Page 136 of The Confidant
Xander:Hey, Scarlett. Sorry to bother you. I know it’s late, but I’ve been looking all over for my backpack. It’s got my notes for a test I’m supposed to study for. I think I might have left it at the church when I was there with your dad today. I’d ask him to check but I know he goes to bed early. Would you be able to run over real quick and look?
I relayed the text to Hunter with a shrug.
“Want me to help you look?” Hunter asked.
“No, I should be fine,” I said. “But I’ll walk you to the gate.”
“Sounds good.”
I hurried inside my dad’s house and grabbed the church key he had hanging on a hook just inside the door. After slipping the key into the back pocket of my crossbody bag, I walked Hunter to the gate.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said when we reached the brick archway.
“See you then.” He pulled me close for a moment, giving me a kiss.
And even though I still didn’t want to say goodbye to him after spending several hours together, I pulled away and waved goodbye, watching him saunter down the sidewalk toward his penthouse.
When he disappeared in the darkness, I shut the gate and then turned back to go inside the church.
I texted Xander back.I’m going to the church right now. What does your backpack look like? Any idea where you may have left it?
His text came right through, like he’d been watching his phone for my response.
Xander:It’s black. Green water bottle in the side pocket. I might have left it by the organ…
Me:Okay, I’ll let you know if I find it.
Xander:Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.
I opened the door with my key and stepped inside. It was dark in the foyer, and even though I’d practically grown up here, the church was always a little creepy at night. I switched on the lights and rushed toward the chapel doors.
But when I made it to the organ, I didn’t find anything.
I pulled out my phone and texted Xander back:I don’t see a backpack anywhere in here.
I was about to ask if he may have left it somewhere else in the church, when his reply came through.
Xander:Your dad also took me to the top level since I’d never been up there before. Maybe that’s where it is?
I frowned.
Why had my dad taken Xander up there?
No one ever went up to the top floor unless the High Priest was here or there was a special ceremony. But maybe he’d asked to see it since we were supposed to perform that ceremony in there today?
I put my phone in my bag since it would just fall out of my skirt pocket as I dashed up the stairs.
Then switching on the lights for the staircase, I ran up the wooden steps as quickly as I could. Maybe it was the fact that I could see the full moon streaming right through the center of one of the huge windows ahead of me, but it just felt extra creepy for some reason.
Which was probably a weird thing to feel when I’d grown up running through the halls and up and down these stairs. But the big church always felt a little different at night.
I made it to the top of the stairs and saw the black backpack Xander had described sitting next to the wall. But I also saw that the door to the Holy Room was open.
I frowned. I’d never seen that door open before. Ever.
It was always locked.
But I was so curious what might be in the room where the sacred ceremonies took place and where the High Priest had his visitations from God and Jehovah.
