Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This chapter title comes from the song "Don't Fall Asleep at the Helm" by Sleeping with Sirens.
Finn stared down at the report on the Howard brothers. Not much more had been developed with the new information that Rachel had given them, and it was incredibly frustrating. He wanted to find them and end this before anyone got hurt.
It was then that his phone rang, and Finn felt an ominous feeling grow in his chest. He sighed heavily and then reached for his phone. The feeling that something bad was about to happen grew exponentially when he saw Santana's name flashing on the screen.
Finn swiped his finger across the touch screen and raised it to his ear. "Hello?"
"You're going to kill me."
Finn's fist clenched. "What happened?" he demanded.
On the other end of the line, Finn heard Santana order in a harsh voice, "No, stay right there!" Before Finn could ask what all that was about, Santana said, "Rachel went outside the restaurant to call her father, and…"
Finn hoped to God that what he thought happened didn't happen. "What. Happened," he repeated. His voice was low and dark and he was gripping the arm of his chair so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Santana's voice was uncharacteristically quiet. "Finn, Rachel is missing. Someone took her."
Finn was up out of the chair and calling for Puck, Blaine, and Sam before Santana had even finished speaking.
Santana was ready as soon as Finn arrived on the scene. She pushed forward a teenage boy who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but in front of the café at that moment.
"Speak," Santana ordered.
The teenager rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, man. I was coming back from delivering a pizza when I saw some dude grab the girl and throw a bag over her head. He took her down that alley." The kid pointed to an alleyway next to the café.
"What did the guy look like?" Finn asked.
The kid shrugged his shoulders again. "He was blonde and he had a scar under his eye. That's all I saw."
A vein in Finn's jaw throbbed. That matched Rocco Howard's description. He was the muscle behind all of the Howard brother's operations. The fact that they had abducted Rachel instead of simply attacking her or mugging her didn't sit well with Finn at all.
"You need to give an official statement. Officer Evans will take care of that," Finn said to the kid. He gestured Sam over and then called out to Puck and Blaine. "Blaine, I need you to stay at the scene with the team and make sure that no one else saw anything. Puck, you, me, and Santana are going to head down the alley and see if we find where they took Rachel."
Puck clapped Finn on the shoulder. "We'll find her, man. Don't worry."
Finn's fists clenched but he didn't say anything. Of course he didn't have anything to worry about. He was going to find Rachel, he was going to arrest the Howard brothers (after he beat the crap out of them first), and then everything was going to be fine.
Finn noticed that Blaine was staring at the alleyway that Rachel had allegedly disappeared in. He waved his hand in front of Blaine's face. "Blaine? Did you hear me?"
Instead of acknowledging Finn's question, Blaine pointed at the opening of the alley. "It's Rachel!"
Puck snorted. "Yeah, Blaine, good job. That's the alley where Rachel disappeared. Way to use those keen observation skills."
Blaine glared at Puck. "That's not what I meant, you ass. I mean, Rachel's coming towards us!"
Finn whipped around and saw that Blaine was right. Rachel was walking back towards the café on shaky legs. Without thought Finn ran towards her and engulfed her in his arms. Rachel fell against him and clutched at his shirt.
"Oh God, Rachel," Finn breathed into her hair. He smoothed it back from her face and pressed a kiss to her forehead before he hugged her again. Rachel's entire body was shaking and she curled against him, but she was there and she was breathing. "I'm so glad that you're okay."
"Finn…" Rachel whispered. She closed her eyes and pressed her face into Finn's shirt as she inhaled his comforting scent. She felt safe and secure wrapped up in his arms. She had only been gone for maybe half an hour, but it was enough to completely terrify her.
Finn pulled back just enough to look Rachel up and down. "You're okay, right?" he asked. "Did they hurt you? Did they do anything else to you?"
Rachel took a deep breath and took a moment to stare into Finn's eyes. His amber orbs were filled with worry, but she also saw how much he loved her and how scared he had been. She lifted a small hand to his cheek and cupped it.
Finn closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Rachel was the one who had been abducted, and yet here she was comforting him. But that's just how Rachel was.
"I'm okay," Rachel said softly, and Finn's eyes snapped open.
"They didn't do anything to you, did they?" Finn repeated. Two EMTs approached Rachel, but Finn waved them off and put his hands on either side of Rachel's face, tilting her head up so she would look at him.
Rachel shook her head. "No, they didn't do anything to me." She slid her hands over Finn's and squeezed. Really, she was just enjoying being close to him again.
Finn's brow furrowed in confusion as he tried to wrap his mind around what his wife just told him. He was so glad that Rachel was okay, but it didn't make any sense. It wasn't like the Howard brothers to leave one of their victims completely unharmed.
Rachel extended her left hand. "But they did put this on my hand."
Taking Rachel's hand, Finn uncurled her fingers until he could see her palm. He could hear the blood rushing his ears when he saw the three X's that had been marked into her hand with marker. He lost focus of all the people rushing around them.
Finn had never had a panic attack before in his life, but he had to imagine that this was what one felt like. His heart was beating too loudly in his ears and everything grew fuzzy except for the three X's on Rachel's palm.
He didn't know how long he stood there, staring at Rachel's hand. But then he suddenly heard her voice calling his name. The world came into sharp focus again, and when Rachel put her hand on Finn's cheek once again, he took a deep, shuddering breath.
"Finn!" Rachel pressed both hands to Finn's cheeks and turned his face so he was looking at her. She saw him come back, and she smiled at him. Finn turned his face into Rachel's right palm, kissing it gently.
They had another few moments together before Blaine carefully approached them. He smiled at Rachel and reached out a hand, making sure that his movements were very slow. He touched her shoulder and Rachel was proud of herself for not jumping or flinching away.
"The paramedics need to check you out. We should get your statement, too," Blaine said gently. "Are you ready?"
Rachel gave Blaine a small, thankful smile and nodded her head. Sliding her hand down Finn's arm, she twined her fingers with his and squeezed tightly. Finn followed behind her closely, and it was obviously non-negotiable that he would be with her. None of the officers present expected anything less.
The paramedics checked Rachel over. Luckily, they knew Finn and had worked with him and the rest of the team before so they didn't make him leave and instead worked around him. The only injury Rachel had really suffered from was bruises around her wrists where they had handcuffed her. They told her to get some rest and that she was free to go whenever she was done with the police.
But Finn could only focus on the x's left on Rachel's palm. They had made it clear that they were targeting her before with that list, but now they were just taunting Finn. He had never felt such a potent mixture of anger and fear in his entire life. If he had his way, he would wrap Rachel up in bubble wrap, lock her in a room with guards, and not let her out until he had found the Howard brothers and ripped them apart with his bare hands.
Finn didn't move when he felt a hand on his shoulder. His eyes remained trained on Rachel, as if he were afraid that she would disappear at any moment. She was giving her statement to Will, and every now and then she would look over at Finn and give him a reassuring smile. Puck was at his side, and he watched his cousin too for several long moments.
"You need to calm down," Puck finally said.
In response, Finn told him, "I'm going to fucking kill them."
"I know," Puck said. All Puck could think about was his own wife and daughter, and how they were targets as well. They immediately sent to officers to Puck's apartment so that they could keep an eye on Quinn and Beth, but that didn't stop him from being terrified. "And I understand. But we need to keep our heads clear and we need to figure this out."
Finn's hands tightened into fists at his sides. His teeth gritted together, his jaw was locked together so tightly. He sucked in a deep, slow breath through his nose and then forced his shoulders to relax. Puck was right. Being irrationally angry was going to get him absolutely nowhere. He needed to stay calm and collected and figure out what the quickest way was to bring the Howard brothers down.
"We need to find their headquarters," Finn said suddenly. Over the years, the three brothers had always somehow been a step ahead of them and had managed to get out before they could raid the place. But this time, Finn wasn't messing around. A plan was already formulating in his mind.
Puck knew it, too. "You have a plan, don't you?"
Finn nodded his head slowly and then held his hand out to Rachel. They were done here, and he was going to take her home. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."
Finn shut the door slowly behind them and made sure it was locked three times before he turned around and looked at his wife. She stood before him, looking up at him with determined eyes. Finn shook his head slowly, and he wasn't very surprised. Rachel wasn't one to back down, especially when she was threatened. She may have been scared, but she was doing her best not to show it.
"Finn, come here," Rachel said quietly.
Instead of taking Rachel's outstretched hand, Finn brushed past her and headed straight for the bedroom. He paced back and forth at the foot of the bed and dragged his hand through his hair. His mind was whirling with "what if" scenarios that got more horrifying by the minute.
Of course Rachel had followed him. He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn't heard her approach. But she did feel her small, soft hand grab onto his. She pulled him to a stop and placed both of her hands on his chest.
"Finn, look at me," Rachel commanded.
But he didn't. Looking somewhere at the ground, Finn said, "I'm supposed to protect you."
Rachel shook her head. Finn was always shouldering the responsibility for things like this. She remembered, not long after they first started dating, there was a time when Finn had tried to break up with her because he was afraid that he was putting her in danger. He was a detective in the narcotics unit, after all—he had made a lot of enemies over his career thus far, and he made them fast. But that just meant that he was good at his job, and Rachel couldn't have been more proud of him. So of course she didn't let him break up with her then, and look where they were now. They were happy and married and Finn just had to trust in his abilities.
"You do keep me safe," Rachel assured him. "Every day. And I love you for it. You couldn't have known that something like that was going to happen."
"I could have—"
Rachel pressed a finger to his lips, immediately causing him to quiet. "You couldn't have. And I'm fine. You have nothing to worry about, Finn."
Finn finally looked at her and stared into her wide, doe eyes. God, he loved her so much and she was always there for him, supporting him and reassuring him no matter what. Desire suddenly slammed into him and instead of responding to her declaration, he swooped down and covered her mouth with his in a hot, demanding kiss.
Rachel immediately melted against him and knew that he needed this more than anything right now. She needed it, too. Her body was still pumping with the adrenaline of her mini-abduction, and as soon as she had walked through the door she had wanted to be wrapped in Finn's arms.
They didn't waste any time in tearing off each other's clothes. With their arms tangled in an embrace they slammed against the bedroom wall with skin pressed against skin. Their kisses were hard and passionate, tongues tangling and teeth clashing together in desperation. But neither Finn nor Rachel cared.
Finn's large hands gripped Rachel's hips hard and he hoisted her up, pressing her against the wall. Rachel arched into her husband and rubbed against him where she could feel his erection pressing into her. Breathy moans escaped her lips and God, she wanted him so badly.
Finn's hips bucked into hers and he tore his lips from Rachel's and kissed down her throat and across her collarbone, stopping to bite and suck along the way. If he happened to leave a mark, then so what? He wanted to. And from the way that Rachel was panting his name, he knew that she wanted it just as much as he did.
Finn ducked his head down until his lips found her breast. Without wasting any time, his mouth immediately closed around her nipple, his tongue swirling. Rachel was rubbing against him, her hips gyrating, and Finn's hips bucked against hers. They were both so close to coming and Finn wasn't even inside of her yet.
This was going to be over soon. Later, Finn would make slow, unhurried love to Rachel. Right now, he needed to know that she was there, in his arms and that she wasn't ever going to leave him. This was pure, hard fucking—but the love and passion in each and every movement and touch was there.
Finn barely spent time paying attention to Rachel's other breast before she pushed his head away and dragged his lips back up to hers. She kissed him hard, her tongue in his mouth, and her hand slid down between their bodies until she grasped his erection. Her small fingers curled around his length and she rubbed her thumb over the head, and Finn's hips jerked.
"Finn, please," Rachel pleaded against his lips. She kissed him again, and he bit down on her bottom lip. She gasped and arched against him, pressing tighter to him. "God, Finn. Fuck me. I need you to fuck me."
Grasping her hips even tighter, Finn slipped into her and Rachel screamed, throwing her head back against the wall. It took all of his self-control, but Finn held still instead of her and pulled back just enough to look into her eyes. Rachel opened her own, and they were hazy and clouded with lust, passion, and love.
"I love you," Finn declared in a low voice.
The dark, husky timbre in Finn's voice made a shiver run down Rachel's spine, and she clenched around him. "I love you too," she said, breathless.
"I can't lose you."
"You won't."
Then Finn pulled back and snapped his hips against hers. Rachel's eyes fluttered close again and she grabbed onto his shoulders, digging into his skin. She was so, so close and she moaned again, moving her hips in time with Finn's. He thrust into her faster, harder, his hips jerking.
Rachel needed to look in his eyes when she came. Finn seemed to have the same idea, because his amber eyes immediately connected with hers as soon as she forced hers open. She kissed him hard again, and with one more thrust of Finn's hips she was falling over the edge, screaming his name. Finn swallowed her screams with his mouth and came just after Rachel.
Rachel's body went completely limp and she sagged against Finn, staying wrapped around him. Finn pressed his head onto Rachel's shoulder and tried to catch his breath. They stayed pressed against the wall for several long moments.
Finn knew he needed to get them into the bed before they both fell over. He carried Rachel the short distance to the bed and laid her out. Moving until he was wrapped around her body, Finn pressed his head to Rachel's stomach and wrapped his arms around her waist.
Rachel combed her fingers through Finn's hair, and he closed his eyes. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. She would be safe, no matter what.
So it wasn't the abduction from the first chapter just yet, but we're building up to it (and, as some of you noted, Rachel isn't pregnant yet. Good eye!). The Howard brothers are twisted, and they like to mess with their victims. I wonder what else they have up their sleeves?