Page 98 of For I Have Sinned

“I’m not playing dumb, Father.” I side-step him and walk around to reach for the doorknob so I can get the hell out of here, but he yanks me back by my arm, spinning me around to face him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He asks roughly, shoving my back against the door.

“To tell everyone what a lying piece of shit you are.” I attempt to rip my arm free of him, but he only tightens his hold. “Let me go!”

It takes a few moments, but he does. The relief of his hands no longer being on my body doesn’t last long because he quickly grips my face.

His fingers dig into my cheeks when he asks, “Who is going to believe you? Hmm?”

“Father Alexander,” I mutter.

He lets out another dark chuckle. “You think he is going to believe you because you spread your legs for him?”

His comment shocks me. Not because it’s the truth, but hearing Father Keaton say something like that is odd. I try again to pull his hand off me, but he is stronger.

“What makes you think he would believe a whore like you over someone he looks up to?”

Anger bubbles in me at his harsh words. “Because he already knows.”

His hand loosens a bit, and I take the opportunity to swat his arm away from my face.

“No, he doesn’t.” The disbelief in his voice is thick.

“Why don’t you go ahead and ask him?” My hand reaches for the doorknob. “Oh, wait. If you do that, then you’d have to confess the massive sin you are committing, and it will make him look at you differently. News flash, Father Keaton, he already does. Perhaps the nuns should be aware of your extracurricular activities.”

There is a brief second that terror crosses his face, but he puts his mask back on just as quickly as it dropped.

I wrap my hand around the knob as I continue, “Now the question is, is Joanna the only woman you are brainwashing into sleeping with you, or are there others?”

He stares at me, not saying anything, but his silence is an answer in itself. It makes me sick to my stomach knowing that Joanna isn’t the only one.

“Yeah, the nuns will love to know th⁠—”

“If you tell anyone, I will make sure Alexander pays for it.”

“Did you just threaten him?” Now it’s my turn to be in disbelief. How dare he threaten Alex when he isn’t here to defend himself?

He shrugs. “Given his past, it would be easy.”

“What do you mean?” I ask quietly.

“He didn’t tell you?” he questions. “After his dad died, he had a rough time.”

“I know,” I snap.

“Did you know he fell into the wrong crowd? Got into drugs?” Father Keaton tips my chin up with his pointer finger. “It would be easy to plant something in his room, make it seem like I’m concerned about his well-being, and find it. His poor mother would be heartbroken. And if I remember correctly, if he were to be caught with any drugs on him, he would get sent to prison.”

“You’re lying.” I try to hide the panic in my voice, but it’s slipping through.

“I wish I were. And your parents?” His hand drops from my face as he moves back an inch, rolling his eyes down my body. “How disappointed would they be in their daughter when they find out she fucked a priest?”

His threats keep coming, and it’s making my stomach twist.

Alex and I haven’t had sex yet, but that’s beside the point, and it’s useless to tell him the truth. The few things we have done would send my parents into a spiral.

“You wouldn’t.” I seethe through my teeth.

“I would,” he says matter-of-factly. “And if you go running your mouth, I will. I can make it so you never leave here, Celine. So what is more important to you? Outing me to everyone in the convent or your freedom?”