Page 66 of Sins and Salvation

She pulls my hair, forcing my head back. Her eyes are wild, pupils blown. "Don't leave me again."

We break apart at the sound of footsteps. Sarah stands in the doorway, arms crossed.

"If you two are going to tear each other's clothes off, at least wait until I'm asleep. The walls in this place are thin."

Maeve laughs, the sound surprising both of us. "We'll behave."

"Speak for yourself," I mutter, earning an elbow in the ribs.

Sarah rolls her eyes. "There's a guest room upstairs. Try not to bleed on my sheets."

After she leaves, Maeve leads me upstairs to a tiny room with a sloped ceiling and a bed that's barely big enough for both of us.

"Your friend doesn't like me much," I say as we settle under the covers.

"She doesn't trust Donovan’s." Maeve curls against my side, careful of my injured shoulder. "Can't blame her."

"And you? Do you trust me?"

She's quiet for a long moment. "I trust that you love us. That you'll try to protect us. But your world..." She shakes her head. "I don't know if I can live in it."

"Then we'll build a new one."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

She traces patterns on my chest, her touch sending warmth through my veins despite the exhaustion. "When do we start?"

"Tomorrow. After I see Siobhan."

She lifts her head. "Why? After everything she did?"

"I need to know the truth. About her, about Cormac. About what I'm bringing you and Conor into."

"And if you don't like what you find?"

"Then we leave."

She settles back against me. "I want to go with you. To see her."

"Maeve—"

"She tried to take my son. I need to look her in the eye."

I know better than to argue. "Fine. But Conor stays with Sarah."

"Agreed."

We go quiet. Waves crash on the shore, pulling us toward sleep. But I need to tell her something first.

"Maeve?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for saving our son."

She presses a kiss to my chest. "We saved him together."

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