"Come on, Joan," Marcus says. "That ain't why I believe it. You know that's not how it works." Come on. He needs her a bit closer. He doesn't need to grab her, he just needs to get the door bolted behind her. Contain the problem. "Hard-headed stubborn bastards like you and me, we don't look to dogma to back up faith. We like looking at what's right in front of us." Come on.

Down below, there's the clatter of a door. Outside, a car starts.

His eyes drop again to the hollow of her throat. "Your neck ain't doing so good. You feel that? It's gonna make you try to ignore it. And I think you're pretty good at ignoring pain, right? Don't."