Chapter Thirteen.
Nun
“What will happen if you’re no longer part of the stable?” Priest asked Blue.
“I haven’t been for years. Belladonna told me they left me as one until Nun came to her senses.”
“Traitors,” I muttered.
“How are you gonna afford your bills? What about Kiki?” Priest inquired.
“Oh, I’ve got a job,” Blue replied, and I turned to him in surprise.
“You have?”
“Yeah, I’m an online lifestyle guru. People pay me for opinions and to be their sounding board via the internet,” Blue explained.
“What?” I asked, confused. Blue had never discussed this.
“A woman’s going to a high-class event and wants to know which gown is best. Her friends and husband will lie.
She sends me the images, and I tell her truthfully.
Maybe a person needs an outlet to rant against their wife, or someone can’t decide between two jobs.
I let them work it out for themselves, which is ideal. ”
“People pay for that?” Priest asked.
“They pay a lot for that. Don’t be mad, but I haven’t needed the stable money for about three years. It was merely a way to stay close to you,” Blue said, holding my hand.
“I’m not angry, just surprised that you kept it a secret,” I replied.
“Sure, I don’t earn as much as a top-level assassin, or what you get as your cut from the club, but I’m growing. My client base is growing. So much so that I’m using an appointment system and charging for that.”
“What?” I was horrified. How did I not know that?
“Like what?” Priest inquired and appeared genuinely interested.
“I have fifteen-minute appointments which have a set fee, then half-hour, and then an hour. I also offer two-hour slots because some people can talk a lot and require extra time to work things out.”
“What if they finish before their allocated period?” I asked.
“They still pay the flat fee. I charge one hundred bucks for fifteen minutes, two hundred for thirty minutes, and three-fifty for an hour. Two hours is worth six hundred dollars,” Blue replied.
“People pay that much?” I gasped.
Blue grinned. “I was charging something like twenty bucks and so on, but my rep is getting around, so I can ask for more. I keep my existing customers at their current rate for three months, so I don’t spring a price hike on them.
They have three months to get used to the new rates.
That’s retained my clients’ loyalty. Babe, top level gurus charge anything from one thousand to ten thousand an hour. ”
Priest slumped back. “Damn.”
“You kept that quiet,” I accused.
“Babe, I didn’t want to leave or lose you,” Blue murmured.
I kissed him. I’d no idea how I got so lucky, but I had, and I wouldn’t take him for granted. “Let’s create a plan if we intend to do this,” I said.
Priest
Brielle bounced in an hour later, sugared up, and I rolled my eyes. “Well?” she exclaimed.
“What?” I teased, pulling her hair.
“Did you resolve anything?”
“So nosy,” I complained, and she scowled.
Nun took pity on her. “We’re planning to build a house on RHMC land. We marked an area for that purpose. Until then, we’re stuck at the clubhouse. You’ll have your own bedroom, and we want at least seven bedrooms. Sapphire will hire an architect, so any requests, let us know.”
She turned to Kiki and Susan. “We plan to have a guesthouse built for you, too.”
Kiki looked shocked. Her mouth opened and closed. Blue leaned forward. “You’re family, and a vital part of me.”
“And we look after family,” I added.
“You don’t want a silly old woman…” Kiki began, and Blue scowled.
“You say one word,” he threatened, and Susan laughed.
“Kiki, take the gift you’ve been given. Believe me, you are lucky they’re interested.” Bitterness momentarily crossed Susan’s face, but she swept it away.
“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.”
“We’ve got a serial killer,” I said.
“Yup. Feds are on their way, because this one is crossing state lines. They’re going to want to put Nun in protective custody or use her to bait him.”
“Nun won’t play ball,” Cassidy stated before I could speak. He wasn’t wrong.
“Only three out of nineteen have been identified?” I asked.
“Grace disappeared fifteen years ago; each office moves at its own pace.” Hatton shrugged. “You’ve run the pictures through the database, but seeing how distorted their faces are, there’s a lot to wade through. We’ll keep at it; this takes priority until the Feds arrive,” Hatton ordered.
“This guy is some sort of religious fanatic; what he does to the bodies can’t be called anything else,” Cassidy said.
“What are you thinking?” Hatton asked.
“These women repented the sins he thought they had; he’s made them macabre angels. These, I bet they didn’t repent quickly enough, and he increased the torture until they broke.”
“Jesus. And now he is after Nun?” I murmured. “That woman won’t break.”
My eyes landed on the pictures, and I shuddered. I couldn’t imagine Nun’s face imposed on theirs. She wouldn’t ever give in, no matter what was done to her.
“We need to warn her,” Hatton said.
“She’s on vacation with Blue and Priest,” I replied.
“As much as I hate to disturb that, we can’t let her continue unaware.
It’s too dangerous for her. This is a real threat.
This guy’s already watching her, and the risk is imminent.
You have to recall her now. At least get her back amongst her sisters so she has people around her.
Stress that she must not be alone,” Hatton ordered.
“She won’t obey me, but she won’t disobey a direct order from Sapphire. You’ll need her on board,” I said.
“Brief Sapphire on the minimal details. A serial killer is targeting former nuns, and Nun is in their crosshairs. Don’t discuss the other women. Both of you go fetch Nun now; I’ll keep the facial recognition running,” Hatton remarked.
We rose from our chairs and nodded. Sapphire, then Nun.
Nun
I glanced up and did a double take as Sapphire marched into the lounge area where Blue and I were sitting. One glance at her face told me everything: our vacation was over.
“Go and get the others, then start packing,” I murmured.
“Blue, round everyone up. There’s a situation.”
“But we’re on holiday,” Brielle said, sounding upset as she skidded to a halt.
Sapphire turned to her. “Go pack, Brielle; we’ll make this up to you. But you must all return to the clubhouse immediately.”
My gut knotted as more of my sisters poured in. There was only one reason.
“The threat is real?” I murmured.
Sapphire nodded as Cassidy and Wylde approached.
“Feds have been called,” Wylde muttered so Brielle didn’t hear.
“Okay,” I clapped my hands, “Blue, find Kiki and Susan. We all need to leave. Brielle, I understand how upset you are, but there’s a situation, and we gotta go.
Don’t argue, kid; I’m gutted too. You’re not back at school yet, so once this is resolved, I’m sure we can take another one, and we’ll come again when the snow falls. You can learn to ski,” I bribed.
Well, that worked. Blue caught Brielle’s hand and walked away with her.
I turned to Sapphire.
“Serial killer. Some of the victims have been identified. They’re all former nuns,” Sapphire summed up.