I’ll just have to convince her that she wants the same thing.
Right now, she’s probably finishing up dinner, and they are deciding how to spend their evening. I hope she received the new phone I instructed Trevor to buy and send to the hotel. I’ll call and check once I’ve disembarked. A perk of first class is getting to deplane before the other passengers.
Standing, I stretch and reach for the small canvas “I Heart London” bag that Kitty picked up for me at the hotel gift shop, insisting that I would need it to carry my laptop and a sweatshirt, not to mention a place to put snacks, water, and any magazines I bought once I reached the airport. I didn’t have the heart to refuse. Grudgingly, I’ll admit it was useful. When we travel, Trevor usually carries anything I need. Not having my assistant here has been somewhat frustrating, not that I would rather have him here than protecting my sister. He’s right where he needs to be.
After disembarking, I leisurely make my way down to baggage claim, knowing it will take time for the luggage to be unloaded. I stop at a coffee kiosk to caffeinate and pull my cell phone out of my pocket. The small café tables right in front are crowded, but I find one further down and sit. I turn on the video call feature and dial the number Trevor gave me.
After several seconds, Lily’s beautiful face fills the screen.
“How do you like the new phone?”
“I love it.” She smiles into the camera. “Thank you!”
“Good.” Her smile is infectious and is one of the many things I love about her. “Are you behaving yourself?”
She rolls her eyes at me but answers, giggling, “Yes, don’t worry. JoJo’s keeping Aunt Kitty and I in line.”
“Good,” I chuckle. “What have you ladies done today?”
“We went shopping,” she tells me excitedly. “And then, since it’s still raining, we ate dinner downstairs, and now we’re deciding on a movie to watch.”
“Sounds like you had a good day.”
“I did,” she sighs. Leaning closer to the camera, she whispers, “I missed you, though.”
“I miss you too, princess.”
Lily smiles, with the pleasure of my words etched on her face. After being together non-stop for the past few days, it’s unsettling not having her within touching distance. It’s nice to know she’s feeling the same.
“Where are you?” she asks.
“Waiting for my luggage,” I tell her. Pausing to take a sip of my coffee, I continue, “And then I’m heading to the office.”
“Is that Finn?” I hear Kitty’s voice in the background, and Lily moves the camera slightly so I can see her face. She smiles brightly and tells me, “Don’t worry, I’m taking good care of our girl.”
Our girl.
I can’t help but smile at her words. “Thank you.”
After collecting my luggage from the baggage claim, I take a hired car directly to my corporate headquarters. I leave my bags in my office before heading down to the warehouses and meeting up with Bear Daniels, my head of security.
“This way, sir.” Daniels leads me toward the worst of the damage. “They weren’t able to fully breach the security perimeter, so they set off the explosion here by the fence and hit our softest target area.”
The acrid smell of scorched metal and burning wood fills the air as I walk closer to the nearly destroyed warehouse. All I can see is the millions of dollars of my customers’ products ruined, and the delay in satisfying their customers’ orders.
“Fuck,” I breathe out. Standing there among the rubble, I fully grasp the depth of the destruction.
“Mr. Finch, this is acting Chief Kalani.” Daniels introduces the uniformed firefighter who is standing by the smoldering remains of one warehouse.
“Call me Arthur,” the large man, no older than myself, says brightly as he sandwiches my hand between his own in a firm handshake. With most men, this would’ve seemed aggressive, but this man exudes calm, and it feels reassuring.
“Finn,” I tell him, returning the smile.
“The Chief is on vacation this week, so you’re stuck with me, I’m afraid.”
“What can you tell me?” I cross my arms against my chest stiffly.
“A small explosive device was used, and it is what triggered the fire. The State Fire Marshal and her team have been here once already, but she’ll need to speak with you. They are in charge of the criminal portion of the investigation,” he explains.
“Of course. Anything you or they need.”
“Sir, I’ve already sent over the security footage for that night to their office,” Daniels informs me, reminding me again why the man is invaluable.
“Make sure they get anything else they need to catch the bastard,” I tell Daniels before turning to Arthur and asking, “How long will it be before we can begin cleaning up this mess?”
“The structural integrity of the building has obviously been compromised. It will need to be torn down and rebuilt. You’d never be able to fix it and get it to pass the state code.”
“Fuck,” I mutter, running my hand through my hair.
“It may look grim,” Kalani starts, “but with the materials they left behind, they could’ve done considerably more damage if your security hadn’t given chase.”
“Thank you for everything your team did,” I tell him.
“Our pleasure.”
“Thank God, no one was hurt.”
It’s one thing for Mayer to go after my business, but if someone got hurt just being associated with me? Fuck. I’m not sure how I’d cope with that.
“La’i lua ke kai,” Kalani states.
“What?”
“It’s Hawaiian and means, ‘The sea is very calm. All is peaceful.’” He smiles before adding firmly, “Don’t worry, I have every faith that Fire Marshall Lewis will get the bastard.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I take it out and, after seeing who the caller is, turn to the two men, saying, “Excuse me, but I need to take this.”
Stepping away from the group, I accept the call and greet the caller tersely. “Yes.”
“How bad is it?” Peter asks, his voice full of concern.
“I just spoke with the acting Fire Chief, and he says the entire building will need to be torn down.”
“Fuck, man, I’m sorry.” Peter’s voice is low, tired.
“The Fire Marshall is coming back later, so we’ll see how their investigation is going.”
“I shouldn’t tell you this but, considering everything with Mayer, the FBI is taking over your case. And they’re probably on their way to speak to you now.”
“About what?” I growl. “For fuck’s sake, we all know who hired the bomber and why.”
“Yes, which is why they’ve gotten involved.”
“They need to get their heads out of their asses and arrest the fucker already.”
“I agree. Thank God Mom and Lily are safe,” he mutters. “They seemed to be having a great time together when I spoke to them earlier. It’s the only good thing to come out of all this.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” I chuckle. Meeting Lily, getting a chance to capture her attention, and making her mine—that makes all of this worth it. Mayer could’ve destroyed all of my warehouses, but I would still have my princess.