Page 57 of Jenna's Threatened Sanctuary

“Really?” she asked, swallowing the bile creeping up her esophagus. She lifted her heavy arm and rested it on top of the second pew, trying to make her way slowly to the back of the church where the doors led to freedom. “So you weren’t the one who broke into Stella’s house and trashed the place? Someone was looking for something. I can only assume it was the cards from the flowers you sent Stella stuffed inside her mattress. Since the letters were still there, you must have thought she hid them outside the home. The office would be the next logical stop.”

She inhaled deeply. “Besides, your text message alert is very distinct. One I’ve only heard once before. In Stella’s office.” She kept her gaze locked on his. Fogginess might have taken over her brain, her limbs might weigh a ton, but she wouldn’t show him any signs of fear.

He clenched his jaw. “When did you hear my phone in Stella’s office?”

“The same day you walked right in and rummaged around the storage shelves.”

Father Bowman sprang forward, snaking his hand behind her neck. “You don’t know a damn thing.”

She reared back. The motion caused spikes of pain to slam inside her skull. She closed her eyes, breathing in through her nose to regain her equilibrium. When she opened her eyes, she stared at the twisted face of a monster. He was out of his mind, his words senseless to her unsteady mind.

A swell of wooziness crashed over her. She wobbled, and Father Bowman tightened his grip around the back of her neck, his bony fingers pushing into her flesh. She winced. “What happened with Stella? I read the cards. It sounded like you loved her.” She struggled to form the words, her voice low and quiet. She might not make it out of here, but she at least wanted to know the truth behind what happened to her sister.

The anger in his pinched face relaxed, along with his hold on her. “I didn’t love her, but I cared for her. I didn’t want to hurt her. But she left me no choice. I had to make sure she was silenced.”

Following his absurd logic only led to more questions instead of answers. She fought to keep her head from swaying and her feet under her. Escaping would never happen if she toppled over. If she fell to the ground, she wouldn’t have the strength to make it back up. “It was Stella’s fault she was murdered?”

He glared.

Jenna pinched the bridge of her nose, the amount of effort it took to move her arm sending waves of panic through her body. “What did you do to me?”

He laughed. “If you’d just relax, you’d like it. Don’t fight it.”

Dropping her arm to her side, her mouth gaped. “Fight what? The drugs coursing through my veins? The nausea pitching in my stomach?” Or the disgust lining her gut as a picture of who Father Bowman was formed in her mind. He wasn’t just a killer, he was a predator.

A smirk played on his lips. He stepped closer, erasing any distance between them, and ran the tip of his finger along her arm. “We both know you aren’t making it out of here alive. You know too much. But we can at least have a little fun first.”

Sweat dotted her hairline. She searched for anything she could use for help.

Nothing.

Snippets of information clicked into place. “What did Stella do that got her killed?”

He trailed his finger up her arm, over her neck, and across her jawline. “None of that matters now.”

The room started spinning. Jenna reached for the back of the pew beside her to steady herself. “It does matter. Did your relationship with Stella end badly? Did she find out what a bastard you are? Why did you have to kill her?”

He lowered his mouth to her ear. His hot breath skimmed over her face. “She found out what I really wanted from her.”

“And what was that?”

“She found out I was using her to get revenge on you.”

Jenna bit into her lip to stop the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She wouldn’t give into the terror, into the gut-punching desire to cower. She’d never give him the satisfaction. Sucking in a shuddering breath, she let her heavy eyelids fall and brought forth an image of Calvin and Oliver. Her only regret that she’d never get to live a life with her two favorite guys, together as one happy family.

25

No amount of throwing himself against the church door made it budge. Calvin’s shoulder throbbed, but panic and fear numbed the pain. Minutes ticked by, heightening his anxiety. Time was running out, and he needed to get to Jenna.

Unwilling to waste more energy on heavy doors that refused to open, Calvin ran down the stairs, away from the wide entrance to the church. The locks were new and obviously reinforced for security. No way he was getting through without a battering ram. If any of the ways into the church would be easiest to break open, it’d be the one downstairs to the old basement.

He rounded the corner and flew down the worn cement stairs. He skimmed his fingers over the splintered wood of the old door jam. No sign of a dead bolt. Just the flimsy door lock that probably came with the ancient wood. A beat of hope pulsed along with his rapidly beating heart. If he didn’t get to Jenna in time, he’d never forgive himself.

Lowering his shoulder again, he drove against the door. The barrier shook, bending a little under his weight. Pain shot up his arm and sliced through his side, but he couldn’t give up. Hestraightened, sucked in a deep breath. He lunged for the door once more, stretching his stitches until he feared his skin would come apart.

The door banged open, knocking against the wall. The loudbangechoed off the walls. Calvin rushed inside, turning to take in the dark room. The windows he’d spotted from outside let in a little natural light. Partitions sectioned off areas along the outside of the wide-open room. Long rectangular tables took over the center space.

A glowing exit sign caught his attention. He darted along the edges of the tables to a dark stairwell. He pounded up the steps, his breath coming out in quick spurts. He had to stop Bowman before he hurt Jenna…an image of Stella’s sliced throat spilled through his mind and cold, stark terror chomped at the base of his spine.

---