Page 44 of Sins and Salvation

He falls asleep, hand still clutching mine. I watch him breathe, the steady rise and fall of his chest. There's a moment when the world narrows to just this—his hand in mine, knowing he's alive.

I stay until the nurse kicks me out, promising to come back in the morning.

Finn drives me to a hotel near the hospital. "Cormac wants you to call him," he says as we pull up to the entrance.

"Too bad."

"He just wants an update on Declan."

"He can call the hospital." I get out of the car. "I'm taking a shower and going to bed. I'll see you at eight tomorrow."

I fall onto the hotel bed fully clothed, too fucking tried to even kick off my shoes. I haven't slept more than two hours at a stretch since this nightmare started.

My phone buzzes with a text from an unknown number. I open it and freeze.

The picture shows Conor asleep in his bed at the Kerry house, taken through the window from outside.

Your son will pay for Siobhan's punishment.

I call Jack immediately.

"Everything okay?" he asks.

"Check on Conor. Right now." My voice shakes.

"He's asleep. I just looked in on him ten minutes ago."

"Check the outside of the house. Someone's there."

I hear rustling as Jack moves. "What's going on?"

"Just do it."

I wait, heart pounding, as Jack checks the house. After what feels like hours, he returns to the phone.

"All clear. No one's here. What did you see?"

I stare at the photo again. "Someone sent me a picture of Conor sleeping. Taken from outside his window."

"That's impossible. I've been watching the monitors all night."

"Check the security footage."

I hear clicking as Jack reviews the cameras. "Nothing. No one's been near the house."

"The picture was just sent to me, Jack. Someone's there."

"I'm telling you, the security system hasn't picked up anything." He pauses. "Send me the photo."

I do. His breath catches when he sees it.

"That's... that has to be from earlier today. I'll wake Conor, move him to a different room."

"Call Finn. Tell him what's happening."

I hang up and pace the hotel room, debating whether to go back to the hospital. If someone's threatening Conor because of what happened to Siobhan, they might target Declan too.

My phone rings—Finn.

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