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"Hold it," she snapped. "She's not going anywhere. The paramedics aren't here yet, and she needs medical attention. "
Finn did what he always did when confronted by an angry woman-he checked out her boobs. His green eyes landed on Bria's breasts, analyzing and assessing them just the way he had my injuries a moment before. His lips curled back into a wolfish grin at the sight. If I'd felt stronger, I would have punched him for ogling my sister.
Once Finn got his fill of Bria's breasts, his green gaze drifted up to her face to check out the rest of the perky package. He'd seen the same photograph of Bria that I had. It took him a second to recognize her, but when he did, Finn's smile cracked, then flaked off his face like old paint. He blinked a couple of times, trying to make sure he was seeing exactly what he thought he was. When he realized that it really was Bria, Finn immediately looked down at me to see if I'd noticed her, if I'd recognized her. I nodded the tiniest bit to him.
"She's not going anywhere. The paramedics aren't here yet," Bria repeated and stabbed her finger into Finn's shoulder for emphasis.
That got Finn's attention. He didn't like anyone messing with his clothes, unless they were female and taking them off him. "I'm taking her to an Air elemental healer, and she's going to get the best medical attention there is in Ashland as soon as I get her out of here," Finn snapped. "Gin is my sister, and she's coming with me. So back off, copper. "
Back off, copper? Geez. Finn had been watching too many old crime movies with Sophia Deveraux.
Bria's blue eyes narrowed. "Why don't we leave it up to Gin? See what she wants to do?"
Finn narrowed his own eyes in response. "Fine. She'll tell you herself that she's coming with me, detective. "
The two of them glared at each other another moment, before staring at me. Finn, his features pinched tight. Bria, looking just as serious as he did. The man I considered my brother and my long-lost baby sister. Emotions welled up in my chest, making it hard to breathe. Or maybe the sensation was just from all the internal bleeding I was suffering from tonight. Either way, it hurt.
But I really only had one choice in the end. Finn was my foster brother, my closest confidant, my best friend, the one person I trusted above all others. Bria was a mercurial ghost from my past, a stranger with an angel's cold face. Gotta dance with the one who brung ya.
"Finn. I want. . . to go with Finn. " For more reasons than one, it pained me to force out the words through my broken jaw, but I did it anyway. Pain and I were old, old friends.
Bria frowned and looked at Finn, who gave her a haughty, smug, I-told-you-so smirk. She turned her attention back to me.
"All right. That's your choice, ma'am. But before you go, can you tell me who did this to you? Who beat you?" Eyes hard, lips tight. Grim, determined features, but not unkind ones.
Detective Bria was just trying to do her job like an honest cop would. She seemed so. . . good. So protective of others. So willing to help. For some reason, all that made me proud of her. That she seemed to have grown up so strong. Right now, she still thought I was an innocent victim, instead of someone who'd brought all this on herself.
The absurd thought made me smile, but I don't think it came off very well because Bria blanched at the expression.
"I. . . fell," I rasped.
Against my side, Finn's chest twitched with laughter just the way Xavier's had a few minutes ago. Finn was trying to stifle a chuckle. He recognized sarcasm when he heard it, even if I was merely mumbling the words, instead of delivering them with my usual dose of dry, sardonic acid.
Bria's blond eyebrows shot up. "You fell? Onto what? Somebody's fists?"
"I fell," I repeated again.
Xavier stepped closer to Bria. "Let it go, detective. Just for tonight. Gin needs to get some help. I'll vouch for her and Finn. "
Bria glanced at the giant, then at Finn, and finally back at me. She realized we were all aligned together, but she didn't rage and rail against us the way I thought she might. Instead, she gave a curt nod of her head. "All right, Ms. Blanco. You fell-for now. But don't think this is over. I'll have some questions for you in a few days when you're feeling better. "
"Does that mean we can go now?" Finn drawled.
Bria's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, you can go now. And if I find out your sister hasn't gotten the best medical treatment in Ashland, I'll be charging you with abuse. Got it, pal?"
Finn flashed her a wide, toothy grin. "Oh, I've definitely got your number, detective. "
Bria snorted and turned on her heel, much the same way Mab Monroe had done earlier in the evening. She moved off and started talking to the security guard who'd found my supposedly dead body. I couldn't hear what she was saying to him, but the guy didn't seem pleased by Bria's short, clipped words. He scrunched his neck down into his jacket, a turtle pulling its head back into its shell. Looked like my sister was all grown up now-and something of a badass herself.
I wasn't sure if that was good or bad-or what I was going to do about the whole situation. Too many questions, not enough answers. Not to mention the relentless pain pounding through my body like a red-hot sledgehammer.
"Xavier, you have our thanks," Finn murmured to the giant. "I'll take good care of you the next time I'm at Northern Aggression. Promise. "
Xavier nodded. "No problem. I helped you with your situation tonight, you can help me with mine tomorrow. "
The two men exchanged a long look that was just a little too meaningful for my liking. What was that about? What kind of problem did Xavier have that he couldn't take care of himself? That he needed Finn's help with? The giant didn't strike me as the kind to hide money from the IRS, which was one of Finn's specialties. But I was in too much pain to puzzle it out tonight.
Finn nodded and carried me toward the yellow crime scene tape. Xavier lifted up the flimsy barrier for him, and we left the bloody, frosty grass of the quad behind.
