Page 87 of Midnight Between Us
The dashboard illuminates Finnegan’s name.
Of fucking course.
I think about ignoring him.Just letting it ring and ring until it cuts out.
“Leave a voicemail, asshole.”
But I know better.He’ll keep calling.He always does.He’s the human version of a door you can’t lock, no matter how hard you slam shut.
I jab the answer button with more force than necessary.“Yeah?”
“What the fuck does that mean, Simone?”His voice comes in hot.Clipped.Furious.“‘I’m going to town.Fuck you’—are you having a stroke or just trying to get yourself reassigned to Siberia?Either way, I need you to stay where you’re at.I don’t care.”
“I can’t stay there.Not right now.”I wipe my cheek with the sleeve of my sweater and pretending I’m fine.
“You’re crying.”A pause.Then more frustration spills through the line.“Fuck.Fuck.Fuck.”
There’s a bunch of noise on his end—doors slamming, muffled voices, something that sounds like wind.He’s probably pacing.
“You can’t quit on me.You’re the only person I trust with him,” he says, lower now but still intense.“I understand this is hard, but ...you can’t.”
“I’m not quitting.I just need a few minutes.”My voice cracks, and I hate that he hears it.“I need to be away from that house.Away from him.I’m heading to see my friends.”
“You can’t go to town.People will start asking why you’re not at the clinic.You think the town gossips sleep because it’s Sunday?”
“Maybe I should go back to work,” I snap, more to myself than to him.“He doesn’t need me.There’s a whole damn team working with him every day.He’s not alone.”
I take a breath, trying to make my argument sound rational instead of desperate.“You’re the one who said he needs to stay isolated.So isolate him.Not me.”
There’s a pause.Not silence, just that long Finnegan silence where you know he’s calculating something behind his eyes, probably already texting five people to manage whatever storm he thinks I’m about to create.
Finally, he grumbles, “Fine.But you make damn sure he doesn’t leave that house.If he steps outside with one of his brothers and vanishes, I’ll hold you responsible.”
“So that’s it?You’re promoting me to jail warden?”
“Do we have an understanding, Simone?”
I swallow down the scream building in my throat.“After this assignment, I’m done with you.”
He scoffs like I just threatened to quit a book club.“Let’s not be dramatic.You’re one of my best doctors.”
“I’m serious.”
“We’ll talk when this is over.”
Translation:You’re not going anywhere.
But I don’t argue.I hang up.
Because today, I need a glass of wine, a pint of peanut butter ice cream, and a baby who won’t ask why I look like I’m breaking apart.
ChapterForty-One
Keir
I watchas Simone’s car disappears down the gravel road, dust kicking up behind her like smoke after an explosion.A part of me wonders if she’ll just keep going.Leave town, change her number, forget all of this ever happened.
Honestly, I wouldn’t blame her.I’ve wanted to run more times than I can count.But here I am.Stuck.Not by choice exactly, with my battered body and the fact that my brothers are tangled in ...I still don’t understand exactly the issue with the Syndicate.Can’t they just shove them in jail?
