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Eli cackled. “Either way, I come out ahead.”
There was a long pause. “Fine. Just keep your end of the deal for Cora, and I’ll do my part.”
“She must be something special to get you jumping like this,” Eli said.
There was a shuffling sound near the door, so Cora bolted.
She ran down the hall to the waiting room and sank into one of the velvet chairs. Utterly confused, she stared at the tiled floor, replaying what she’d just heard. What the ever-loving hell was going on? Eli and Finn had a history; that part was clear. Cora never would’ve guessed it. She knew Finn had represented some of the club members in court, but this conversation was different. It sounded downrightshady. Maybe even dangerous. If it were anyone else, Cora wouldn’t be that surprised, but Finn? The idea of someone as clean-cut as him willingly doing something bad for her sake made her feel sick.
Until recently, Finn had always been on the periphery of her life, just someone she knew through her father, but things had changed in the past few weeks. She’d gotten to know him more, and she genuinely liked him. He always did kind, thoughtful things for others. He cared about his sister and supported her. He donated his time and expertise to help the less fortunate. Everything about Finn screamed “good guy.” So whatever just went down in that garage felt wrong on too many levels to count. Cora was used to dealing with the underbelly of the city; it was her job. But Finn’s battles took place in courtrooms, on phones and behind mahogany desks surrounded by books. She hated the idea that Eli could be putting him in harm’s way.Are you trying to get me killed, Eli?Finn’s words echoed in her mind as a dark sense of foreboding curled in her belly. This was bad. Whatever was about to happen, it sounded like Finn was going alone and without backup. She couldn’t let that happen.
“Ready to go?” Finn strode calmly from the hall with his back straight and head high, but she could tell by the firm set of his jaw that he was on edge. She hurried to keep up as they crossed the parking lot.
Once they were on the road, Finn was back to acting like his normal, easygoing self. He didn’t mention anything about the private conversation he’d had with Eli. Instead, he talked about the weather, the meeting he had back at the office and his sister’s tiny apartment they’d found in New York City. Cora tried to follow along, but she was too preoccupied. When they were ten minutes from the police station, she couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“Finn.”
He gave her a questioning glance.
“Whatever favor Eli asked of you, please don’t do it. Tell him you changed your mind. I don’t trust that guy.”
“You have nothing to worry about. It’s not a big deal.”
“Then tell me what it is.”
Finn didn’t answer right away. She waited a full two minutes until she realized he might not answer at all.
“Look, I have a really big imagination,” she warned. “Huge. If you don’t tell me, I’m just going to imagine you doing all sorts of nefarious deeds in the worst possible scenarios. And then my brain will start spinning up all the ways you could get into trouble, and I’ll be forced to endure crushing guilt because it’ll be my fault.”
“Nefarious deeds,” he said in amusement. “Like what?”
Cora lifted her hand, ticking her fingers one at a time. “Drug smuggling mule. Scapegoat for a mafia hitman. Driver of a getaway car for lazy bank robbers.”
His lips twitched. “Why lazy?”
“Because they’ll dawdle, and they won’t run fast and they’ll still be shoving money into their duffel bags when the police arrive.”
“But I’m driving their getaway car, yes? I could just take off and save myself.”
“No, because they were too lazy to fill the gas tank.”
“Ah, that would be a problem.” His expression was serious, but his voice was thick with concealed laughter. “I can safely promise I won’t be doing any of those things. I’m not going to be in danger, Cora.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Trust me, I’ll be fine. More important, Eli Shelton agreed to talk to you and answer your questions. That was the goal today, wasn’t it?”
She nodded because he was right, but she wasn’t happy about it.
“Good. Mission accomplished.”
Cora squeezed her eyes shut, torn between gratitude and guilt. “I know I should thank you for helping me today. Please know that I’m deeply grateful, even though I’m worried. Thank you, Finn.”
“Any time.”
“But also know that I have this crazy urge to lock you up at the station for the rest of the week so Eli can’t cash in on this favor.”
“You couldn’t hold me,” he teased. “I’dlawyer-speakmy way out.” His warm brown eyes sparkled with mischief, and the slow curve of his smile did strange, swirly things to her insides.
