I’d thought he was smart, a happy-go-lucky guy, and he’d always appeared way more mellow and agreeable to me.
However, it appeared the agreeable and mellow part was not accurate. Finn was a stubborn fool, and the reason I’d be the first vampire to get gray hair.
Finn stopped at an intersection, clutching the pole of the traffic lights with one hand, while clutching his stomach with the other. He was leaning precariously to the right, and then, out of nowhere, fell forward.
“Whoa, careful there,” I said gently, gripping his arm and pulling him back. Sparks danced up my arm, and warmth seemed to seep into me from where I was touching him, even though there was a layer of fabric between us.
“S’rry,” Finn mumbled, slowly turning his head to me. He was still blinking, so it took him a while to focus on my face.
Would he recognize me?
I held my breath out of pure instinct, anxiety knotting in my stomach.
His eyes flickered with recognition, but the ultimate expression he settled on was confusion.
Fuck.
“Hey, Finn, right?” I asked, relieved that my mind let me say those words. I mean, not a lie, technically, so it appeared to be okay.
“Yes… uhm…” He blinked, furrowing his brow. He wanted to say more, but the lights changing got his attention. “I need to go,” he said, pulling his arm out of my grip.
I suppressed a growl.
“Sure,” I said, trying for casual. “Where are you going?”
I fell in line with him, my shoulder brushing against his as we crossed the street in silence. Subtly, I turned right, the fastest way to get to the nearest hospital.
“Oh, uhm… I’m headed to the ER.” At least he still had enough blood inside him to turn crimson; however, his pulse was way too fluttery and fast for my liking, not the steadythump-thumpI wanted to hear. “Sorry, I feel like we’ve met before. I mean, we obviously have since you know my name, but I can’t place you.”
I gave him a wide smile, though I wasn’t sure it worked on him. Some people told me it was too intense, bordering on creepy. Okay, Bennie had said that. “We met at a club a couple of weeks ago. CRAVE?”
“Ohh.” Finn nodded, his cheeks turning even darker. “That night’s a complete blur. It’s so weird. I don’t think I drank a lot, but yeah, sorry I forgot you.”
“Don’t mention it. Hey, why are you on your way to the ER? Are you okay?”
I needed to change the topic before I accidentally admitted to unintentionally getting him drugged. Also, he should get off his feet immediately. I didn’t like the way his heart was speeding one bit; the panting and sweaty forehead were just adding to my worry.
Finn stopped. “Not really, no. I ahh, might’ve puked a little blood, and now I’m freaking out.”
Placing a hand on his shoulder, I steered him off to the side, away from the people idling by, so he wasn’t at risk of being run into.
“Oh, man, that doesn’t sound good at all. Are you still nauseous? Let me call you an Uber!”
There, I sounded completely reasonable. Like a true friend. Not like someone who’d watched him from the opposite roof for hours every day and had been trying to help him get better for weeks.
We’d have words about this.
He deserved a fucking spanking for denying himself medical care for such a long time.
Closing my eyes, I tried putting that thought aside. I didn’t need a boner right now. Not at the moment, no matter how much his blood was calling to me. Even through the acidic stench of vomit, I could scent the metallic, rich tang of his blood.
“Oh… thank you.”
Jackpot.
I grinned at him, keeping my hand firmly placed on his shoulder to make sure he wasn’t going to try to run off after all as I fished for the phone in my pocket.
Five unread messages, all of them from Bennie, flashed on the display, but I didn’t have the time or mental capacity right now. Instead, I navigated to the Uber app and ordered the nearest car.
