Forbidden by Leanna Ellis Read Free Book Online

corners of his mouth in a grim line. Glancing back at Eli’s retreating back, he shook his head.
    â€œYou think he’s not telling the truth?”
    â€œI didn’t say that.”
    But he didn’t have to. She sensed it too. “But what if he knows something? What if he saw something?”
    â€œI cannot make him talk. And I don’t know, maybe he doesn’t know anything.”
    Her throat convulsed, desperation rising up inside of her. “What are we going to do? We have to help Rachel. What if—?”
    Levi wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tucked her close to his side. “There’s only one thing for us to do.”

Chapter Six
    Dark clouds leached the light out of the morning sky, which spilled over the church, casting it in a ghostly luminescence. The gray and mist made it feel as if time had stopped, hovered between night and day, hope and despair. Nothing stirred, not even in the shadows.
    Roc watched from the confines of his Mustang for long minutes, making sure no one had followed him. He knew the real reason he delayed, but time was ticking away, and precious minutes were escaping.
    He yanked the rubber band out of his hair, pulling strands out with it, and tossed the rubbery circle on the dash beside the attached GPS system. He shook his head in an effort to clear away the images, which jumbled his thoughts together. In an attempt to rid himself of the memory, he wrenched the keys from the ignition and jerked open the door, surprised at his own sudden action. It was time to fully face his mistake, his guilt. It would never be clearer or more painful than when he looked into Roberto Hellman’s crystal-blue eyes and confessed he’d killed Ferris. It was his fault he’d believed the young man was ready and put him in harm’s way, and he’d wear the stain of Ferris’s blood forever.
    Sweat poured out of Roc as he walked the lonely path he’d taken so many times over the past six months. It was too early for the pink-dressed nuns or even the most determined and dedicated churchgoers. The grounds remained deserted and quiet. Even the surrounding neighborhood, which housed the occasional bar, was hushed as if in reverence for the loss of Ferris. He reached the stone cathedral, its domes and arches pointing heavenward, its spires indicating the way . He passed stained-glass windows with fierce angels soaring through the air or standing as if on guard to protect the sanctity of the church.
    He remembered then to make the call. Using his cell phone, he dialed the number once then disconnected after one ring. By the time he’d walked the length of the building and rounded the corner, he dialed again, allowing it to ring three full times; then again he severed the call. Twenty more paces to the rectory. He passed the main entrance and went around to its side door, which was set in deep shadows. He couldn’t actually see the wooden door and its ancient lock until he stepped onto the landing and his knuckle met wood with four succinct raps.
    He waited, his breathing harsh in his own ears. He turned away to stare at the solitary path he had come, a path also leading to the garden the priest tended as faithfully as he tended his flock. Of their own accord, his feet took to the path, as if he no longer had a will, and he walked in the silence past the rectory and school to the alcove. The burbling of the fountain in its center had a calming effect and washed over Roc. He walked to the round stone edifice and placed a booted foot on it, just inches from the water line. He’d never really paid attention to the statue before, never cared. The rain clouds gave the white marble a soft glow, as if it was lit from its very soul. The Virgin Mary bathed the baby Jesus upon her lap, and just beyond her right shoulder stood a powerful angel, its face stern, its wings massive, its sword pointing downward as it stood guard over the young mother and her