Page 25 of The Sinner and the Gunslinger
She’s safe. I repeat the words as I cover her body with mine. Leila is unharmed and breathing beneath me. Her skin is warm and soft. Her heart pounds against mine as our chests press together. God, she smells so good. I’d forgotten this smell. Passionfruit and vanilla. It brings me back to sitting on a couch with her at midnight, watchingTombstonefrom beneath a blanket, hiding from the drunk matron because it was way past our bedtime. This smell, coupled with the sensation of her soft body blooming into womanhood, gave me the hardest boner I’ve ever had in my life. I freaked and pushed her away because she was way too young. It confused the hell out of me.
But now... now this smell reminds me of home.
I cup her face and brush her cheek with my thumb. “You good?”
“Yeah,” she croaks.
I roll to my feet, grab my Colt, and mark the center of the evil nun’s head as she tugs the scythe from the wooden hutch with feral, animalistic snarls.
“No!” Leila body slams me to the side.
Bang!
My shot goes wide, hitting the greenhouse pane and shattering glass.
“Leila,” I growl. “What are you doing?”
“She’s not possessed. Don’t shoot her.”
“She tried to chop off your head.”
My wildcat’s eyes flash with defiance as she stands between the nun and me, her dagger pointed at my face. A grin curves my lips. Still the same fucking moxie. I shake my head, then holster the pistol.
“Fine.” I point at the snarling nun. “But when she gets that out of the wood, it’s coming for your head.”
“Get Thea.” She sheaths her dagger into an ankle strap. “Tell her to bring the staff.”
“I’m not leaving you—”
“Go!” She shoves me.
I stand my ground and fold my arms. “No.”
She clenches her jaw and looks about to explode with a lecture, but then walks to Sister Agnes. I startle and hover my hand over my pistol, ready to shoot no matter what Leila wants.
“Hey, Sister,” she says softly. “It’s me, Leila.”
The nun switches her focus from the scythe to Leila and attacks.
One second, Leila stands before the nun. The next, she has the nun in a chokehold, effortlessly cutting her airway and bringing the Sister down as gently as possible.
I’ve never seen her in action like this—Leila is lethal. Magnificent. But she’s not cold. Not like I feared. As Sister Agnes loses consciousness, Leila coos soft words in her ear, saying things about how she will keep her safe and fix this.
Jinx slithers out of the compost with a mess of dirt and carrot peel on her head. The sunset makes her usual iridescent scales seem warm. Big liquid-black eyes blink up at me and she makes her dolphin sounds. I crouch and flick the carrot off her head.
“Hey girl, do me a favor and run and tell Thea we’re coming.”
The ex-demon yips and then darts along the garden path like an oil streak on fire.
As the light winks out from Sister Agnes’s eyes, I scoop her into my arms. Leila’s eyes on me are flames against my skin as we walk back to the abbey. My first instinct had been to kill this innocent woman, but Leila’s was to save her.
* * *
“Up here,” Thea shouts from the top of the staircase as we enter the abbey.
I carry the unconscious nun upstairs to the archives, where Thea instructs me to lay her on a table cleared of books and papers. The Reverend Mother sits at the table, her eyes alarmed. Wesley, Raven, and Tawny stand around, listening as Leila explains what happened.
The archives are massive, taking up an entire floor of the monolith abbey. I stand back a few steps, lean on a bookcase and fold my arms. I’m still unsettled that I almost royally fucked up, not Leila—the “Sinner.” Jinx darts from beneath the table to curl around my legs.
