Page 81 of Savior

“Luca, focus. I need you to pull the address and get there. Do you understand me?”

My head comes online, immediately worrying that something’s going on with Sloane.

My heart pounds in my chest. “Tell me she’s okay, Ardesia.”

“Luca, I can’t do that, as I don’t have eyes on her right now. I’m going as fast as I can. Please get to the address I sent, and you’ll have to take a leap of faith for me. I know it’s going tobe hard. You might not return to the life you know or even the church.”

I swallow. He expects me to walk away from the church, not knowing if I will come back. Just like that?

My soul feels like it’s shattering into a million pieces that are all flying in an infinite number of directions.

“I know this is hard, but I know you’re falling for her. And sometimes, love is bigger than us, Luca. Sometimes, love is the answer to everything.”

I get that; I do. But I’m supposed to love many, not just one. I’m supposed to safeguard and lead my parishioners, not leave them when it suits me.

This is a moral dilemma of epic proportions, and he’s giving me no time to consider my options.

“I—”

He cuts me off, “Sloane. Luca, it’s Sloane.”

Before I can fathom another option, I’m putting him on speakerphone, getting clothes on, and slipping into boots.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“See you there.” The line goes dead as Ardesia’s mission is over.

Getting into my car and starting it, I look into the rearview mirror at the looming church behind me. Swallowing past a lump in my throat, I turn the mirror upward as I back out. The address Ardesia sent is only on the outskirts of Brooklyn, and at this time, it won’t take me long to get there because the streets are nearly empty.

Racing there, my nerves tangle into a dark web, my brain concocting many scenarios for me to worry about.

By the time I get there, I’m a mess of emotions.

I park near no less than ten blacked-out SUVs in the parking lot of an old, run-down warehouse, rushing inside without a logical thought in my head.

“Good, you’re here,” Ardesia says, rushing me and putting his hands on my shoulders, but I spy Sloane over his left one and push past him.

She’s on the ground, tucked into herself, and rocking back and forth absently. She’s covered in blood.

“Oh, my God.” I run to her, dropping to my knees before her and lifting her arms and shirt to find the source of the blood. “Little dove, are you alright?”

She looks towards me, her eyes vacant and glassed-over, like she’s being held hostage in a nightmare. One she keeps living over and over as punishment for some untold sin.

“It’s not her blood,” Ardesia says, coming up behind me as he looms over Sloane and me.

“Whose is it?” I ask, not knowing if I want to know the answer, but needing it all the same.

“Lorenzo.”

My brows tug together. “Your Underboss?”

What was his underboss doing with Sloane?

He nods once. “He’s been swapping out with Dante to give him a break from watching her.”

Part of me wants to say that Lorenzo is too high on the food chain for him to be watching some girl, but Sloane isn’t just some girl to me, so I keep my lips sealed.

“He’s the best qualified,” Ardesia adds.

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