New horizons bring enlightenment.
My brows rose. Shaking my head, I turned away from the window so I could study my location. There was a door in front of me, and a small path that ran alongside the wall, down the side of the church. The path was probably the safest option, in case anyone caught me trespassing. I had no explanation for why I was here, other than Cruz fucking Martinez was a giant pain in my ass and I was trying to stop him from acting rashly.
As far as excuses went, it probably wouldn’t go down too well with the churchgoers.
I moved toward the wall, pressing my back flat against it as I made my way to the side of the church.
There was a creak, and acting on instinct, I dived for the path. With my heart beating out of my chest, I peered around the corner.
A hooded figure stood with their back to me, talking to an unseen person who remained inside the church, their voice a low rasp.
“Now we have the goods…”
“…Yes. We will wait for the new moon…”
Icy coldness trickled down my spine. Carefully maneuvering my phone as close as I could, I listened. I could only make out one side of the conversation, but what I did hear set me on edge.
“…No, it needs to be fresh blood, freely given. One of the initiates would make a good candidate… Yes. The memorial sacrifice…”
“…Not here. It must be on sacred ground.”
The figure moved, stepping over to the wall opposite my hiding place and crouched down, facing away from me. They suddenly straightened up and turned around, and I moved faster than I ever had, ducking back around the corner out of sight. Over the pounding of my heart, I heard another creak, followed by the click of a lock.
“Gray? Two people are leaving. They’re locking the front door. Can’t see their faces. We didn’t want to get too close.”
I spoke quietly. “Okay. Head back to the SUV. I’ll meet you there.”
After waiting another couple of minutes, I moved from my hiding spot over to the place where I’d seen the hooded figure crouch down.
My eyes widened.
In front of me was a small pile of logs, carefully balanced on top of each other.
On top of the logs, tied securely with a length of twine, was a lock of blonde hair.
The end of the hair was dipped in crimson.
Blood.
28
CRUZ
Not driving my own car should have been comforting, but now I was in someone else’s car, my future in their hands, all the while transporting unknown merchandise.What the fuck had my life turned into?
Before the photos, I wouldn’t have cared. I would have done what was expected of me and not complained or worried about the consequences of what could go wrong. But now, knowing people were watching my every move, every wrong step I kept taking felt like it was leading me straight to jail.
Fuck.
It was so cliché the fact that it took my life literally flashing before my eyes for me to want to get my shit together and straighten up my life.
“Why so quiet?” Big Dog’s question felt more like he was mocking me.
“What’s there to talk about?” I shrugged.
He was silent for a few moments before he spoke again. His words sent a shiver down my spine, and I suddenly felt like I was walking on a tight rope, one where everyone was just waiting for me to fall so they could finish me up.
“You know, Cruzito, I was sure that you would be flaking on me at the last minute.”
