“Those rumors were highly overrated.” Liz squeezed Fin’s upper arm. Her nails dug into his skin. “Does anyone know you’re back? Where have you been?”
Lizzy’s hand trembled. “Well…”
Fin circled her waist with his free arm. “We should get going.”
Lizzy’s shoulders fell slightly, her mouth twisted into a grin. “Right—“
“Wait a minute. I was at the station yesterday and your picture was still up on the missing person’s board.”
Fin wasn’t sure what station the woman spoke of, but identifying Liz as someone the police were looking for wouldn’t be good for either of them.
As if sensing Fin’s concern, Liz spoke over her shoulder to him. “Mrs. Aaron’s husband is a police officer.”
“He’d be very interested in speaking with you, I’m sure.”
As the woman dug into her bag and removed a cell phone, Fin realized how quickly they were losing their freedom. Before he could fully grasp Liz’s frantic expression, Fin did the only thing he could.
The first tremor rolled out of his mind and hit the earth with a punch. The massive shelves surrounding them shook with a noise that surprised him. Several pieces of pipe crashed to the floor. The clerk held perfectly still, and Eddie grabbed hold of his mother’s leg and screamed. Fin expected the people around him to run, but instead they seemed frozen. Liz tugged his hand and nodded twice.
The next shake of the earth Fin forced to last longer, and everyone around them sprang into action and ran. Fin grasped Lizzy’s hand and dodged the debris that fell to his feet. People screamed and sprinted toward the huge doors of the building.
While others stopped once outside, Fin and Liz kept running until they reached the car Selma had rented for them. Liz jumped behind the wheel and quickly started the engine. Only after they cleared the parking lot did Fin let out a long breath.
“Shit and double shit,” Lizzy cursed. She forced the car around another and swerved in the lane. Fin held onto the door handle with white knuckles. “We don’t need this.”
No, they didn’t. The full moon and eclipse was still a full night and day away.
“She’s going to call her husband and tell him she saw me.”
Fin gripped his seat as she skidded around the corner. “Elizabeth, slow down.”
Liz glanced at him, then down at the gauge in front of her. Her foot eased off the pedal and the car instantly lost some measure of speed. “What are we going to do?”
“We must warn the others.”
“We can’t return to my apartment.”
“That would be the first place they would look.”
Liz stopped at a red light and opened a compartment in the car. She grabbed the cell phone and tossed it into his lap. “Call Selma, tell her what happened.”
The metallic device seemed harmless enough.
Fin opened it as he’d seen Selma do in the past.
Then he was lost. “What do I press?”
“Go to contacts.”
Fin found the button and pressed it once.
Selma’s name appeared next to Jake’s. He tried touching Selma’s name, but nothing happened.
“Scroll down with the arrow button until her name is highlighted.” Liz maneuvered the car until they were on the freeway.
Once Selma’s name was brighter than the others, Fin said, “Got it. Now what?”
“Press call or send.”
The minute the call went through, the phone made a ringing noise. Fin pressed the phone to his ear. “Hello?”
Selma’s voice made him smile. The device was truly magnificent. How easy it would be to communicate in his time with such an invention.
“Hello?” Selma repeated.
“Selma?”
“Fin, is that you?”
“Aye, lass,” he said, excited to be speaking with someone miles away.
“What’s up?”
“Jesus, Fin. Stop smiling like you don’t know any better and tell her what’s going on,” Liz yelled.
“Right. We’ve had some trouble,” he began.
Within minutes, Selma knew the story and offered her own advice.
“I’m picking up my sister at the airport now. I’ll call you once the others come in. Where are you going to be?”
Fin moved the phone from his ear. “Where are we going?”
“I don’t know.”
Selma must have heard Lizzy. “Never mind. It’s probably better if you don’t tell me anyway. Have you called Jake yet?”
“Nay.”
“I’ll do it. If he calls you, don’t tell him where you are, either. My guess is he’ll be under suspicion before the day is done. We don’t want him in any trouble if we can avoid it.”
Fin admired how the woman’s mind worked.
“I’ll be in touch later. Don’t go too far. I think I may have an idea of how to get you guys back home.”
“What is it?”
“You’ll see. Tell Lizzy to hang in there. Later, Fin.” Before he could reply, the connection went dead.
“What did she say?” Liz questioned.
“She told me she believes she has thought of a plan to take us home.”
“That makes one of us.”
Fin reached over and weaved his fingers into hers. She squeezed his in response. “We’ll find our way home, love. We have to.”
“In the meantime, we’ll have to find a place to hide.”
“Agreed.”
Fin sat back and watched Lizzy’s world speed by at the pace of sixty horses. Cold air hit him from the vents in the car and dried the back of his throat.
It wouldn’t be long now.
“By the way, great thinking back there.” Liz stroked his hand with her thumb. “With the earthquake.”
He smiled into her brilliant blue eyes with pride.
“I didn’t think your gift would come in all that handy, but I was wrong.”
Her admission took him back. It seemed they’d finally found a place where the two of them could speak their hearts without fear of retribution from the other.
“I’m glad you approve.”
They settled into silence for a few minutes before Liz said, “Don’t you find it ironic that your gift is to make the earth shake, and mine is to fly above the ground?”
He considered her words. “Opposites?”
“Yeah, yin and yang.”
“What is that?”
Liz shook her head. “Nothing. Strange how things work out sometimes.”