“The way my luck’s going today, you’ll land on top of me.”
“She’s right,” Nix said, glancing over her shoulder. “The terrain’s too rugged through here. You can be all macho when you get to the trailhead.”
“We’re almost there,” Keira whispered. “Just help me, Finn.”
“All right.” He put his arm around her.
She leaned on him as they made it the rest of the way down the trail. The five of them stopped and stared at the three vehicles parked at the trailhead. Keira pointed to the luxury sedan. “That one’s Stefan’s.”
“The truck is Dante’s. This one’s mine,” Tobias said, indicating a dark SUV. “We’ll drop you two at the hospital and then take Caladh to council headquarters.” He gave the councilor a dismissive glance. “His injuries aren’t that severe.” He glanced at Keira. “It might be best for Keira to ride up front. Finn, you and Nix can sit on either side of Caladh. Keep him out of trouble.
“Fine. Let’s just get out of here.” Finn helped Keira into the front seat and carefully fastened her seatbelt.
She felt herself beginning to fade again because everything took so much effort. Finally she gave up the fight and closed her eyes, letting her head loll against the back of the seat. The drone of the voices of her companions faded, then she knew no more.
Chapter Twenty
Finn sat by Keira’s bedside, holding her cool hand in his. He stared at the beeping machine monitoring her vitals. By the time they’d gotten her to the hospital, the iron from the bullet had been in her system for several hours. The doctors had successfully removed it and were getting fluids into her as quickly as possible, but ultimately it was up to Keira and her body’s ability to heal itself. The medical staff wasn’t sure what kind of lasting damage, if any, there might be. The fey weren’t like shapeshifters, who could heal from almost any wound, or vampires, who only needed to feed.
Iron was deadly to the fey, and Keira had sat around with a chunk of it near her heart. If something happened to her, if she didn’t survive this…he was going to kick some doctors’ asses from here to forever and back again.
If he lost her, he would never know how bright his life could have been. He knew as surely as he knew his own name that he’d never find another woman who touched his soul in the same way.
Over the past weeks, months even, while he was focused on his mission, this woman had barreled past his defenses. She’d carved out a spot in his heart, a spot that now took up most of the space. If she wasn’t there to fill it, he’d have a great, gaping emptiness within him for the rest of his life.
Finn tightened his grip on Keira’s hand, willing her to get better. And finally admitted to himself that he did love her. He could no longer deny it. This slender, stubborn, beautiful redhead was the love of his life. Whenever he was with her he had the time of his life, even outside of her bed. That, for him, was a rare thing. She was the closest thing to a best friend he’d ever had.
He figured when one could find a lover and a best friend rolled up into one person, it was magic and it should be guarded as the piece of heaven it was. He’d never thought he’d get so lucky. But here was his slice of paradise, lying before him.
He wasn’t going to let her go without a fight. When she woke up—and it would be when, not if—he’d tell her how he felt. There’d be no more secrets. If she let him, he’d spend the rest of his life making it up to her.
He’d successfully completed his mission, even if it had taken five other people to help him. He’d checked in with Lucifer and had given him a brief update. The important thing was the machine was destroyed, and his father would have to uphold his end of the bargain. For the first time in a long time Finn would be free of Lucifer’s influence. Free to be his own man. And the first thing he wanted to do was shackle himself to Keira.
Finn stared down at her. At some point the medical staff had bathed her. They’d even washed her long hair then fashioned it in a loose braid that draped over one shoulder. He brought her hand to