Page 63 of Nun’s Prayer

“This is so exciting!” Brielle yelled. “When are you having babies?”

I rolled my eyes. “Can we get the house built?”

“The house will be finished by the time Nun gives birth,” Brielle argued.

Nun squirmed, and I laughed. It was all brand new, and Brielle was racing ahead. Neither Nun nor Blue questioned Brielle living with us. And Nun had suggested an attic suite for her because she was that much older. Blue had agreed, saying she needed her own space. That had cemented something between us.

“Do I get to call Nun, Mom?” Brielle teased as Nun looked horrified.

Blue grinned. “She’s a hot mama.”

“I’m not a mama!” Nun exclaimed.

“You didn’t deny you’re hot,” Brielle added.

“Well, I am. Nobody can deny that, but Aunt Nun is fine.”

“Nah, that sounds lame. I’m gonna stick with Nun unless it’s a teacher I need to threaten.” Brielle nodded happily.

“I have to get her registered. She’s been absent from a lot of school,” I stated.

“Ethan, I was working two years ahead anyway. The time I’ve missed won’t matter much.” That was true. Brielle had been advanced.

“There’s a good school in Portsmouth. If Brielle is gifted, they would check her,” Nun said.

“Brielle needs to be academically challenged,” I replied.

“I’m sure the school will.”

“Are we staying here for a bit?” Brielle asked.

“We should head back; we’ve got packing and stuff to do. I’ve got a lot to organise,” I commented. Brielle looked miserable, and I chuckled and revealed, “Belladonna booked us in for the ten days they have remaining.”

“Damn, she was confident we’d work things out,” Nun spoke up.

“I think she was pretty sure I’d grovel until I convinced you,” I teased, and Brielle laughed.

“We’ve got a room on the floor below. But if Ethan—”

“One step at a time,” I cut Brielle off. “We’ve done a lot of thinking and talking; we need to let everything sink in. You’ll get quality time with everyone.”

Brielle pouted and then squealed and pointed at Nun. “Oh, we can do girl things! Like nails, makeup and…”

I tuned Brielle out as I struggled not to laugh at Nun’s blatant horror. Blue just let rip; he didn’t care. His laughter boomed out as Brielle kept chatting. This might work after all.

Wylde

“We got a hit,” Cassidy said, entering our shared office.

“Yeah?”

“You ain’t gonna like it. Meet Masie Williamson. She was a former nun who quit the service a decade ago. Maisie fell in love with a guy and left to have kids with him. She went missing six years ago, and there’s been no sign of her until this.” Cassidy tapped one of the pictures.

“Shit. That’s ringing alarm bells.”

“It should,” Hatton said. He held two images in his hands. We’d broken the sheets down into single photographs. “Meet Abi O’Toole and Grace Mitchell.” Hatton pinned them on the board.

“Abi was a nun for thirty years before deciding on a different path. She went missing a decade ago. Grace disappeared fifteen years ago, four years after practising as a nun. She joined a strip club for a while.”