Page 85 of A Violet Obsession

The last two days have been incredible.

The snow’s going fast now. We can hear the distant drone of chainsaws daily as crews work to remove the downed timber off the roads. Every morning, Finn makes his satellite call back to Elite. Yesterday, Brady told him they’d try to point the county crews this way without making it obvious someone was in residence.

The clock’s running out on us. I can hear it ticking under everything.

We’re getting low on food. Another day, maybe two, and there’ll be a decision to make. Drive back to Atlanta. Hit a store in the next town over and hole up here longer. Or keep running.

Finn can’t stay away forever. He has a job. A life. A family.

The selfish part of me doesn’t care.

There’s been nothing from Voss. No movement, no contact, nothing. Finn finally agrees that the detail watching Emma could stand down once they’re back in the city, though he asked Leo to keep an eye on her anyway.

That leaves the police.

Sera finally sent the auction-house footage yesterday. Finn’s been going over it frame by frame. The tighter his jaw gets, the more my stomach aches. He can’t find anything wrong with it. No cuts, no splices, nothing doctored.

Just me, on camera, taking the necklace.

Even if Finn doesn’t give any sign he’s doubting me, I am. I can’t remember the night.

Maybe I did it?

I finished the paperback, so I’ve got nothing better to do than go outside and watch Hera audition for a nature documentary. She’s stalking a group of crows. Belly-down, she does her little butt-wiggle, launches, and misses by a mile. The birds land on a branch and loudly voice their irritation.

“They’re laughing at you,” I tell her. She gives me a look. “Hunting the bugs in our apartment is going to be such a letdown for you after this.”

The words die on my tongue as reality crashes in. Our apartment. The one Voss now owns, along with everything else I used to call mine. Even if I somehow prove I didn’t steal that necklace—even if the police drop their case—I can’t go back there. I can’t go back into the auction house either. That part of my life is gone.

The thought leaves a hollow ache in my chest. I turn away from the window and wander back inside, arms wrapped around myself.

Finn’s laptop is closed on the table. He’s fiddling with an old transistor radio instead, turning the dial slowly, hunting for a signal. When he looks up and sees my face, his expression shifts.

“What’s wrong?”

I swallow. “What happens when this is over? Where do I go? What do I do?”

He sets the radio down carefully. “You don’t have to figure it out right now.”

“But I want to. I can’t keep living like this—waiting for the next bad thing.”

“When you had your scholarship… what did you plan on studying?”

I blink at the change in direction. “Education and history. I wanted to be a teacher, like my parents.” I give a small, self-conscious shrug. “There was a time when my teachers were the only safe adults in my life. The only ones who actually cared if I showed up at school. I thought… maybe I could be that for someone else.”

Finn’s face softens. “I think that’s great. You’d be incredible at it. You could go back to school.”

I huff out a bitter laugh. “With what money?”

“I could help you.”

“I’m not a charity case,” I cut in quickly, heat rushing to my face.

“I didn’t say you were.” He crosses the room to me, cupping my face with one warm hand. “I’m saying I believe in you. I’m not sure what you think is going on here, but I’ve got your back—whatever that looks like.”

Tears rise in my eyes, and I lean into his touch.

His mouth lifts in a half-smile. “In the meantime, I found something. Go get the demon, and by the time you’re back, I’ll be ready.”