Up until this point, all the books have been in line with what I know of Finn’s frosty personality.
There were textbooks on coding.
Special editions of theCollectible Sneakermagazine.
Jackie Chan’s autobiography.
But this…
“Horny at Heart?” I pull the book out. The cover boasts a beautiful cartoon-drawn woman hugging a ripped, half-man half-deer? He’s got two horns on his forehead and four hooves on his lower half. I turn the book over and recite. “A cursed faun tries to live a peaceful life—until a mortal woman moves into his forest and wakes every dark instinct he’s buried.”
“That one was good.”
“Gah!” I startle, and the book plummets from my hands. I make a grab for it before it smashes into the ground, but I’m too slow, and the pages crease as it lands upside down.
My watch beeps.
Finn casually walks in, picks up the book, and shoves it back on the bookshelf. He points to the title next to it.“That’s about a monster with a tail, and the woman he falls in love with learns toappreciatethe appendage. This one is about a werewolf and his female roommate. She leaves her bedroom door open after midnight so he can come in and?—”
“Stop.” I squeeze my eyes shut. “Why do you have so many monster romances?”
“I started with Hallmark-style cowboy romances,” Finn says, pointing to the shelf below that. “And then I fell down the rabbit hole.”
“You read all of these?”
“I have a lot more on my e-reader. These are the ones that I liked enough to buy in paperback.”
Sputtered noises come from my mouth. I genuinely have no idea what to say.
Finn watches me with that intense, steady gaze. “Since you’re feeling well enough to snoop?—”
“I wasn’t,” I protest.
“—come downstairs. We could use your help.”
“I really wasn’t…”
Finn doesn’t wait to hear my lies. Smart of him. He picks up the IV pole that I rolled away from the bed and tugs it.
I have no choice but to follow him like a little lamb to the slaughter.
“Finn,” I say while taking the stairs like a geriatric tortoise, “how did you know I was in the elevator last night?”
Finn stares straight ahead. His cold, regal features absorb the sunlight completely. The Shadow Prince in motion.
I try again. “Were you at the hospital already, or did someone call you?”
Still no response.
I tout my chin up. “Fine. Don’t tell me. I’ll find out anyway.”
In my heart, I flounce ahead of Finn with sass, but in reality, I have to take a break and catch my breath in the middle of the stairs.
I expect Finn to press on, but he’s right there beside me. Actually, despite wearing a face of pure misery, as if he’d rather be anywhere else, Finn is creeping along at negative zero miles an hour.
“Ren informed me,” he says matter-of-factly.
“Ren?” I freeze. Henry still hasn’t found any scrap of information on Ren anywhere. He’s as much of a ghost as his partner is.
