Page 33

“Were you?” He paused, steepling his fingers together. “I hope you’re confident the documents will back you up on that. After all, a renegade operative is a serious danger to the church and to society. If there were an unfortunate leak about that operation that portrayed you in a bad light, it could cost you your new job at the NSA. Or perhaps adversely affect your newfound love with your talented fiancée. Congratulations on your engagement, by the way. The church approves...so far. You do like your life as it is now, don’t you... Viper?”

So Lazohadread his file and wasn’t just repeating rumors about the Congo mission. The use of his code name confirmed it. Still, he didn’t want Lazo to know he was concerned.

He lifted the water to his lips and finished it off. As he screwed the lid back on the empty bottle, he permitted himself a small smile. “You’re more worried than I thought. Good. Deal not accepted. I’m not going to lie for you or for anyone.”

The cardinal’s eyes were chillingly cold. “Ah, but we both know I’m not asking you to lie. As a man of the cloth, such a request would be abhorrent to me. I’m simply asking you to tell the truth.”

“You already know my truth.”

Lazo’s hands clenched tighter around his water bottle. “I suggest you reconsider. Youwilllose this battle, and in the process, it will cost you everything you hold dear. Is it really worth it? Can you handle the trouble coming your way?”

Slash stood and took the position of power, leaning forward until his face was inches from the cardinal’s. “You misunderstand me, Cardinal. Iamthe trouble, the variable you can’t control. You’ve no idea what you’ve unleashed here.”

Surprise and perhaps fear—finally—flashed in the cardinal’s eyes, but he quickly composed himself. “I’ll give you a couple of days to think it over. You have a lot to lose. When I say I will go to extraordinary lengths to ensure the future of the church, I mean it. Consider that carefully when you’re deciding.” He saw the empty bottle in Slash’s hand and dipped his head to the side of the room. “The trash can is over there.”

Slash stuck the empty bottle in his duffel instead. “You’ve made a significant miscalculation, Cardinal. It wasn’t a wise move to poke the snake.”

“Oppose me and I will crush you,” Lazo warned in a low voice, abandoning all pretense of civility. “Don’t make a mistake here, son.”

“I assure you, I won’t make a mistake.” Slash lifted the strap of his bag to his shoulder and turned to face the cardinal for one last comment. “If you were a true man of the cloth, you’d concede the future of the church is not up to you, but to a higher power. I’m going to give you one final piece of advice before I leave. If you try to play God, you’re going to burn. And I’ll be the one to personally see to it.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Lexi

“Wait. What? Slash was a priest?” Basia said. “I never knew that.”

Gray, Basia and I sat, transfixed by the enlarged image of Slash dressed as a priest. My brain had somehow frozen on the photo and couldn’t move on from it. I wanted to reach out and turn off the monitor, but I couldn’t seem to move or feel anything except the uncomfortable churning of my stomach.

“Lexi, do you know if Slash was ever a priest?” Gray asked gently.

I blinked, trying to bring my thoughts back to the present. It felt weird having my friends revealing things I didn’t know about a man I was going to marry. It was completely backward. I should be the one knowing important things about the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with, but I didn’t.

“I’m...not sure of anything right now.” Anxiety had started to interfere with my thinking. I mentally ran through a couple of rows of Fermat’s Last Theorem to calm myself. “You said this picture was taken on September 17th? The same day of Apeloko’s assassination?”

“Yes.” Gray looked at me with sympathetic eyes.

That look was almost more than I could stand. I pressed my lips together and kept my mind solely on the facts.

“That would mean Slash was likely in residence when the assassination happened,” I said.

“That’s a reasonable assumption,” said Gray.

“And they never caught who poisoned Apeloko, his son and the priest, right?” Basia asked.

“Correct,” Gray answered. “The murders remain unsolved to this day.”

I closed my eyes. I didn’t like where my thoughts were headed, but I needed more data. “What else do we know about the assassination?”

Gray reached around the laptop for an empty wineglass. “Can I have some of that Malbec first? I could use a drink after all.”

“I think we all could use a refill,” Basia said.

We held out our glasses, and Basia poured the wine.

“Better,” Gray said after a few sips. “So, we know the Catholic Church was in the Congo acting as an intermediary in political negotiations, promoting peace between the various factions. Lexi, do you know if Slash was working for the Vatican in any capacity when he lived in Italy?”

“Yes,” I confirmed. “He was working for the Vatican, but I don’t know exactly what he did.”