I look up with blurry eyes and blink hard, trying to clear the tears. His beautiful face is close to mine, his blue eyes glittering with sorrow and anger.
“I… I can’t get taken again… I…” I sob brokenly.
Callum wraps his massive arms around me and begins to say the words that bring so much peace. He repeats them over and over, a fervent prayer uttered at my altar.
“You’re okay. You’re safe. I’m here now. Nothing will ever hurt you again. You’re okay. You’re safe. I’m here now. Nothing will ever hurt you again.”
I don’t know how many times he repeats it, but it helps keep me tethered to reality.
After a while, he says something different. A new prayer, a fierce one.
“Maeve, Ipromise youthat the men who hurt you are no longer breathing. They paid with their sorry lives. And I will not let another soul take you away from me. You aremine. Mine. I willnotlose you again. I’ll kill a thousand more men without fucking blinking to keep you safe.”
He holds me for a long time, and I finally feel peace and calm wash over me. He doesn’t say a word as he stands fluidly and holds out his hand for mine. I take it without protest, and he pulls me toward him. He leans down and kisses me gently on the forehead. He leads us back to the gravel parking lot outside the diner, to the car, where he buckles me up before closing my door and walking around to get in himself.
Just as he’s about to turn the key in the ignition, his phone rings.
Chapter 15
Callum
Tacit (adj) understood without being openly expressed
Maeve is still in a hazy state when we get back to the car. She slides into the passenger seat, and I lean in to buckle her seatbelt, pausing to kiss her forehead before I close the door. She’s staring blankly ahead, eyes expressionless. I take several deep breaths as I walk around the car to the driver’s side. I shut my door and put the key in the ignition, and my phone rings.
“Hey, Ma. What’s up?” I ask with a hint of worry.
“I was just checking to see if you’d heard from Maeve today,” my mother chirps on the other end. “I tried calling about where we were going to eat for lunch.”
“Uh, yeah, she’s actually sitting right here with me,” I say, glancing over at Maeve. “Her phone died. One sec.”
I cover the speaker and whisper to Maeve, “Mom tried calling about lunch. You still want to go, or should I…?”
“I still want to go,” she says as she gazes drowsily through the windshield. “It’s been far too long.” A gentle smile pulls at the corners of her mouth. I can’t help but smile in return as I hand the phone to her.
“Hey, Aisling, sorry I missed your call. I forgot to plug my phone in last night. Want to meet at the bistro for lunch?”
She holds my stare as she listens to my mother, then leans forward. I lean in to meet her, and she gives me a soft, gentle kiss.
Fuck, it’s almost as good as the passionate ones.
“Okay, I have to go shower and change, and Callum will drop me off. Yes, ma'am. I love you, too.” She hangs up, staring at the phone for a few moments, and I can tell that she needed to hear those words from my mother.
“So, where to, my lady?” I ask as I crank the Mustang, the roar of the engine drowning out my voice. I look over at Maeve, and a grin stretches across her face.
“Well, I would love it if you, kind sir, would drive to my father's so I can shower and put on a more fitting outfit before I see your mother.” She’s still smiling, and god, if it didn’t make me want to consume her right here, right now.
“Yes, ma'am, Mrs… I mean, Miss Collins.” She blushes, catching my slip-up.
I give her a slow, intentional kiss before we leave the parking lot. She turns the radio on and decides to use the aux cord, plugging it into her phone and starting a song. It’s Sleep Token. I feel the corner of my mouth lift in a half-smile, and I turn to look at her.
“What?” she asks with a raised brow.
I just smile at her for a second, taken aback. I didn’t think Sleep Token was really Maeve’s style, but I’d toyed with the idea of introducing her to them while we were out of the country. They’d be playing in Ireland during our visit. I’d been hesitant to finalize plans because I wasn’t sure she’d like them. I decided to buy those tickets as soon as possible.
“Sleep Token is my favorite band. When in the hell did you start listening to them?”
“I had been listening to them for close to a year before somearsedoxed the entire band. I still refuse to look at anything that would show their faces. I love their anonymity. They don’t want the constant recognition, but they are out there doing what they love,” she says thoughtfully.
