Page 139 of The Confidant
“I know.” I sighed.
Had any of this caused any cracks in Scarlett’s beliefs? Or did she see it as being fine…but just not for her personally?
I shook my head as I pictured her and Xander standing together in the church.
And as soon as that image clicked into place, a cold feeling of horror washed over me because I realized that Scarlett was actually in the church tonight because of Xander asking her to go look for his backpack.
No!
I pulled out my phone and told Siri to dial Scarlett’s number as I jumped to my feet.
“What’s going on?” Sebastian sat up straighter, setting his ice cream bowl down on the cocktail table.
“I think Scarlett is in the church with Xander right now.”
“What? Seriously?”
“Yes.” I put my phone to my ear and prayed that Scarlett would pick up and tell me she was fine. But when it just rang and rang, I started running toward the elevator.
47
SCARLETT
“Glad you could joinme after all,” Xander said as I frantically turned around and tried to open the door.
Please, please open.
But even though I could turn the glass knob, the door wouldn’t budge. Because the deadbolt had been locked.
With a key.
Why in the world did the Holy Room have a way to lock someone inside?
“What are you doing here?” I turned back around to face Xander again, a sense of panic rising in my chest. “And why did you lock the door?”
“I’m here to fulfill the Lord’s commandment.” He took a step closer, a sinister smile I’d never seen before on his lips. “I'm here to ensure that the work we were chosen for is completed.”
“But I told my dad that I couldn’t be the chosen vessel,” I said, even though I was sure that Xander probably already knew it.
Hence the covert plan to get me here, and the reason why he thought he’d need a locked door to keep me from running.
“I know you wanted to ignore the calling you were given,” he said. “But even if your faith is weak, your body is still capable of bringing forth the birth of the Chosen One and ensuring that the bloodline of Jehovah continues.”
My faith was weak, but my body was capable?
Was he planning to force me to perform the ceremony?
I turned back around and tried the door again, but when it still didn’t budge, Xander chuckled and said, “The Lord’s work cannot be stopped, Scarlett. Jehovah’s bloodline will continue.”
He keeps saying that.
If I wasn’t in the throes of a panic attack, I might ask him what he meant by Jehovah’s bloodline continuing, but my heart and mind were racing so fast that I couldn’t really form words when I needed to figure out how to get the heck out of here.
Where had he put the key? Did he have a pocket somewhere in that Samuel Williams’ costume he was wearing? I scanned his waistcoat and trousers, looking for some sort of pocket in the old-fashioned material.
He cleared his throat. ”Just as I don’t advertise that I come from the bloodline of Samuel Williams, I also don’t speak about the even bigger family secret.” He stepped close enough that I was forced to press my back against the wall. Then, looking down and studying me for a moment—seeming to enjoy the look of terror on my face—he bent close to my ear and whispered, “I’m actually a direct descendant of Jehovah.”
All I wanted to do was push him away and scream, but I knew that if I was freaking out, it would make it harder for me to find a way out of this room.
