“May I have a moment?”
I glance at Nathan, then back at Finn. “Make it short. I need to get Nathan home.” I follow him to a quiet corner in the garden.
“I’m sincerely sorry for putting Nathan’s and Margaret’s lives at risk today,” he says, his voice still hoarse and raspy. “You must hate me, and I don’t blame you. But your opinion actually matters to me.”
I meet his eyes. “I thought you were smart.”
“I am smart.” He exhales slowly. “But sometimes that’s the problem, isn’t it? When you know so much, you start to thinkyou know best. That’s a fallacy.” His jaw tightens. “This is the second time I’ve made that mistake, and the last time—”
He removes his glasses and squeezes his eyes shut. A couple of tears silently streak down his face.
“It didn’t end well.”
“What happened?” I ask softly.
“I was overseeing an LTF,” he says. “A thermal mechanical stress test on a new composite material. We were pushing it to failure.” His gaze drifts past me, unfocused. “We were almost finished. Very close to the upper limits. I only needed a couple more minutes to finish collecting the data we were after.”
His fingers close harder around his glasses. “Alfred detected a minor fluctuation in the readings. Nothing immediately alarming. Most likely an anomaly.” His mouth twists. “I decided it was noise and made the call to finish.”
He returns his gaze to mine. “Less than a minute later, a containment unit failed. It released the stored pressure and heat. Not an explosion,” he says quietly. “But fatal to anyone standing nearby.”
“Alfred was the closest,” Finn says. “His death was instant.”
I study his face. Grief etched into the corners. And his hands are trembling. There’s a hollow wound inside this man—an empty space. From his failure or his loss, I’m not entirely sure.
“It’s one thing to take risks with your own life,” he continues. “It’s another to make the call for others. They deserve a say in what risks they’re willing to take.”
“I’m sorry for your loss. But it doesn’t seem like you’ve really learned anything from it.”
“Today reminded me.”
“So then, what are you going to do about it now?”
“I can’t promise it won’t be dangerous. But I promise to dive the plan.”
CHAPTER 22
The Stranger
Miso soup and saltines with a side of fruit. More food.
Crystal sits across from me, watching me eat. In the dim lighting, her blue eyes catch and hold the light, like a shimmer.
We’ve got to talk about this. I’m not too bothered by what Finn did. Though I’m in the minority. He made a call. It was a mistake. We’ve all made mistakes.
But when I think of Crystal’s face the moment she saw me at the inn… the way it dropped… It was like I struck her.
I don’t want to ever feel that way again.
“What did Finn want?” I ask.
“He apologized. I believe that he’s sorry.” She frowns and brushes her fingers across the collar of her blouse. “But that doesn’t change much, does it?”
“No.”
We haven’t spoken about it yet. She wanted me to rest during the car ride, but my mind has been busy. Turning over every argument, searching for something that might convince her to say yes. In the end, I’m prepared to do whatever she asks. After what she’s been through, I owe her that much.
She puts her hand over mine.
