Page 51 of A Silence So Divine

Cecil frowns, shakes his head, then continues.

“When I was eighteen, I met a man downtown. I was standing outside this private club for wealthy guys, and asked him if he knew anyone that needed a day laborer. He offered me a job on the spot and I took it without asking questions. He warned me that the work was… challenging, but I was desperate. I need you to know that everything I did, I did to take care of you.Everything.”

Two lines crease between my brows and I bring a finger to my lips, gnawing at the nail. There’s not a single time in my life I remember my brother looking so…nervous.

Eyes downcast, he continues.

“In the beginning, I was pretty much an assistant. Any odd job they had, I would do. Over time, I was introduced to more men that were a part of this club, but no one ever told me what it was.”

Like cogs in a machine, my thoughts fall into place and set in motion. The secrecy, the late hours, coming home bruised and battered…

“After a couple years, they said I had proved myself. I had no idea what they meant.”His throat bobs on a swallow.“They had me stay late one night, asked me to join them for their ‘service.’ It didn’t take me long to figure out who they were.”

A tremble has begun in his hands, his signs growing sloppy. The shadows beneath his eyes and the slouch of his posture make my brother look so unbelievably defeated that I have a hard time looking at him. All my life, he has carried himself as an untouchable force. But right now… he’s nothing but a weary young man.

“I was terrified, thinking I had put you in jeopardy. That night, I didn’t come home. Do you remember? I thought one of them might follow me and find out about you. I slept in my truck out on a country road.

But that next morning, I started to wonder if maybe— I mean, if I were careful—”

He takes a moment to scrub his hands down his face.

Then, he finally meets my eyes.

“Better the devil you know.”

All the blood rushes from my face, my fingers tingling and my breath shallowing. My fidgeting has ceased, and I am utterly still as I stare at this man that I don’t know at all.

“You didn’t,”I insist, shaking my head back and forth. As if I can will the truth away.

Cecil’s eyes have turned pleading.

“I know everything: their names, where they live, what they do, who they’re looking for. If I hadn’t joined them…”His cheek puckers as he gnaws on it.“It was only a matter of time before they found you.”

Tears of outrage flood my vision, and I push up from the island. Whipping my head over my shoulder, I peer down the hallway. No.No. I point an accusatory finger at my brother.

“What did you do to her?”

Cecil’s face falls.“I saved her life.”

Turning away from him, I place my hands at the top of my head and squeeze my eyes shut. All these years wondering, and it was worse than I could have ever imagined. A selfish part of me wishes I never had to find out.

A few deep breaths later, my tears dry up. Panic and fear bleed into anger and betrayal. Facing Cecil once more, I plop back into the chair.

“Tell me everything.”

Twenty Two

Cecil

Ihoped that being honest with Creed would lift a weight from my shoulders.

The weight has only doubled, and it’s slowly crushing me. My brother has been angry with me plenty, but the look he gives me now is nothing short of disgust.

It took nearly two hours to answer all of his questions; some more difficult than others.

It started simply: He wanted to know where The Sanctuary was, how many men would attend, why women weren’t allowed, and how I felt amongst the very people that wanted him dead. Those questions were easy enough to answer.

The Sanctuary was the original Divine Church in the desolate fields of Louisiana, new buildings being added as the workforce expanded.