Chapter 5 - Blood in the Sanctuary
"Lorenzo, duck!" Evelyn screamed at the absolute top of her lungs.
Lorenzo dropped instantly, hitting the stone floor just as a bullet shattered the whiskey glass in his hand.
The suppressed gunshot made a sickening spitting sound in the quiet church basement.
Julian cursed loudly, rapidly adjusting his aim to fire a second time.
Lorenzo swept his leg out in a brutal arc, catching Julian's ankle and sending him crashing hard to the floor.
The two brothers grappled desperately in the dirt, throwing vicious, bone-crushing punches at each other.
Evelyn scrambled backward, desperately trying to stay completely out of the lethal crossfire.
Julian managed to pin Lorenzo down, pressing the hot barrel of his gun against Lorenzo's throat.
"You were always too trusting, little brother," Julian sneered, his finger tightening on the trigger.
Evelyn didn't think about her own safety at all.
She grabbed a heavy iron candlestick from the abandoned altar and swung it with all her remaining might.
The heavy iron struck Julian squarely in the back of the skull with a sickening crack.
Julian's eyes rolled entirely back in his head, and he collapsed heavily onto the stone floor.
Lorenzo shoved his unconscious brother off his chest, breathing heavily as he wiped fresh blood from his mouth.
He looked up at Evelyn, panting, and stared at the bloody candlestick still clutched in her hands.
"You just saved my life for the second time tonight," Lorenzo whispered.
Evelyn dropped the heavy iron, stepping away from the unconscious man in pure horror.
"Why did he try to kill you?" she asked, her voice shaking violently.
Lorenzo aggressively searched Julian's trench coat and pulled out a disposable burner phone.
He pressed the screen to wake it up and quickly opened the most recent text message.
Lorenzo's face turned completely pale as he read the glowing digital words.
He slowly turned the phone around so Evelyn could clearly see the screen.
May you like
The message was from Celeste, and it was chillingly brief.
It read, "Bring me Lorenzo's head tonight, and I will let your daughter live."
