Read Finding Fiona for Free Online

her a twenty. “Here. Get
yourself something fancy. The fanciest thing you can get for twenty
dollars.”
    Fiona smiled, taking the bill. “You’re the
best, Hannah.”
    She returned the smile, brushing her brown
hair off her shoulder. “Just don’t get lost. Although usually,
you’re pretty good at getting unlost.”
    “ Unlost. You’re the queen of
inventing words.”
    Hannah had a few properties around the city,
and she had an interested customer in Manhattan. She parked in
front of a condo building where her first meeting was, and Fiona
said she’d walk to the bus stop from there.
    “ Well, give me a call if you get
lost,” Hannah said. “Oh, and hold your purse close. Remember when
that guy almost pick-pocketed my wallet?”
    “ That was crazy! Don’t worry, I’ll
be fine.”
    “ Have fun!” Hannah said, squeezing
Fiona’s hand. “I should be tied up in meetings for at least two
hours, but I’ll call you as soon as I’m done with this one. We can
meet up somewhere if you’re bored, okay?”
    “ Okay, thanks, Hannah.”
    It took Fiona an hour to figure out the system
and her map. Some things seemed familiar, but other streets and bus
lines made no sense to her. She finally got to a bus stop a couple
blocks from Elmscott Avenue. After ten minutes of walking, she
found 2673 Elmscott Avenue.
    It was a two-story building, and Fiona could
easily see how it’d been a bank with its arched windows and
pillars. It looked like it may have been beautiful at one time, but
the rebuilding made it look disjointed, torn between two different
eras.
    She looked for a sign indicating what the
building was, but she found nothing. She walked up to the arched
front doors, paused, and pushed the buzzer.
    “ Yes?” a voice came from the
intercom.
    She gasped; she hadn’t expected anyone to be
here. Would James be here? “Yes, I’m looking for… for James,” Fiona
said.
    “ James?” the voice
repeated.
    “ Yes.”
    “ Sorry, can I tell him who this
is?”
    “ Fiona.”
    “ Just one minute.”
    Fiona waited for a moment. She stepped back
and looked up at the building. The blinds were drawn on most of the
windows except one on the top floor. Fiona glanced around again,
then someone spoke from the intercom.
    “ He says he’s coming out to see
you.”
    Fiona’s eyes widened. She smoothed down her
hair, then swore under her breath. Why did she care how she looked?
She wanted answers, not to flirt with him.
    James came outside, his eyes wide. “What are
you doing here?” he demanded.
    “ I’m tired of waiting around. I
want answers.”
    James took her arm gently and pulled her down
the street behind him. “Come on, it’s not safe here.”
     
    * * *

Chapter Four
    Fiona and James walked along briskly. James
took a cell phone out of his pocket. After a moment, he said,
“Keith, make sure no one is following us. Just trust me, okay?” He
hung up and turned to Fiona. “I told you you’d be safe with
Hannah.”
    “ How can you expect me to stay
there when I know everything now? Boston is so far from here.”
Fiona glanced over her shoulder toward the bank as it fell from
their sight. “Is that where the lab was? I thought it was
destroyed.”
    “ It was, but the insurance paid for
some rebuilding,” James said.
    “ Why are you staying
there?”
    “ I’m not. I was just there now.
We’re trying to figure out if it’s safe to bring you
back.”
    Fiona stopped walking and glared at him. “Safe
from the Alaria brothers? I looked them up, James. They’re
intellectuals, not murderers.” Her previous search had brought up
academic articles and news about Greg Alaria’s fertility clinic.
Based on Elizabeth’s entries, they did seem persistent, but she
couldn’t make the connection between the determined, slightly
creepy scientists and the violent men in her nightmares.
    “ You think I’m making it up?” James
sounded hurt.
    “ No, of course not,
but–”
    “ Don’t forget about how