Page 26 of Brutal Sinner

He steps away from the door, and I watch him pace around the room, muttering to himself and then to my horror, he wrenches off his clothes and stands naked in the center of the room.

“Is this what you want Lord?” He yells, holding out his arms. “Are you testing me?”

I am so shocked I fall silent as I stare in disbelief at a man who lost his sanity somewhere down the line.

He falls to his knees and sobs, before wailing like a child, and then he starts to pray in low murmurs of madness.

I have never seen anything like this before and it shocks me into silence. Itscaresme into silence, and it drives even more fear into my heart. Anything could happen with this man, and I may not make it to the wedding if the crazy takes over and so I shut my eyes, more out of self-preservation than anything and struggle to empty my mind of the horror show I am currently starring in the lead role.

CHAPTER14

JONNY

Ihave a visitor. I am woken by the sound of tires on the woodland floor and jumping from my bed, I pull on my jeans and grab a t-shirt.

I head to the window and see Mr. Gaston hauling a crate of supplies from his truck and I breathe a sigh of relief.

As I head out to meet him, he says with concern. “You look like shit.”

It makes me laugh. “Since when did you curse, Mr. Gaston?”

He grins. “Call me Albert, Jonny. We are friends now.”

His words mean more to me than he will ever know, and I say with a slight catch to my voice, “We are.”

He grins as he thrusts the crate into my arms and says quickly, “Friends who breakfast together. I provided the food now you can cook.”

I nod and head inside his small kitchen and place the crate on the counter and as I pull the ingredients out, he takes a seat at the table and says with interest, “How are things?”

“Not good, Mr. …um, Albert.”

I sigh heavily. “It turns out I’m a father.”

He looks startled. “Who told you that?”

“Faith.” I shrug, knowing I can trust him, and he says incredulously, “You saw her?”

“Yes. I paid her a visit when the town was at Church. That bastard has her locked in a room with nothing but the bible.”

Albert shakes his head. “I knew she was in trouble.”

He peers at me with concern.

“What about you? Are you in trouble, Jonny?”

His kind expression is exactly what I need right now, and I say with a deep sigh. “I think I am.”

He says gently, “Then it’s important we bring this to a close.”

He reminds me what’s important now and I push aside my own emotions and say quickly, “Do you know where my daughter is?”

“She’s not there?”

He appears surprised and I hiss, “No. That bastard has sent her somewhere and is using her to break Faith. I need to find out where she is and who with. Do you have any ideas?”

“Boil the kettle, son, and I’ll think on it.”

He appears thoughtful, so I do as he says, grateful for the distraction. He remains silent as I busy myself preparing breakfast and only when I set two plates of eggs, bacon, hash browns and beans on the table, with two steaming mugs of coffee, does he speak.

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