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  And here I’d thought it was an old sports injury or something.

  “When I came to, I was tied up in a basement.” He starts arranging the various mechanics of his broken camera around his feet in a halo.

  It feels like someone’s pouring cold water down my spine. He takes a deep breath, and glances up at Zachary.

  Zachary nods at him.

  Apollo looks at me.

  That icy water freezes, and my entire body goes stiff.

  “I had two Ghosts. They’d come every Saturday and Sunday, alternating like.” He sticks out his fingers and twists them back and forth. “Never saw each other, but they timed their shit so well, they had to have wiped each other’s cum off their dicks more than once.”

  My mouth fills with saliva. For a moment, I’m convinced I’m going to puke. Cass takes my wrist and urges my cup to my mouth.

  I take a sip. “Ghosts?” The word slips out before I can stop it.

  Apollo’s eyes dart up. His foot starts tapping. “Yeah, Ghosts.” He points at Reuben. “He came up with it.”

  “It’s what we called the men who visited us,” Reuben says. I glance at him, but he’s still staring at Apollo. “We never knew who they were, or how long they’d stay. They weren’t supposed to speak to us.”

  “But some of them couldn’t shut up,” Cass says.

  I look at him over my shoulder. His blue eyes could have bored a hole through my head. “I got there a few months before Apollo arrived,” he says.

  “Where? In the basement?” I glance over at Apollo. “The same one?” Apollo seems to have forgotten I exist. He’s busy with his camera again.

  “Yup,” Cass says. “Now snuggle up, honey tits. It’s my turn.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Zac

  I need another blunt, but I light a cigarette instead. We know we don’t smoke less when we share, but it’s been a habit of ours for years already. Back when we first met, it took a lot for us to share anything, even our names.

  Trust becomes addictive. Dangerously so.

  Cass drags Trinity against his chest, arranging her like a sleepy kid—her head on his chest, her legs folded to one side. She lets him, but I think that’s because she’s in mild shock.

  Or just really hungover.

  “I was a handsome little shit, even back then,” Cass starts. He toys with Trinity’s hair, winding her curls around his finger as he talks.

  It’s surreal, listening to them. Stories spooling out like snagged threads from their tangled hearts. I’ve only ever heard snippets. Partial retellings whenever we’d discovered a new clue that led us deeper into the web of lies the Guardian had spun to keep his enterprise hidden from prying eyes.

  “They must have been watching me for a few months already. I recognized the car they used when they finally snatched me. Broad daylight, the fucks. But they knew what they were doing. Where I’d be, at what time. That’s I’d be alone.”

  Cass smooths a hand down Trinity’s head, and it looks as if she burrows against him. “I lived in a small-ass town back then. The kind where your kid could take the bus from elementary school and you knew he’d get home safe and sound.”

  She shifts, tilting back her head, and shakes her head.

  “But I didn’t, did I?” Cass says as he tweaks the tip of her nose. “It was one block from the bus stop to my house. A five-minute walk. That day, I never made it home.”

  Trinity widens her eyes. Cass paints the outline of her lips with a fingertip.

  “I didn’t make a fuss. The minute I saw the car, I already knew what was happening. I don’t know how, but I just knew. I tried to run, but they had one of their guys on the sidewalk ahead, and he just grabbed me and shoved me into the car.”

  Cass stops touching her. He looks away, his head dropping and his eyes clouding with dark shadows.

  “They injected me with something. Knocked me clean out.” His head snaps up, and he points straight at me as he grins. “I woke up next to James. You remember him?”

  I don’t say anything. Cass has the floor now.

  He turns to Apollo, then Reuben. “You guys remember James? Fucker with the crazy eyes?”

  I almost laugh.

  I’m sure if we had to ask Trinity, she’d say we all have crazy eyes.

  “Anyway.” Cass waves a hand. “I had a shit ton of Ghosts. Didn’t even bother keeping track.” He bestows her with his radiant grin. “Guess I’ve always been a good lay.” He winks at her, making her shy away from him.

  None of us bat an eye when Cass glosses over his abuse. It’s how he deals with his shit, just like we all have our little quirks and idiosyncrasies.

  To each their own.

  Trinity peeks at me without lifting her head. “How many boys did they…?”

  “We’re not sure.” I shrug as I take a pull of my cigarette before handing it across to Cass. “Things were erratic. I assume on purpose.”

  “And the others? What happened to them?”

  I push the inside of my lip against my teeth and chew on the skin. “That’s not the question you should be asking right now.”

  Her brow furrows. She pushes up and away from Cass, making him groan theatrically. Then she carefully slides off his lap, as if worried he’ll claw her back.

  He won’t.

  As much as he likes to make out he was the furthest thing from a victim, he did suffer. He was the prettiest of the bunch. We all were—that’s why they kept us for so long. Other boys would come and go, but our Ghosts seemed incapable of letting us go.

  Fuck that, who am I kidding?

  Of disposing of us.

  Cass won’t be feeling frisky for a while. He’ll start acting out like he always does when he’s forced to recall his past. But he drew the short straw, just like Apollo.

  We try to be fair to each other. As fair as we can be without turning into complete and utter pussies.

  “The Guardian. He wasn’t a Ghost?” Trinity asks.

  The cigarette, having traveled all the way around our circle, comes back to me. I tug at it before killing it in the ashtray.

  “Not to our knowl—”

  “Of course he is!” Apollo cuts in. Trinity jumps at the sound of his voice and turns wide eyes to him. “Just because he never touched us, doesn’t mean he didn’t…” He throws up his hands.

  I wait him out to make sure he’s finished. “To our knowledge, no.”

  “So how do you know he’s involved?” Trinity’s voice rises an octave higher.

  “Because everything always leads back to him,” I tell her. Then I sigh and sit back, running my hands through my hair. “The four of us—” I swing out a hand to encompass my brothers “—we lived together in that basement for years. Boys would come and go, but we’d stay behind. Some of the Ghosts started talking to us. We started piecing things together.”

  “Then we escaped,” Reuben says.

  I point at him. “Then we escaped.” I exhale into the silence as Trinity leans forward with an expectant frown.

  “And then?”

  Traces of smoke from deep in my lungs wreathe my words. “And then everything went to shit.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Trinity

  It’s inappropriate to laugh after what Zachary said, but I have a hysterical need to giggle.

  Then it went to shit?

  “I don’t understand,” I say, carefully swallowing down any mirth that dares to bubble up. “I mean, did they catch the Ghosts? How does that lead to Gabriel? None of this makes sense!”

  Zachary shakes his head. “None of the men who molested us were ever arrested by the FBI or the police. Not. One.”

  I hug myself, and burrow deeper into my blanket. “Why? Didn’t you have enough evidence?”

  “Oh, we had evidence—” Apollo begins, but he cuts off when Zachary throws a hard stare his way. I guess his turn to talk is over.

  I haven’t heard Zachary’s story yet, or Reuben’s, but I’m already at the p
oint where I want to tell them they’re making this up.

  And even if they’re not, there’s no way Gabriel could be involved in something like this.

  No fucking way.

  “Two arrests were made,” Zachary says calmly.

  “That’s it?”

  He nods once. “There was a trial. The suspects were sentenced to death.”

  My eyes go wide. The blanket creaks in my hand as I tighten my grip. “As in…the death penalty?”

  Another nod. “They’ll be executed next month.” There’s that tick again. He clenches his jaw as if he’s suddenly aware of it, and swallows. “The investigation was closed a long, long time ago. According to the feds, they found everyone involved.”

  “Tell her about Gabriel,” Reuben says. “She has to know.”

  Zachary holds up a hand. Licks his lips. I’ve never seen him this unsure of himself, and it makes panic flutter deep in my belly.

  Earlier, they seemed convinced Gabriel was, what? Some kind of kingpin? The guy responsible for all their pain and suffering.

  Zachary opens his mouth, but he can’t seem to produce words.

  For some reason, that terrifies me.

  A hand lands on my shoulder. Reuben turns me to face him. It’s unreal, seeing such deep pain on such a young, vital face. He could have been the poster boy for a high school football team.

  “I’d always beg my Ghost to tell me why he was doing what he was doing.” Reuben slaps his palm into his chest. Apollo flinches. “Why me?”

  My mouth goes dry and goosebumps race over my flesh.

  His black eyes trap me like tar.

  “He said I should ask the Guardian. That he could explain it.”

  I’m hanging on every fucking word, but Reuben’s struggling with this as much as Zachary was. His wide chest rises and falls as his breathing becomes slow and deep.

  “I told him—” Reuben burrows a hand into the top of my blanket. I don’t fight him—by now I know what he’s looking for. He takes hold of my crucifix and rubs the wood. It seems to calm him, because a level of tension leaves his face. “I told him I didn’t know who the Guardian was. That I only saw him. So he told me—”

  His voice grows thick. Rosewood hits my nose how hard he’s rubbing that crucifix.

  “Rube,” Cass whispers from behind me. “Bro, you don’t have to—”

  “The Guardian said we were the cure.” Black eyes pin me. “That the Ghosts had a sickness. We kept their symptoms—those urges—at bay, so they could do their jobs.” His breath hitches. “So they could preach the Word of God without being plagued by their desires.”

  My mouth falls open. Without thought, I lift my hands and wrap my fingers around Reuben’s fist. My chest closes rendering speech impossible, but there’s nothing I could have said anyway.

  Nothing.

  “When they were done—” He pauses to swallow. “When their visit was over, they would meet with the Guardian and confess their sins.”

  Reuben’s hand trembles inside my fingers.

  “And he would bless them, and make them pure again.”

  He lets go of the crucifix, taking back his hand and slowly putting them face down on his thighs.

  “Until their urges came back, of course,” Zachary says.

  My heart fucking bleeds for these boys. I rub a palm over my collarbones, willing it to go inside and easy the ache they caused.

  “Then the whole sick cycle would start all over again.” Cass leans close, sliding his hands over my shoulders. “All with the help of your BFF.”

  I shake my head, and it frees a tear from my lashes. “No,” I whisper. “Please. I’m sorry about this. What happened to you. It’s…it’s fucking wrong and disgusting.” I haul in a breath and stand on shaky legs, turning to look at them. “But Father Gabriel didn’t have anything to do with this. I know him. He’s a good man. He’s always been there for us.”

  Four stony faces watch me.

  “Please. Believe me. It’s not him. He’s not your Guardian.”

  Fabric rustles behind me. I whirl around as Zachary gets to his feet.

  “We thought you’d say that.” He cocks his head and slowly scans me up and down. “And you’re right. We don’t have any proof. Not a—”

  Reuben sucks in a breath, but keeps quiet when Zachary holds up a hand.

  What had he been going to say? Surely if they did have proof, they’d tell me?

  “Not all miracles are divine, Trinity.” Zachary slides a hand around the back of my neck and draws me closer. I move on wooden legs, too entranced to even think of resisting. “But you? I swear on my life you were sent by God Himself.”

  “What?” Is all I can manage.

  “That proof? You’re going to find it for us.” His hand tightens cruelly, wrenching a gasp from me. “You’re going to bring it to us. And together we, us five…” He comes close enough to kiss me, for his commanding eyes to fill my world.

  “We’ll make him give us the names of our Ghosts.”

  I don’t want to know what comes next. Cold dread is already spreading through my limbs, going for my heart.

  “And then we’ll catch them.” His brushes a curl from my face. “And we’ll inflict on them every wound, every pain, every bit of shame they inflicted on us.”

  My heart bangs against my ribs. “Okay.”

  “And then we’ll kill them.” His eyes don’t change in the slightest.

  “Okay.”

  Behind me, three voices chant one word in unison.

  Amen.

  I should be horrified at myself.

  But I’m not.

  I’ll prove to these damaged, tortured souls that Father Gabriel is the kind and loving man I know him to be.

  And if, somehow, everything they say turns out to be true?

  Well, then, I guess I’ve signed a deal with the devil.

  A-fucking-men.

  To Be Continued…

  Copyright © 2020 Logan Fox

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

  For more information, address: [email protected]

  FIRST EDITION

  www.authorloganfox.com

  Their Will Be Done

  Blurb

  I didn't just make a deal with the devil...I sold my soul to FOUR of them.

  Trinity

  Who knew within days of arriving at Saint Amos I'd land myself on the Brotherhood's radar?

  Not me.

  Not them.

  Possibly not even the Universe herself. (Of course she's female - I've never met a man as ruthless as her)

  The Brotherhood tried to get rid of me. It didn't work.

  They tried to get me on their side. I demanded proof.

  I should be long gone. Instead, I can't seem to get enough of their black hearts and dark psyches.

  Now I have to prove them wrong.

  Settle their fractured souls.

  And maybe help them find their way back to the light.

  Except...

  They seem convinced I'll be the one who'll follow them...

  Straight into the depths of Hell.

  An #uncoventional love story with a #whychoose twist

  Contains strong language, violence, and sexual situations some may find triggering.

  This is the second book in the Sinners of Saint Amos series. Cannot be read as a standalone and ends in a cliffhanger.

  No cheating. HEA guaranteed.

  Theme Song

  Scorpio — Pour Vous

  Playlist

  Oh My God — HELLYEAH

  Heathens — Corvyx

  Something in the Way — At Sea

  How Far Does the Dark Go? — Anya Marina

  Kvrt in Space — Franhofer Diffraction

  King Night — Salem

  A Conversation with God — King 810

  Amen — ∆aimon
/>
  Check out my Their Will Be Done Playlist!

  Chapter One

  Zach

  I flick on my indicator and make the turn into Redwater’s main street. My decade-old SUV rattles every time I strike a rut in the road. I’d have to buy a new one soon—this battered car was part of my persona as Zachary Rutherford, a kid from a low-income home who dragged himself up by his bootstraps, worked two jobs while he got his Bachelors, and couldn’t be happier with the menial wage Saint Amos pays first-year teachers.

  If I were to cash in all my assets, I could probably buy Saint Amos. And in a few weeks, my wealth is set to triple.

  Another clank. This time it’s internal and it comes as I hit another rut. Probably the shock absorbers. The roads around here chew through them.

  It’s risky, heading out today. When I left my brothers, the atmosphere was taut as a bowstring. If I’m gone too long, they might fall on Trinity like a pack of wolves. I’d have stayed, but I always go to town on Saturday. It would seem strange for me to stay at the school, especially this close to break.

  I snort at the thought.

  This is the first time I’ve even considered going off-script.

  All because of one girl. A girl I can’t get out of my mind since the day she showed up at my class. Even more so after our time in the shower. After we had her trapped and helpless in our nest. She thinks we’re humoring her. Letting her decide which side of the battle line she wants to stand.

  My lips twitch, but I smooth them before they can twist into a grimace.

  With Trinity in the picture, everything’s changed. Now I’m no longer just driving into town to buy Apollo a new camera, a few cartons of cigarettes, and to empty out my post box.