Darkest Sins - Page 108

“It’s the guard from the gate.” I look at Kai. “Are you expecting a delivery?”

“Yes.” He takes the phone from my hand, lodges it between his ear and his shoulder, and resumes braiding Lucia’s hair. “Big blond guy? Whistling an extremely annoying tune?”

“Yes,” the guard replies. “And another man. Dark-haired. Looking really displeased.”

“Let them pass.”

“Your friends?” I ask.

“Yes.” He wraps his arm around Lucia’s waist and sets her onto his hip. “Let’s see if they brought the package I’ve asked for.”

“A package?” I ask as I follow Kai down the stairs. Lucia is clutching his shirt and trying to attach one of her blue hair extension clips with a cute bow to the top of his head. Kai’s long braid swings side to side across his back as he descends to the main level, the end of it is tied by Lucia’s pink scrunchie. “And what’s in the package?”

“A priest.”

I furrow my brows. A priest? There’s no time to ask for an explanation, though, because Kai is already opening the front door. I trail him outside, getting a look at the two men on our driveway.

One is leaning on the hood of a beat-up SUV with his arms crossed over his chest. He’s dressed in dark-gray cargo pants and a black T-shirt. Every visible inch of his skin, except his face and neck, is covered in ink. His hair is the palest shade of blond.

The other man is wearing a bespoke black suit that fits his large frame like a glove. His face is set in a dark scowl as he drums his fingers on the roof of his black sedan.

“I didn’t expect you,” Kai says, looking at the scowling guy.

“Albert blackmailed Az into helping me,” the blond one blurts out. “He owes the old bat a lot of favors.”

“Who’s Albert?” Kai asks.

“It’s Felix. Don’t ask,” the dark one, Az, replies as he clicks the small remote in his hand. “Can we get this over with? I have other things to do in Boston.”

He heads around his car and leans over the trunk. Odd sounds emerge from inside the vehicle.

“Silence,” he snaps, then pulls a man from the cargo space.

The guy’s hands are tied in front of him and there’s a gag in his mouth. He wriggles in Az’s hold while he’s dragged and then deposited a few feet before Kai. “That’s my contribution.”

“I have two!” The blond man grins and opens the back door of his SUV. “And mine are even dressed for the occasion.”

He pulls out a man in a long black robe, tied and gagged as well, and then another fellow in similar circumstances, but thisone is garbed in a white vestment adorned with intricate gold details.

“You weren’t specific in your request.” The happy blond beams like a kid at Christmas as he pulls both men toward us. “So I got you one Orthodox and one Catholic. Az’s is Protestant. Now you have one of each. Take your pick.”

“Jesus fuck.” Kai sighs next to me and squeezes the bridge of his nose. “That’s not a priest, Belov.”

“What?”

“This one”—Kai gestures at the first guy pulled out of the SUV—“in the black gown . . . He’s a fucking JUDGE!”

“Oh? So he can’t perform a wedding? Shit. I’ll off him and get you a new one.”

“A wedding?” I ask, confused. “What wedding?”

“Is this the bride?” Belov points his finger at me. “She looks like a nice person. What the hell made her want to marry a motherfucker like you?”

“Kai? What’s going on?” I ask.

He looks at me, his eyes boring into mine. “We’re getting married.”

My lungs stop drawing air. I stare at my demon and my heart swells to double, then triple its size. “We are?”