The Consequence of Secrets - Part Four: A Priest Romance
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Authors: Eve Cates
The Consequence of Secrets
PART FOUR
Eve Cates
2015
Copyright 2015, EVE CATES
All rights reserved
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means without the prior written permission of the author of this book.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead is purely coincidental. Any actual places, products or events mentioned are used in a purely fictitious manner. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various places/products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission and is by no way sponsored by the trademark owners.
Part FOUR of FOUR, Eve Cates brings you her most forbidden romance so far...
A married woman. A devout man. Both have taken vows. Both will break them.
So much has happened. So much has changed. Father Braden Daniels and Emma Williams have done everything in their power to be free of Gabe McIntyre but somehow, he found them anyway.
Follow Braden and Emma as all of their secrets come out and they finally have to face the consequences of what they had to do to be together.
Will they make it?
“I’ll ask you kindly to stop fucking my wife, preacher.”
That voice. The moment I hear it my heart tightens in my chest and dread flows through my body like a thick black tar.
“No,” I cry, my eyes filling with tears as I meet Gabe’s glare. It’s so full of hatred. I hold tight onto Braden’s arms, wishing we could somehow become invisible.
Gabe has a gun. It’s pointed at Braden’s back.
We’re all going to die.
“It’s OK,” Braden whispers, his eyes wide as he looks down at me and assures me that we’re going to make it through this.
I don’t think we’re going to make it through this.
How did he even find us?
“Get off her!” Gabe growls, stepping forward and putting his boot into Braden’s ribs with a swift kick. Braden lets out a grunt, and the force of the blow sends his weight from under him. He rolls to the side so as not to fall on top of me then scrambles to get to his feet, stumbling as he clutches his side.
Crying, I reach for him, but shriek as Gabe grabs a hold of my hair and drags me up to standing. “You’re fucking a
priest
?” he growls. “You filthy cunt of a woman. No wonder you’re there praying all the time. You’re a fucking whore on your knees for them aren’t you? You disgust me.” His spit sprays across my face as he sneers at me.
“Let me go!”
Everything is happening so fast. I feel the barrel of the gun press up into my jaw and I’m crying, looking into Braden’s eyes as he stands with his hands out, trying to stop this from getting any worse. It’s over. There’s nothing left for us to do. We tried. We risked everything. But he found us. It was a beautiful dream while it lasted…
I love you,
I try to tell him with my eyes as tears slide down my cheeks.
“Don’t do this,” Braden cajoles, moving as if he’s dealing with a lion in a cage that could lash out at any moment. His torso is shining in a nervous sweat, and I can see that every muscle in his body is coiled tight.
Gabe presses the gun harder into my jaw, the metal biting against my flesh, making it impossible for me to swallow. “Do what, preacher? Kill you? Kill her? Isn’t that what you both had planned for me with that…that
hooker
you sent after me?”
The bile rises in my throat, and I see Braden’s eyes flash with something like shock or hatred or disappointment – or all of it. I don’t know. I just want this to stop. I want to go back to five minutes ago when we were about to make love on our picnic rug. I don’t want to die after everything we’ve been through. I want to live. I want to love. I don’t want this.
I squeeze my eyes shut tight and let out a whimper, feeling as though my life is slipping through my fingers, my power is gone, taken from me again, just when I started to get it back.
Gabe pulls my hair harder, leering at Braden. “Did you seriously think I’d fall for that shit? Some girl comes into town and just happens to seek me out?” He shakes his head then turns his attention to me, his eyes wide and crazed as they meet mine. “I watched the life die in her eyes as I wrapped my hand around her neck. You should have seen it,
sweetheart
, it was a beautiful thing – not half as beautiful as what I’m going to do to you, but still, there was a beauty to it – squeezing so hard that everything just went…silent.”
He leans in close and scents me as if he enjoys the smell of my fear. I let out a cry.
This isn’t happening.
“How did you find us?” Braden calls out quickly, pulling Gabe’s attention away from me. He doesn’t let me go, but he does lessen the pressure of the gun at my throat.
He turns to Braden with this shit-eating grin on his face. “You should probably tell Victor not to go to work when he’s supposed to be hiding out – kind of defeats the purpose of going off the grid. I followed him right back here to that whore of a sister who’s stealing
my
fucking future. That son was supposed to be ours, Emma. Our future was set, but you had to go and ruin it by spreading your legs for the man of God – by lying, and cheating – did you really think you’d get away with it? Did you think I’d let you leave me? Now, you’re going to pay – they’re all going to pay.”
“Don’t. Please,” I beg.
“It’s too late to beg, Emma. Too late to fix the damage you’ve done. Now you have to face the consequences and know that your deceit is the reason that everyone you love will die.”
“Don’t you hurt them!” I yell, worried for Braden, for Jules and her unborn baby, worried for Victor who didn’t ask for any of this.
I want to scratch him and claw that smile off his face, and I lift my hand, ready to lash out while he isn’t paying me his full attention.
Just as I ready myself to scratch, Braden acts. A burst of dust and dirt flicks through the air, and I turn my head, pushing against Gabe as he reaches up to protect his eyes, releasing my hair. I stumble backwards and Braden lets out a roar as he launches himself at Gabe, tackling him around his midsection. They crash to the ground, Braden’s hand around Gabe’s as they wrestle over the gun.
“You fucking –”
They scramble on the ground, kicking up the dust around them. Braden forces Gabe’s hand above his head, and the gun discharges into the woods, echoing out around us. I scream, my hand covering my mouth as I watch and try to figure out what to do.
“Mother fucker!”
Braden rolls so he’s pinning Gabe, his knees either side of his waist, his elbow at his neck, and the gun still above their heads. They growl and spit, and cuss each other out. Gabe brings his knee up and hits Braden in the back, causing him to arch in pain. The gun rises within their joined grip, and as they roll, fighting to gain control. I look around frantically, trying to find something to use as a weapon. Then they slam against the ground, and the gun drops from Gabe’s grasp and skids through the dirt, out of their reach.
The first thing I do is run for it. The first thing we all do is run for it.
“I won’t let you hurt her!” Braden yells.
Panicked, I reach for the gun. Gabe dives for the gun. Braden tackles Gabe.
We’re all so close.
I scream.
BANG