Wariness had gripped his intestines when he reached the chapel just a few minutes before. He understood Cristian was walking a tightrope, and just because he'd send him that message, not likely in a time of despair—didn't mean he'd embrace him with welcoming arms now that he'd come. The guy didn't seem to anticipate him to show up.
The church was empty, but conversations could be heard from the Pastor's office, and he'd found his way along the outer aisle, beyond the rows of seats. And as he walked through the office door, you could have heard a pin drop. It had only taken a second and a cursory sweep of the room for Cristian to be absent. Neither was Ashly. That wasn't good, he reasoned at the time. If she was with him, she was probably trying to talk him back from the roof one he lurche
