Chapter 41
CURITIBA PARANá
Adria felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She knew Eric was calling.
Adria admired the church as the four of them entered through the green painted door. The exterior was a clean white, with gold trim around the roof line.
On the inside, it was open and bright, and Adria was surprised at the amount of color that greeted them. Vibrant paintings lined the walls, and the sun seemed to pour in from all sides.
Bryson kept glancing at the doors behind them as Kaydon pulled her into a row near the back.
Seth sat to her right, and Kaydon sprawled his arms out, saying, “Brings back memories, doesn’t it, Bryce?”
Adria looked at Bryson. “You went to church?”
Kaydon leaned into her, saying, “What? He doesn’t strike you as a good catholic boy?”
Bryson rolled his eyes. “My mother brought us, before…”
Viola, his mother, had died in the same car accident that had taken his brother Luca’s life.
Adria put his hand under hers and gave it a squeeze.
The church was mostly empty, except for a few people in the middle rows. A man in large robes came out and the already quiet space fell into an even further silence.
Adria checked her phone.
Adria: Safe. We are in a church down the road.
Eric: He is still here. Just stay put until I come get you.
“Who is he?” she whispered to Bryson.
“That’s the priest. He gives communion and sermons.”
Adria gripped his chin, forcing him to look at her. Not wanting to draw attention, her voice was soft, but her nails dug into his face.
“No, not the priest. The guy we are hiding from.”
His pupils dilated, and the fear Adria felt flickered into something else.
Licking his lips, he said, “He’s one of my father’s men. Close to him. There is only one reason I can think of for him to be down here.”
“You?” Adria said, still holding his chin.
He nodded.
Fuck.
That was not good. They needed to get to X’s house, and soon.
They were not going to be able to wait for the cover of nightfall.
“Mesmo os perdidos sabem o caminho de volta quando Deus deixa a porta aberta,” the priest said, speaking in Portuguese. Even the lost know the way back when God leaves the door open. Adria watched him address the small gathering.
She wondered if it felt worth it. Standing up there talking to two or three people. He made eye contact with everyone in the church before turning his gaze on the four of them.
Adria winced, waiting for him to point them to the door. But instead, he gave her a warm smile that loosened something inside of her.
Continuing in Portuguese, Adria listened. “People remember what it feels like to be welcomed. There is something in us, something older than pain, older than pride, that still aches for belonging. For the place where we were first known, or maybe only imagined.
“And no matter how far we run, no matter how long we hide…
“that ache pulls us toward light.
“That door? It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture. Sometimes it’s a silence that isn’t punished. A presence that doesn’t demand. A seat left empty, just in case.
“That’s what grace looks like. Not forcing someone, but refusing to lock them out forever.”
The priest’s eyes found her again. “If you carry shame that isn’t yours, leave it here.
“If you carry silence where there should have been protection—leave that here too. God does not ask you to be perfect, only present. And sometimes, presence means standing with those who refused to abandon you.”
Adria felt held in her seat. Bryson on her left, Kaydon and Seth to her right.
Her phone vibrated, and she jumped. When she looked up again, the priest’s gaze was gone.
Eric: He left, I’ll be out front in 3.
“Eric’s on his way,” she said under her breath.
The four of them silently headed towards the exit. Kaydon held the door open for them, and Bryson left first, followed by Seth.
Adria held back for a second, bringing her gaze to the front of the church. The priest didn’t seem to notice or acknowledge their departure. But Adria felt a pull to talk to him. To stay.
Instead, she stepped out, Kaydon on her heels, and listened to the green door swing shut behind them.
Eric pulled up in the truck and Adria noticed another man with him.
The three boys filed into the back seat, and Adria found herself sitting next to the newfound stranger.
“Adria, this is Sage, Sage meet Adria,” Eric said, throwing the car in reverse.
“Pleasure,” Adria said.
Kaydon’s hand came across her shoulder from the back seat. “I’m Kaydon, and this is Bryson and Seth.”
Sage shook Kaydon’s hand, but his eyes didn’t leave hers.
“So, this is the famous woman my man left civilization for,” he said, eyes dancing with humor.
Adria raised an eyebrow. “I suppose so.”
“Not that he was doing fuck all before you,” Sage added with a chuckle.
Adria noticed Eric’s jaw tighten and his hands flexing on the steering wheel. Without taking his eyes off the road he said, “Sage served with me. He’s here to help, not talk.”
A huge grin broke out on Sage’s face. “In all the years I’ve known Whiskey, I can count on one hand how many times he has asked for help. There was no way I was going to miss it.”
“Is Whiskey Eric in this conversation?” Seth asked, amusement in his voice.
“How about everyone stops talking,” Eric bit out.
Silence fell, punctuated only by the rumble of the engine and the soft scrape of gravel against the tires. Adria pressed her lips together, trying to hide her smile—she had never seen Eric this riled.
Minutes stretched before—
“You can pull in over here,” Sage said.
Eric swung the truck off the highway onto a narrow service road, its edges choked with tumbleweed. If it wasn’t for Sage pointing it out, Adria wouldn’t have noticed it.
A mile or so down the road, Sage pointed again.
They pulled off next to an SUV and a sedan.
“It was all I could get on short notice,” Sage said.
“We’re ditching the truck?” Kaydon asked, and Eric nodded.
When they were out of the vehicle, Adria found Eric and pulled him aside.
“You’re worried?” she asked.
Eric stared over her shoulder down the dusty service road they had just come from.
“It’s a lot more unknown than we are used to,” he said matter-of-factly.
Adria nodded. “You’ve never brought in people from your past before.”
Eric sucked on his cheek. “We’ve never been wanted by the Nine before. I needed someone that couldn’t be bought.”
Trust.
Eric trusted this guy. It wasn’t something people like them gave very often. Adria knew if Eric trusted Sage, that she could trust him too.
“Sage will stay in town. He will be our outside eyes and ears. And if we need assistance…” Eric trailed off, but Adria knew what he wanted to say.
If X screws us over, we have a backup.
She took a deep breath. X wasn’t going to screw them over.
Her mind wanted to believe it, but her body felt unsure. The closer they got to X’s compound, the more the nagging in her gut intensified.
And it wasn’t just her life on the line anymore.