“I’m going to have to take him by force, aren’t I?” Sighing, I pursed my lips.
“I don’t know. He looks one second away from ripping my arm off. He’s not so unaffected as you might think.” Landon chuckled softly and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. Kellen shot up from his seat. His fists were clenched at his side. He worked his jaw until Tate shot him a confused look and motioned for him to sit down.
“I doubted my abilities. That’s a comfort to my ego,” I whispered to Landon. He laughed and was shushed immediately by my aunt.
“The Prophet.” She bounced in her seat. Landon’s hand fell to my thigh, and he gave it a hard squeeze. I looked up at him confused.
“Now, just remember, I am your dearest friend. I will always protect you if that’s what you truly want. But understand that I did this for the greater good. I believe in true love and that if you stopped running, you might get it finally.”
I was about to ask him what he was talking about when the lights dimmed. Pastor Young strode out onto the stage. He was buzzing with excitement, bouncing on his toes, a huge smile lighting up his handsome features. Inspirational music bellowed out of the speakers, rising in a crescendo until he sliced his arms through the air.
“My flock,” he purred through the mic. “Today, we welcome our voice to God, our link to the divine. Our living embodiment of all that is holy. Our Prophet.”
I was about to question Landon about his sudden comment when I saw the prophet walked out onto the stage3.
Black wavy hair. Dark, soulless eyes. A smile that could slice the tendons from your knees.
Reeve.
I was about to lurch from my seat when Landon clamped a hand on my thigh and forced me down.
“He doesn’t know you’re here. But if you go screaming from the room, he certainly will.”
“What the fuck Landon?” I hissed, grabbing his hand and digging my nails in. But the strange unexplainable threads fell into place. The bizarre chanting ritual. The blatantly demonic altar.
Reeve had his own cult.
“I thought you’d forgive him, and we’d have a little laugh about his project. He did this for you, you know.”
I dug my nails in harder until he grunted in pain, his leg jerking.
“I’m going to make you a two second man. Every time anyone even thinks about touching your dick, I’ll make you jizz in your pants,” I hissed.
“Just look at him Allera. Look at that face and tell me he hasn’t suffered enough,” Landon implored, and I grumbled, sinking low into my seat. I observed Reeve, my chest aching at the sight of him. He looked gaunt, his sharp cheekbones like knives. His dark eyes were tormented as he slouched next to Pastor Young. This should have been his moment. He would have reveled in this normally. A whole church full of people under the thrall of his powers. But he looked one stiff breeze away from collapsing.
“Pitiful, isn’t it? He is fading away with regret.” Landon clicked his tongue, shaking his head at his older brother’s rough appearance. There was a lump in my throat that no amount of swallowing would dislodge. I couldn’t stand how weak Reeve looked, and knowing he was that way because he was so torn up over what had happened? It made the hurt sting like a hot poker on my skin.
Pastor Young was waving his hands around, eyes alight as he expanded on the greatness of the Prophet. Everyone burst into applause. I followed belatedly. I was still in shock over what I was seeing.
“My flock,” Reeve rumbled. I couldn’t help the lust that stirred in me hearing his voice. It was low, rough, and dark. “Thank you for being here today and offering your prayers and support. I received a revelation this year. One I have been working on tirelessly. The Lord expressed to me his unhappiness. He wanted a sanctuary built to protect women. To keep them safe and able to live normal lives. I have been working tirelessly to create such a sanctuary, and I couldn’t do it without your support.”
Pastor Young waved towards Sandy Wicker and Reeve looked at her with a tight smile.
“Special thanks to Mrs. Wicker and her prayer circle for generating such an intense amount of power. You do not know the good you are doing with your thoughts and prayers so thank you very much, in fact, I’d like to lead a prayer with you now. Let’s see if our thoughts can truly touch the lord.”
I turned my head and looked at Landon. He shrugged and gave me a lopsided smile.
“How do you think Reeve is so powerful? He collects energy from people like this. They think they’re one step away from salvation and he reaps the rewards.”
That was impressive. Reeve had found an ingenious way to harness power. He was not someone to be underestimated, and he wantedme.Something in me bloomed seeing how outwardly broken he was. This powerful man had been brought to his knees by me. Landon elbowed me in the side, drawing a soft grunt from me.
“I can tell what’s going through your head, greedy bitch.” I shot him a quick smile. “You love seeing him destroyed like this. Desperately missing his lost love. Can you forgive him yet? He’s truly pathetic, and it’s killing his reputation. I mean, look at him.” Landon waved a hand toward Reeve. He was clutching a microphone like a lifeline and was leading another bizarre chant. There was no trace of excitement on his face.
“You said he was doing this for me? What did you mean?” I asked, wanting more information.
“I want him to explain it after we finish this charade, of course. I’ll leave him that one shred of his ego. It is actually a masterful idea.”
I settled in my seat, buzzing for the first time in weeks with excitement for the future. The service wrapped up quickly. I was impatient to get to Reeve now that I had decided to hear him out and see if he could apologize as heavily as his visage hinted he would. The entire congregation lined up, shuffling with impatience to meet the prophet himself. I was so distracted that I didn’t realize who had lined up after me.