Page 60 of After We Fall

She straightens. “B-because I could do it, you know. I could totally be there for you.”

Harlan puts an arm around her waist, pulls her close, and tucks her into the crook of his shoulder. “You don’t have to act brave, sweetheart. Between the nurses and me, she has plenty of people to help her.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” She wraps her arms around him and sinks her weight into his side.

For the first time since I returned to my bed, I can take a breath and focus on Harlan. He sports the man version of the same red Hawaiian shirt, paired with worn jeans and boots. The two of them look like a cheesy advertisement for a luau for beautiful people. And yet somehow they pull it off.

“I’m here to help her too,” a familiar deep voice calls from the door.

I close my eyes. Perfect. Luke’s here in time to discuss my pending nausea.

“Evidence suggests your help didn’t go so well,” Harlan chides his friend and nods toward me.

Luke sidles to the bed and lifts his chin in my direction. “You ever try to help Penelope do anything?”

“No,” Harlan says. “I value my life more than that.”

“There’s a steep learning curve. But I’m onto her now, so this won’t happen again.”

Harlan faces Luke. “Just out of curiosity, where’d you go wrong? Did you underestimate her?”

Luke scoffs. “I value my life more than that. No one underestimates Penelope and lives to tell about it.”

“Gentlemen, I’m still here,” I say, folding a piece of hair behind my ear.

Luke takes two steps closer to my bed and leans over me, almost hiding me in the protective shadow of his presence. His bright eyes soften, and he says in a gentle, husky voice, “How are you feeling? Did you get any rest?”

“Finley?” I ask.

He ignores my question and studies my face. “You didn’t get any rest.”

“Finley?” My voice is stronger this time.

“The bruises are coming out today. But your hair looks nice when it’s down.”

I purse my lips and nod in the direction of Harlan and Meredith. In a whisper, I ask, “Do they know what happened?”

Meredith clears her throat. “Um . . . we’re also still here.”

“They know. It’s okay,” Luke says as he squeezes my hand and turns to address the room. “About an hour ago, police detained Marcus and took him down to the station.”

“How’d they find him?” Harlan interjects.

Luke crosses his arms over his chest and lifts an eyebrow, but he says nothing in response.

Harlan shakes his head. “You always were good at tracking people.”

He shrugs. “People are predictable. Finley reports all of her activities and locations on Instagram. With the help of her previous posts, I checked out a few places where she hung out with Marcus’s posse. The third location was pay dirt—his boss’s house.”

My stomach lurches. “Was Finley there?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t a pleasant scene, but she’s okay. She followed the patrol car to the station.”

“Charges filed?” Harlan asks.

“They’re working on it.”

“I have to talk to her before she leaves the station,” I say. “She has to go back to the ranch.”