Page 95 of Hotter 'N Hell

Hannah spun around the moment we were on the sidewalk. “I won’t let you do this. You are not going to ruin your life. What about Delana?” she cried as tears filled her eyes. “Is her memory really that easy to toss away? Forget? You wanted to be a priest for her. To give your life a greater purpose. And you are tossing it away for some, some jezebel.”

“Don’t,” I warned, trying to remember that she was hurting. I’d let her down. But I’d be damned if she started calling Saylor names. “You do not know her. You don’t know the circumstances. And I will not allow you to call her names and throw accusations at her or blame her.”

She swung her gaze to Carp, wide-eyed, as if she couldn’t believe the words coming out of my mouth.

“I love you both. Your family will always be important to me. But I had to choose, and I chose her. I love her. I’m aware this hurts you, and I knew it would. I didn’t think this was going to be something you understood or accepted. But she is what I want. She brought happiness and light back into my life. She gave me a reason to live. Really live.”

Hannah threw up her hands dramatically. “What about living for Delana?! Do you remember that promise? You tossed it aside so easily. Who knows how long this will last? Then, you are goingto realize you made a mistake and ruined your life.”

Carp laid a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back from where she was now inches away, pointing her finger at my chest. Tears rolling down her face.

“Seems he made his decision,” he said to her. “Causing a scene out here ain’t going to change it. Let’s go.”

She turned and buried her face in his shoulder as sobs shook her body. His eyes met mine, and I had a feeling if he thought I’d let him land one, he would take a swing at me. He patted her back, whispering words to her, but looking at me.

“Again, I’m sorry that I’ve upset you.”

“You did more than that. You broke her heart. Again. And it ain’t just us you’re so selfishly hurting. It’s the parish. The people who helped you get to where you are, the bishop who placed you there.”

I knew all this. So, I said nothing.

He spoke into Hannah’s ear as he turned her around and led her back to their parked car. I wouldn’t be getting a ride with them, but it was only a two-mile walk.

I pulled out my phone and called Saylor, needing to talk to her. Explain why I’d handled things the way I had. It rang…and rang…but no one answered. Not even her voice mail.

Thirty-Nine

Saylor

The raging headache I’d suffered all day had finally eased. It had taken most of the day and a lot of water. The only problem now was I had no distraction. Every good memory I had of Jude would make tears fill my eyes. I missed him. The urge to unblock his number and call him, beg him to talk to me, was hard to resist.

Right now, however, I had been dragged from my house and my grieving by Bane freaking Cash.

Wrapping my arms around myself, I glared at Bane’s back.

He had shown up, demanding that I go with him. Gathe had apparently done something that he needed me to help him fix.

Since when did they want me to get involved in family stuff?

I had pointed that out, but he said if I didn’t go, then Gathe’s life might be in danger.

That got me slipping on my tennis shoes, then slipping mypistol into the waistband of my jeans, just in case this was dangerous, before leaving the house with him.

I might be wallowing in my sad existence, but I wasn’t about to let something happen to Gathe. Bane being the one to come get me meant it was serious. Seeing as he didn’t like me and he was also the second-in-command, behind Linc. Trivial errands weren’t his concern.

“How much farther do we have to go?” I asked, trudging behind him through the woods on the back of his father’s property.

At least, I thought it was still Cash property. It was way out here. We had driven past his dad’s house a while back, then been on foot for what felt like several miles. Probably was only one, but I didn’t like the woods, especially at night.

He stood and bent down over some brush, and I watched him, confused. Had he dropped something? If he had, it was too dark to see in that pile of stuff. I started to tell him he needed to use his phone’s flashlight when I heard a faint click, and then he looked up at me.

“Come on. Down here.”

Down where? I walked over to peek and see what the heck he was talking about when he lifted a trapdoor. Light spilled into the darkness, and stairs appeared, going underground. I knew then what this was. I had heard them talk about “the underground” and “cellar” for years, but I never expected to get to see it.

I didn’t ask if he was sure. Thoughts of Gathe being hurt had me climbing down into the surprisingly cool, damp concrete tunnel. Bane followed me and pointed up ahead. I went a little slower now, not sure what to expect. Cigarettes, earth, and another scent I couldn’t place met me, the farther I went.

A room appeared, and I stepped inside.