The Sinners of Saint Amos - Logan Fox Page 0,138

the inside of his cheek. His eyes flicker to Reuben. “You’re not going to believe this.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Trinity

The church goes quiet when Father Gabriel climbs onto the altar. I’m sitting right by the door of the chapel, hoping I can be the first to get out of here at the end of morning prayers.

I still have no idea what I’m going to do. As much as I want—need—to know what the Brotherhood found, Reuben’s words keep going through my head.

You’re either with us, or you’re against us.

But I can only decide which side I’m on once they tell me what they have on Father Gabriel. They could be bluffing. Trying to get me on their side so they can use me for their own nefarious purposes.

And then there’s the other thing Reuben said. How they’re a package deal.

He wasn’t talking about their war, or their oaths, or any of that shit.

He was talking about me and him. Or…I guess…me and them.

Definitely not the sort of stuff I should be contemplating in a house of worship. I might just catch on fire and I doubt any amount of Holy Water could put me out.

The hall shushes as soon as Father Gabriel walks onto the stage. I study him as circumspectly as possible as he leads us through a prayer. Usually we go through announcements and read a bible verse before ending on the Father’s Prayer and being dismissed. But this morning, everything feels like it’s taking a thousand times longer.

So, like always, I zone out.

And I’m only wrenched back to the here-and-now when everyone inside the hall breaks out into cheers.

My heart pounds in response to the unexpected ruckus as I hurriedly scan the hall to figure out what I’d missed. Some students even have the gall to stand up, but they hurriedly sit when Gabriel lifts his hands to silence the crowd.

“The buses arrive at seven tomorrow morning. Please ensure you are ready to depart so we don’t have any delays.”

I sit back, shoulders sagging in relief. The last I’d heard, the buses taking us to Sisters of Mercy were supposed to arrive on Saturday—now they’d be here tomorrow. Three days early.

But that relief evaporates a second later.

What am I going to do?

I need to find out what the Brotherhood knows. I thought I’d still have a few days, but now…?

My mind is made up about Sisters of Mercy. I don’t belong here anyway—I can finish my senior year over there. At least I can make some friends there.

But I can’t leave without knowing.

Guess I’m going to have to bite the bullet. Much as I didn’t want to, I’ll have to track down Zachary and speak to him. I’ll probably have to trade a few spanks for the info, but I survived those last—

“—nity Malone, please come see me after assembly.”

Shock flashes through me. Did Gabriel just call my name?

A few of the boys sitting in the pew in front of me glance back in my direction.

Shit. What does Gabriel want with me?

Oh, right.

He wants to talk.

I cross my arms over my chest and hug myself hard, my mind like a kicked-over anthill as Gabriel runs through the last announcements.

I don’t join in for the Father’s Prayer, and that gets me more than a few scandalized stares from the boys around me.

Let them stare.

Gabriel knows I’m not a believer. It wouldn’t surprise him in the least to hear I sat this one out.

When kids stream past me on their way outside after assembly ends, I consider for a full minute what the repercussions would be if I just left but I’d just be delaying the inevitable. Plus, Gabriel would never let me climb on a bus tomorrow without talking to me.

I wait for the majority of the boys to leave, and then make my way to the front of the hall, fully expecting Gabriel to be waiting in the small room just off the stage.

He’s not.

So I head to the only other place he could be.

I’ve been knocking on a lot of doors lately. Would be excellent practice if I ever decide to become a missionary like my father.

There’s a grim smirk on my face when the door opens.

I stand there for a second, speechless, before I lower my hand. If Gabriel had been here, I’d have expected him to ask me to come inside, not to answer the door himself.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d come,” he says. His eyes dart past me, and then he waves me inside his apartment.