CHAPTER NINETEEN
I rose to my feet and pressed a command on the panel to open the door, preparing to yell for Finn’s help in this plan.
The door didn’t open.
“Access denied, Ms. Kramer.”
My head snapped in all directions, searching for the intruder. “Hello?”
“Hello, Ms. Kramer,” the voice stated. “How may I be of service?”
My brows furrowed as I walked in a slow circle and opened the bathroom door so hard it banged against the wall.
No one was in the train cabin with me.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Choo-Baby-Choo, Ms. Kramer. Mr. Baker’s personal advanced train system.”
“What company installed you?”
“I am owned and operated by Cooper Corporation. Installation and programming are maintained by Cooper Corporation. If you are unsatisfied with my service, please contact your service manager at Cooper Corporation within normal business hours.”
Mr. Wolfe Cooper’s new update on Finn’s train.
I dropped my head back and stared up at the ceiling, sighing in frustration. My eyelashes fluttered at the view. There were tiny white dots on the smooth surface, barely recognizable as they blended with the ceiling. My eyes narrowed, and I questioned, “Can you see me?”
“Yes, Ms. Kramer.”
“Are you recording this right now?”
“Yes, Ms. Kramer.”
I flipped off the cameras plastered all over the ceiling, shoving my topnotch breeding aside in my frustration. Then I lowered my hand, asking, “Where are the speakers?”
“In the cameras, Ms. Kramer.”
I sighed. “Can you call Mr. Baker for me?”
“Hold, please.”
My arms crossed as I waited.
“Little busy, Mina.” Finn’s voice filled the cabin.
I kept it simple, even if my annoyed tone was clear—trapped inside his train. “I have an idea for getting Poppy out of there. Will you come back to the train? I can’t do it without you.”
He grunted, his voice breathless. “Will it work?”
“Possibly. It would be a lot faster than what you gentlemen are doing.” I cleared my throat—loudly. “Or I could just ask…Choo-Baby-Choo…for the help.”
Finn shouted in pain. “You motherfucker!” He growled, the noise definitely not human. “Hold on, Mina. Just give me a second and quit bluffing. You know my kickass train won’t obey your orders.”
My shoulders tensed as I listened to him fight.
By how winded he was, this battle was much tougher than the fight yesterday. Finn grunted and growled—a white tiger’s growl—too many times to count. He finally hissed, “Get away from the door, Mina.”
I rushed to the back of the cabin, only catching glimpses out the windows. There were even more golems outside than when we had arrived, each new one stumbling out of the woods as if the wilderness was housing them.
The train door slammed open.
Finn flew inside, landing on his knees. He barked, “Shut the door, Choo-Baby-Choo!”
The train door slammed shut.
I rushed forward, my hands hovering over his shoulders, not sure if I should touch him. His clothes were in tatters, and blood streaked each exposed piece of flesh, though there were no actual wounds. My voice shook as I asked, “Are you okay?”
He shook his head and stood to his feet. “No, I’m not okay. We need a miracle right now to get her out of there. The golems have piled on top of themselves halfway up the house, and we can’t get through to a door or a window. Every time we behead one, another falls in its place. Poppy is going to have her soul sucked right out of her if we don’t figure something out.”
“The green light? It steals a person’s soul?”
The power had felt so right but wrong too.
“Yes.”
I shuddered in horror. “What about the roof?”
“They’ve made a nest up there.”
I inhaled and exhaled to focus. “You know how you’re never supposed to stand directly under a train because of the clean energy heat at the center?”
Finn’s blink was slow. He understood immediately and gradually started nodding his head. “You want to burn them.”
“Yes. If we can hover the train close enough to the top of the roof, it should burn the golems directly underneath it. Then we can burn through the roof. You’ll have to jump down into the house from the train to get her, and you can jump back in easily. But if there’s as many as you say up there, the rest of the nest will follow you inside.”
Finn was still nodding with every word I said. “I’ll get the others. We’ll take the whole team in.”
“Are you positive?”
“This is the best idea we’ve had so far.” He tipped his head and pressed his warm mouth to mine, gently kissing my lips. “Thank you, Mina. Losing Poppy would wreck God…”
I blinked like a person with no wits, leaning against him for more. “Is that all you’ve got?”
“Hell no.” He gently pushed me back a respectable distance. “But when I start, there will be no stopping us. Now isn’t the time.”
I shook my head to regain a sense of clarity, my hair brushing past my bare shoulders. “My apologies. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
He snickered. “I do.”
I closed my eyes. He was probably right.
I wanted him. Monster or not.
I swallowed and peeked out from under my lashes.
The kitty could play with me all he wanted.
Oh, yes.
“I’m going to contact the guys. Get ready for them to enter the same way I did.” He lifted his wrist and tapped on his silver bracelet. But he hesitated, inhaling heavily. His nostrils flared as his beautiful blue eyes narrowed on my heated gaze. His eyes dilated, but he shook his head. “Not right now, Mina. But tonight, we’ll play. Just hold on until then.”
“I’m merely letting you know I’m saying yes. To you. In the bedroom.” I shrugged my shoulders, allowing my cleavage to bulge over the top of my dress. “Tonight will do.”
Finn’s eyes caught on my breasts, and he bit his bottom lip in desire. “You’re not all sweet. You have a little sin in you too.” He tipped his head to my overflowing cleavage. “Because that’s just fucking mean.”
I chuckled. “Call your friends, Finn.”
“Yep.” He inhaled deeply through his mouth, and then jerked his gaze away from my cleavage. He started to tap on his bracelet. “Calling God now.”
The floor of the train shook.
I shot my arms out to my sides for balance and my eyes to Finn’s. Trains didn’t react to outside forces like an earthquake—because of the clean energy powering them.
But the floor only vibrated more fiercely.
I cried out, “What is that?”
Finn steadied his feet, his brows furrowing.
Then his eyes bulged wide. “Cassander.”