Page 42 of Midnight Sun
“Shirley, a camera woman who filmedBloodlustwith us. Dave from make-up. And Oddi.”
“Dave was from theBloodlustcrew, too?”
“Yes.”
“Can you contact Dave and Shirley for me? Find out what they’ve seen, and when?”
Audrey gapes at him. “You’re serious about finding this guy.”
“Yes.”
“But Finn, what if it isn’t human?”
“Have you ever encountered something supernatural besides this person, Audrey?”
“No, but–”
“Well, I want to tell you something about myself that I’ve told very few people. When I was ten years old, I went to play one winter day on my grandmother’s farm. My brother and sister weren’t with me, so I roamed the snowy countryside alone. As ten-year-old boys are wont to do, I rode farther than I was allowed, and found myself in a remote valley through which flowed a swift river that hadn’t yet completely frozen over. And suddenly, I heard screams. I couldn’t believe my eyes, but there was a little girl floating in the freezing water. It was risky to ride into the stream even on horseback, but what could I do? I couldn’t leave her to drown. So, by sheer luck, I pulled her out. We were soaked and shivering, and I needed to get her somewhere warm soon. She showed me the way to her family’s farm, a few turf houses nestled in a nearby valley. Her relatives were so glad I brought her home, they convinced me to stay with them for a few days. But when I got home, barely a few hours had passed.”
Audrey watches him with wide-eyes.
“They wereHuldufolk. Elves. They honor their debt and have protected my family ever since.”
A small smile curls Audrey’s lips, making her bloodshot eyes light up. “God, you’re crazy. But crazy in a good way, I guess. I’ll see what I can find out about Red Eye, so you or your elf friends can take him down.”
Finn smiles back at her. “Thank you, Audrey.”
Chapter 11
Jamie
Hestormsoutofthe trailer, his heart pounding and blood rushing in his ears. A jumble of anger, disbelief and longing tangles in his chest, making it hard to breathe. No one talks back to him like that. How dare Finn reprimand him? And how could he bring the stalker up in front of Audrey, of all people?
The worst is that Finn’s antagonism arouses Jamie against his will, making his pants uncomfortably tight. A part of him wants to go back to their shared trailer and wait for Finn, maybe to argue some more, maybe to see if he can get Finn to punish him for acting up.
Jamie picks up his pace as if he could walk away from the unwanted thoughts. No, can’t Finn see that Jamie is in the right? It does no good obsessing about the stalker. And treating the staff too kindly doesn’t bring good results, either. Jamie has had people try to take advantage of him too many times to respond kindly to incompetence. But Finn messes with his thoughts and feelings. Maybe Jamie needs to get away for a few days, if only to teach Finn a lesson. Maybe he’ll treat him less bluntly then.
Jamie rushes between a trailer and a parked truck. He startles when a dark figure steps in his way.
“Damn it, Peter! You can’t scare people like that.”
“Sorry, sir.” Peter looks down, shuffling his feet. “Do you need anything?”
Jamie’s first impulse is to send him away, but as annoying as Peter is, sometimes he’s quite useful.
“I need a ride, and a room in a good hotel with a spa and a decent restaurant.”
“A room for two, sir?”
It’s a legitimate question, but Jamie can’t help but frown. Somehow, Peter manages to appear nosy despite his professional attitude.
“I don’t care. Make sure it has enough space. I won’t sleep in a closet.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Then what are you waiting for? Get a car ready.”
Peter flinches and rushes to do as Jamie ordered. As soon as he’s alone again, Jamie takes a relieved breath. He ambles over to where the horse trainers are packing up their equipment, hoping to distract himself. He finds Sigrún saddling Glói. The beautiful white gelding is the horse Jamie rides most often for his role.