Page 44 of Heathens
I press my lips together.
Why me?
“Okay. I’ll do it.”
If I decline, there’s a chance I won’t leave this room. I will know his secret. I will know how vile and reprehensible he really is. If I decline, there’s a chance he could find Lilith before I can get to her.Shit.I don't know what kinds of things he's capable of anymore. I don't know him at all. But as his eyes narrow, his body deathly still, I realize that as a priest, he has power. Connections. Leverage. And I wouldn't put it past him to do something unimaginable.Beyond what he has already done. Who is this monster?
“I knew you’d agree,” he says, looking at me with... pride. I want to vomit. “It’s not pretty, I will say that, but the benefits are tenfold. After a couple of years running everything in Monaco, you’ll have your pick of cathedrals. Even Vatican City itself, if you want.”
I nod, diligently placing the cash in my briefcase. “I will look the other way, but I won’t be a part of—of anything. Understood?”
He smiles—a monstrous thing that betrays his innocence—and I don’t even recognize the person before me. A snake hidden behind a cassock and a holy title. “I would’ve been disappointed if you didn’t have qualms and stipulations.”
“Okay then. When do I leave?” I grab my suitcase. I need to get out of here. I need to leave, before I do something I’ll regret.
Like, kill him.
Murder is a cardinal sin I wouldn’t mind committing right now, if only because I know what he did to Lily. What he did to Evelyn.
“Once you’re ordained as a deacon, we’ll send you off. A year. But next week you’ll fly with me to the construction site to meet everyone.”
The lunch I ate an hour ago hardens in my stomach.
Next week.
“Okay, Father.” I plaster on a smile. “I have plans with my family tonight, so I have to go.” At least it’s one of my normal excuses.
He lets out a loosed breath. “Of course. Go. Please tell them I say hello.”Under my dead body.“Wednesdays are pasta night, right?”
“Yes. Though Killian and Felix have been so busy, it's been months since we've gotten together.“
Normal. It almost feels normal to be chatting about my family with him.
Father Monsignor stands. “Right.” He reaches a hand out and looks at me sternly. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
A veiled threat.
Meeting his hand, we shake for a second too long, a tad too rough for friendly discourse. “Of course. And the secret is safe with me.”
“I know. I trust you, Salem.”
You shouldn’t.
“Goodbye,” I say, turning to leave.
“Salem?” I swing around to face him again. “May the Lord be with you.”
Game. Fucking. Over
Salem
Present
Telling Lily about the family dynamics takes my mind off of the fact that Father Monsignor knows where Evelyn is. That he befriended Lily two and a half years ago—when I knew him—forced her into a van, injected her with drugs, and kidnapped her. I have no idea how involved he is, but after our conversation, I stormed out of the office and almost had a heart attack when I saw that Lily was there—that she’d been there week after week, in the very same building as the man she wanted to find.
I had to get her out as quickly as possible.
And I have to tell her. Sooner rather than later. I can’t even think about my what lies ahead with the church until I do. The vision I once had of my future has been crumbling since the first day I saw Lily, pieces of brick and foundation turning to dust in my mind. I can’t even remember exactly when her soul spoke to mine, when her presence woke me up from a four-year sleep. I just know that my soul hasn’t slept since that very first day.
