Page 85 of My Vows Are Sealed

“You’re her only friend. Do you really expect me to believe she didn’t tell you where she’s gone?” he spat.

“You mean she’s not at home?” she asked innocently.

“Youknowshe’s not. Gloria called your mother last night.”

“Yes, sir. I knew that, and I told my mom I hadn’t heard from her. But I didn’t realize that she still hadn’t come home,” she said quickly. “I’m sorry, Pastor Jones.”

He tore his eyes away from her and looked first at Alex, then at me. His gaze penetrated me like a knife, and somehow, I felt like no matter what I said, he’d see the truth written all over my face.

Please, Jesus, help me,I prayed.I can’t do this alone. I can’t keep her safe by myself. I need Your help.

“Do either of you know anything about my daughter?” he barked.

“No, sir,” I said, surprised at how easily the lie rolled off my tongue.

“This is the first I’m even hearing about this,” Alex added.

His focus returned to Naomi, and she turned slightly toward Alex. He put an arm around her, and she cowered into his side, but didn’t break eye contact with Darla’s father.

“You know, withholding information damns her as much as yourselves.” His voice was ice-cold, and I could hear the veiled threat in his words. The promise that if we knew something and didn’t tell him, he’d make sure we paid for it. “She’s turned from the path of righteousness, and her ways must be corrected.”

With that, he turned around and stormed into the sanctuary.

“Please say she’s with you,” Naomi whispered as soon as he was out of earshot, her eyes wide with panic.

I nodded. “Not here. But yes.”

Her shoulders sagged and she halfway collapsed in Alex’s arms as she sighed in relief. Alex dropped a kiss on her head, then looked at me.

“Someone want to clue me in on what the hell’s going on?” he asked quietly.

I sighed. “He…he saw Frank yesterday. At the job site.”

Naomi covered a gasp with her hand. “Oh, my God. No.”

“You told her about that?” I asked Alex, raising an eyebrow at him.

He snorted. “I might have mentioned it. So, what happened?”

I shook my head. “Not my story to tell. Um, can you guys come by after church? Nate’s coming home with me too. She needs her friends.”

“I’ll have to talk to my mom, but it should be okay,” Naomi said.

“She can’t—”

“Unlike him, she doesn’t ask questions,” she cut me off.

“I’m there,” Alex added. “Whatever you guys need.”

I cracked half a smile. It was actually kind of amazing how much Naomi had changed him. Well, I wasn’t sure if changed was the right word. He’d always been a good guy, but she just brought it out of him more. Made him not as afraid to show it.

“Come on. Let’s get in there,” I sighed.

A knot formed in my stomach as I opened the door to the sanctuary and walked inside. It felt like I was walking right through the gates of Hell, not walking into a church service. I found a seat toward the back so that I could get out quickly if Darla called me, and Alex and Naomi sat down next to me. Abraham sat in his chair up at the pulpit, like a demonic king on a throne, still wearing the same scowl on his face.

The choir stood up and started singing “Nothing But the Blood,” and I felt bile rising in my throat as I watched the pastor of this church, the same man who’d backed his completely naked daughter against a wall and refused to let her cover herself yesterday – and who Iknewwithout a doubt would have done so much worse if his wife hadn’t stopped him – singing about the blood of Jesus washing away his sins. Nope. There was no amount of holy blood that could wash away the stain on his black soul. Not when he wasn’t really repentant.

“Before we begin this morning, I have some distressing news to share,” Abraham said as he walked up to the podium. “I’m sure you all know my daughter, Darla. She’s been straying from the path of righteousness for a very long time, and yesterday, my wife and I were devastated to find that she’d left home.”

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