Page 52 of The Sinner and the Priest: Part 1

Raven slides his spectacles back on his face—upside down. I don’t let him move to adjust them.

“Now you’re being ridiculous.” He shrugs. “How am I supposed to know what you don’t know?”

“Honey,” I purr, swiping my thumbs over his wrists. “We haven’t even begun ridiculous.”

Tawny nods emphatically, her ponytail bouncing. “That’s another tactic altogether.”

“You’ve all gone mad.” He lifts his gaze to the ceiling. “And I really do need to take a piss.”

“It sounds like, for a Vatican-educated scholar, that you don’t know much at all, Wesley.” I tilt my head. “Are you holding back information?”

Scratching at the door draws our attention. It stops. Starts again. A shadow darkens the gape beneath the door. My eyes narrow. “What is that?”

“Probably Jinx,” Wesley sighs. “Poor thing’s been trying to get in all night, but the door is locked.”

More scratching, this time wilder and insistent.

“I’ll get it.” Tawny swipes the key from my bra before I can stop her and bounces over to the door.

“Wait!” I shout, but she unlocks faster than sound travels.

The door opens. In bolts the mini, frilled speed-demon. She zips in and stops, then lifts her head, and fans out her fishy frills as if there’s danger. But with a quick look around the room, she relaxes. She pads toward Wesley, serpentine tail wagging, and then pounces like lightning.

“Dammit.” His wrists are ripped from my hands, and he falls back beneath the weight with the demon licking his face.

“Blech—Jinx.” His glasses topple as he turns his head to avoid more licking. “Love, stop.”

“Lock the door,” I growl at Tawny. While she does that, I grab the slippery animal and bring her face to mine. “Babe. We’re in the middle of serious Sinner business here.”

She hangs limply and has the nerve to look repentant.

“It’s those damn liquid eyes,” Raven coos. “Too cute. Aren’t you a cutie pie?”

We all freeze. Blink.

I stare at her. “Did you just use baby talk?”

“Shut the fuck up.” Her brows snap down. “Just leave the demon alone, okay?”

She looks like she wants to say more, but frowns and goes to look out the window.

I sigh and put Jinx down on the bed. “Behave, and you can stay.”

Once she’s settled and the key is back in my bra, I give Wesley my best smile.

It’s fine. We’re doing this on purpose. This is part of the plan.

“Now, I believe you owe us an answer, Wesley.” I press my fingers into his wrists. “Are you holding back information about your mission here? What aren’t you telling us about Father Angelotti?”

His pulse skips. “You think he betrayed us, don’t you? I hope not. I don’t think he did … but he’s a private man. He shares nothing with us, really, and he’s the only one who’s plugged directly into Rome. The rest of us are just soldiers. Pawns.”

“Continue,” I prompt when he takes a breather.

“We get our marching orders with little context. Honestly, we work in silos. It’s bloody frustrating how much secrecy is within those walls. Sometimes, no one knows why things are done except the Pope himself.”

I let him go, and he scrubs his hand through his hair. Tawny and Raven look at me, and I shrug. “It checks out with what I found in Cisco’s phone. All they do is ask questions, and each contact doesn’t seem to know what the others do.”

“See?” Wesley pulls his glasses off and wipes the lenses with his rumpled shirt. “It’s like the blind leading the blind.”