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“Why do I believe that the alternative you want me to discover is killing the Bishop?” Because that’s the only way Santino lives.
He shrugs. “If I had good options for you, I’d have laid them on the table when we first sat down.”
“Why don’t I just slit my throat at the Bishop’s doorstep and save this city from a visit from the High Power?” The Bishop is only one cog in the worldwide machine that controls these territories. Santino and I are ants comparatively.
“Maybe you only get excommunicated or maybe a higher power sees you as the rightful leader of the city given that you took the Bishop out.”
“We both know that’s not how it works. Without the Church, this place and others like it would fall. If I’m allowed to step out of line, then Father in the next city over will get ideas. High Power maintains its control through strict discipline. Possibly one way to appease the Church is through an offering. Give up the girl, take a lesser sentence for thievery, and everything is resolved with little bloodshed.” Since Santino killed Soritz, the High Power will want a blood exchange, but we can negotiate that it is something less than death. Maybe thirty days of beatings.
“No.” His response is immediate and angry.
Angel’s friend must mean a lot to Santino, enough that he’s willing to challenge the Church to a hopeless fight. The High Power will come in and crush him—and me.
“Maybe you should think about a long vacation.” If he disappears, perhaps that would be enough.
“I know why you don’t want to give up your position,” he says, “because the High Power allows you to walk into an establishment like this where everyone is armed to the teeth while you have nothing more than your phone and a wallet and your collar. You fear nothing because if even the slightest scratch is inflicted, the High Power will point its laser cannons at us and wipe us out. We all live under this cloud, but none of us like it, not even you who benefits because in return you have to obey them without question. I know you don’t like that. If you want me to disappear, you’ll have to give me the girl back. Laurel misses her.”
“What girl?” I force out with as much nonchalance as I can muster. Inside, my heart is racing. Angel cannot be put in danger.
Santino releases a sharp laugh and leans forward. “See? We have a common goal. We want to protect the ones that we love. Let’s take out the High Power. You and me.”
“There’s very little likelihood of success. I’ll be going now.” I rise to my feet.
“You know where to find me if you change your mind,” Santino calls after me.
Once I’m in the car, Lars, asks me where to.
“The Bishop.”
He said I should report to him after I’ve made an assessment of the situation. I could lie and tell him that all is good and then spend the next how many years putting out fires for Santino to make it seem like there’s still balance between the factions. He would grow in power, which isn’t good for the city either.
“We’re here,” Lars announces.
I stare at the high rise that houses the Bishop. Santino is right that the High Power gives me confidence that I can walk anywhere in the city and no one will touch me. It’s the same for the Bishop. He lives with only one manservant in a penthouse apartment with weak, easily bypassed security. He believes he is invulnerable, but it would be so simple to slip inside, slice his throat, and leave.
“Will you be going in for confession?” prompts Lars again.
I rub my hand across my knee. It’s been a while since I saw my girl, been a while since I touched her. I hear reports of her every day, but it’s not enough.
I’ve left my little angel unattended for too long. “No,” I reply. “I need to do some real sinning first.”
CHAPTER16
ANGEL
I check the time again.If there is one thing I’m good at, it's understanding my surroundings. It’s something you learn quickly when you’re young bouncing from one house to another. You adjust and learn who to avoid. How the home works. Your mind teaches you to do it without you even knowing it. The ways to protect yourself become ingrained in you.
I wish I could pack a bag, but that would draw too much attention. I’ve already spent the last few days dressing down in shirts, black leggings, and sneakers. I pull my hair into a ponytail, then wrap it around to make a tight bun against my head.
Leaning down, I stretch. It’s been two days since I've seen Bjornsson. Well, heard him. I haven’t seen him in almost ten days, I think. Time is starting to blur together. I don’t even smell him on my pillow anymore. I doubt that he was ever there to begin with.
I was so sure I felt something between us, but the more time ticks by, the more I question it all. Especially after what I heard him say. What if he was only keeping me here because I’m to be handed over to some other person? At least I know Laurel won’t be meeting that fate. I don’t think I’m going to be so lucky. It does, however, make me wonder what would happen if I showed up at Santino’s again.
It’s funny how the one man I wanted to beat the hell out of is now the one I think I need to run to. I check the time again.
“Go time.” I let out a breath, trying to shake off the anxiety. There is only going to be one chance for me to get this right.
Once they know I spotted this small window of time, they’ll fix it. I grab the book off my bed and flip it open, pretending to read it as I leave my room, keeping my head down as I go. If anyone is paying attention, they’ll likely think I’m heading to one of the gardens to read like every other day.
