Fear the Wicked (Illusions Series Book 2)(60)
My eyebrow arched and his shoulders relaxed just enough for me to know that he was finally believing I wasn’t the friendly neighborhood priest that was holier than thou.
His mouth opened and closed a few times, indecision flooding him as he decided whether to admit to his crimes or not. “Well, I mean, yeah. It feels good to take what I want.”
I didn’t have to look in a mirror to know my eyes glittered with satisfaction. “That’a boy. It’s about time you add something to the conversation. So, tell me, with Eve: Do you remember what you did to her on the side of the road? How you convinced her to let her guard down? Nothing against you, it’s just that Eve doesn’t normally go for men with greasy hair and dirty clothes. I thought I’d trained her better than that.”
Rubbing at the back of his neck with his hand, he dropped his arm to his side and answered, “I actually don’t remember much of that night. I was out partying, was on my way home and I woke up on the side of the road the next morning, beaten and bloody. My car was popped from behind leaving a big dent. I thought some of the guys I’d pissed off at the bar had followed me. I was drunk. Probably on something.”
It made sense, and I didn’t doubt he was being honest. Breathing out slowly, I dropped that topic because it was sadly obvious I wouldn’t learn more about the night my beautiful girl decided to act like a harlot. I wouldn’t hold it against her, and in truth I’d already forgiven the error in her ways.
Glancing at my watch, I saw that only fifteen minutes had passed. Surely, if I were any good at my job as a priest, I’d give this man more time in my attempt to save his soul.
“That’s too bad. I was hoping to hear the details. I won’t lie and say it doesn’t excite me to hear about another man taking his fill. Eve is something to be desired. That woman will do whatever you ask of her and purr when you provide her the slightest bit of pain with the pleasure.”
He laughed, the sound sleazy and grainy, but he was started to come under my thumb. If he didn’t have to die tonight in order for me to firmly secure the sheriff in my games, I wouldn’t have minded taking this man in, cleaning him up, and using him for everything I had planned.
“So, you’re really not a priest?”
Shaking my head, I stared back at him, pure honesty shining in my expression. Masks are hard to maintain, they had a way of suffocating you when you were forced to wear them all the damn time. “No. I’m not. I happen to hate everything about the Church and the God to whom all those poor bastards pray. I know a little more about him than I’d like to, and that’s why I’m here now, talking to you and waiting for it to appear as though I’d tried to lead you to the light. The sad fact is, there is no light, just power hungry, perverted humans taking a fable and turning it into a way to gain money and control over every stupid fuck that wants to believe it’s true.”
My friend laughed again, nodding his head as a smile stretched his thin lips. “Yeah, I know what you’re saying. I never believed that crap myself. If these fuckers were so holy, why are most of them struggling to get by? Especially in this area where you’re either starving, on the verge of starving, or already living in the gutters doing your best to stay alive.”
“Exactly,” I agreed. “I think it’s funny that nobody sees it.”
Silence passed between us, but his curiosity had him asking a question before long. “So what’s with the getup then? Do you use your job with the Church to have a little fun?”
His eyebrows wiggled up and down, perverted thoughts rolling behind his eyes. “I mean, if I were in your position, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from tasting the good girls that look at men like us and won’t even give us the time of day.”
That might happen to him, I thought, but only because he was disgusting. The idiot should have thought to clean himself up a touch more, maybe get a haircut and some decent clothes and perhaps the women he fucked would be a little classier than back alley whores.
“I’m not opposed to tasting, if that’s what you’re asking, but that’s not my main motivation. I have much bigger plans in mind.” Pausing for a beat, I spent a moment enjoying the fact that I was so close to everything I’d worked for that I could taste it. “I plan on destroying the Church from the inside out. Plan on revealing the truth about the business it’s become. You see, the Catholic Church is more powerful than many people believe and they’ve spent centuries learning how to cover up their crimes. It’s too bad for them that they didn’t suspect that one person would be strong enough to rip away the veil and reveal them for all that they are. Predators and thieves, the wolves in sheep’s clothing we were warned about, the false prophet that Christ himself claimed would appear. Meanwhile, the idiots who look to the Church to read them the Bible don’t realize that many passages are left out entirely. The faithful truly have no idea.”
“You sound like you have a bone to pick. Either that or you’re fucking crazy.”
My lip twitched with humor. “Am I?” Shrugging a shoulder, I conceded, “Maybe I am, but only because they brought it out of me.” My eyes locked on his, and I felt just a touch of pity for a man who didn’t know he was condemned. “Actually, no, I wouldn’t say I’m crazy, I would just say that I removed the blinders while everybody else is still sucking down the poisonous lies being spoon fed to them by a Church that’s picking their pocket at the same time. It’s funny when you think about it. We’ve been given a book with all these rules, told to follow them blindly and to love our neighbors, yet all you see are a bunch of insolent pricks who judge, who hate, or hold as much money to themselves while not giving a damn about people who are starving. And then those same self-righteous fucks like to turn around and tell people like us how we should live our lives. It’s a bullshit game that’s been played for too damn long, and I just want to play one myself.”