Page 29 of Vicious Behaviors

He doesn’t say it outright, but I hear the question in his tone—should we be worried?

“No. Not yet. Let me handle it,” I say, turning toward the door since I’ve got what I came for.

“You know where to find me if you need backup.”

“I know.” I flash him a rare smile. “Thanks, Enzo.”

“Anytime.” He grins.

I’m halfway down the hall when I hear Alejandro call out my name, making me stop cold in my tracks.

“Do you need something, Father Torres?” I ask flatly, turning around slowly to face him. But to my surprise, he doesn’t seem fazed by the change in my tone.

“I was glad to see you at Mass this morning,” he says with a genuine timbre in his voice. “You haven’t been in weeks.”

I don’t respond. What would I even say? That I feel like a monster sitting in pews after killing the priest who used to standat that altar with him? That I’m a fraud, and don’t deserve to enter a house of worship? That the devil inside me has taken too much of my soul for it to be saved?

No, I can’t say that. So instead, I say nothing at all.

Not discouraged by my silence, Alejandro steps closer, lowering his voice. “I never thanked you for saving me that night,” he says, eyes sincere. “But I can see it’s wearing at you… just as it wears at me.”

“Father—”

“Please,” he interrupts gently. “Call me Alejandro. You and I are past formalities.” My jaw tightens. The way he’s looking at me, like he sees straight through me, into the rot I keep buried, it’s too much. “I want you to know that no matter your transgressions, you are always welcome at St. Mary’s,” he adds.

“Is that right?” I scoff.

“It is,” he says without flinching. “And when you’re ready, I’d be honored to hear your confession.”

“Confession? You already know what I did. What’s the point in confessing a crime you witnessed?”

“To unburden your soul, Marcello,” he says, his voice low but firm. “The weight you’re carrying… it’s too much for any God-fearing man to bear.”

“You think I fear God?” I step closer, until we’re nearly nose to nose. “God forgot about me a long time ago. It’s not Him I have to answer to.”

“Then who is?”

I don’t answer. I don’t need to. My silence gives it away.

Alejandro lets out a long exhale. “El Diablohas played more than a role in my life, too, Marcello,” he says, the devil’s name thick with his native tongue. “But by God’s grace, I escaped the grip Satan had on my soul. You don’t know enough about me to know this, but you and I are not so different. There was a timewhen I walked a similar path as you are now. But I overcameel demonio,and I believe you can, too.”

“If that’s true, then you know God has very little say on the matter.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. God is love, Marcello. And He loves all His children. Even you.”

“Don’t preach to me about love and redemption,” I mutter, dragging a hand through my hair. “It’s too late for me.”

“I don’t believe that. No one is beyond saving.”

“Then I guess that makes you a better man than me, Father,” I say, voice low and tight. “Because in my book, not everyone is worth saving. Some people deserve to burn.”

“You can’t be judge, jury, and executioner forever, Marcello.”

I smirk bitterly. “Oh no? Just watch me.”

And with that, I turn my back and walk away because if I stay and listen to his hopeful words any longer, I run the risk of actually believing them.

Chapter 7