She spun, her expression blazing. “Don’t you dare. When this is done, you’re nothing to me. We are finished.”
My phone rang before I could respond. It was on the floor by the couch. I scrambled for it, nearly falling. One of the deacons was calling, but I hit ‘ignore’. The text on the screen from Nyce about meeting at the church made my stomach drop.
Evelyn saw the color drain from my face immediately. She didn’t need to ask who it was. The disgust on her face was instantand sharp, like she had stepped in something foul. She shook her head slowly.
“Look at you,” she said. “A pastor drunk in his own filth.”
“I can be better,” I said, but there wasn’t an ounce of hope left in the words. My voice barely clung to life, trembling on dread.
She stepped closer, face inches from mine. “You are gonna get up. You are gonna shower. You are gonna put on a clean suit. And you are gonna walk into that church like the man you have been pretending to be for years. I’ll make the phone call to my father.” She turned and walked out, leaving me alone with the smell, the shame, and the ticking clock.
???
Monday | 12:00pm
The church was quiet when we walked in. I’d been ignoring my staff and congregation. Shit was hectic, and this took all of my energy. Inside, the sanctuary lights were off, and the stained glass looked dull without the sun pushing through it. I carried the duffle bag in my right hand, and it felt heavier than it should have because my whole body was still in pain.
Evelyn walked beside me with her spine straight and her face set. She held a folded, already-signed check in her purse. In order for her father to release the money into the joint account we shared, she had to promise a divorce. In the position I was in, I couldn’t argue that.
“You’re late,” Nyce’s voice boomed from the pulpit. He leaned against it like my fucking sanctuary belonged to him. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes were sharp.
As Evelyn sat down in the first pew, I set the duffle bag down and unzipped it. Stacks of cash stared back at us. “That’s half.”
Evelyn handed me the check and said, “And this check covers the rest. Every single dollar.”
Nyce snatched the check from my hand and then looked at her. “Where’d you get this shit?”
“Does it matter? You want your money, and now you’ve got it. Where’s my daughter?”
I swallowed hard. Nyce leaned back and smiled once, slow and humorless. “I like your assertiveness.”
I cleared my throat. “This should settle it.”
Nyce stood up. The air changed when he moved. He stepped around the pulpit and stopped right in front of me. “You think money fixes disrespect?”
“I paid you,” I said. “I did what you asked.”
He hit me before I could blink. The pistol came out of nowhere. He cracked me across the side of my head with it, hard enough to send me stumbling into the desk. Pain exploded behind my eyes, and my knees buckled. I tasted blood.
“You played with me,” he said calmly. “You ducked me. You let other people think they could move on me.”
“Hell no,” I shouted. “I never…” He hit me again and I went down that time. My cheek slammed into the floor, and the room spun. I heard Evelyn scream my name.
“That is enough,” she said, stepping between us. “You have your money!”
Nyce looked at her, then at me, curled on the floor. “He got somebody killed,” he said. “He put my home at risk when he ordered the fucking hit.”
“Oh, trust me. I fully understand the magnitude,” Evelyn said. “And I do not care what you think of him, but this endsnow. Where is Princess?”
Nyce studied her for a long moment, then tucked the gun back into his waistband with a devilish smirk. “Got more backbone than this muthafucka,” he said.
I tried to stand, but my legs shook. “I didn’t order a hit on your life! I told Don not to do a damn thing. I swear to God!”
“Swear to God?” Nyce laughed. “Funny. You use His name when it suits you, but you were never really worried about His judgment, were you?” The second he raised his gun, I saw my whole life flash before my eyes. My mouth moved before my brain could stop it.
“Take Princess. Keep her! I don’t give a shit anymore what Don wants. I just… please… don’t kill me! Keep her!”
Evelyn gasped. “Zeke!”
