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Kain turns towards me, cupping my face in his hands, and places a kiss on my lips. It makes me temporarily tense. “Go,” he whispers, resting his forehead on mine. “I’ll deal with this.”

I can’t leave him to deal with this on his own. This is on both of us.

I shake my head.

“I won’t tell anyone.” Dorrian’s hard voice pulls our attention to him. “You have my word.” He dips his chin.

“Swear it,” I snap.

He makes an X shape across his heart.

I sigh in defeat. I still don’t trust him… but what other choice do I have? My only hope is that he doesn’t tell. He has Cassie to protect, too. Kain… he has nothing to go off. He doesn’t know Dorrian is committing sins of his own.

I let my hand linger on Kain’s for a few seconds before walking in Dorrian’s direction and pausing just before I pass him. I look at him, and his eyes flick down to me. “If you hurt him…” I begin, then swallow. “Please… don’t,” I whisper.

He doesn’t reply. He blinks away, a muscle in his jaw ticking as he looks at Kain.

I take the dark hallway back down to the sermon and standing beside my unassuming Mother.

She turns to me and I stop breathing, all muscles in my body tightening again.

“We’re going for dinner at the Westbrook’s tonight. I’ve had clothes laid out for you on the bed. If you so much as try to show your face in anything else—” She’s interrupted by the congregation standing along with the choir singing.

We’re in so much trouble.

8

Jordan

Present Day

They made me sign discharge papers from St Anton’s to say I was happy to be let go. I made sure to read every single word, even the fine print. And there was nothing in there that seemed suspicious, so I signed.

And now I’m here.

Carpet burn is imminent as I shuffle forward on my knees under the altar table, dragging the water-filled bucket with me. I dip the sponge into the warm, soapy water and squeeze it out before scrubbing the stained wood of the table leg clean. The water turned a brownish shade of red after the first swipe of the sponge like this table has never been cleaned before. But am I fuck replacing the water.

This is definitely punishment. As if I wasn’t already put through enough. As if being back in this town isn’t punishment in itself.

“Shit,” I hiss when my tights catch on something sharp, ripping the small threads and creating a gaping hole in the thigh. “Fuck sake.” I notice a bead of blood gathering in the exposed skin and search for the culprit.

There it is.

A long, thick screw sticking out from the edge of the platform for the table. It seems loose enough so I pull it out. It breaks in half with a small puff of dried rust and God knows what else; I hope I don’t get an infection.

“Swearing is blasphemy.” Father Michaels’ voice startles me, causing me to bang my head against the table. I thought Heath bringing me here would give me an opportunity to snoop around until I found out the priest was going to be keeping me company.

Throwing the screw into the bucket, I crawl out from under the table and let out a sigh of relief as I stand. Only the top of the table to go.

The sacristy door creaks open and footsteps echo through the church. They fade out as they reach the carpeted area of the altar and my body goes on alert. Quickly dropping the sponge into the bucket, I start by taking the tall candles off and taking them to the smaller side table.

“Nice to see you again, Jordan,” he says, finally breaking the awkward and tense silence.

I smile, keeping my head down as I walk back to the table. “Yes, well… I wasn’t given much choice this morning. Courtesy of Heath and my mother bringing me here.”

His laugh booms across the large space, causing me to flinch. “She’s a wonderful, protective woman, your mother.” He sings her praises and my teeth grind against each other as I grab more candles, controlling every movement—poised and delicate.

“Yeah.”