Page 16 of Sinner
“I’ve wanted to do that since I met you.” It was an accusation. He scrubbed his face and turned his back on her. He clenched his fists at his side. She placed a palm between his shoulder blades and he shuddered. “How can I trust you,” he murmured, “when you’ve lied to me the entire time I’ve known you?”
Her head dropped next to her hand and she sighed, resting her cheek on his warm back. There was nothing more she wanted to do than slide her hands around his waist and hug him tight. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Anything.”
He turned and held her at arm’s length. “Start with the elevator. Why did you want me to delete the camera footage—which I did, by the way, and you’re welcome. You can thank me later.”
“Part of what I told you wasn’t a lie. They don’t like weakness around here. If they found out I had a condition, they’d fire me. But the truth is, there’s more to it. It’s not epilepsy. I have visions,” she said, squeezing her eyes shut.Here goes.“Please believe me. I’m not lying. As far-fetched as it sounds, I can see the future. If Julius found out, my mission would be in jeopardy.”
“Your mission?”
“The children.” Mary nodded at the observation window where the children were now helping to clean up their meals.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Mary. Am I part of your mission?”
“No! God no. I never meant to involve you, but…¡Ay, chingado!I make the worst nun because I can’t stay away from you. My feelings were bound to come out. From the first time we bumped into each other in the break room to the time you started leaving me sweets. I’ve loved our talks. Nobody has ever cared enough to ask me about my day, but you do. I think about you all the time, and I’ve dreamed about what it would be like if I were a normal woman. But, I’m not. You endanger my mission, just by being a variable I haven’t planned for. But I … it’s you.”
She gestured up and down his magnificent body. He wasn’t a body builder by any means, but he was trim, fit, sexy as hell, and all she could think about. Living with nuns for two decades had seriously depleted her opportunities for male company.
“Yeah. It’s me.” Pure male ego infused his words. He pulled her back into his arms, a slow smile creeping up his face. “I knew you couldn’t resist my charms.”
She slapped him playfully on the chest. “You’re such an ass.”
“You love it. You keep coming back for more.”
Mary sighed. That was the Flint she missed. She traced his short beard with her finger, feeling along the line of his strong jaw. His eyes sparkled under his long lashes and she knew in that moment she wanted him with her, always, in all futures. She shivered at the thought of her visions. “Maybe I do, but I wasn’t wrong when I said I had a mission. I’ve seen two futures. One where they’re used for evil, the other where they’re used for good.”
Flint went quiet. Still. Tension creeped into his posture and Mary felt it through his arms. “Flint?”
“Mary. I don’t know if I can help you. I don’t agree with them being used at all.”
“It’s a little late for that. They’re here. They’ve been created. I wasn’t a part of that but if they’re not guided in the right direction, then we’re all doomed. Flint,” Mary pleaded. “This is your chance to prevent more pain. You ignored your instincts once, don’t do it again. Help me save them.”
Her words cut him. Pain flickered in his eyes one minute, gone the next. “But why me? What do I have to offer? I’m useless in relationships, to people. I fuck up and people get hurt. Jesus, part of the reason I chased you was because I knew I could never have you. And now… I don’t know.” He stepped away from her.
She studied her feet. “Since I saw your face in the vision, I’ve asked myself the same thing. I thought, why Flint? Maybe it’s your tech skills, or maybe my feelings tainted the vision. I had a plan that would work fine. I thought I was all they needed, then… in the lift… you smiled at me that way, you boxed me in against the wall and I let you. We touched, and—” Their eyes met. “Something changed between us. Something shifted. Don’t tell me you didn’t feel it.”
“Oh, I felt it all right. And I felt like a complete moron getting a hard-on over a nun.” He rubbed his chin. “I’ll tell you what. It sure feels good knowing I’m not going to hell anymore.”
“Does this mean you’ll help?”
He refocused on Mary. “Tell me about the letter.”
“Letter?” As the word came out of her mouth, a cold pit dropped in her stomach.
“The one that dropped from your pocket in the security line this morning. Someone wrote it in code.”
“How do you know it’s mine?”
An eyebrow arched. “Are you still lying?”
Mary pinched the bridge between her nose. “Yes.”
“Last chance, Mary. I want all your cards on the table. If we want trust between us, it has to be that way. I can’t handle lies. What was the letter about?”
He was right. If she wanted something real between them, she had to go all in. Mary steeled herself. This went against protocol, but she found she couldn’t lie to him anymore. She didn’t want to. Even if he ended up hating her for it. What they had was the only real thing in her life, and the lies had tainted it.
“I have told no one this. Not even Gloria.” Her hand hovered over the queasiness in her belly. Here goes. “It was instructions from my superior regarding the mission. If I can’t get the children to the safety of the Sisterhood Abbey, then… she wants me to destroy everything. Including them.”
His eyes flashed wide. “You can’t be serious. Mary. You’re not entertaining the idea, are you?”
