Page 32 of Prodigal Son

“This is Bishop King,” Sister Larissa introduced.

The man took a menacing step toward the bed and scowled down at Destiny with clear disapproval. “What do they call you?”

“Destiny…Santos.”

His lips pressed into a firm line. “Where is Cain?”

“Visiting Cybil. He was anxious to get out this morning,”

Who was Cybil?

The bishop’s jaw tightened. “He can’t keep picking up strays, especially when he has a habit of abandoning his responsibilities and saddling others with the chore.”

Was he calling her a stray? “Um…”

“Hush.”

Destiny’s mouth snapped shut. She wasn’t the sort to obediently keep quiet for domineering men, but she suddenly lost the will to speak. She frowned as the bishop drew the nun aside and whispered something into her ear. The nun smiled, her expression softening and her lashes lowering as his large hands curled around her petite waist.

Destiny frowned. What sort of convent was this? The possessive way he touched Sister Larissa was completely inappropriate and unmistakably intimate. He nuzzled her ear and she laughed softly, his possessive hands traveling higher up her ribs as he held her with absolute entitlement.

It was so very wrong, but Destiny couldn’t look away. No one had ever touched her like that or looked at her with such unashamed hunger. They weren’t even trying to hide it. Talk about sexual corruption. But Sister Larissa seemed all for the bishop’s attention.

Did they even care that Destiny was there?

When the bishop spoke again, he used a different language. It sounded German, but she wasn’t sure. Sister Larissa blushed, staring up at him with crystalline eyes, and responded in the German tongue. Both appeared completely fluent and speaking as if aware Destiny was there, but believing the language barrier gave them ample privacy, which she supposed it did.

He took her hand and tugged her toward the door. Only then did the nun look back. In a jumble of German words, Destiny caught her name.

The bishop scowled and set his intimidating stare on Destiny. “You will not move from that bed until I grant you permission.”

They left the room. Hey! She meant to call after them, but no words came out when she tried to speak.

She wanted to get off the bed and find a phone, but a mixture of fear and discomfort held her in place on the mattress. She just sat there, wanting to call for help but inexplicably silent and still. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to get off the bed now or not. She couldn’t seem to make a single decision in that moment so she waited until the bishop returned and told her what to do next—no matter how little sense that made.

CHAPTER 11

The kitchen still smelled of breakfast meats and cinnamon when Cain entered the house with Cybil in tow, her small hand entwined around his much larger one. He had not been included in the breakfast meal that morning, or much else since returning home last night.

As soon as Gracie saw him, she rolled her eyes. “You can’t keep disappearing, Cain. I don’t have time to watch your mortal.” Shifting her attention to Cybil, she smiled. “Good morning, sunshine. I was just about to come get you for our lesson.”

Cybil’s hand tightened on Cain’s, and she shouldered closer to his hip. Gracie frowned.

“What’s this about?” Gracie made a clucking sound, likely nosing around in the child’s thoughts, and lowered herself to Cybil’s eye level. “Don’t you worry about that. Brothers and sisters sometimes disagree. That’s all this is, a disagreement. Isn’t that right, Cain?”

Cain looked down at Cybil. She must have picked up on the tension between him and his siblings. How sweet of her to be so protective of him.

“That’s right.” He shot Gracie a snide glance and looked back at Cybil. “Just like Dane sometimes bothers you, Gracie can also be extremely annoying.”

Cybil silently laughed with her eyes. She understood perfectly.

Gracie pursed her lips and stood. “I’m sure that’s what it is. Why don’t you go check on your ward. Larissa’s been watching over her all morning. Come along, Cybil. We have a lot of work to cover today.”

Cain gave Gracie a suspicious look. “What kind of work?”

“I found a book at the shop in town on American Sign Language . I’m teaching Cybil, so that she can communicate.”

“She isn’t deaf, Gracie.”

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