Eva nodded. “I would feel better having someone here all night, thanks.”
Finn wanted desperately to kiss her again but forced himself to leave. Interrogating their perp had to be his top priority.
Down at the local police station, the man they’d arrested for kidnapping Mikey sat in an interrogation room with his wrists handcuffed to the table, his expression defiant. When Finn walked toward the room, he was stopped by the officer who’d transported the man and handed him a folder of information.
“His name is Roger ‘Roach’ Talmadge,” the officer informed him. “Nice nickname, huh? He has a rap sheet mostly related to selling drugs, although there is an aggravated assault on file. More recently, he was a suspect in the airport drug-running operation that Zach investigated. Unfortunately, Roach slipped under the radar and disappeared. Until now. Zach said to go ahead and start the questioning without waiting for him.”
“Sounds good to me.” Finn took the folder into the interrogation room. “So, Roach, why don’t you tell me what’s in the package you’re so desperate to find?”
Roach stared at him with flat eyes.
Finn tapped the file folder with one finger. “You might want to consider cooperating with us because, with your history, you’re looking at hard time. One kidnapping and one attempted kidnaping, both felony convictions. Not to mention aggravated assault and dognapping. You can wait for your lawyer, or you can do yourself a favor and tell us what’s going on.”
“Not till I speak to my lawyer,” Roach said in his raspy voice.
Finn knew what the guy wanted, and that was to cut some sort of deal. The very thought of this jerk getting less prison time because of snitching on his pals made him sick to his stomach, but that was the way the criminal justice system worked. As much as he wanted to shake the truth out of the guy, he knew that there was nothing more they could do until he met with his lawyer.
Frustrated and exhausted, Finn called Zach to let him know Roach wasn’t talking, then left the police station to return to Pete’s house. Mikey was safe, which was the most important thing. Still, it galled him that they were still no closer to finding out the truth about what was really going on. Or finding Cocoa.
Although patience wasn’t one of his strengths, he had no choice but to practice it now. Leaning on God’s strength helped, but he wouldn’t be satisfied until they had some answers.
The stinky guy with the Southern twang in his voice was still out there somewhere. Finn needed to find him before he could believe Eva and Mikey were safe once and for all.
* * *
Eva collapsed on the sofa, her mind reeling with everything that had taken place over the past six hours. Losing Mikey, finding Mikey, calling Pete, kissing Finn.
She’d been caught off guard by Finn’s kiss, especially the sweet way he’d asked her permission. No man had ever done that before. What was even more shocking was that Finn had initiated their kiss despite knowing about her retinitis pigmentosa. She’d been honest with him when she’d informed him of what her diagnosis meant—that she’d be declared legally blind in a few years.
Didn’t he realize the impact it would have on her life?
Or was it possible the kiss didn’t mean as much to him as it had to her? Maybe this was how he treated all the women in his life. What had that other cop said? Something about the Gallagher charm striking again? It wasn’t a stretch to believe that Finn was a “date ’em and dump ’em” kind of guy.
Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, and she covered them with the palms of her hands. Finn might have initiated the kiss because he was accustomed to kissing women, but she’d been a willing participant, agreeing to the kiss and then losing herself in his embrace.
That it meant more to her than it likely had to him shouldn’t be a surprise. What man would willingly sign up for dating a woman who’d end up blind? Rafe, the man who’d claimed to love her, had quickly moved on after learning the truth.
Exhaustion weighed her down, but Eva knew she wouldn’t be able to rest until Finn was back. How was that for being messed up? The man she shouldn’t have kissed was the only man who made her feel safe. Reed Branson, who was keeping watch, was probably a fine cop, but she didn’t know him.