bird around. This is happening! This is happening right now! ENDER! Ender, I need a stick leg!” She shouts this loud enough that if there were neighbors nearby, they’d probably have heard.
Ender starts down the stairs, but Rylee shakes her head.
“Don’t come down here unless you bring a stick leg down!”
“Does it look like I have a stick, Rylee?” he asks. “I’m watering the human. It insists that it must be watered and fed.”
“Stick leg first,” Rylee insists.
Ender sighs quite loudly. “Ah, right. Now tell me, human, would you prefer a stick or water?”
“The stick, of course,” I say.
Rylee laughs, absolutely delighted. With a sigh, Ender disappears before I hear something snap, then he comes downstairs and hands Rylee a broken chair leg. I’m positive if Rylee asked him for the moon, he’d give it a valiant effort. Why does that humanize him? How can this little girl change my opinion of such a cruel and nasty monster?
Rylee hands the chair leg over to me. “I know it’s not as super-duper awesome as your last one, but with this… you can become a pirate.”
“Wow, thank you,” I say, which just makes her laugh again.
“En, can we play another board game? Wait! No! Puzzle. A five-thousand-piece one so we’ll be working on it for years,” she says.
“Sounds like absolute torture,” Ender decides.
“I love torture, then!” Rylee says brightly.
“You’re teaching her so well,” I tell Ender who stops for a moment before turning his head up, like he’s listening.
“Both of you stay in here,” he orders as he shuts the door and hurries off.
“What’s that mean?” she asks as she looks at me nervously. Then her eyes go wide. “You don’t think they’re here to take me again, right?” There’s a look of absolute fear on her face that a child of six should never even know.
“No, I’m sure it’s nothing,” I say as I think about pulling her into my arms, but what if it’s Marcus? What if it’s someone who can get me out of here? Anxiety gets me over to the door that I use to pull myself up with. Trying the doorknob, I realize it’s locked and start jerking on it.
“What are you doing?” Rylee asks with a quiver in her voice.
“There could be someone here…”
“You mean Ender needs help?” she asks anxiously. “Something happened?”
“I don’t know,” I admit.
She wrings her hands a moment before reaching out and snapping the doorknob right off.
I look at her in disbelief. I mean… yeah, she’s a vampire, but I didn’t think she’d be that strong. She doesn’t even show any hesitation as she tears the door open and starts to rush up the stairs. I just barely catch the hood of her hoodie before she can.
“What?” she asks.
“I need you to stay down here, okay? If there’s someone bad up there, seeing you could distract Ender and he could end up hurt.”
She seems uncertain but the idea of Ender getting hurt is enough for her to nod. “Will you stay with me?”
“I have to help him,” I say.
Her eyes are big as she watches me. “You’ll really help him?”
“Of course I will,” I lie. I have no fucking idea what I’ll do, but I know that I want to get back to Marcus and will do whatever it takes to get there.
Anxiously, I use the railing to pull myself up onto the ground floor and realize that even if it’s not Marcus… I could possibly get away. I’d have to take the car. There’s absolutely no way I could hobble my way out of here when there don’t appear to be any other houses even within sight.
The house is quiet as I creep through it, making me wonder if Ender is outside. Maybe he plans to lead them away from us to keep Rylee safe because if they take him or kill him… what happens to Rylee? Who will keep them from taking her?
Reaching the counter, I search for the key, but I don’t see it. I’m sure after my last attempt to escape, he’s hidden it somewhere. I need to grab it and get the car. I need to escape. I need to…
There’s a noise outside the building before I suddenly hear the sound of crushing metal and watch Alexei get thrown against the car, shattering the windshield and caving the metal.
I guess that answers my question of who is here…
But does that answer what I should do?
If Ender is telling the truth… they’re going to kill the wrong man.
But all I can focus on is that Marcus is here… Marcus has found me…
So much relief passes through me that I’m drowning in it… but it’s not over with yet because Ender could kill more than one of them.
And I can’t lose anyone.
OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE 
MARCUS
The moment I have Ender pinned down, he moves so quickly I can’t stop him. But Claude is there, yanking him to the ground, prepared to rip him apart with me. Rarely do I see Claude like this, but if it’s to protect Finn, he’ll go to great measures.
Ender manages to evade him, his skill set quite clearly surpassing that of most of us, but the issue is there are too many of us.
He’s fast, outmaneuvering even Alexei, but when he turns to tear him down, I’m beside Alexei, forcing Ender to draw back. He twists his body, ripping his nails through my skin, but Alexei is immediately on him.
The fight is fast and brutal. Rage pushes me on to the point where I’m blinded by it. My instincts are just screaming at me to kill this man. To tear him apart. And I have the army to back me up.
“Where is Finn?” I growl.
Blood is dripping from Ender’s lips as he grins. “Afraid of what I’ve done to him?”
“I will kill you. I will make you pay,” I growl, and though he steps to the side, he doesn’t get far because Briar and Kaden have boxed him in on that side. Pure anger, pure desperation unlike anything I’ve ever felt courses through me as I tear him to the ground. He kicks me off so hard I slam into a tree and hear it crack. He comes at me like a feral animal, biting and clawing at me, but Claude rips him off and Alexei drives him to the ground. I’m back on him in a second and I think Ender is starting to realize that he’s outnumbered beyond what he can control.
“You should’ve run,” I growl as my hand wraps around his throat. I can feel myself crushing it as I squeeze. He’s trying to throw me off, but with all of us here, he can’t get away.
“Take his head off,” Kaden says. “Make sure he doesn’t get back up again.”
“Stop!”
That voice makes me freeze and my head snaps away from Ender as I look over at Finn who is leaning against the car, trying to stand.
“Don’t kill him,” he orders.
“What?” I ask.
“He has answers,” Finn says. “Don’t kill him.”
I hesitate because I finally have Ender in a position to slaughter him. To remove his fucking head and burn his body so he never walks this earth again.
“You don’t want to make the mistake of letting him get free,” Kaden says.
“Fuck… Marcus, it’s your call,” Brooks says, and while I know that’s not the legal way of doing things, it’s the way we’re doing it.
“Marcus, please,” Finn says, and if Finn asked me for the sun, I’d try to get it to him.
“Okay,” I reluctantly agree.
“Marcus, I need you,” he says, voice desperate as he reaches a hand out in my direction. The others around me crowd in deeper, assuring me that I can step away from Ender and it’ll be alright. Alexei goes, “We got him.”
I break free from Ender as they keep him down, putting him in handcuffs that should be able to at least slow him down. Quickly, I rush to Finn, grabbing him in my arms as relief washes through my body.
“Finn… Finn…”
His fingers dig into my back as he stumbles, and I realize I’m knocking him off balance, so I steady him.
“Marcus…” His voice has a shake to it as he squeezes tighter before pressing hard into me. “My arm and leg are in the cellar, please get them for me.”
“I will,” I say, not sure why we’re worried about that now when I finally have him in my arms.
He leans in and presses his lips close, and I think he’s going to kiss my cheek until he whispers, “There’s a child in the cellar. Grab her and hide her. Now. Do not let anyone see her. We’ll take her to Orin’s. And don’t trust Kaden. Ender told me he’s who tried to kill me.”
All of this information floods through me quickly when I want to just hold him, keep him close to me and never let go again. He has to understand that he can’t trust Ender, especially if the man is trying to get into his head.
“Marcus, please, I need my leg,” he says, voice loud enough the others hear it. “Please.”
God, I don’t want to let go, and the look on his face tells me he doesn’t want to let go either but he does, sinking against the car. Immediately, I want to pull him back into my arms.
I swallow hard but give him a nod before looking to the others to make sure they have Ender under control. It seems they do, but I feel like I still can’t be certain.
Even so, I have to do what Finn asks.
Quickly, I head into the house and follow Finn’s scent to the cellar where the door is shut. Swinging it open, I see the little girl from the picture look up at me with wide eyes full of fear.
“No, no, no. Please. No!” she says, looking absolutely terrified.
“Finn sent me,” I say, hoping that’ll calm her. Knowing Finn, she’s already fond of him.
She seems uncertain but I hear someone else in the house. At first, I’m not sure what to do because everyone here is on our side, but Finn told me not to let anyone know. And what makes him believe Ender about Kaden?
I push the little girl behind the door that opens into the room. “Stay quiet.”
She seems terrified, but she presses herself against the wall while looking like she’s on the verge of tears as I glance up and see Brooks at the top of the stairs and hear another deeper in the house. “Got everything?”
“Yeah, I’m trying to find his prostheses. I’ll be up in a second. Please watch Finn for me,” I say.
“Okay. Just wanted to make sure there was no one lying in wait when you came in here.”
“I don’t think so. Thanks, though.”
“Yeah, of course,” he says before disappearing. I listen for a moment, but the two people who must have entered the house made their way out once I was clear I didn’t need help.
“Come here,” I say.
“W-Where’s Ender?” she asks with wide eyes.
Fucking hell, I don’t know how to deal with kids. “He’s been arrested.”
Her eyes get huge and the tears immediately begin to fall, telling me that definitely wasn’t the right way. “No! I wanna see him! Please! Please don’t take him!” she begs.
“Stop crying,” I growl.
Her eyes get even bigger. This is a fucking mess.
“You’re MEAN,” she declares.
“I’m mean? You’ve been hanging on to Ender, and I’m the mean one?”
“You suck!”
What the hell am I doing?
Sighing, I kneel in front of her. “Finn wants me to take you somewhere safe, so that’s what I’m going to do. Got it? Ender is fine. Finn saved his life, alright?”
She slowly nods. “A-Are those other people going to take me?”
“Not if you listen.”
The little girl nods again, so I pick her up and grab Finn’s prosthetic limbs. My next issue is getting her out—the area is packed full of vampires and Finn very clearly doesn’t want anyone else to know. That’s when I see a large duffel bag sitting on the ground. Kneeling down, I unzip it and dump out the junk that’s inside.
“Get in.”
“Are you kidnapping me?”
“No, I’m keeping you safe.”
She seems uncertain. “How do I know you’re really Finn’s friend? Maybe you’re lying to me, and you’re the bad guy because you look and act like a bad guy.”
I nearly cram her into the bag before reminding myself that she’s a child and I can do this. What I really want to do is run back to Finn and make sure he’s safe for the rest of his life. I want to hold him close and apologize again and again for not finding him fast enough.
Instead, I pull out my phone and click one of the pictures from Christmas with me and Finn wearing the godawful outfits Claude made us.
“You look like a weirdo,” she decides.
“Seriously?” I growl.
She scrutinizes it then flips through a few more pictures before deciding she’s pleased enough to climb into the bag. Putting the prostheses in with her, I zip it up. “Do not move or make a noise. Got it?”
“Yeah.”
Heading through the front door where I’ll finally be able to see Finn again, I nearly run into Kaden.
“Did you clear the house?” he asks.
“Briefly. I just needed to get back to Finn after I grabbed his prostheses,” I say as I quickly move past to put some distance between him and the bag.
“No girl?” he asks.
“I didn’t see her, but I wasn’t even thinking to look for someone who might be hiding,” I say as I hurry off. Finn’s still leaning against the crushed car, watching me closely, but Alexei’s by his side. I want to run over to him, but I know toting the bag around any more than I need to will cause issues, so I hurry it over to my car and put it in the trunk. “Stay quiet.”
She doesn’t make a noise, so I assume that means she’s going to listen as I slam the trunk lid shut. Then I rush over to Finn.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“You got my prostheses?” he asks, but I know he’s asking if I have the girl.
“In the trunk.”
“Thank you,” he says as he sags against me, his arm wrapped tightly around mine to keep himself up as I get a whiff of blood. “Can we go, please?”
I wrap an arm around him and carefully pick him up. “I’m going to get him to a hospital,” I say to Alexei.
“We’re going with the transport team to make sure Ender gets to his destination safely and then we’ll reach out to you,” Alexei says.
I’m honestly torn. I should help them, I’m the strongest in case of fighting and can’t imagine what would happen if Ender got free again, but I don’t want to leave Finn.
Alexei gives my back a pat. “We’ll be fine. They’re going to sedate him. He’s chained up and not getting out. Get Finn some help.”
“Okay,” I say, so happy to have him in my arms. Honestly, him allowing me to hold him without mention of his missing prostheses is enough to show me how relieved he is to be with me.
“Orin, please come with us,” Finn says.
Orin doesn’t need another word of encouragement, he was already hovering around, unsure if there was a way to take Finn from me.
Eagerly, he follows us back to my car. “Do you want to get in the back to lie down?” I ask Finn, not wanting to let go of him.
“Yeah, I’ll sit in the back. The bag is in the trunk?”
“It is.”
He nods. “Thank you.”
“I can drive,” Orin offers.
“No, Orin, I need you back here,” Finn says as I reluctantly set him down in the back seat before reaching out to his shirt and pulling it up to see what the bloody scent was caused by that was drawing my attention. His stomach is bandaged, but I can still smell the blood and it makes me uneasy.
Finn smiles at me. “I’m fine.”
I nod, not sure I want to agree with that but knowing that I’ll listen to him until we get out of here and I can investigate it myself. I’m just so happy to have him that I’m willing to listen to anything he says. I feel almost overwhelmed that he’s finally in my hands. “Do you want the bag?”
“I do,” he says, so as Orin gets in the back and starts to check Finn all over like I want to do, I grudgingly retrieve the bag and set it down between them.
Orin, who is much older than Kaden, immediately realizes that there’s not just Finn’s prostheses inside but he doesn’t say a word as I start to drive. Only when we can no longer see the place does Finn unzip the bag.
The little girl’s head pops out. “Finn! There was this scary vampire, and he was going to eat me and he was…” She gasps. “HE’S IN THE CAR.”
Finn literally laughs as he pulls her out and she latches on to him like a tick. “It’s okay. That’s Marcus and while he looks and acts super grumpy, he’s amazing, okay?”
Rylee seems to think that she’s not so sure about this as she scrutinizes me.
“Where’s En? The mean man said they arrested him. Why did they arrest him? I want to see him,” she says, voice quaking.
“Ender did some illegal things, so they’re going to question him, alright? We have to find out what was going on, but you’re going to stay with us to keep you safe,” Finn says.
“Mind explaining why you snuck the kid out?” Orin asks as I brake at a stop sign and turn to face Finn.
Finn takes a deep breath and I see him wince—his stomach must be bothering him.
“So, I’m sure you already found where I was attacked?” Finn asks.
“We did… probably about two or three hours after the attack,” I say.
“There were three of them. Were the two bodies still there when you got there?” Finn asks.
“They were.”
“There was a third attacker who I never saw clearly but seemed to be the strongest of the three. He’s the one who hurt me. Ender claims it was Kaden,” Finn says as he glances up to see my reaction.
I’m not quite sure what expression to give him. “You can’t trust a thing Ender says,” I assure him.
“I know. And I know that I can’t, but I also know that we can’t write it all off. Ender… Ender made it seem like a possibility. He claims the council is involved… or at least a part of it. I don’t know who to trust, honestly.”
“Well, it’s kind of hard to trust the man who abducted you and is obviously trying to Stockholm you,” I growl as I grip onto the middle console hard enough that I leave a minor indent in it.
Finn catches my eyes. “I haven’t been Stockholmed. Marcus, he could be lying to me, but what I do know is that there’s a group of people who aren’t Ender who want me and Rylee because of our blood. Until I know who those people are, Rylee isn’t going with anyone. No one besides us and our crew are allowed to know we have her.”
“That’s fine. I don’t trust people anyway,” I grumble.
“Right. So, I’m not saying Kaden is involved… I’m just saying that this doesn’t end with Ender. I know you hate the man—I’m not the fondest either—but if it wasn’t for him, they would have taken me or killed me or who knows what because… because I had nothing left. I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t… fight…” Finn’s voice catches. “I couldn’t do anything, Marcus. As Landall dragged me out from under that house, I thought I was going to die. I didn’t yet realize that they wanted me for my blood and that they likely weren’t going to kill me. I really thought I was going to die… and if Ender hadn’t killed them, I might have.”
I reach back and take his hand as Rylee clings to him. “I’m so sorry you ended up in that situation. I’m so sorry that I wasn’t there to help you.”
Someone lays on their horn, clearly annoyed that I’m at the stop sign still.
“I will murder you,” I growl.
“God, I missed your temper,” Finn says with a grin. “Let’s head to Orin’s.”
“I’m taking you to the hospital.”
“I’m fine,” he tries to assure me.
“I’m taking you to the hospital. Orin can then take the girl back to his place, and we’ll meet him there when done,” I say as I start driving, much to the luck of the driver behind me because if they’d honked again, I can’t guarantee I wouldn’t have at least ripped their mirror off and shoved it through the window.
“Ender claimed that Rylee was ill and needed my blood to help her. How are you feeling, Rylee?”
“I’m fine.”
“You were sick before?” Finn asks.
“Yeah. I just felt tired and didn’t feel good,” she says.
“What would have caused that?” Orin asks.
“I don’t know,” Finn says. “But I guess… my blood really could have helped her.”
As I drive, Finn introduces Rylee to Orin, which I guess is why he wanted Orin back with him.
“Since the hospital has cameras, have her hide in the back in case someone is looking,” I say.
Finn puts a jacket over her. “I really don’t want to go inside.”
“I know, but I need to make sure you’re okay,” I say as I pull up outside the door of the ER. Orin switches to the driver’s seat as I come out and open Finn’s door. “Do you want me to carry you or get a wheelchair?”
“Just support me to the door so Orin can get going, and then I can use a wheelchair. Grudgingly.”
I smile, loving to hear Finn’s annoyance. Loving to hear everything about Finn. Honestly, just loving him all around.
“I’ll have Charlie stop by to pick up your prostheses,” Orin says.
“Oh, that would be amazing. Thank you,” Finn says as I hold my hand out to him. The moment his fingers wrap around mine, I’m filled with an insane amount of relief.
“God, I’m so happy to have you back.”
“How many people did you threaten and try to murder while finding me?” he asks as I help him up and shut the car door. Orin waits a moment before driving off. As his father, I’m sure it’s just as hard leaving Finn behind as it would be for me.
“I didn’t keep track,” I admit.
Finn is grinning up a storm and my relief at seeing it is overwhelming. I pull him in close and kiss his forehead. “Fucking hell, Finn.”
“I’m okay,” he says as he cups my cheek.
“I threatened Harris’s life. I told him that if I ever saw him again, I would chuck him off a cliff… I picked up a man by his throat and threw him. He was literally mad because I broke into his home. It was one hundred percent excusable that he was irritated!”
Finn is laughing now because he’s secretly evil. “No! Marcus, don’t do this to me! This is too funny.”
“It’s not funny! If I wasn’t fired before, I’m sure I will be now.”
“I think people can excuse you for your threats,” he says as he keeps grinning while I help him through the door. Once inside, I find him a wheelchair and go up to tell the woman at the front desk what is going on. It only takes her a moment before someone comes out and wheels Finn to the back. She gets him a gown that she sets on the bed before closing the curtain for us.
I pick Finn up and put him on the bed before helping him pull his shirt off.
“I can unclothe myself, I promise.”
“Yeah, but then how would I scrutinize every inch of you?” I ask as I tip his chin to the side. His neck was torn but seems to be healing well. I want to look at his stomach, but he has it bandaged well so I leave it. When I slide his pants down, I see that his leg is red.
“Oh my god. I totally forgot that I have no underwear on,” Finn realizes with a look of horror. “Quick. Give me your underwear.”
“What?”
“I don’t want them to see that I don’t have any underwear on.”
“I don’t think they care,” I assure him. “I’m sure they see far more dicks than you’ll ever know.”
Finn’s eyes get wide. “I need them. Now.”
I sigh as I drop my pants the moment there’s an “Are we all ready then?” from the nurse who accidentally makes the curtain flutter as she stops outside it, allowing her to see my bare ass with my underwear half down. “Or maybe not.”
“Oh god. It’s not what it looks like!” Finn cries. “I just want his underwear.”
“Uh… huh. Another moment, then.” And off she goes as Finn looks at me like he’s horrified. I find the whole thing highly amusing, but I’m not always the best judge.
As I try not to laugh, I pass over the underwear that are far too large for him, but he ties them in a knot, looking relieved.
“Your leg is horribly red.”
“Fucking Landall dragged me by my prosthesis. I guess… that the prosthesis being broken is a blessing in disguise because you better bet your ass I’d still be wearing them if not.”
“I know you would because you like to physically torture yourself,” I say as I hold the gown up and help him into it.
When the doctor comes in she says nothing about the underwear adventure, even though I’m sure she’s heard about it; instead, she introduces herself before she starts examining Finn’s wounds. “How long ago did this happen?”
“I don’t know… three days?” Finn says before glancing at me, and I nod.
“I want to run your blood, check out blood count, and the redness tells me you have a mild infection—”
“No!” Finn says, looking mildly panicked.
She appears startled. “No?”
“No blood, thank you,” he says as he tosses his sweet smile on.
“May I ask why?”
“It’s… a whole thing but no. Thank you, though.”
She seems highly uncertain but nods. “Okay.” They get to work cleaning his neck and abdomen as I realize that someone did this to him that I haven’t yet murdered.
“You’re healing quite well. I’m sure it’s still quite painful, but at this point, the exposed skin has begun to heal so we’re just going to clean it up and keep a close eye on it for infection, alright?”
“Yeah, I fell into a pond… then wallowed around on the ground a bit. Neither place was overly known for cleanliness,” Finn says.
Once she’s satisfied with his wounds, I see her eyeing his leg. “Can I ask about this?”
Finn just shrugs, not really committing. “It’s a permanent cap that works directly with my prosthetic limb. Kind of… an experimental trial.”
“Interesting. It looks like you have a lot of stress on your leg.”
“That was from the attack. My doctor that deals with it will help me out,” he assures her.
She nods. “Okay. Definitely get that looked at and try to rest. I know members from the VRC don’t ever seem to understand that word, but maybe you will.”
Finn grins as I question if she was involved with Claude’s case. “Thank you.”