Page 20 of Sinning for Santa

“Are you always so crude?”

I shrug and nod at the same time. “Well, yeah. Pretty much.”

She huffs in frustration, her eyes staring out the windscreen again, but I’m not ready to give up on her just yet.

“What would you say to a deal?” I ask, as the freeway lights slowly lessen the closer we get to the regional fringe. “A trade of sorts?”

“What do you mean?”

Damn. Is that curiosity I hear in her tone?

“How about you tell me exactly what you said to Father Peters in that confession booth, and in exchange, I agree not to kill you.”

Knowing I’ll likely get a less than stellar reception from my idea, I keep my eyes focused on the road ahead and a moment later, I can feel her eyes boring into the side of my head. They’re like a sharp knife stabbing right through my temple.

If looks could kill, Jaxcen Summers would have just murdered me, but thankfully she doesn’t have that power.

“I think it’s a pretty good deal,” I continue. “You want to live, right?”

“How do I know you won’t just kill me anyway?”

Smart girl.

“You don’t.” I shrug. “But what’s the alternative? You stay quiet and I take you out to the bush, make you dig your own grave and shoot you in the head.”

“Why are you doing this?” she whimpers. “I swear I won’t tell anyone. Please just let me go home. My family is going to be worried.”

She’sright. Her family will be worried. Especially whoever put that ring on her finger. They’ll be wondering why she’s disappeared, which is why I’ve already arranged for Finn and Dom to dive into her background and see if we need to come up with a story until I can get this shit show fucking sorted out. I didn’t contemplate her having a fucking fiancé though, given how young she is.

It’s a problem, but one my men can handle, so for now, her family will simply think she’s decided to spend Christmas with a friend. Or perhaps she’s run off with her new lover.

Yeah, I like the sound of that better.

I mean, it’s not that far from the truth, right?

“I can’t let you go, little mouse, but I can keep you alive. All you have to do is tell me what you confessed.”

The cabin falls quiet. The only sound is the rev of the Corvette as we travel towards country Victoria.

At first I think she’s not going to answer, and hell, I’m not going to force her. I was just hoping I could use a little blackmail to find out what makes her tick. But when she clears her throat and shifts nervously in her seat, I know she’s about to reveal her secret. The one that has her so ashamed that she had to go to confession on a wet and stormy Tuesday night in December, only five days from Christmas.

Chapter five

Jaxcen

The way my skin flushes can’t be normal. Yes, I’m humiliated about what I’m about to do. But is that really why I feel like I’m burning up from the inside out? Maybe it’s because I’ve never had to admit these things face to face before. Or maybe it’s because I’m admitting them tothisman.The devil.

But what’s the alternative? If I don’t tell him, he’s going to kill me. So to hell with my dignity. I have to do this. I have to survive.

“I went to see Father Peters tonight because—”

“No.” He cuts me off. “Don't explain to me why you went. Confess to me exactly like you did to Father Peters.”

“What?” I squeak.

“You heard me, little mouse. Confess to me. Pretend I'm Father Peters. Pretend I’m the person on the other side of the confessional for you to divulge your most wicked sins to.”

“I don’t want to do this. I’ve changed my mind,” I rush out, shaking my head.

---