Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
Just when I think this can’t get any worse, Kaiser straightens, becoming alert. I catch a glimpse of someone walking past the half-closed door.
“I need to speak to Atticus.”
“Go ahead,” Father Francis says. “It’ll give me a chance to get to know Bella better.”
Fuck.
Kaiser rises, and I instantly miss his heat. I don’t want to be left alone with the priest and his scary questions.
But I can’t beg Kaiser not to leave.
“I’ll be right back.” He pauses in the door to point his finger at me. “Be good.”
“I’m not converting to Catholicism. So don’t even try,” I say to Father Francis. “I avoid all religions made up by a man in a desert.”
If he’s insulted by the way I dismissed most belief systems, he doesn’t show it. “You don’t need to share my faith for me to share my wisdom. Do you have any questions for me?”
So many. “What can you tell me about Kaiser?”
“He’s loyal. He’d do anything for his brothers. Even before that, he was willing to sacrifice himself for his twin.”
“He has a twin?”
“A twin brother. Both of them have been part of Fraternitas from almost the beginning.”
I want to ask him more about Fraternitas, but I need to be more subtle about it.
And I want to learn more about Kaiser.
“What’s his last name?”
“He’s never told it to me.”
“Does he have any other family?”
“Fraternitas is his family.”
That’s exactly what Kaiser told me. Word for word, which is kind of creepy. I’ve heard how gangs recruit young men by preying on their need for a family. If Fraternitas did that, then it isn’t just a bunch of loosely associated criminals; it’s a brotherhood. The members aren’t just willing to kill for power and profit. They’re willing to die for each other.
If that’s true, then they’re more dangerous than I ever imagined. “When did he join?”
“He was almost one of its founding members. I don’t know what he’s told you about his past, but when I met him and his twin, they were living on the street and had been for years. Since they were very young.”
“How young?”
“You’d have to ask Kaiser if he remembers when he left his childhood home. I met him when he was eight.”
I suck in a breath. My childhood was no picnic. After my mother was murdered, my father retreated into his shell. He protected and cared for me, but he kept his distance emotionally. And the nature of his business meant we kept to ourselves. We didn’t get close to people or make friends in case they would betray us.
Still, I always had a warm, safe place to live and plenty to eat. Papa was able to buy me whatever I wanted.
I can’t imagine what it would be like to be an eight-year-old growing up without a roof over his head. Without a fridge full of food or an adult who could pay a heating bill.
My gut twists.
“I had a ministry providing food to anyone who needed a free meal. A few, like Kaiser and his brother, would come, and once they trusted me, they brought more and more children. That’s how I started what would become the school.” He picks up a brochure with a picture of the cathedral on it. The text reads ‘Hieronymous’ School for the Lost.’
“It started with me teaching runaways after I fed them. Then I expanded the hours and raised money to build the dorms. There wasn’t much, but I had to do something. At first, the children slept on padded mats on the floor.”
My stomach churns, and my throat feels tight. I remember last night, how Kaiser tucked me into his side. At some point, he pulled me on top of him. When I woke up this morning, he was wearing me like a weighted blanket. I got the sense that he was able to sleep anywhere, anytime, in any condition. “Kaiser did that?”
“He would never stay the night. The older children were like that. They’d bring the young ones in and encourage them to stay, but they preferred street sleeping. I tried to meet them where they were.” He gives me a brief smile. He seems lost in memory. It may be an act to lead me on, but I sense real emotion in his voice when he talks about his ministry. At least part of this is genuine.
“He did allow me to teach him to read.”
“And then he joined the gang. Or helped start it.”
“He joined after it started. There were a few years when he and his twin were… separated from us.”
What? “What does that mean?”
“That’s Kaiser’s story to tell. But I hope you will ask him.”
My thoughts are swirling. Father Francis has given me some answers, but I only have more questions.
I want to know everything about Kaiser. I tell myself this is so I can destroy him anytime I wish, but really, it’s because I want to know him.