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“Nobody called me. Right place, right time. Nothing more.” He doesn’t sound convinced of that.
“Yeah, but why? You knew far more than any other man did about what happens in that church. You saw things when others have remained oblivious. Why are you here, Pace?” The more I think about it, the more I need to know.
Walking out of the bathroom, he slips into his clothes in a far more restrained fashion than I would expect. He’s so big, his movements should be more unwieldy, but he’s almost graceful in his actions. Always thoughtful, too. Pace doesn’t do anything without extreme care.
“Pace?”
Finally, he glances up at me after securing his watch on his wrist. “I have to go out, and I need you to stay here.”
“Go out where?” My persistent need to question everything is annoying him, but I have this feeling that I need to know. That he’s hiding something from me.
Sighing, he picks up a bag I never noticed from the corner by the door before opening the wood panel and glancing back over his shoulder at me. “I’m going to kill the priest.” The door closes behind him softer than I would have imagined, and he leaves me in stunned silence
Kill a priest?Who kills a priest?
Pace does, I guess.
And I couldn’t imagine a more deserving man of death.
* * *
Pace
I never wanted her to know.
She was too stunned and terrorized to understand what was happening yesterday, but now that Isabel has found her footing, she has questions. Ones that deserve answers. Answers she shouldn’t have to deal with. I never wanted her to know that I was sent here to murder a man of faith. Let alone the women who helped the evil bastard.
Despite the fact that I confirmed I was going to kill them before I took her on that bench—fuck,her body was sweet—I’m not sure she believed me at that point. Or perhaps she forgot. Either way, I want this over with today. I already know Father Cassio is going to be sending out Brothers Ephrem and Judas to find the girl in my room. I need to get to them before they can even think of discovering her location.
Losing Isabel now that I’ve found her isn’t an option. I finally understand why Domino and Santi are willing to die for Nicola and Amalia. In spite of my own love for my sisters-in-law, I wouldn’t die for them. There’s not many I would, aside from the Morellos and my own parents.
Isabel, though…I’ll do anything for her.
Including lay down my life.
She’s the purest soul I’ve ever met. Even more clueless about the ways of lust and desire than I was. What we did yesterday, the carnal act of fucking the way we did, shook me to my core. I had no idea I wanted those things with a woman. I thought I was fucked up. That there was something wrong with me that I didn’t have an interest in sex.
Turns out, I was just waiting for the right woman. At least my body was. And after the way she accepted everything I demanded from her without question, and even begged for some of it, I know I can never let her go.
Except I might have to once she discovers who I truly am. What it is that I do. Isabel is an accepting woman, but even this, loving a monster, is pushing a line I don’t think I have any right to ask of her.
But how do I let her go?
Approaching the church from the side entrance, gloves on, bag slung over my chest, and a mask covering my face, I quietly enter the sacred building. Already knowing I’m going to hell when I die only spurs me on. Santi was able to send me a list of parents these assholes stole babies from, and I don’t believe for a second that it was complete. Hundreds of children’s lives forever changed, including that of the sister of our friend Dante Lupo.
The amount of mother’s who killed themselves after losing their children is what was truly staggering. Yes, some of them were struggling financially, possibly mentally, and maybe some didn’t belong having children to begin with, but they didn’t deserve what happened to them afterwards. Eighteen women committed suicide after their infants were stolen from them. Twenty-seven were institutionalized by the church. Seven died from overdoses—it’s unclear if they were intentional or not. Many others never had more children. Some were so depressed they lost what little they had.
Isabel’s own mother was one of the few who crawled out of whatever hole she’d sunk into for years after her disappearance and became a functioning member of her community again. Those success stories were few and far between.
Voices from the priest’s office stop me as I’m about to turn the corner into the hallway leading to the room where I first realized Isabel was being held. Glancing around the wall, I see it’s clear and stealthily move along, listening for any other sounds as I go. Stopping outside Cassio’s door, it’s opened a crack, and I listen to him speaking.
“We must get her back. She was going to make me millions. That Saudi prince was willing to pay top dollar for a virgin like her. She has no idea about the ways of the bedroom. He’s been waiting for years,” Cassio bitches, and my anger continues to grow. They have no idea about the horrors that would have awaited her if the prince I believe they’re talking about got ahold of her. He’s a sadistic asshole that has disposed of many women over the years.
There’s a long pause before I hear him clench out, “I don’t care what it takes, get her back. Killhimif you must but leave the girl untouched.” A phone slams down, and I see his shadow pacing back and forth across the floor as he mutters to himself.
Footsteps echoing down the hall have me backing up and entering the empty room across the hall. Leaving it open a crack, I wait to see who’s coming. “Father?” It’s a woman’s voice.
“Sister Anne, is the cleansing ready for Sister Daia? It’s finally her turn, and I can’t wait to be rid of her.” Frowning at the name, because that’s Isabel’s friend, I know I need to get her out too.Fuck.This just became more complicated.
