Page 37 of Please Save Me

My jaw clenched so tightly that I wouldn’t have been shocked if it cracked a few of my teeth. My chest heaved as I thought about how good it would feel to wipe that smile off his face forever. But, as much as I wanted to kill Dale, I knew I’d be no better than Sebastian if I did.

I willed myself to throw Dale down, leaving him to crumple on the floor as he looked up at me. “You’re too soft, Calvin.”

Disdain dripped from his words, and years ago, that would have been enough to have me beg for forgiveness. But I wasn’t that scared sixteen-year-old kid anymore.

“If I’m too soft, go find someone harder to fill my shoes.” It didn’t matter who, just so long as he leftmy family alone.

“You best be careful what you wish for.” He warned. “You ain’t always gonna like how it plays out.”

He was bluffing, and I knew it. Dale wanted me to grovel at his feet and beg for forgiveness. We had done this song and dance about once a year for the last decade, and each time, I’d crack and do as he wanted. But I wasn’t afraid of Dale anymore. So, instead of helping him up, I turned on my heels and marched toward the door of my office.

“Where’re you going?” He called.

I froze and glanced at him over my shoulder. “You ain’t ever gonna replace me. You’d have done it by now if you were.”

The sanctuary was bathed in a soft golden light as I stood at my podium with my back straight and my stomach in knots. Lucian was seated on the piano bench in front of the organ, his umber eyes laser-focused on me, just as everyone else was. The pews were packed today, and the heat radiating off of over a hundred bodies flooded the pulpit. Despite this, I couldn’t shake the chill clinging to my spine as I stared at Dale in the back row.

If Dale’s presence wasn’t enough to shake me to my core, he had chosen to sit next to the one person I trusted less than him.

Sebastian sat with his arms crossed and his heel resting on his knee. Sebastian didn’t look nearly as tired today, and he had taken his facial piercings out. His sunny blonde hair was slicked back, and the button-down he wore made his eyes look impossibly blue. The olive green fabric clinched his biceps in such a way that I wondered if it was custom-made…. Knowing Sebastian, it probably was.

Dale was chatting to Sebastian like he was an old friend. I took comfort in the annoyance on Sebastian’s face.

I took a deep breath and cleared my throat before trying to speak.

“Good morning, brothers and sisters.” My voice bounced off the walls, allowing me to hear just how unsteady it was. “Today, we’re going to talk aboutthe power of forgiveness… God is nothing if not merciful, and if we confess our sins, if we truly offer ourselves to him, mind, body, and soul–”

Sebastian choked on a laugh and drew my attention.

My brow creased as I stared at the two in the back. Sebastian regained his composure, and I realized his expression read as more sarcastic than amused.

What the hell was going on back there?

I licked my lips and shook my head just enough to clear my mind.

“If we offer ourselves to him, he will forgive us.” I continued. “God’s love is powerful–”

A low chuckle from Dale reverberated through the church, and everyone’s eyes shifted from me to him. Some of my followers even turned in their seats just to see him better.

Dale stood, and a chorus of gasps greeted him. He was the one person the Sons of Christ adored more than me, but Dale never stepped into the pulpit anymore. Instead, when he visited, he liked to watch from afar.

Murmurs cut through the silence like wildfire through a forest as Dale made his way to me. Despite his dwarfish frame, the way he carried himself made him feel imposing. Like he was a predator stalking toward his prey.

Dale climbed the wooden steps and approached my podium, and I did my best to pretend I wasn’t shaken.

“What are you doing?” Panic rose in my voice as I protested.

“Something I should’a done a long time ago,” he murmured before weaseling between me and the podium.

My heart fluttered, and it felt like I was going to vomit.

Heat rose in my cheeks, and I staggered back just far enough to rest my hand on Lucian’s slender shoulder. I looked down to see a look of narrow-eyed confusion etched into his sharp features.

“Who the fuck is he?” Lucian hissed.

I looked away to avoid answering the question as the oxygen in the church ran dry… at least, that’s what it felt like.

The whispers in the congregation grew louder as Dale settled himself behind the podium. Sebastian stayed seated. He slowly slipped a hand into the space between his pants and skin, and I noticed the faintest flash of silver.

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