Page 126 of That Sik Luv

My fist tightens at my side, nails piercing into my flesh.

“What?” Callum asks with venom on his tongue.

“He called hermy beloved stain.You’re the only one who’s ever called her that.”

“You got played, son. Played like a goddamn fool. I didn’t want her tarnishing your reputation, but you just couldn’t stay away. You couldn’t keep your dick in your pants, could you?” He scoffs, inhaling his cigarette. “You’re lucky you invited me to come clean up the mess.”

There’s a heavy sigh and some shuffling of feet. I lean more of my weight against the frame of the door, and it cracks. I hold my breath, closing my eyes tightly before I hear them continue their conversation.

“So, where are they taking him?” Saint asks quietly, and my ears perk up. “Did you have him killed?”

My chest feels as if a knife pierced through it at the idea alone. The pain makes it impossible to breathe.

“No,” Cal answers calmly. “Not yet. A few old friends wanted to pay him a visit first.” He chuckles.

There’s a slight pause.

“Aw, don’t get soft now. He’s not your blood. His is tainted and spoiled with the DNA of a whore. He isn’t pure, like us.”

Pure like us.Rage fills my vision, threatening to explode from the tips of my fingers, but I remember words from Aero during my lessons in the woods;“Harness it. Hold it in your grasp and mold it into your weapon, using it only when ready.”

“What will they do to him?” Saint asks.

“Destroy him,” he answers calmly, and I hear him exhale his smoke. “They’ll take every last bit of hope he’s ever manufactured. Steal any fragment of determination he’s ever cultivated, and ruin him while he’s alive enough to feel it.”

“Good,” Saint says, and my stomach churns with a sickening sensation.

Aero knew all along. He’d always tried to get me to see the light. The truth lurking in the dark corners. But I held hope for Saint. Thought he was innocent in all of this as well. But he’s worse than all of them. He’s been playing the part of the good guy. A slimy snake that slithered his way into the heart of a woman who tried to see the best in the worst of people.

“He’s not a part of this institution, but the infection that threatens to dismantle our place in this world. We must stand together and remain strong and cut the cords that hold us back.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that before.” Saint scoffs. “And yet, somehow, he still got out of prison. Even after he murdered her.”

Murdered her? Who’s her?

“Yeah, did Alastor a real favor with that one. That woman was ready to risk everything to bring him down for her baby. Hilarious turn of events, seeing Briony so immersed in the very church her mother defied. But he has a wry sense of humor, that fuck. I ended up hiring my own flesh and blood unknowingly, just to end our little determined stray.”

This flood of information is being absorbed into my mind, but the pieces of the puzzle lie inches apart.Alastor. Baby. Mother. Church. Stray.

No…

“He’s lucky he’s agreed to push forward with my proposals, or I’d force my money on his political opponent.”

“But how did you know he’d be here?” Saint asks, clearly bringing the conversation back to Aero. “With her? You don’t think she was in on this, do you?”

Panic travels up my spine at his realization.

“Don’t be stupid, son. That woman may think she’s determined to make a place for herself in the church, but revenge is not in her blood. She’s entirely too soft. Besides, she doesn’t even know her father. There’s no reason she’d play a part in your demise. Her faith would never allow it. It was all a setup from the infamous Aero Westwood,” he says dramatically. “He used her to get to us, but it backfired.”

“How?”

“His so-called friend told us of his whereabouts and his sick obsession with his‘little doll,’as he calls her. The owner of the nightclub I told you about? The one you’ll get to visit once you become bishop. Yeah, he works for us. That’s where they’re taking him now.”

Nox. That piece of shit sold him out. I’ll cut his dick off. I swear it.

“Bishop Caldwell is elated to grace his presence again,” Callum continues, amusement in his tone. “They have history, those two.”

My insides shudder at the mention of his name. That man did horrible things to Aero as a boy, and now he’s going to be trapped in a room with them? The demons that run the earth free, using their holiness as an express pass to abuse others. Brady comes to mind, and my heart races as the blood that runs through me burns with fiery ferocity.

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