Elijah moves closer, his hand hovering near Adrian’s shoulder but not quite touching. “We need to think strategically. Getting arrested for assault won’t help anyone.”
“I know.” Adrian flexes his damaged hand, wincing. “I know. But the thought of that man watching her, documenting her every move, turning her into evidence…” His voice breaks slightly. “She doesn’t deserve this.”
I think about Charlie in the confessional, her body pressed against mine, the way she whispered my name like a prayer. The memory makes my cock throb despite the current crisis, and I shift my weight,trying to focus. This isn’t the time for that, but my body doesn’t seem to care.
“What if we hire him?” Elijah’s voice cuts through my thoughts. “Turn him into our inside man instead of our enemy.”
Adrian and I both turn to stare at him. Elijah shrugs, his expression pragmatic beneath that angelic exterior.
“Think about it. Ray’s a mercenary. He works for whoever pays him. If we offer him more than Victory Life, he could feed us information about their plans, maybe even sabotage their investigation.”
“That’s risky,” I say, but my mind is already working through the possibilities. “What’s to stop him from taking money from both sides?”
“Nothing,” Elijah admits. “But right now, he’s definitely working against us. At least this way, we have a chance.”
Adrian stares at his desk, his jaw working. “We don’t have five thousand dollars.”
“We could find it,” I offer, though I have no idea where. The parish is barely staying afloat as it is.
Before Adrian can respond, footsteps echo in the hallway. We all freeze, the tension in the room ratcheting up another notch. The door opens, and Charlie appears, keys in hand, her vintage sundress swirling around her thighs as she steps inside.
“I’m returning the parish hall keys,” she starts, then stops. Her hazel eyes move between the three of us, reading the charged atmosphere with unnerving accuracy. “What’s wrong?”
The afternoon light streaming through Adrian’s window catches her auburn hair, making it glow like fire. Her dress clings to her curves in ways that make my mouth go dry, the neckline dipping just low enough to tease. I watch her throat work as she swallows, see the pulsehammering beneath her delicate skin, and want nothing more than to cross the room and pull her against me.
But I can’t. Not here. Not now. Not with threats closing in from every direction.
Adrian’s hands curl into fists at his sides, and I watch him fight the urge to reach for her. His gray eyes track her every movement, hungry and desperate and carefully restrained.
The split knuckles on his right hand are already swelling, evidence of the violence he’s barely containing.
Elijah’s gaze never leaves her face, and I see the same need reflected there that I’m feeling.
The way his fingers flex against his thigh, like he’s imagining running them through her hair.
The slight parting of his lips as his gaze drops to her mouth.
“I talked with the guy stalking the church,” I tell her, my voice rougher than I intend. “I saw the photos.”
Charlie’s face goes pale. “Photos?”
“Of us,” Adrian says quietly. “All of us. Together.”
She sets the keys on his desk with shaking hands. “How bad?”
“Bad enough.” I move closer despite knowing I shouldn’t, drawn to her like gravity. “Nothing explicit, but suggestive. Enough to cause problems.”
Charlie’s teeth worry her bottom lip, and I want to bite it myself, taste her again, and forget everything except the way she feels in my arms.
She’s wearing that cardigan she always has, the one that’s slightly too big, and I imagine peeling it off her shoulders, revealing the soft skin beneath.
“What are we going to do?” Her voice is small, scared, and it breaks something in my chest.
Before any of us can answer, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out, glance at the screen, and my blood turns to ice.
Unknown number. One attached photo.
I open it with trembling fingers.
