Bad Habits: A Dark Anthology - Yolanda Olson Page 0,1

be good.

I want to go to Heaven.

But after what I saw, I don’t know if I’ll ever be let in.

Kahn

Our Father, Who Art in Heaven

The rain splatters from the heavy clouds as I watch her, Maeve Bianchi. Long dark hair hangs down her back, reaching her tailbone. She’s dressed in black again. Part of the uniform, I suppose. I ponder this for a moment before I edge closer. Sweet perfume wafts from her, and it makes my mouth water. I think about what it would take to grab her right now and steal her away. I could take her to the place I’ve lived all my life. She’d fit in perfectly.

I’m close.

Almost there.

But then she stops and glances over her shoulder, forcing me to slip back into the shadows. It’s been a few months since I started following her. It started after our first kiss. I'd come here to find her, and I definitely did. She'd been leaving the convent grounds, jogging toward the park, and I couldn’t stop my feet from tracing her steps.

I wonder why she’s allowed off the grounds, how she’s able to do as she wishes when the other girls are locked up tight.

Since I first laid my eyes on her, I've had this innate reaction to her. As if she has tethered me to her and is tugging me along. Each time I get near, I lose my nerve. I’ve never been afraid of a woman before, but there’s something about her. Something dark that resides inside her. It’s etched in the ink that adorns her ribs. A large tree of life, but with a macabre twist. There are skeletons and ghouls under the tree, with a rosary slung around the branches.

She moves faster down the road, and I wonder if she spotted me. I doubt she’d still be walking; she’d certainly be running if she had. I shouldn’t do this, but I’m in too deep now. My phone vibrates in my pocket, thankfully I’ve had it on silent since I perched myself across the road from the convent.

I don’t pull it out now. I’m too close to her to even consider taking a fucking call. It stops and restarts. Frustration burns through every fiber of my being. I want to keep going. I need to. But I know if I don’t answer this call there’ll be hell to pay.

I pull out my cell. Swiping my thumb along the screen, the facial recognition unlocks the device and I press the phone to my ear.

“What?”

“Well, hello to you too,” Fletcher’s voice comes through the line. My partner is an asshole. I call him a partner, but he’s more like a fuckin’ lackey at this point. Working for the big man upstairs isn’t easy, and I know he’s wanting to get out into the field with me.

“You’ve just fucked up my mark,” I bite out in evident frustration at the interruption, earning me a chuckle in response. Asshole.

“That pretty piece of ass you’ve been jerking off to? You know she’s married to the cross, right?” Another guffaw from him makes my hackles rise. I’ve told him she’s special. There’s something about her, and I need her to join us.

“Fuck off, man. What do you want?” I grit out, tugging my packet of smokes from the inner pocket of my leather jacket. Popping one between my lips, I flick the lighter and inhale a lungful of calming smoke.

“I got a job for you, not too far from where you are right now,” he informs me. “Asshole dealing on Heaven’s turf.”

Fuck.

“Yeah, okay. Send me the deets and I’ll head out.” I hang up before he can ask anything more about the subject of my obsession. Turning, I head back to my bike and hop on, starting the engine and pulling out of the lot. I’ll be back tomorrow. She’ll be there once again, and I’ll be jerking my cock thinking about how tight her perfect cunt must be.

The information from Fletcher comes when I stop for gas about two miles down the road. I punch the address into my GPS, and I make my way toward the asshole who thinks he’s God. He isn’t. I know God, met the fucker when he hired me, and now I’m one of his best angels.

When I pull up to the house in question, I note one car in the drive and a guy sitting on the porch. Security? I think not. It doesn’t take me long to pull out my 9mm and