Highways & Hostages

by Jax Abbey

  “I lied,” Stella blurted out.

  Finn raised one perfect, golden eyebrow, but remained silent.

  “In the parking lot of the Leaky Stein. I said I kissed you in the heat of the moment. I lied.”

  “So…” His expression was guarded.

  “So I kissed you because I wanted to. I wanted you—I want you. But I didn’t know it then. Or maybe I did and I was just scared.” Stella shook her head to slow the flow of words tumbling from her mouth. She took a deep breath. “I want you. All of it: the grouchiness, the art smuggling, the snoring—”

  “I don’t snore.”

  “Well, then there must have been a chainsaw in bed with you. My point is: I care about you. I want you to know.”

  Finn stayed quiet. He took Stella’s left hand and held it in his own, studying it, before he let go. When he met her eyes, his expression was pained.

  The smile dropped from Stella’s face. “I thought you’d be happy.”

  Finn swallowed and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sure I would be if I didn’t feel like everyone close to me was lying about something.”

  A cold knot formed in Stella’s stomach. “I’m not—I just told you the truth. I basically took my heart out of my chest and offered it to you on a silver platter. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

  Finn let out a chuckle devoid of humor. “I don’t know what the hell I want at this point. What I do know is that I need to be able to think things through, and I can’t do that here.”

  Stella took a step forward. “What does that—”

  Finn moved back out of her reach. “I can’t do this with you. Not right now. I’m sorry.”

  Exposed and hurt, Stella wrapped her arms around herself. When she’d broken in to the house earlier, this wasn’t the outcome she expected. She felt as if all the fight had left her body. She nodded more to herself than him. “Okay,” she said, her voice small and her eyes on the ground.

  “I’m really sorry.” Finn slid his hands into his pockets and ducked his head. “I just need some time.”

  Stella worked hard at swallowing the lump in her throat. “Funny, I remember saying that yesterday. Guess the tables have turned.”

  “Don’t they always with us?” Finn asked. A small smile played on his lips. “One day I’m chasing you, the next you’re chasing me… Maybe one day in the future when we’re both in the right place at the right time, things will be even.”

  “God, you’re exhausting.”

  “Have you two declared your undying love for one another yet?” Valerie asked from the doorway of the patio, one arm threaded through Phoebe’s. “I want to go home and hibernate until my face deflates to its normal size.”

  “Almost.” Stella turned to Finn. “So, I guess this is goodbye.”

  “More like, ‘See ya later.’”

  “I’m not going to wait around forever,” Stella said, her voice firm.

  “You go, girl!” Valerie crowed.

  The smile finally reached Finn’s eyes. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

  Stella shook her head. “You can’t let anyone else have the last word, can you?”

  “Nope.”

  Stella sized Finn up one last time. “Hope that keeps you warm at night.”

  “Ooh, burn!” Phoebe said. “Now, seriously, can we go?”

  “I’ll let you have that one,” Finn said. He nodded at Phoebe and Valerie. “You should get out of here.”

  “You’re right.” Stella forced herself to turn away from Finn, her feet heavy and her heart begging her to stay and fight. She slid her arm through Phoebe’s free one. “Goodbye, Finn.”

  “See ya later, Stella.”

  As the three women walked through the house, Stella felt Finn’s eyes on her. She couldn’t help it; she needed to have the last word. She glanced over her shoulder and locked her eyes with his before she turned back around.

  “If you’re lucky.”

  SIX MONTHS LATER

  ..................

  FINN

  Finn hoisted his backpack higher on his shoulder as he pushed through the doors of Ford Hall on the campus of Whittendale University. After a three-hour lecture for his “Art, Conquest, and Colonization” seminar, Finn was ready to soak up some sun on the quad.

  Around him, students flung Frisbees, while others napped on blankets spread over the lawn. On the steps of a building on one side of the quadrangle, a band was setting up speakers and amps, and tuning their guitars. Finn dropped to the ground, lay on his back, and stared up at the bright blue sky.

  Six months ago, he never would have imagined himself on a college campus. Though he wouldn’t be able to officially enroll in the art history program until next spring, he was getting the hang of college life by auditing a couple of classes. Classwork and exams were a lot less profitable than working with Julian, but Finn was finally excited about his future.

  His phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the screen: Alex. Finn had seen him once since that night at von Rothschild’s mansion, right before Alex moved to Italy to spend some time with his mother’s family.

  “Hey, dude,” Alex’s voice floated over the phone. “How’s it going?”

  “About the same.” Finn lay back on the grass and settled his head on his pack. “What about you?”

  “La vita e bella. I seriously wonder why I didn’t move to Italy years ago; these women are going to be the death of me.”

  Finn shook his head. Alex was halfway around the world in a beautiful country filled to the brim with art and culture, and all he was concerned with was women.

  “So, what’s up?” Finn asked, suspicious. Alex wasn’t just calling to shoot the shit.

  “Nothing. Just calling to see how my best bud is doing.” He paused. “And wondering if you’ve talked to my dad.”

  There it was: the real reason Alex was calling. Finn bet Julian had put him up to it. Julian had tried calling Finn several times since the revelation at the mansion, but Finn hadn’t bothered to answer.

  “How’d I know you were going to ask me that?” Finn asked.

  “I agree that what he did was wrong, but it’s been six months and he’s really sorry about it. He knows he should’ve told you everything a long time ago.”

  “So why’d he tell you all this and not me?”

  “Because apparently you won’t answer any of his calls,” Alex said.

  Finn paused. “It’s going to take more than a few months to get over ten years of lying by omission.”

  Alex sighed on the other end of the phone. “He won’t be around forever, Finn.”

  “And I won’t be mad forever, Alex, but I need more time,” Finn answered firmly.

  “Well, when you’re ready, you should go visit him up north. Wine country is really beautiful in the spring.”

  According to Alex, about a week after everything went down, Julian put his Las Vegas estate on the market. Shortly after that, he sold all his remaining art pieces to an antiquities gallery and bought a vineyard in northern California wine country, declaring himself retired from the art trafficking biz.

  “I’m sure it is,” Finn said evenly.

  “Have you talked to Billy?” Alex asked. “Last time I spoke with him, he was having a hard time adjusting.”

  “Being locked up isn’t exactly a walk in the park,” Finn said. “Two years in prison will do him some good. He wanted to be a tough guy, and now he’s got his chance.”

  “Man, you are stone cold. Oh, did you hear they finally caught von Rothschild?”

  “Really?” Finn asked, sitting up.

  After von Rothschild had successfully managed to sneak out of the library during Valerie’s pepper spray attack, the authorities had scoured the estate, but there was no sign of the man. Finn had constantly been looking over his shoulder for the last few months, worried that von Rothschild would spring out of the bushes and finish what he’d intended to do, especially since it was partially Finn’s fault that Cla
udia was in prison as well. Now he could breathe a sigh of relief.

  “Yeah. I guess he’d been hiding out in some bunker he’d built under the house he owned in Oregon. Isn’t that some crazy shit? They caught him a couple of weeks ago when he showed up at a private airstrip. They knew he’d probably be making a run for Dubai.”

  “So he’s gone?” Finn asked, seeking reassurance.

  “Oh yeah, man. They’re putting him away for a long time.”

  A hazy image of Stella’s profile as she sat in the passenger seat of the Beetle popped into Finn’s head as Alex droned on in his ear. “So you in, bro?” Alex asked, his tone slightly annoyed.

  “What?”

  “I just invited you to come party with me in Italy and meet some ladies. I’m sure we can even find someone for you, Mr. Picky.”

  “I told you—I’m celibate.”

  Alex’s hearty guffaw grated on Finn’s nerves. “Drop the act. Call her up.”

  “Call who?” Finn asked, feigning innocence.

  “Dude.” Alex’s tone was no-nonsense.

  A petite redhead walked past Finn with a large mastiff on leash. His eyes followed her and he swallowed. “I’m waiting for the right time, okay?”

  “When’s going to be the right time, Finn? She’s not going to wait around forever.”

  Finn frowned. “For all I know, she’s seeing that FBI asshole again.”

  “But you don’t know. And you won’t ever know unless you talk to her.”

  The band Finn had seen setting up began to strum a few chords. He stuck a finger in his free ear to block the noise.

  “I screwed up, Alex. I left things in a shitty place, and we emailed a couple of times, but then I started school and never replied to her last letter—”

  “Cry me a fucking river, Finn. If you want her, fight for her.”

  “Look, Alex, it’s getting noisy here. I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Finn clicked off the call just as the band started playing their instruments with gusto. Finn squinted as he tried to place the familiar melody.

  “No way. No fucking way,” he said as strains of The Clash’s “Rock the Casbah” floated through the quad.

  STELLA

  “I need one order of arepas and one order of the Jamaican beef patties, now,” Stella shouted over the din of the kitchen. She swiped a sleeve across her sweaty forehead and tucked a few flyaway strands behind her ear. Lunchtime was always busy for Spice, a cafe right off the Strip specializing in global cuisine.

  The cafe had only been open for three months. It was part of the reason Stella had been able to snag her position without years of culinary school on her resume—that and the fact that Derek’s mother went to college with the owner. Still, the cafe was doing extremely well. As kitchen manager and sous chef, Stella had to be on her A-game. She loved working with the front-of-house staff and managing kitchen employees, but her favorite part of the job was coming up with menus and jumping on the line when she was needed.

  She loved her new job, but she had to admit she missed Bert and the crew at The Leaky Stein.

  Bert understood when Stella told him she was leaving. Valerie, on the other hand, was upset her best bud was moving on without her, but she got over it when she realized she’d be able to get free food at the new cafe. For Stella, the new job wasn’t exactly what she wanted, but it was a happy medium between waitressing and her new dream: owning her own food truck.

  “Earth to Stella,” said Leanne, one of the Spice hostesses. She waved a hand in front of Stella’s face. “Didn’t you hear me? There’s someone out front asking for you.”

  Stella furrowed her brow. “Can’t Corrie handle it? Since Aaron called out, I’m on the line today.”

  Leanne shook her head emphatically. “This guy’s specifically asking for you…and he’s pretty cute.”

  Stella’s brow wrinkled even more as she wiped her hands on her apron. She had no idea who would visit her at work. She followed Leanne through the kitchen doors to the front of the house and stopped short.

  Even with his back to her as he looked out into the cafe, one hand perched lazily on the small bar in the center of the room, she knew it was him. Her body hummed as if the area immediately surrounding him was a force field. At that moment he turned and made eye contact with her as if he’d felt it too.

  Finn was even more handsome than the last time she’d seen him. His blond hair was a little longer, starting to curl at the ends, and his skin was more tanned. Stella sucked in a breath. She’d gotten two emails from him filled with small talk since the whole fiasco with von Rothschild, but her last email to him went unanswered. She figured he’d moved on…but she’d still held out hope.

  “Hi,” was all she managed to squeak out.

  Finn smiled. “Hi.”

  Silence stretched between them.

  “You can come closer,” he said. “I don’t bite.”

  Stella took a few cautious steps forward. “What are you doing here?”

  “I was in the neighborhood, so I decided to stop by and visit.”

  Stella’s eyes narrowed. “How did you know I was working here?”

  “I went to The Leaky Stein first and ran into your sister and Valerie. When did Phoebe start working there?”

  “Phoebe decided to stay here in Las Vegas for the school year so she could apply to Vegas Academy of the Arts as an in-state resident. Why were you at the Leaky Stein?”

  Finn raised an eyebrow. “So Phoebe’s living with you? You guys best buds now?”

  “We have a mutual understanding,” Stella said, then shook her head. “I know you didn’t show up just to ask me about my relationship with my sister. Why are you here?”

  The smirk left Finn’s face. “Obviously, I came to see you.”

  Stella’s breath caught in her throat as the words echoed in her head. Obviously, I came to see you.

  “Well, here I am,” she said.

  “Here you are.” Finn didn’t move.

  Stella crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you want?”

  Finn moved around the bar until he was so close to Stella, she could smell the spicy scent of his aftershave. She took a deep breath to steady herself, but instead she felt heady.

  “I want you.”

  The breath whooshed from Stella’s lungs. “And what if I don’t want you?”

  One corner of Finn’s mouth lifted as he moved closer still and wrapped his arms around her waist. “You’d be lying. I talked to Valerie, remember?”

  Damn Valerie’s big mouth.

  Stella tried to look anywhere but his lips. “What took you so long? You didn’t answer my last letter—”

  Finn kissed her. Stella let herself forget that she was at work, surrounded by strangers and coworkers, and melted into his embrace. When she finally pulled back, she punched him in the arm.

  “That’s for not writing back. I thought you didn’t care anymore, but I hoped…”

  “I was always going to meet up with you again, Stella. Why do you think I let you make that smart-ass comment—‘If you’re lucky’? You know I can’t let you have the last word.”

  “God, you’re such a punk.”

  “And you’re a brat, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Stella smiled. Finn leaned down and kissed her again.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  ..................

  Where to begin?

  Writing this book has been a long and sometimes arduous process, but it’s never been a lonely one. I am so grateful to have a tribe of people who have supported me along this crazy journey!

  Many, many thanks go to my critique group members: Jeremy, Kristen, and Jenn. Without you all, this book would have never seen the light of day!

  Who’s got the best beta readers in the world? That would be me! Thank you so much to: Cyntra B., Phil L., Stephanie P., and Melissa Z.

  Special thanks goes out to my cheerleaders Paige, Jenn, Rachel, and Tracy! I adore you
ladies to the moon and back.

  Thank you so much to Leah at Invisible Ink Editing for your impeccable eye for detail. Without you, this book would have been only slightly above a hot mess.

  Cynthia L. and Melissa S., thank you both for helping me figure out my cover design and putting up my crazy indecisiveness.

  And finally, thank you to my family who have always believed in me and told me to reach for my dreams! I want to thank Tyler and TinyDog especially because they’ve been neglected quite a bit over the last couple of years as I’ve worked to get this book out. Love you all to infinity!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  ..................

  A DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA NATIVE and graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Jax Abbey bleeds Carolina blue. By day she molds the young, bright minds of the future, but at night you can find her furiously pounding the keyboard as she funnels the zany ideas and quirky characters from her brain to the computer. When Jax isn’t telling preschoolers to keep their hands to themselves or telling her characters to simmer down, she loves to spend time with her significant other, Tyler, and her TinyDog.

  Visit her online at:

  Website: http://www.jaxabbey.com

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaxAbbeyAuthor

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaxabbey

  Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jaxabbey/

  Instagram: @jaxabbey

  THANKS FOR THE READ!

  ..................

  THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING Highways & Hostages. If you liked Finn and Stella’s adventures, feel free to leave me a review at your favorite retailer.

  KEEP IN TOUCH

  ..................

  If you want the latest news about my upcoming releases and my life as an indie author, consider signing up for my newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/0egCr.

  Hope to connect with you soon!

  xo Jax