The deadliest sin series.., p.85
The Deadliest Sin Series Complete Collection, page 85
He scowls at me, apparently unmoved by my act. But there's nothing I can do about that now. I knew once anyone saw me who knew Rose, they would question my allegiance. It’s the very reason I’ve kept my connection to him hidden for so long and stayed under the radar at small village churches in South America until requesting the transfer here. Now, it seems my cover has been blown. It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the families find out he has a twin brother, and that will make what I’m about to do all the more difficult—or at least raise questions that otherwise wouldn’t have come up.
But at least for now, it’s time to put on a show before I retreat inside to avoid too many prying eyes and ears.
I step past Detective Lopez, toward the burning remains of the vehicle, then pause and close my eyes, raising my hands to the sky now filled with acrid, black smoke. “Heavenly Father, please bless the soul of our departed brother and watch over him on his way to your Heavenly kingdom. Amen.”
Sister Agnes steps up next to me and crosses herself. “Amen.”
“Sister, please schedule a prayer service for later today for this individual.” I turn back toward Detective Lopez, who watches me apathetically.
“I'll be talking to you again soon, Father.” Detective Lopez inclines his head toward me.
“I have no doubt you will. I'll be inside in my office when it’s time for someone to come take a formal statement.”
His skeptical stare burns at the back of my head as I walk back inside, not bothering to glance back at him or the wreckage. My cover has been blown apart as badly as Kat’s car just was.
But who did it and why?
I make my way through the nave and down the hall toward my office. This is going to take some damage control. And it will mean moving up my timeline significantly. Though, maybe it is time to finally bite the proverbial bullet. I’ve given Andres one too many chances to change his tune about my taking over, to step back and into this role he wanted so badly in his youth. If he isn’t willing to accept that, then I should do what I must swiftly to avoid any further issues.
My entire body starts to ache as I make my way down the hallway, but it could be the pressure to act, tensing my muscles just as much as being knocked over by the blast. It’s been a long time coming, but still, finally stepping up and becoming Rose means all the dominoes I’ve lined up will have to fall in perfect order. And there’s a part of me that still wonders which way a few of them will fall.
A door on my left flies open, and one of those dominoes I’m relying on—yet I’m so unsure about—rushes out, red hair floating behind her.
Rowan’s wide green eyes frantically search the hallway until they meet mine, and she races toward me. “Oh, my God! Are you all right?”
She throws her arms around me without hesitation and buries her face against my shoulder, apparently forgetting all the decorum she seemed so desperate to try to uphold between us only days ago when it comes to us.
I wrap my arms around her, taking a moment to relish the feeling of finally, after all this time, having her in my arms. Her soft, supple body presses against mine, her warm breath fluttering over my neck, sending a little spark of pleasure straight to my cock.
Tightening my hold on her, I brush my lips against her ear, inhaling her soft honeysuckle scent. “I'm fine, mi palomita.”
My little dove, who is more important than she could possibly know…
I inhale again, letting everything that is Rowan invade my lungs since I don’t know when we’ll be like this again. “No need to worry. I'm not going anywhere.”
And neither are you.
FATHER FELIPE
Rowan clings to me like if she relaxes her hold even slightly, I might float away and disappear into the ether, when really, I’m the one who truly feels that is a real possibility, especially once she learns the truth.
She could fly away and never want to see me again. In fact, that would probably be the wisest decision for her to make, in light of all the circumstances. Though it’s one I hope she rejects in favor of all the things I can offer her if she gives me a chance.
And this isn’t the way I want her in my arms. I want her naked. Needy and begging. Desperate for all of me the way I am for her.
But at least this display brings warmth to my chest, hope for the future I have envisioned in my head. Faith that all I have been doing isn’t for naught and might actually have a chance of success. Because she cares. She sees me as something more than the priest who rescued her from the sinful life she was living and the unknown danger I warned her about. I’ve become someone to her.
Now I just need to become the only one.
She sobs, turning her face toward me, her shaking lips next to my ear. “I was so scared. I heard an explosion, and…I wanted to come out to see if you were okay, but you told me I need to stay inside, stay hidden…”
I nudge her head back, despite how incredible her warm, fluttered breaths against my skin felt, and cup her face in one hand. The smooth, pale skin there, covered in light freckles, pinkens slightly as I brush my thumb over it. “You did the right thing, mi palomita.”
If she had come out, she would have ended up a recorded witness, and Detective Lopez would have had even more questions I didn’t want to answer. Ones I couldn’t answer without bringing even further scrutiny to a situation that needs to remain under wraps—at least for the immediate time being.
Brushing my thumb over her flawless, alabaster skin, again, I lean in slightly, dipping my head to meet her tear-soaked green gaze. “And I'm fine.”
I offer her what I hope is a reassuring smile. Physically, I managed to walk away with only a few bumps and bruises, but there is no telling what damage this has done to my plans. Being seen by someone who can connect me to Rose changes my timeline and exposes me in a way I can’t afford right now. I’m going to have to push her faster than I had hoped.
She stares up at me with so much trust and a flicker of the emotion I’ve been longing to confirm from her. “What happened? I know you were meeting with someone right before…”
There isn’t any point in lying to her about it. She already knows I’ve met with Kat on at least one previous occasion and has questioned me about it. I’ve been able to divert her inquiry by telling her I’m doing my best to protect her, but that vague explanation will only go so far. “Someone blew up Kat's car.”
Her eyes widen even more. “Kat was here? Was she looking for me?”
“I told you not to worry about Kat when she saw you the last time she was here. You're safe. As long as you stay in these four walls, nothing can harm you. I'll make sure of it.”
A shudder rolls through her and vibrates into my palm pressed to her cheek.
I’ll make sure of it…
Not exactly what a good priest would be saying. I should be comforting her and reaffirming that God would protect her in these walls, that He would look after her and ensure her safety from any and all enemies—to her body and her soul.
But He already knows I’m not a good priest. The vows meant nothing to me. Mere words that would get me to my end goal. A collar that would serve a purpose until it no longer did.
I won’t feel any guilt over what I do in this building or in these clothes. I won’t feel it while my throbbing cock is pressed between our bodies. I won’t feel it because it doesn’t exist in my head or in any portion of what remains of my heart. All that does is my need for Rowan and my desire to finally have what I’ve waited twenty years for—all the power in my own hands, not in those of a puppet who shares my face.
She shakes her head. “I still don't understand what Kat wanted from me or why you thought it was so dangerous for me to stay there. She was always good to all the girls, to me. She never did anything that made me feel unsafe, even if she did have us trying to gather blackmail information for her.” She squeezes her eyes closed and presses her lips together in frustration before reopening them and staring me down. “Why can’t you tell me the truth?”
I brush my thumb over her quivering lips and watch her as hunger flares deep in her green eyes, her reaction only fueling fire already raging through my veins. “I told you, all in due time. In order to protect you, I need to sort out some other things before I can tell you everything.” I raise my other hand to cup her face between both of them. “Don't you trust me, mi palomita?”
She releases a sigh that invades my breath again and tightens her grip around my waist. “I do. It's just…” Her focus darts down to my lips, and her tongue slips out from between hers to wet them. “I—”
“I know this is a struggle for you. That you want certain things that you feel you can't have.”
Things I want, too. More than anything.
Just at the right time, which isn’t now.
Soon.
“But I promise you, mi palomita, when all is said and done, things will be exactly the way they were meant to be. Have faith.”
She swallows thickly, the movement of her throat almost breaking the steely control I’ve managed to hold onto this long. “I do.”
Her response comes on a soft exhale that makes my hard cock ache to be inside her. And she seems to either feel it pressing against her or senses the tension between us leading down a dangerous road because she shakes her head and quickly steps back, letting my hands drop from her cheeks and hers fall from my waist.
“I-I’m”—she casts a furtive glance up and down the hallway, ensuring we’re still alone—“glad you're okay.”
I hold out a hand for her. This is the closest I’ve ever been to having everything I want, and I’m not ready to let her go. “Don't run away from me, Rowan.”
“I-I'm not…” She whirls away from me, her red hair flying out around her, and dashes back into her room, throwing the lock into place to keep me from going after her.
Running from me is exactly what she’s doing. Like she’s Little Red Riding Hood and I’m the big bad wolf threatening to eat her alive. But I can't say I really blame her. She thought she was leaving Kat’s Cradle to enter the safety of a Catholic church to hide from an unknown evil I warned her about.
She had no idea I am the evil and that she’s played right into my plans perfectly.
Exactly as I intended it.
This explosion and the resulting exposure is a bump in the road that will make me adjust things, but soon, Rowan shall know the truth, and it will change everything between us.
It will change all of Chicago.
FATHER FELIPE
The number that pops up on my caller ID makes my lips tilt up into a grin even after the frustration my run-in with Rowan earlier left me with. Even jerking off in my office didn’t release that tension, but this is the call I’ve been waiting for. One that was inevitable after the events earlier today. Frankly, I’m surprised it took this long.
I walk toward the front pew of the empty church. The late-night stragglers have long ago headed home. Between all the excitement of the explosion, giving the statement to the police, and the prayer service for the “poor soul” who expired in the blaze, my entire day was pretty much shot.
And it seems so is my body. I accept the call and lower myself to the bench slowly, my back and side screaming in protest with the movement. “Hola, mi querido hermano. To what do I owe the call?”
“Rumor has it somebody tried to kill your new partner today.”
I chuckle and lean back to stare at the crucifix mounted above the altar, the ever-present judgmental gaze of Christ staring down at me, seeing right through me just like it always does. “Now, where did you hear that?”
“One of my men received a very unwelcome call.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Of course, he has no way to get in contact with me directly, but Detective Lopez is tenacious and managed to track down a number for one of my men. The good detective is suddenly very interested in your little church and your connection to me.”
“I'm sure he is. It has brought a lot of unwanted attention my way that's bound to come back on you, as well.”
“He said a car exploded right in front of the church and that a witness spotted an unidentified female who fled the scene and who may have some relevant information. Lopez wanted to know if I had any idea who it could have been since you said you didn’t remember seeing anyone else outside at the time of the explosion. There’s only one woman I can think of who would have been there and who someone might want dead enough to set a bomb in her car while she was inside.”
Rose knows Rowan is here, too, but he wouldn’t have any reason to suspect anyone would be after her. “Were you the one who tried to kill Kat?”
He offers an incredulous snort in response.
“Why is that so absurd to suggest? It would make sense. Get revenge on her and eliminate my anonymity in one fell swoop.”
“Oh, believe me, I want that backstabbing bitch dead, but if I had been trying to kill her or you, I wouldn't have done it in a way that offered such a chance at failure.”
“True, hermano. But you have had a lot of failures lately. Your track record hasn't been so good.”
“When is this going to end, hermano? What's your endgame? If you wanted to simply take me out and take over at the head of the family, you've had many opportunities to do just that and let someone else do the dirty work, even though I know that isn't really your style. But you haven't. In fact, you’ve gone so far as to save my life. I don't understand what you're hoping to accomplish with this.”
“Maybe you're not supposed to understand. The Lord works in mysterious ways, after all. You, of all people, should know that.”
“Fuck you, hermano.”
I chuckle and run a hand over my face. “Such foul language from a man who once had such a close relationship with the Lord.”
“Yeah. Well, those days were long gone after you killed Mama y Papa in cold blood. It didn't leave me a lot of choices.”
I still and bite back the response I’ve wanted to make so many times at his accusations regarding Mama y Papa. It doesn't matter what I say to him, anyway. He will continue to believe what he wants to believe about me and what happened that day.
The truth shall set you free doesn’t apply to me or this situation, so there isn’t any use in uttering the words I’ve swallowed down for twenty years.
Instead, I lean forward to rest my elbows on my knees and offer him the only answer I can. “You want to know why I’m here, mi querido hermano? When I realized how badly you were struggling to expand into the Midwest. How badly you were fucking up everything. My initial goal was merely to come to set you on the right path again. I had no intention of interfering with our continued charade, one that has worked so well for two decades. But you made it clear that you have no intention of taking orders from me anymore or letting me step into the Rose shoes physically. I had hoped to change your mind, to show you the error of your ways. But since it became clear to me that you have other plans, I had to change my strategy.”
“I won't go down without a fight, hermano. I've worked too hard and gotten my hands too bloody to let you show up here and take over the business I've built.”
I slam my open palm against the pew, the sound echoing through the vaulted ceilings of the church. “Don't forget your place, mi querido hermano. The name Rose may have come from what you did in that house that day, but I have been the one building this cartel into what it is. Making the decisions. Moving us forward. All you are is a pretty face.”
He chuckles deep and low, a sound that has no doubt struck fear into the hearts of many over the years. But it could never scare me. Nothing he does ever could. “While you were playing priest, I've been the one making deals, making connections, moving the product—”
“You mean losing the product, having it stolen? Pissing off some of our biggest clients with your incompetence?”
“A minor blip. One that I remedied and came out on top of with Valentina, in the end.”
“In a deal set to expire soon.”
And once it does, we will be right back in the same place we were when that shipment was intercepted by Valentina’s crew out in Lake Michigan. Without our own territory or use of the Italians’. My partnership with Kat will gain me entry into that of the Albanians, but it isn’t enough. Not nearly enough.
He snorts again, his incredulity coming through loud and clear. “Is that what you're waiting for? An opportunity to move on Valentina because of what happened?”
“I'm not about to tell you my plan, but I will tell you this. This is your last warning, your last opportunity to do what is right and step aside.”
He chuckles again, this time with real humor in it. “And what? I become Felipe again? Take over your position at the church as if I haven't spent the last two decades bathed in blood, doing the dirty work for the Blood Rose Cartel?”
“Perhaps it's time for our roles to finally be what God intended.”
“It's not that simple.”
“It is. As the good book says, ‘for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.’ I’ve disguised myself long enough. Step down or face a wrath you can’t even comprehend.”
“Do your worst, Father. But remember, ‘God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.’”
FATHER FELIPE
Tightening my hands in her silky, red tresses, I drive my cock even deeper down her clasping throat. Hard enough and far enough that she gags slightly and swallows to try to regain her breath.
Typically, I wouldn’t see my favorite redheaded whore during the week. I reserve this type of debauchery and pleasure for the Lord’s Day after I’ve performed my duties at Sunday mass. But after the day I had, the only thing that was going to even put a dent in the frustration I'm feeling was to come down this slut’s throat.
And that’s just what I plan to do before I flip her over and drill her from behind. A sorry substitution for who I really want to be doing it to. Yet, one thing I’ve learned wearing this collar for twenty years is that it’s full of sacrifices.
