Page 10 of Mass Sins

“Did you get to talk to him about the things you wanted to talk about?” Sinclair asked.

“Yes, actually. I didn’t think our conversation would lead down that road, but I’m glad it did.”

“That’s good to hear. I’m glad he could help.” Sin rubbed my arm and smiled at me gently.

“Did you only talk about yourself, or also about him?” Tabor asked before taking a sip of his beer.

“I mostly talked about myself. I didn’t really ask about his personal life.”

“Mm, maybe you should before you get too comfortable around him.”

Those words earned him an elbow into his side from Sin. “Tay,” she said with a warning undertone.

“What? I’m just saying. We all know my brother isn’t a saint, and that can scare people away. Especially innocent ones like Bennie.”

I raised a brow. Although I was more conservative when it came to certain things in my life, I wasn’t innocent. Not sexually, for that matter. “A priest who’s not a saint?”

Sinclair placed a hand on Tabor’s chest, gently pushing him away from our little circle. “You’re said enough for tonight. How about you help Archer putting Luca to bed? She’s tired.”

Tabor looked at her, amusement flashing in his eyes. A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth as he looked at me. “Just a warning, darling,” he told me with a wink.

I watched as he kissed Sin’s head, and when he left, I looked at her with a raised brow. “Do I have to be concerned now? Did I open up to someone I shouldn’t have?”

Sin let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. “Of course not, Bennie. I wouldn’t have introduced him to you if I thought he was a bad guy. Tabor’s just trying to make his brother look bad.” She smiled at me, giving me the comfort I needed after hearing Tabor’s words.

“Okay but…why would he say something like that? He can’t be so bad, can he? He’s a priest, after all.”

Sin pursed her lips. There clearly was something she didn’t want to tell me, and while it intrigued me to know, I wouldn’t push her to tell me. Maybe it was for the better. Even if I told him that I would want to go out with a hot priest, I didn’t really mean it.

I just got out of an abusive relationship, and I was still trying to get my life together, wanting to live peacefully for now.

“He’s a good man, and my sole purpose was to get you to talk to him and see if he might be someone you could trust. It sounded like it helped talking to him.”

“It did. But, also…” I stopped and furrowed my brows as I recalled Joska’s words from earlier. “He was contradicting himself. And questioning his own religion.”

“Give me an example.”

“Like, when I told him that I wasn’t sure if I could trust God to not make me sick again, he said he wasn’t so sure that I could.”

Or something along those lines.

Sin watched me closely, trying to find the right words to say to me. She wanted to help, but being an atheist herself, there wasn’t really much she could help me with. There was something she wanted to tell me, but she looked unsure.

“Tell me,” I said, hoping she could open up about whatever she knew about Joska, but didn’t want to tell me.

“I’m not so sure that I should.”

I was about to nudge her again, but in that moment, Joska walked up to us, interrupting our conversation. I let everything Tabor and Sin said slip away, thinking it probably was for the best not to dig deep into this man’s personal life when I only needed for him to be a priest to me.

“Ladies,” he said, smiling at the both of us while putting a hand on Sin’s back. “Sorry to interrupt, but I came to say goodnight.”

“You’re leaving already?” Sinclair asked, turning more toward him.

“Yes, I’ve had quite the day today, and I’m getting tired. It’s best if I leave, but tonight was fun. Thanks for the invite.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek before he turned to look at me. He smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out a business card. When he handed it to me, I took it from his hand and read what was written on it.

Joska Kovacs

St. Augustine’s Church

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