Page 48 of Among the Sins of my Father

“Have another puff.” His voice is lazy and low.

I suck on the end once again, closing my eyes as my head spins.

“It’s fucking beautiful out here, don’t you think?”

He’s looking at the stars. Even though we’re in the city, the sky is still clear, but nothing like it is at the Sanctuary. But the longer I stare at the inky blackness the more stars appear. It’s almost as though some of them are shy and wait for you to pay attention before starting to shine.

“My father wanted him dead.” Michael’s voice breaks the silence.

“Who?” I ask.

“Aaron Keating. The man was nothing but a waste of space. That’s why he gave you the name, why he sent you there. He knew what your Priest would do. He knew he was a killer.”

I start to protest but then let my voice fall. There’s no point in defending him. Not to someone who has the outlook on life like Michael does. This is a man who willingly looks the other way just so he can maintain the sort of lifestyle he’s used to. This is a man who has no problem profiting from other people’s suffering.

Michael’s arm drifts down from the back of his head and stretches out over my shoulder. I want to move away but my body is too heavy and there’s almost a comfort to the warmth of him.

“So you don’t need to feel bad.”

Tears prick. I try to blink them away, but instead, they come in full force, running down my cheeks as a sob is wrenched from me.

“Oh, shit,” Michael curses. “It does that to some people.”

“What does?” I hiccup.

He plays with the cigarette between his fingers and wiggles his brows before inhaling deeply. “Do you remember the first time you came here?” He talks with inhaled breath before letting it out slowly. “It was just before you were about to start at school and your father, not that you knew that at the time, brought you over here so you could meet someone before you started.”

I nod, my cheek brushing over his arm.

“We lay on the trampoline that used to be in the back yard, you smoked weed for the first time and then we just talked shit and looked at the stars.”

I nod again. My body slips across the over-sized cushion, falling close to his side.

“I thought you were fucking gorgeous, even back then. You had these huge fucking eyes, and these plump fucking lips and you were so fucking innocent.”

“You swear a lot when you’re drunk.”

He shakes his head. “More when I’m high.”

I twist to look up at him. “Are you high?”

He places a small peck of a kiss on my lips. “Yes, we are high. I was hoping it would relax you.” He sits up a little so he’s leaning over me. “Are you relaxed, Everly?”

I nod sleepily. I’m so relaxed I feel as though I could fall asleep.

“Good,” he murmurs. One finger runs over my shoulder, pushing the strap of my dress aside. The pad of his thumb brushes my collarbone. I shake my head, as he presses his lips to mine softly.

“It’s okay, Everly. I’m going to take good care of you.” His finger runs down the side of my face. “You’re so fucking beautiful, Ev.” He presses another kiss to my lips. “So fucking beautiful.”

Just as I’m summoning the strength to push him away, he sits up and gets to his feet. “We need another drink.”

He’s gone only a moment before he’s back beside me, helping me sit up a little. He holds the glass and tips it to my lips. “That’s my girl,” he encourages as the liquid slips into my mouth.

chapter eighteen

BERKLEY

He downs his own drink before laying back beside me and wrapping his arm around my shoulder, tugging me close.

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