Page 62 of Close Your Eyes

Oh my god.

I can not do this.

I’m in a full-blown panic attack as I try to calm myself by breathing heavily. I can’t do this.

My father’s eyes meet mine. I shake my head, and it’s like we’re having this private conversation in our minds.

“I’ll stand by you whatever you want to do,” he says, and tears fill my eyes.

“They’ll kill you,” I say, wrapping my arms around him.

“I just want you to be happy.”

There’s a knock at the door, and I shakily twist the knob.

“Father,” I say to Father Carmichael as he stands outside the study door.

“May I come in?”

I step aside and allow him in, wondering if he’s just here to check on me before the wedding. My nerves are shot, and a small tear traces down my cheek.

“You don’t look well at all,” Father Carmichael says.

“I don’t feel too well. I can’t do this,” I say, feeling a sense of relief at finally voicing the words to someone other than my own father.

Father Carmichael’s blue eyes meet mine, and there’s a kindness showing deep within. “I never did think this marriage was anything more than a bribe.”

I take a seat on a nearby chair and twist my fingers in my lap. “He’ll kill us if I don’t go through with it.” I don’t know what makes me feel like I can open up to this man, but I do.

“What can we do?” my father asks.

“For starters, I want you to leave this house, and get to my church on tenth. Ask for Collin, and tell him I sent you. Tell him you need the Sanctum Deal.”

My father’s nodding along with Father Carmichael as they plan for my father’s escape. “Thank you, Father. You’ll take care of my girl?”

Father Carmichael nods. “I’ll take care of you both. Now go,” he urges. “Before anyone sees you.”

Once my father has left the room, Father Carmichael sets his eyes on me. “Now we need to get you out of here.”

“I’m scared.”

“God’s watching over you.”

I don’t know if his words make me feel any better, but I listen to exactly what Father Carmichael tells me to get me out of Bane’s mansion unseen. The priest tells me he’ll stall for as long as he can before Bane figures out I’m not where I’m supposed to be.

“I appreciate this,” I tell him as I leave the room.

I step outside the door, looking both ways before stepping out into the hallway. It’s empty, and I breathe a sigh of relief, hoping I can make it out of here unseen.

I keep traveling, walking past Bane’s office. The door is slightly ajar, and I can hear voices.

“You fools. I nearly served her up on a platter, and yet your men couldn’t finish the job,” Bane’s voice says in a hushed whisper.

“We’re getting tired of your excuses, Bane. We’ve fronted you for too long. We expect to get paid,” a deep voice says that I don’t recognize.

“And you will get paid. Do you know how much a virgin can get you these days?”

There’s a long pause, and a chill rushes over me knowing I’m the virgin in question.