He let out a moan as he hobbled to his feet. Leaning against the alley wall for support, he lumbered toward her voice.
Chapter eight
Rising Sun
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” – William James
“Fin!”
Hailey was close to panic when he didn’t answer straight away.
“Fin!” she hollered again as she stood next to his car. The whole block felt eerily quiet, and a lot like déjà vu. The last thing Hailey wanted was to walk around a corner in a parking lot, looking for someone who wasn’t answering, see a dumpster, and pass out.
“FIN!” Her throat ached.
There was movement in the alleyway.Someone dragging their feet, maybe? Hailey lifted her shoulders, cringing away slightly, her heart pounding.
“Hailey…” a weak voice called out. It was Fin’s. She sighed heavily and jogged toward the alley, rounding the corner just as Fin emerged.
“Oh my gosh, what happened?”
Bringing her hand to her mouth, she examined the broken man in front of her. Fin’s eyes were bruised and bloodshot. In fact, his whole face looked bloodshot. A spider web of capillaries stretched across his cheeks; his nose was busted, and blood was leaking from his right ear.
Hailey looked over his shoulder for the gang of thugs that had done this to him, but the alley was empty.
“Nothing,” he said shaking his head.
“Well,nothingsure packs one heck of a wallop. You look like you just expelled a demon.” She hovered her hand over his cheek, afraid it would hurt if she touched him, but he tilted his head into her fingertips and closed his eyes.
“I’ll survive.” He turned his head so her fingers stroked his hair.
Reaching up, he took her hand and held against his cheek for a moment before he kissed it gently and returned it her.
Hailey didn’t want her hand back. She looked up at him and then quickly away, weighing whether she’d tell Holly about this.
“Come on,” he said. “I’ll go inside with you.”
“Oh, I already talked to the coroner.”
“I told you to wait by the car,” he said stiffly.
“I did.” She shrugged.For a good few seconds…
Fin lowered his chin, looking very seriously at her.
“I couldn’t wait any longer,” she told him.
He placed a bruised hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright?”
“Fine,” she answered, and Fin looked at her sideways. “The body they found isn’t here anymore,” she explained. “The mortician has it, so that’s our next stop.”
“Huh-uh.” Fin shook his head decisively as he led her back to the car.
“What?” She searched his swollen eyes for some flicker of reason or at least an iota of loyalty as he opened the car door and motioned her in.
“The stakes just got a little higher, and I’m taking you home. Now, get in.”
Hailey bowed her head and sat herself in the passenger seat without a word. She stared at her feet while Fin started the car.
