Page 6 of CHASE: Captive to the Dark

“Father Harrison, is there something I can help you with?” The older priest eased inside, but didn’t make it past the door before he stopped.

“My keys. Do you know where they are?”

Silence filled the space for all of a few seconds before the older man reached into his pocket and unlocked a drawer on the other side of the desk. “Are you going somewhere?”

Father Harrison ran his hands through his dark hair. “Yeah. This woman is in need of a ride to the airport in Denver. Then, I figured I’d go back to my place for a few days to try to clear my head. I have a car here, right?”

“Oh. Well, yes. It’s the black one in the garage.” The older priest paused. “You’re remembering?”

Anger. It was definitely the emotion that flashed over Father Harrison’s face. “No. Not yet. I ran into a man who told me about the cottage. I thought I’d see whether returning would help.” He took the keys, coming back to my side as he gave what looked to be a forced grin to the older man. “I’ll check in when I figure things out.”

“Father Harrison, I please ask that you don’t leave the church. I think with prayer, you can sort things out here. It’ll be safer. They still haven’t caught the person who attacked you.”

My eyes widened, but I stayed silent.

“I’m sorry. I have to go. Can you please do me a favor and call the police station? A man left here not long ago reporting a critically injured man a few miles out of town.” He paused, looking at me. “What landmarks did he say he passed just before he saw him?”

“Cedar Creek Motel,” I whispered.

Was this man of God seriously lying to his fellow priest? Why would he do that? And how, so casually? He didn’t seem the least bit fazed by what he was doing.

“I know where that’s at. I’ll let them know.”

Father Harrison’s large hand grabbed under my arm, so distant than before, and led us toward the far end of the church. The moment we exited the back door, I was swept into his arms. I tried to mask the shock, but couldn’t stop the small squeak that escaped my lips.

“It’ll take us forever to get where we’re going at this rate. Sorry, but I’m not very patient, if you can’t tell.”

“Or, truthful. I can’t believe you lied. Father, I didn’t mean to make you do that. You could have told him it was me who saw the man.”

His brow creased as he continued to stare ahead. “No…I couldn’t.”

I wasn’t sure what to think about that as he continued. Did he not trust the older priest? What was going on with this town? He’d been attacked himself. Was that what the priest meant by asking him if he remembered? Did he have some sort of amnesia?

In large strides, he headed toward a building resembling a large outdoor garage. It wasn’t much more than a large metal shed with doors. His pace remained fast while he led us through the side entrance into the large, open space. There was a car, but only one. A black Mercedes SUV that looked almost brand new.

“That’s yours?” I breathed out. “How in the world did you afford that being a priest?”

“What do you mean?” He didn’t break his stride as he pressed a button and lights flashed in the darkness. The smell of his aftershave hit me only briefly and I couldn’t stop the thud in my chest at the smell. It caused me to lean closer. To smell him even more.

“It’s a G-Class and those are worth…a lot. A lot more than you would imagine.”

He opened the passenger door, set me down, and reached to grab the seat belt. The moment the buckle slid home, he paused to stare into my face. Tingling took over every inch of my body and I felt my lips separate while our stares held. Unexplainably, lust stirred, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. What in the hell was wrong with me? The priest was a man of God. And a good ten to fifteen years my senior, not that it really bothered me. I’d always been attracted to older men. But this one was forbidden, untouchable, no matter how much I wanted to lean forward and press my lips to his. What would he do if I did? The simple fact that I couldn’t made me want him even more. It was wrong—especially under the circumstances of why I was here.

The priest seemed to catch himself and pulled back, shutting the door. Nervously, I took in the wood grain and leather seats. The screen sitting on the dash was bigger than most I’d seen and a glimpse around the interior told me it was top of the line in luxury, regardless of the rugged appearance on the outside. The moment he lifted the garage door and slid in, he paused, glancing around, just as surprised as me.

“It is pretty nice, I guess.”

“Yeah, a hundred grand nice,” I said lowly as he turned over the engine. Bass thumped hard against the speakers and I jumped, holding in my scream. Rap music was playing and we both looked at each other, confused. I couldn’t imagine he’d listen to that and judging from the look on his face, neither did he. But…he did have a sound system, and who was I to assume what he liked? I didn’t know this man. Not really. He was a mystery. One I was suddenly anxious to unravel.

Silence once again filled the space at his push of the button. My anxiety was usually pretty bad, but over the last week, it had become out of control. Since I was young, I’d always suffered from it. My mom used to chalk it up to me being shy, but I knew better. My past was to blame. He was to blame.

We pulled alongside the church until Father Harrison made it out onto the main road. I tried to tear my thoughts away from my fast breathing. “Thank you,” I said, looking over. “For everything. You didn’t have to lie like that. I appreciate everything you’re doing. I’ll be sure to let my brother know how much you helped me out.”

“Rory.” His jaw tightened as he stared straight ahead, stopping at the red light. His tone had me frowning and I glanced out the window, trying to dismiss it. Pointing from a couple on the corner of the street had me glancing to look around us. One grabbed a phone and held it up, almost appearing to take a picture. The light turned green and I let my mind wander as we headed deeper into town. I didn’t get to drift long before honking broke out next to us.

“Father, do you know them?”

The truck stayed even and a man’s window rolled down as he tried to look into our vehicle. I knew he wouldn’t have been able to see. The windows were tinted so dark, I doubted people could see in during the day, let alone at night.

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