Page 130 of Tessa and Nash

She meets my eyes.

“…is incomplete by design.”

Maeve taps the margin once.

“I’m not saying your family lied about everything, but…”

“They did,” I reply flatly.

Maeve winces. “Okay. Maybe. But more accurately? They told the version that let them sleep at night.”

My throat tightens. “My uncle will lose his mind if he knows I have this.”

Maeve snorts softly. “Your uncle loses his mind if a McCoy sneezes.”

“That’s not…” I start, then stop, because it’s painfully accurate.

Ring, ring…

I jump. The sound of a shrill phone in the middle of a quiet library damn near knocks me off my feet.

Ring, ring…

I stare at Maeve in wide-eyed shock.

Ring, ring…

Then I realize it’s my phone.

I grab it and stare at the screen.

“Shit,” I hiss. “It’s my uncle.”

I stare at it for another beat, then swipe to answer, forcing my voice into calm.

“Hi…”

His voice comes through crisp and clipped, with no patience for my tone. “Where are you?”

“In town.”

“Where?” he repeats, as if the first question is a warm-up. “I thought you were sick.”

I glance at Maeve, who is watching me like I’m about to defuse a bomb.

“At the library,” I say.

“Why?”

“I’ve come to see my friend.”

Another pause.

“Well, now that you’re so much better, you need to get back to our plan.”

My stomach tightens.

“I’m working on it,” I say evenly.