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“With me,” I prompt her as I grab her hand. “Silent.” I won’t hesitate to knock her out if she can’t follow instructions.
“Sisters, are we… What the hell?” Father Cassio’s shock pales his face as he registers the carnage I left for him to see. Before he can make a run for it or call for help, I have my tranquilizer gun aimed at his neck, and I fire a shot. “You,” he hisses as his eyes roll to the back of his head, and he falls unconscious to the ground.
“Oh no,” Daia mutters behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I see tears in her eyes and her hands covering half of her face.
“You feel sorry for them?” I’m appalled she could. After everything they’ve done and were going to do to her. It’s hard to believe anyone could have remorse for them. Crouching next to Cassio, I pull the zip ties from my pocket and bind his wrists and ankles together.
“It’s human life,” she finally replies.
Picking the priest up after taping his mouth and eyes shut, I frown at where she stands. “Not all human life is salvageable. Some people need to die.” I’ve seen it over and over. There is true evil in the world, and I have no doubt as to my position within it. Eliminating people whose sole purpose is to cause as much agony as they can before getting caught gives me pleasure.
“Yes, but shouldn’t that be up to God if they live or die? You do not speak for the universe on whether they’re good or bad. You can’t be judge, jury, and executioner. It’s not your place.”
“Not my place.” Shaking my head, I walk away. At this point, she can follow me, or she can stay. I don’t fucking care. The only thing I do care about is killing this mockery of a priest and getting back to Isabel.
“Wait!” I hear her call as I’m halfway up the stairs, leading out back to where I have a car waiting. “Where are you going? What am I supposed to do?”
Stopping, I turn to stare at her motionless at the bottom of the stairs, candlelight making her appear almost ethereal. “Whatever you want, Daia. You can do anything.”
“I’ve devoted my life to God. To serving Him.” She sounds confused.
“Then do that. Or do something else. Runaway. Go home. Find your family.” She looks back at the death lying behind her. “Where are you going?” She takes one step, then another, then pauses.
“To get Isabel and go home.”
Another step. “What about Father Cassio?”
“He’s coming with me.” Two more steps.
“To die.” It’s not a question, and I don’t need to confirm it for her. “Could I come with you?”
This girl is fucking exasperating. “That was the plan until you started protesting.” She talks too fucking much. Turning back, I head out the door. I hear her following me, so I slow my gait enough for her to catch up. “No more questions. Listen and do as I say.” I see her nod her head from the corner of my eye as we enter the trees behind the graveyard at the rear of the church.
Making sure the coast is clear, I unlock the car and tell her to get in, while I drop Cassio’s body in the trunk. Slamming it shut, I settle myself in the driver’s seat and casually pull away. When my phone rings, I hit the bluetooth button, and I’m surprised at what the voice on the other end says.
“We have the girl.”
“And?” I can’t let them know she means anything to me.
There’s a pause. “If you want her back, you must leave Rome. Leave the church alone for good.”
Glancing at the detonator in the cup holder, I ask, “And if I don’t?” I’m calling their bluff.
“She…dies.” That pause in his answer tells me all I need to know.
“Too late.” I laugh as I press the button that sets off the explosives I planted in the chamber where they do their cleansings. I know there are no civilians in there because I cleared it out first then locked all the exits. The street isn’t busy enough to worry that anyone will be hurt by the controlled explosion either. “The church is crumbling as we speak.”
The sounds of the mostly brick structure collapsing echo through the phone line, which tells me they’re close by. “She’s dead,” he hisses.
“I still have Father Cassio…”
They won’t do anything to her while I have him.
“Fine. A trade. Him for her.”
“I was paid a lot of money to kill him.” I need to stall them so I can find Isabel first. I won’t put her in danger, but I won’t hand Cassio over either. It appears everyone is going to die today.
“She’s worth much more. A virgin. Innocent to the ways of a man’s touch. She can be molded into the perfect submissive.”
