Page 158 of For I Have Sinned

I smirk, massaging my thumb against the back of her hand. “Like how you and Sister Greta are best friends?”

“She was the one to call the cops,” she mutters, and my smile fades as she tells me the story of running into Sister Greta after she went to go find help. She said that Sister Greta overheard us talking about the event and happened to be in the vicinity when the gun went off.

“I’ll have to thank her.”

“She came by to see you, but said to let her know when you are awake,” Celine says.

I nod and then ask, “Have you heard anything else about what happened?”

“A detective came to see me when we first arrived here. She said they went through Father Keaton’s office, and she found a notebook with very detailed plans he had for all of us. They confiscated his laptop, conducted a thorough search, and found the videos and pictures he had hidden of Joanna and Bekah.”

I let her words settle in, thankful that they found evidence, but— “Did they see the backup videos of us?”

She nods. “But I told them that what you and I had wasn’t like what Father Keaton was doing with those women. That you would never force me into anything.”

A sigh of relief leaves me, but then that anger builds again. I’m proud of Celine for fighting and doing what she had to do, but I think that death was too kind a punishment for Father Keaton. I’d rather him be rotting away in a jail cell while his mind deteriorates with his crazy delusions.

“How are you doing with it all?” I search her face. “You killed someone.”

Celine shrugs. “I have nightmares about it, which I’m sure will stay with me forever, but I don’t regret doing it because he deserved it. Plus, I’ve been ordered to speak to a therapist about it to help me heal.” She shrugs. “They sent all the women home and contacted the families of the victims. And they are closing the church down.”

“Good,” I say as the images of what transpired in that room before I was shot flash through my mind—all those women whose lives we couldn’t save. Esther. Celine’s one true friend in the convent. “How do you think Esther’s father handled the news?”

“Esther!” Celine’s eyes grow wide. “You’ll never believe it, Alex!”

“About how her father took the news?” My brows furrow.

“No,” she shakes her head, and a smile spreads across her face. “Esther is alive!”

“What?”

“Long story short, she faked drowning so Father Keaton would think she was dead,” she explains. “Took down Sister Alice and got out of there. She passed out in the parking lot, but the police and ambulance were already on their way. An officer brought her here while the paramedics came in to take care of you.”

“Esther is alive?”

She had become a close friend to Celine, one that she needed in that place, and as much as I hated the idea in the beginning, I’m thankful that she disobeyed me and remained friends with her.

But then Celine had to watch her friend die before her eyes… well, fake die.

Although Esther is alive and well, those emotions Celine felt while watching Father Keaton try to drown her will stick with her forever.

Celine nods with a smile. “She’s been in to see you, but you’ve been asleep most of the time.”

“Well, I’d love to see her.” Celine takes a step away from the bed, probably wanting to get Esther, but I grab her wrist. “Later. I want this time with just you.”

“Okay,” she says, climbing carefully into the bed with me.

I wrap my arm around her shoulders while she lays her head on the right side of my chest. We sit there in silence, just basking in the presence of each other. It feels so good to have her in my arms.

It feels good to be alive.

“I don’t know what I would have done if you died,” she mumbles.

My jaw ticks, but I assure her, “You would have been okay.”

“No, I wouldn’t have.” She shifts her head to look at me. “I love you, Alex. More than I ever thought I could love anyone, and I don’t think I would have survived without you.”

My chest warms at the sound of her saying she loves me again, when I’m not on the verge of death.