Page 65 of Dark Reunion

CHAPTER 24

YASMINE

The guards outside Maeve’s door straightened when Yasmine approached. Tate was balanced against her hip, his warm cheek pressed into her shoulder, while Aiden clung to her hand, holding his head high. She didn’t know if she should be proud or scared. The longer they stayed, the more accustomed they became to men with guns and threats around every corner.

The guards weren’t Dean’s usual loyalists, but the subtle flicker in their eyes told her enough. They’d been instructed to let her through.

“Please announce me,” Yasmine said softly, her voice steady.

The guard on the left knocked. “You have a visitor,” he yelled, before opening the door.

Yasmine stepped inside, bracing herself, unsure what kind of greeting she would get.

Maeve stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed tight, chin tilted like a boxer about to take the first swing. The space itself was beautiful. Sheer curtains, carved mahogany furniture, a canopy bed draped in silk. But Maeve seemed restless, glancing around with open disdain, like every polished surface was another piece of her cage.

“Are you here to appease me or break me out?” Maeve asked.

Yasmine smirked. “Maybe a bit of both. Come, let’s take the kids for a walk and get some sunshine.”

Maeve froze, suspicion darkening her eyes. But when Aiden lifted his hand and waved shyly, Maeve’s expression faltered. For just a second, the hardness cracked. She was no longer a trapped woman with scars. She was simply a girl startled by the innocence of a child.

Yasmine offered her a smile. “We all need some air from the stuffy suppression of this place.”

Maeve gave a stiff nod. “Isn’t that the truth.”

Yasmine looked at the guards when she reached the door. “I’m taking Maeve out for a walk. You can either come or stay here, but we are going for a walk either way. Do I make myself clear?”

They looked at one another with the same shocked expression. “We will follow,” the one who let her into the room finally answered.

“Very well.”

Yasmine waited for Maeve, and once they were outside the room, they walked quietly in step with one another.

Outside, the compound’s gardens spread in neat rows with the scent of marigolds and earth on the breeze. The late sun gilded the fountain at the center, and Tate immediately wriggled free to run after Aiden. Their laughter rang out in pure joy in a place that rarely allowed it.

They were bold, so much like Dean. The boys jumped up on the fountain’s edge, chasing each other with no thought of falling. Maeve moved closer, her eyes locked on them, her fingers twitching at her sides. She looked torn between reaching out to keep the children safe and holding herself back.

“They’re beautiful,” Maeve whispered.

“They really are. I tell Dean that it’s all my genes,” Yasmine teased, eyes never leaving the boys. “They’re the reason I forgive more than I probably should. I don’t want a world filled with hate, all it does is breed more of the same.” Yasmine gave a low whistle when Tate and Aiden started to wrestle. As soon as they looked over, she shook her head, and they stopped, making Maeve laugh.

“That was impressive.”

Yasmine smiled. “A mother’s glare, it’s a secret weapon. So, listen…I did want to get you out of the room, but I also wanted to tell you that you’re not the only one who has had to forgive Dean. If that’s what you want, of course.”

Maeve’s gaze snapped to her. “Forgive him? Why did you have to forgive him?”

Maeve deserved to know that she wasn’t the only one who had once doubted Dean or questioned whether he was salvation or damnation.

“When I first met Dean,” Yasmine began slowly, “he had moved to my little town as a priest. I thought I was going to burn in hell for the way I felt when he looked at me.” She gave a bitter laugh. “And then he touched me and…I knew that I’d do anything to have him touch me again. I questioned every moral I had, and that was before I followed him into the forest. Don’t ask, that is a long story, but I found him skinning a man alive.”

“Jesus…what did you do?”

Yasmine crossed her arms. “I ran. I was terrified. Luckily, he chased me down and saved me from being killed by the jaws of bear traps. Anyway, he took me to where the man was hanging, and I thought, despite what he said, that I was going to be next.”

“Obviously, that didn’t happen,” Maeve giggled.

Yasmine chuckled. “No…” Her voice became soft as she looked down and remembered her sister. The memory still created a pang of pain in her heart so sharp that the wound felt as fresh as the day she was taken.