Page 154 of Sinful

He really was praying for her.

“Forever is a long time to be on your knees,” I finally said.

His bottom lip wobbled. “It is, but some things are worth begging for.”

I nodded at him. “Enjoy eternity, Sinclair.”

I rose to my feet and stared down at him.

“Beg me.”

“What?” He crinkled his brows at me.

“You said you’d spend your life on your knees, begging for forgiveness. So beg me. And when Stitches comes, beg him. Beg Ashes. Beg Sirena. I want to hear your fucking prayers, Sinclair. I want to see you prove yourself. On your fucking knees, I want to see if your god answers your fucking prayers.”

“You used to believe in god too,” he said softly.

I let out a soft, mirthless laugh. “Until I realized I could be a god and deal in life and death. You want your second chance?”

A muscle thrummed along his jaw.

“Then beg, Sinclair. Beg us all. And when we finally give in and forgive you completely, you can come home. You can join us again.”

He blinked at me for a moment, obviously surprised I wasn’t going to cut his throat.

“I want you to prove to me you’re worth a second chance.” I backed away from him. “Just don’t die in the process. It gets cold out here. Maybe I’ll see you later.”

He said nothing as I walked around him and back to the woods, leaving him on his knees.

If there were a god, maybe he’d finally get off his ass and answer prayers because I knew Sirena would pray for the asshole since he wasn’t smart enough to pray for himself.

SIRENA

Iwas inconsolable.

I’d tried to escape several times already. Stitches had to hold me down in the tub so Ashes could wash me. It did no good. The moment I was on my feet again, I was tearing to get to the door and out to Sin and Church.

Ashes had me restrained against him on the couch while Stitches kept trying to call someone on his phone.

When the door opened and Church walked in alone, I finally broke.

I screamed his name on repeat, desperate for him to answer me and do all the good things he’d promised me.

“Church! Church! CHURCH!” I was wild with anger and desperation. With pain. With fear. I managed to break free of Ashes, who swore and tried to catch me, but I darted around the couch and threw myself at Church, my fists pounding on him any place I could land a hit.

Church didn’t move. He didn’t fight me or try to restrain me. He simply took my hits and listened to my screaming his name until I finally collapsed at his feet, my heart completely shattered.

This was all my fault. I’d gotten Sin killed because I was the selfish one.

I sucked in a shuddering breath, not getting nearly enough air. My panic at a world without Sin in it had me completely losing it. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t fucking breathe.

Church bent and scooped me into his arms and held me tightly against his body as I tried to breathe correctly.

“Get her meds,” he said gruffly to Ashes, who darted off to do his bidding.

“Dante, man, what did you do?” Stitches asked, his voice wobbling.

“What needed to be done. We’ll talk later,” Church said. Ashes came back into the room and handed Church the meds. It didn’t matter anymore. I hoped he drugged me so much it killed me.