Page 25 of Midnight Sun
“It doesn’t matter; I won’t allow it!”
“I don’t need your permission,” Finn counters. He should’ve called Dagur after the incident at the airport. He won’t be so careless again. “I’m making my call and then we’re leaving.”
“Are you afraid of a bit of dead meat? Whoever did this is clearly a coward. I won’t run away because of a little boy’s prank,” Jamie taunts. Directing his anger at Finn seems to help him handle the shock.
Finn takes a look at his mobile, the reception is awful out here most of the time, and he has no intention of screaming at Dagur over the static.
“Okay, here’s the deal: I won’t call Dagur immediately, but we’ll leave. We can drive back to Reykjavík and spend the night in my apartment. We can discuss how to handle your stalker in the morning.”
Finn would’ve preferred taking Jamie to the Westfjords, but he guesses he wouldn’t be agreeable to an eight-hour drive right now.
“It’s not a stalker!” Jamie protests, but he’s still staring wide-eyed at the dead animal, his hands balled into fists. Finn would like to wrap him up in his jacket and put him in the car instantly, but he doesn’t believe he can get away with it.
“Call them what you want. Do we have a deal?”
“Fine! You’re insufferable!” Jamie turns around and hits the bonnet of Finn’s car with the flat of his hand, always angry when scared. “Fuck!” Jamie curses.
Finn brushes his fingers against Jamie’s in a barely there touch.
“Come and help me get our things. I’m going through the bathroom window.”
“We can’t break Hrafna’s windows because you insist on being paranoid.”
“It doesn’t close properly. Me and Halldór got in that way once when he forgot to bring the keys.”
Something twists in Jamie’s face at the mention of Halldór, but he doesn’t comment on it. If Finn didn’t know better, he would think he’s jealous.
They round the lodge again. The bathroom window looks untouched. Finn fumbles with the damaged frame for a moment, and the window swings inward as if by magic.
It doesn’t take long for them to gather their things. As far as Finn can tell, the inside of the cabin is untouched, but how can they be sure the stalker didn’t get in the same way they did? Finn examines his backpack carefully. He wouldn’t put it past the bastard to plant a tracking device on their stuff.
“Searching for trackers, Mister Bond?” Jamie asks, some of his playfulness returning now that the ram’s head is out of their sight.
“Don’t laugh at me,” Finn chuckles. “I’m just being careful.”
Jamie grins.
“And check your stuff, too,” Finn adds.
Jamie just rolls his eyes, but takes a cursory glance at his bag. That will have to do.
They slip out the way they came in, and Finn closes the window the best he can. He’s relieved when Jamie is finally tucked securely into the passenger seat, and they’re on their way back to Reykjavík.
Chapter 7
Jamie
It’salreadylatewhenthey arrive in Reykjavík again. Jamie has been dozing for most of the ride. He considered asking Finn to let him drive, but he was too exhausted. He must’ve fallen asleep at some point, because he finds himself snuggled into Finn’s coat and he has no idea when Finn spread it over him.
Jamie sleepily looks out the passenger window. Reykjavík is bathed in the strange twilight of the midnight sun again. There isn’t much traffic during this late hour.
“Hey there, awake again?”
Jamie yawns. “More or less.”
Finn’s hands tap the steering wheel in a jittery rhythm.
“Do you want to spend the night at my place?” he finally asks. “I can drop you off at your hotel if that’s what you want, but I’d like it a lot better if I didn’t have to do that.”