Page 31 of Sinner
“You’re just going to stand there?” she asked.
“We both know you’re not a nun, Mary, so quit it with the modesty. Just let me help you.”
She ground her teeth. “Fine.”
Her hands lifted to the back of her neck to grip the collar of her vest, intending to pull over her head… but winced. The wince turned into a grimace, she froze and squeezed her eyes shut. A tear glistened at the corner of her lashes.
“Mary,” Flint whispered. He stepped into her, pressing his body against her back, capturing her wrists. “Let me help you.”
“No,” she said. Her words were harsh, but she weakened against his front. “Now’s your chance. You should go. Leave and never come back.”
He encircled her front and nuzzled her neck. “Why would I leave?”
“Because you didn’t sign up for this. You didn’t sign up for me. You don’t even know who I am.” Her eyes opened and met his in the mirror. Then she whirled on him so they were face to face, inches apart. “You have your money. It’s what you wanted. You should go.”
Anger rose inside him. “You think I’m only here for the money?”
She didn’t answer.
“Jeez, woman. I can’t tell if you’re just blind or naïve.”
She gasped. “You have the nerve to judge me? You’re the one who signed up to pay for someone else’s mistake.”
“Fuck you, Mary, if you think that’s why I’m here.”
“Eight million dollars, Flint. Take it. Leave. It’s one hell of a college fund.”
“Shut up.” He squeezed her arms. Goddamn that woman. Cheap shot, hitting him where it hurt, but he didn’t buy it. Screw her words. “You’ll have to physically remove me if you want me to leave.”
Her entire body relaxed, softened like jelly, as though she’d been holding it together by sheer will. And now it was gone. When she spoke, her voice was strained. “Before you came along, my visions always showed everyone else surviving. For months I saw the same thing, then it all changed after our moment in the elevator.”
“Are you blaming this on me now?” Fine. He’d let her do that if it helped her sleep tonight. He could take it. What was one more fuck up if he had her in his arms?
Mary’s hands fisted his shirt, her eyes pleaded with him, helpless. “I’m blaming this onme. If I wasn’t so wrapped up in my selfish desires, I would’ve noticed the other changes in the vision.” An anguished cry ripped from her. “I allowed myself to want something, and the vision changed! Don’t you see? It’s my fault! My fault they’re dead.”
Flint yanked her to his chest and held her close. She resisted at first, then melted into him until their bodies forged a new shape. She knew it. Her body knew it. They fit.
“Shh.” He tightened his grip. She felt so good in his arms. Small but powerful, and she needed him. “This is not your fault.”
“It is, it is.” She sobbed, crying into his chest, tears soaking his shirt.
“Because I want you? Because you want me?”
“Yes. I got distracted. Lost sight of the mission.”
“Mary,” he said, deadly serious. “There’s one flaw in your logic. You’re assuming this all changed that day in the lift, but—Mary, look at me.” He hooked a finger under her chin to lift her gaze. “I’ve wanted you since I first met you. Fuck. I wanted you so bad, I thought I was going to hell right then and there. You think you have a choice in this, but you got me. There’s no going back. I’m not letting go. Never.”
But she kept shaking her head.
“Think about it differently,” he continued. “What if, with Julius’ new demand, everything changed? What if that horrible second future you saw was coming true, and you and me together is the only thing in its way?”
Mary stilled. Her eyes widened. “That’s what Gloria said.”
“It is?”
“Yes, she said we were stronger together.”
“Gloria was a smart lady.”
