Mortal Sin by Allison Brennan Read Free Book Online

taken out by a demon or a human, so it’s better if you’re here.”
    Rafe took her hand. “I don’t like these assignments Rico sends you on.”
    “I always come back in one piece, right?” She smiled brightly, too bright.
    Rafe touched her cheek. He wanted to tell her so much, but not here, not now. “When do you leave?”
    “Tonight. Last flight from Santa Barbara with a stop-over in San Francisco. I should leave soon.”
    “I’ll drive you,” Rafe said. Something else was going on, and Rafe needed to find out what it was.
    Anthony said, “I’m calling Rico.” Then he stepped out.
    “Do I have to go?” Lily asked, her voice a whisper.
    Moira nodded. “You’ll be safer at Olivet. We don’t know what your mother has planned, or why this triad is back in town, or why they attacked Jared. Rafe and I can’t protect you if we’re looking for answers. You have enough time to say good-bye to Jared.”
    Rafe turned to Lily and squatted in front of her. He put his hands on her shoulders and all he felt was the bones beneath her skin. She was so scared, so young. His heart ached; he wanted to protect her, and he didn’t know how. Moira’s idea was a good one; they couldn’t worry about Lily if they had a coming battle here in Santa Louisa. “Moira’s right, Lily,” he said. “The nightmares you’ve been having, the trances, they appear to be natural, but something is going on and you can’t be out in the middle of it.”
    Her eyes watered. “Was Jared attacked because of me?”
    “No,” Moira said.
    “Then why? Why Jared?”
    Moira hesitated, then said, “To see what I would do.”
    Rafe jumped up, but Moira avoided his eyes.
    “Moira. We need to talk.”
    “No,” she said, “we don’t. We don’t know why they did what they did, but I think it was a test. See how I reacted. If I’m gone, everyone’s safer.”
    “That’s not true.” She couldn’t possibly believe that. “Everyone’s safer when you’re here, with me.” Rico loved Moira, but he would sacrifice her for the cause if that what it took to stop the Seven. Rafe was not going to let her die. Moira had people after her, someone needed to watch her back, and Rafe was the best person to do so. And she damn well knew it.
    “Rafe, we’ll talk about this when I get back.”
    “No! We need to talk about this now. We both know things have been on edge here in Santa Louisa. With Bertrand dead, we don’t know what’s going to happen. The town needs us. Rico can wait.”
    “That’s why you need to stay, to protect them.”
    “We are stronger together, Moira.”
    “We’re pretty good apart, too.”
    He didn’t like her tone. He took her hand and led her outside. He needed to talk to her alone.
    Anthony was standing next to St. Jude’s fountain, which he’d inexplicitly restored first when there were far more pressing structural issues to address. He’d never told Rafe why, and Rafe didn’t ask. But it seemed to give Anthony peace, so Rafe let it be.
    The renovations were slow. The teams of trusted men from St. Michael’s who had come in to clear the debris left over from the fire that had destroyed most of the mission had to leave because there were hot spots of evil popping up all over the world. They came back in small groups, worked for a short time, then left again. They’d finally rebuilt the exterior of the chapel, then left two weeks ago. It would take years to rebuild at this rate.
    Rafe hoped they had years.
    He took Moira down a path, away from Anthony and the shell of a mission, toward where he used to grow vegetables. His garden was overgrown and needed a lot of work. He wanted to fix it, but hadn’t had the time.
    “You promised you wouldn’t go to the cliffs alone.”
    “Did not,” she said.
    He didn’t respond.
    “I had to. Something… something is simmering here. The truth is here, I just can’t see it. The answers are there , on the cliffs, if I just know how to look.”
    “Those cliffs are