Page 74 of Nora
His expression darkened. “I was eleven when my parents died in the car accident. I had no one, and so they put me in a home.” She knew all this, but she nodded, encouraging him to continue. She wanted him distracted enough for her to keep making progress. “It was run by the Church,” he said. “They should have been good men. They should have loved as Jesus did. They should have protected the weak and the poor.” He paused and looked out toward the opening. Nora strained to listen. Had he heard something?
“They didn’t, did they?” she asked, bringing his attention back to her.
Angelo’s jaw tightened. “They did not. They preyed on us. At night. In class. Anytime they pleased. The boys, we were all vulnerable and many of us hurting. I wasn’t the only orphan. And instead of loving us as they should have, instead of caring for us the way their god would want, they violated us. So many of us…”
Nora’s heart broke for the man when the import of his words sank in. What he must have suffered as a child she couldn’t imagine. He’d lost his parents, the two people who probably cared most for him in the world. Then he’d been turned over to men who abused their position of trust and authority in the worst imaginable way. His childhood didn’t excuse the murders he’d committed. But she could empathize for the boy he’d been while still holding the man he was accountable.
“And still, no one does anything to repent,” Angelo continued. The binding loosened enough that she was moments away from being able to free a hand. “I don’t…I don’t understand how so many people could know and yet no one did anything to stop it.” He paused and glanced toward the back of the cave. Nora had no idea what was back there, and if she had her way, she wouldn’t find out. “And they still do nothing,” he said, bringing his attention back to her. “Those men, they want power and money and titles. They don’t want to serve god. And those theyserveunderare even worse. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, as they say. There is no better example than the men of the cloth.”
Nora let out a slow breath as one of her hands slipped from the binding. Once it was free, the other easily followed suit. Wanting to keep the element of surprise, she left her hands behind her but surreptitiously rolled her shoulders.
“And yet you still attend Mass,” she pointed out.
“It’s not the teachings I take issue with. I find them comforting,” he said. “It’s man who is the problem. Not the divine.”
She couldn’t argue with him on that. If there was such a thing as god, then she did believe it was a good and loving force.Manwas the corrupter and the seeker of power—god would have no need for either of those.
A tree branch snapped in the distance, and both she and Angelo turned to look at the opening of the cave.
“Where are we?” she asked.
Angelo gave her a sad smile. “In the mountain under the monastery. Not far from where Michael Kelly died.”
“Not far from where you killed him,” she corrected.
She wasn’t sure what kind of reaction she expected, although she’d been prepared for rage or, at the least, some excuse. However, all she got was a small shrug before he dropped his eyes and looked away from both her and the cave opening.
“You know they are coming,” she said. Again, he lifted a shoulder. “If you’re going to kill me, you don’t have much time.”
“You want to die?” he asked.
She studied his expression. Once again she was struck by the feeling that he wasn’t the kind of killer wholikedkilling. He might, for a moment, feel like he was avenging the wrongs of his past when he killed. But she’d wager that when the high was over, he was as repentant as a man could be.
She shook her head. “I don’t. I love the life I have. I do good work, spend a lot of time with animals, and have great friends. I’m a quiet person by nature, but there are still parts of this crazy, beautiful world that I want to see. I’d even like to have a family one day.”
Angelo had been looking at the ground, but his eyes lifted at her comment. “You want a family?”
She inclined her head. “I do. I always have.”
“Perhaps with Lucian?”
Her heart stuttered at Lucian’s name. Not at the idea of having a family with him, but at the thought of what he’d go through if something happened to her. He might not love her the way he loved his wife, but she wasn’t about to let him lose another woman he cared for. She wasn’t about to sentence him to another lifetime of what-ifs if she didn’t make it out.
“Perhaps,” she said, then moved her feet as a sound outside the cave caught her attention. It was subtle and quiet, but she would swear it was the snuffle of a dog. Slowly, she brought her hands out from behind her back. She didn’t bother reaching for her gun as she could tell she no longer had it. Angelo watched her every move but didn’t say a thing.
“You don’t want to kill me, Angelo. I know you don’t.”
Pain and confusion flashed across his face before he spoke. “But I must.”
“Why? I’m not one of those men, Angelo. Nor am I even a part of your church. I know you want to rid the world of those who abuse children and those who stand by and let it happen. I even understand why you want that vengeance. No one was there to help you, and so you had to help yourself.” In no way did she believe what had happened to him as a child justified killing eleven people. Not even if it had been eleven people directly involved in the abuse he’d suffered. But she did understand his anger, his hurt, and his sense of betrayal.
“I no longer need protecting, but others do. Still, to this day, they do,” he said. “Boys mostly. Boys like my son.”
And that explained it all. Well, not all, but it explained why, after so many years, Angelo started seeking his vengeance. His son had been born two years ago. As a father, he’d do anything to protect him. Ridding the world of people he perceived were either like the men who’d abused him, or like those who’d protected those men, was one way of doing that. His reasoning was deeply flawed, but Nora could see the thread that tied it all together in Angelo’s mind.
Suddenly Angelo rose and, startled at the movement, Nora pressed back against the wall of the cave. Her feet weren’t free yet, but unless Angelo had a weapon that could reach her from a distance, she was confident she’d be able to defend herself. It was possible he had her gun, but shooting people wasn’t his style and she doubted he’d kept hers with him.
He took two steps toward her and refusing to look away, she held his gaze. “You love him, don’t you?” she asked. “Your son.”
