Page 94 of Winterfall Destiny

"What are you watching?" she asks.

"Some dumb cop movie." I pause the screen. "You're not tired?"

"Not really." Maeve takes my beer and sips before pulling a face.

"Want me to make you a drink?" I ask, preparing to sit forward.

Maeve places a hand on my chest to stop me. "You're sweet. No, a cuddle will do."

"Easy." I hug Maeve closer and rub my nose against her hair. She's sweet; smelling gorgeous as usual. But why hasn't she changed out of the clothes she went out in? Maeve loves wandering around in comfy PJs, and I rarely see her in a skirt.

"Good job on getting the information tonight," I say, and she laughs softly. "Why's that funny?"

"No reason. And yes. We've moved forward; now we need to find out where the kids go and what the hell Gabriella's planning."

"What was the club like?" I ask cautiously.

"Why?"

"Dunno. Thought maybe something happened."

Maeve pulls away and tucks her legs under her on the sofa, looking at me. "Why do you say that?"

"Tobias. You. I can sense things in people, y'know, even if I can't mind read." I run a finger from her forehead to chin. "Did he piss you off? Again."

"No. Not really." Maeve picks at the edge of a cushion.

I groan. "Please tell me Tobias isn't triggered and back to his 'I'm such a bad guy I need to leave' bullshit. We need him around."

"That's exactly what I told him."

"Then what happened?" I put in sharply.

Maeve's shoulders sag. "We met someone Tobias once knew."

"Shit! Dominion?" I place my beer on a table beside me. "Who? Did you sort them?"

"No." More picking at the edge of the cushion. "Someone he knew from his past."

"Oh..." I straighten. Nobody touches on Tobias's past and for good reason. "Do you want to talk about what happened or not?"

Maeve leans forward and kisses me gently on the mouth. "I love that about you. If you were one of the others, you'd demand I tell you everything."

"Yeah, honestly I don't want to know unless it affects you. We all know he's a witch killer with a dodgy past." I take the beer again and drink. "Or is the situation worse than that?" For fuck's sake, please don't let anything be worse than that.

"If I tell you, promise not to say anything to Jamie or Andrei. I know for sure they'll lose their shit, but I need to speak to someone tonight." She touches the side of her head. "If I do, I can get everything out of here."

Oh, fuck, no. "Tobias is leaving, isn't he?"

"I hope not. I don't think so."

"Did this guy tell you things about Tobias that upset you?" I take Maeve's hand.

"No. But I read his mind." She rubs her lips. “Unpleasant memories of his time with Tobias."

"Shit," I mutter. "I can see why you were awkward when you returned tonight."

"Mmm. But I can't match the Tobias in the guy's memories to the one I know, which helps a little, but I don't like that he hid something from me again."

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