He Sacrificed Our Son, But Won't Let Me Go novel · Chapter 16 of 32

Chapter 16: Home Is a Lot of Rooms

At midnight Cormac took a duffel bag and said he was sleeping on a coworker's couch, and that nobody should call him unless there was a fire or a baby.

The door shut behind him.

Maura sat at the kitchen table with the red mitten in front of her and a map of Revere under her elbow.

Vincent sat across from her, drawing circles in pencil.

He had circled eleven houses.

None of them meant anything.

"The van went east," he said. "Say it's a boat, say it's an island, say it's a house in Winthrop. I can have men on every road by morning."

"The old man isn't stupid."

"No."

"He wants you to run around."

"I know."

"So stop." She pushed the map away. "Stop drawing circles, Vincent. For one hour, stop."

He put the pencil down.

His eyes were red from not sleeping, and the stubble on his jaw had gone past a shadow.

He looked at the mitten, and then he looked at her, and she saw him start to say something.

"Don't," Maura said.

"I haven't said anything."

"Don't say it's all right. Don't say you'll find him. Don't say agreed."

"Then what do you want me to say?"

She stood up so fast the chair scraped.

She came around the table and put her hand flat on his chest, over the place where his heart was banging.

"Forget what I told you on the couch," she said. "I don't care what it changes. I need you to put your hands on me and I need you to do it now."

For one second he did not move.

Then his chair went over backward.

He had her against the edge of the counter before she finished breathing, with his mouth on hers, hard and hungry and tasting of coffee.

She dragged his shirt out of his trousers and got her palms on his skin, hot and rough, and he groaned into her mouth.

"Maura."

"Shut up."

"Mia moglie..."

"I said shut up."

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