Everything I’d done in the last ten years was through the haze and fog. I still can’t wrap my mind around it, don’t understand. I never felt ill or like anything was off. But the therapist assures me that that is part of my mental illness. I needed a drink in the worst way, but both the lawyer and the therapist had made me swear not to touch the bottle. Besides, alcohol doesn’t go well with the pills the therapist had prescribed.
I took them now and waited for the effect to kick in. I’m not sure what they’re meant to do, these pills, but all they do is bring to mind all that I had done wrong. I see myself as if looking at someone else, and I hate myself more and more. Within minutes things changed, and I didn’t feel so bereft any longer, but I was tired, so tired. I have to make it up to her, to Gia, no wait, Gianna, my daughter’s name is Gianna.
GABRIEL
The look of confusion on my followers’ faces when we didn’t head in the direction they expected was priceless. I’m surprised it took them this long to question the early morning outing seeing as how nothing was open this early except maybe cafes. But I’d decided to throw them off the scent entirely by waking them myself and inviting them to join me.
Of course, I never told them we were going back to the catacombs; they just assumed since I’d made mention of finishing up my tour—a bit misleading but not an outright lie. But I’m sure they knew the place didn’t open this early. They were even more flustered when the driver pulled onto the tarmac where the jet was waiting.
I pretended not to notice their shared looks when the jammer in my pocket blocked them from making any calls. I’m sure they suspected me of sabotage, but what were they going to do? Of the five of us, only one of us is a level ten grandmaster, and besides, I’m the boss’s son, they wouldn’t dare lay a hand on me or do much of anything else because the same man who hired them would have their ass if they even tried, which begs the question, what exactly was Pop expecting them to do in a situation like this.
“You coming?” I turned on the top step leading into the plane to look back at them as they stood around, probably brainstorming what to do. They were damned if they did and damned if they didn’t. This ought to teach them to choose a side real quick. I might pull my punches with Pop, but I don’t owe them the same deal.
They followed behind me, and I hid the smirk I was sure would piss them off. The poor pilot and the rest of the flight staff suffered a glare from Marcus, but the other three just grabbed their seats and buckled in since the pilot had strict orders to leave as soon as my ass hit the seat and had started the engine almost as soon as the door was closed.
I have no idea what they did in the almost two and a half hours it took to get to Catania, but I spent my time finalizing my attack. I have no idea what I’m about to find or how I will be received. And because I don’t know why this sister Margarite had joined the convent so soon after that night, I was expecting things to go either way.
I’d called ahead of course and was expected. I gave the abbess some story about wanting to give back in the name of my grandmother in the form of a very hefty contribution, which I do intend on giving them. So, when I inquired about sister Margarite, whose name had been changed from Athena, they were only too happy to facilitate a meeting between us.
Their ready acceptance told me at least one thing, she was not in hiding, or at least it didn’t seem so. Why would they be so quick to divulge the fact that she was there if that were the case? On the other hand, I didn’t ask for her by the old name, so they could not suspect anything from that angle either.
Whatever the case, once we landed and took the drive out to the almost dilapidated building that had been standing since the seventeenth century or thereabouts, I was ready for any eventuality. “The rest of you stay here. I won’t be long.” I stepped out of the car and left them to their own devices.
“Shouldn’t we check this place out first?” Denver walked up beside me.
“It’s a convent; what’re you expecting to happen?”
“Oh, a convent.” As I expected, that news seemed to put him at ease, and he went back to share with his cohorts after proclaiming that they would walk around the grounds, all the same, to make sure the place was safe.