Jagged Embrace

Chapter 61 - Maeve

It had been two days since they arrived in Savannah. This time, Maeve hadn't asked to go anywhere or see anything. As it turned out, Ander wasn't an ideal patient. He was stubborn and moody and refused to take any more pain medication except for Tylenol, which barely helped. He didn't want help using the bathroom. Will and he had argued when he'd tried to shower by himself. Will relented and told him he could shower himself, but he stayed in the restroom until Ander was done to make sure he didn't pass out or further wound himself.

After, he'd been exhausted and finally agreed to take ibuprofen for the pain, and fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Since she wasn't allowed to be a part of it, she caught up on her journal. Once again, she felt like an outsider with them.

"You almost done?" Will asked as he opened a beer.

"Why?"

"We need to train, it's been too long."

She bit her lip. He was right, but she didn't want to train. It was never a pleasant experience. Her eyes moved to Ander.

"Won't that bother him?"

"Nah, he'd sleep through a war right now. Remember, ibuprofen knocks him out," he replied. "You want to change? Or just stay in those?"

Damn. She closed her journal. No reason to put it off anymore. Maeve peered down at her clothes. She didn't want to change, but these were her favorite pair of leggings. They were the ones Ander got for her last month. She went to her bag and pulled out her workout clothes and changed, deciding to leave the leggings and shirt for after her shower.

Will had already moved to his bed and propped it against the wall. "We don't have as much room, so I'm gonna keep this simple."

Maeve grimaced. She thought he had been keeping it simple. They spent the next few hours going over different defensive moves and how to break out of holds. At the end, she was frustrated. She hadn't really made any progress, overall. Of course, it was probably because she didn't practice enough.

Bent over, she took several deep breaths, her arms hurt from struggling against Will. "Does this ever get easier?"

"No."

Awesome. She stood up and stretched her back.

"We're gonna practice again tomorrow. Need to go over how to get out of a chokehold from behind. You have to be better. We need to work on your upper body strength, too. It'll make it easier when you start using a weapon."

"A weapon?"

"Yeah. Once you get some of this down, Ander will train you with a blade, and I'll work with you on firearms." He walked to the mini fridge and opened it to grab a beer.

Train with knives and guns? Maeve wasn't sure how to process that. All they'd both talked about over and over was her being able to defend herself and run away. It made sense for her to learn to use weapons, but the reality was intimidating.

"When will that be?" she asked.

Will shrugged. "Depends on you." He kept his silver eyes on her. "I'm gonna call Mason in a couple of days. Once I know Andy is okay to travel. We'll have to work then."

"Right, on the retrievals. What are we getting?" She was curious why she was allowed to help with those, but not actual missions.

"Don't know yet. All depends on what info Mason sends us. Only thing I want you to do is to be lookout," he said in a firm tone.

"And we are getting cursed objects?"

"Mostly, but it can still be dangerous. Never sure what the situation is we'll be walking into."

"Just like everything else in your life," she mumbled. She smoothed her hair back into the ponytail she'd put in. "What am I looking for?"

"Depends. Mainly to make sure no one shoots me," he replied with a grin.

"Has that happened?"

"Not for a long time. Usually it doesn't happen if you have a good partner." He winked at her.

She frowned. She found nothing he'd said humorous. He reached for her and pressed his lips against hers passionately, but wasn't demanding. He was holding back.

"You want to take a shower together? Or are you still angry?"

She felt heat fill her cheeks. Her eyes flicked over to Ander.

"I told you, he won't wake up. Trust me." He gave her his charming smile.

Maeve was still upset with him. He'd yet to apologize to Ander. However, he'd been so attentive and gentle with Ander over the last few days. Will took her hand and led her to the bathroom.