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A ghost of a smile plays on her lips before she turns her face away and stares out at the city lights.
I sit beside her, twist the cap off the water bottle, and hand it to her. “Here.”
She takes it without stalling and drinks almost half before handing it back.
“Thanks.”
I reach forward and set it on the floor, then sit deeper, getting comfortable next to her.
Her hand moves over mine, linking our fingers, settling against my palm before her other hand comes to rest over my watch. Her thumb follows the edge of the glass face, tracing the metal as she thinks.
A while later, she’s nestled against my side with her head resting on my arm.
“When I was tied up in your barn, I thought ya were going to kill me. I ran because I was terrified.” She brushes the pads of her fingers over the metal links in the strap. “Then when we fought in the field… The look on your face wasn’t hate, Fionn. It was something I wanted to see again and again. So, when ya killed one of your own men for me…”
“He deserved it.”
She presses her fingers into my wrist.
“After witnessing that, something inside me changed,” she says, deep in thought. “I knew there was more to you… A line ya wouldn’t let anyone cross.”
Her statement burrows beneath my ribs, finding the place where Graves, my father, and every decision I’ve made for her have been waiting.
“At the gala, when you said those things, it hurt because I thought the whole thing was a lie.” Her gaze rises to mine. “I was ready to tell ya how I felt.”
When I lift our joined hands and press my mouth against her knuckles, her eyes close for a moment.
“And now?”
“Now Eilish is living in hell. Graves is dead, and I’m sitting with you,” she whispers. “And even though my heart is breaking, I don’t want to run anymore… I mean…”
Sera presses her hand to her face and takes a deep breath.
“If you hurt me again, Fionn, I’ll kill ya.”
A smile breaks across my face when she pouts, trying her hardest to act tough. “Just say it.”
“Say what?”
“That you want to be mine.”
She laughs under her breath, and when I think she’s going to hit me with another false threat, her fingers tighten, and her head settles on my shoulder again.
“I’ll have to tell my family about us.”
Us.
“That’ll go off like a nuke,” I say. “I’ll stand beside you if it helps.”
“No, it’s okay. I’ll talk to Saint on his own first and then deal with my ma.”
The front door knocks, and I get to my feet to unlock it.
One of the men brings the food inside and stacks the boxes on the table. I dismiss him, then carry everything over while Sera watches the number of containers gather in front of her.
“This is ridiculous.”
“You need to eat.”
