Wages of sin, p.1
Wages of Sin, page 1
WAGES OF SIN
A JORJA ROSE CHRISTIAN SUSPENSE THRILLER
VALLEY OF DEATH BOOK III
* * *
by URCELIA TEIXEIRA
Copyright © 2022 by Urcelia Teixeira
All rights reserved.
Wages of Sin is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents, events, and dialogue found within are of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, either living or deceased, is purely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or publisher.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review where permitted by law.
Bible scriptures were quoted from both the King James Version and/or the New International Version of the Bible. (Copyrighted worldwide as public domain)
Copyrighted material
E-book © ISBN: 978-1-928537-82-3
Paperback © ISBN: 978-1-928537-83-0
Independently Published by Urcelia Teixeira
First edition
Urcelia Teixeira, Wiltshire, UK
www.urcelia.com
GET YOUR FREE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY!
A MISSING BOY. A TOWN BURIED IN SECRETS. A DEPUTY WHO WON'T QUIT.
* * *
books.urcelia.com/little-boy-lost
To our squishy cat, Gadget:
For keeping me company, for
keeping my feet warm during those cold winter days,
and for stealing my chair every time I took a bathroom break.
Couldn't have done it without you, buddy!
Contents
Inspired by
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Message from the author
About the Author
Inspired by
“He has delivered us...and transferred us to the kingdom of His
beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Colossians 1:12-14
(ESV)
Chapter One
Jorja sat alone in the quiet room inside the British Consulate in Abu Dhabi. She no longer felt any emotions, nor did she know if she ever would again.
Numbed by the unexpected turn of events and mourning Ben, whom she was certain Sokolov had already killed by now, she stared at the disposable cup of cold coffee they had placed in front of her hours ago.
She had not seen or heard from Pascale since his men took her away and locked her inside the room, and she had long since given up thinking that she’d walk out of there a free woman.
Where she sat at a table in the middle of the small room, staring out of the tiny rectangular window at the very top of the wall, she watched the sun’s rays grow brighter as it announced the start of the new day. It had been days since she slept, not that she cared much any longer. Nothing mattered anymore. Everyone she had ever loved and cared for had been stripped away from her, even the person she once was.
She had tried talking to God, searched for answers, the truth. But instead, she had found her heart hardened and her spirit angry with Him. She had thought that she could trust Him, that He was helping her. But even that wasn’t to be.
Her mind trailed to the words she had clung to before it all began, but this time, it brought her nothing but pain. She had been in a valley of the shadow of death, feared evil, faced it head-on, remained in its cold grip, yet she no longer sensed God anywhere.
Had He forsaken her because she had sinned? Perhaps she was wrong to think He should help her in the first place. Whatever it was, it was clear.
She would pay for her sins for the rest of her days.
* * *
Caught up in her agony, her mind trapped in another dimension, she jumped when the door suddenly shut beside her. When she turned to find the person who had entered, she saw that it was one of the officials who had briefly popped in to drop off her luggage. She had left it at the hotel in Geneva. How was it that they had found it? Why was it there?
Her heart bolted as a million questions rushed through her mind and she recalled the files she had hidden inside. When the official left, she shot across the floor to pick up her suitcase, lifted it atop the desk and moved to open it.
“Don’t bother, it’s not there anymore.”
Pascale was suddenly behind her, his face warm and inviting like the day she had sat next to him on the plane.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lied, her heart guarded.
“Take a seat, Jorja. We have a lot to discuss.”
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“Oh, I’m sure you do, but even if I believed that, there is a lot I have to say to you. So, please, sit down.”
She did, watching him move the suitcase back onto the floor before he sat down opposite her and placed a folder on the table in front of him.
Jorja shuffled nervously in her seat.
“I want legal representation. I’ve been asking for one since you brought me here. I know my rights. You can’t keep me here.”
“You won’t need any if you cooperate with us.”
“Cooperate with you? And do what exactly? You already got what you wanted, so what’s left? I’ll tell you what’s left, the bitter taste of betrayal.”
She crossed her arms and stared blankly out the small window.
“Fair enough, you have every right to be angry. But I have a right to explain my side also.”
“No, you don’t. Nothing you can say will fix this, Pascale. You played me, used me, and now Ben is dead. And it’s all thanks to you. We had a deal and you didn’t honor it. But I guess you knew you weren’t going to right from the start. So, I guess the joke’s on me.”
Pascale didn’t argue. Instead his fingers tapped at his cell phone, holding it up for her to watch something on the screen.
When she looked she saw Ben, his face badly beaten, his voice strained when he spoke.
“Jorja, it’s me. I’m told you’re okay. I’m fine too. I knew you could do it. Then again, you learned from the best.” He laughed, then flinched when his smile pulled at a wound on his lips. “Anyway, I can’t wait to see you and hear all the details. Hopefully, that will be soon.” He blew her a kiss before the video shut off.
A soft sigh escaped from Jorja’s quivering lips.
“I want to see him.” Her voice was soft and laden with emotion when she spoke.
Pascale placed his phone face-down to one side of the table and clasped his hands on top of the folder in front of him.
“I would like nothing more than to take you to him but I’m afraid it isn’t possible right now.”
“Why not?”
“Well, for a start, he’s in the infirmary. He took quite a beating.”
“Even more reason for me to see him. Please, I need to see Ben.”
“He hasn’t been properly processed.”
“Processed? What for? He’s done nothing wrong.”
“The man’s been on the wanted list for more than two decades, Jorja. He’s breached dozens of cyber laws in just about every country in the world. It’s out of my hands now.”
Jorja placed her palms on the table and leaned in toward Pascale. “Ben walked away twenty years ago, Pascale. It’s my fault he got involved. We didn’t have a choice. I didn’t have a choice. And Ben nearly died in all of this. Lock me up and throw away the key for all I care, but you have to let him go. Please. You got what you wanted. Just let him go.”
Her eyes were suddenly watery and her voice desperate and pleading as she stared into Pascale’s questioning eyes. Caught by surprise at the sour expression that flashed across Pascale’s face, she backed away and retreated into one of the corners of the room to take hold of the emotions that raged inside her.
When Pascale spoke, something in his voice had changed. It had lost the taint of compassion he spoke with mere moments ago.
“If he means that much to you, I’ll see what I can do to cut him a deal of some sorts, but first you and I have to come to an arrangement.”
Jorja crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall as she scoffed. “So now you’re blackmailing me again.”
“That’s not quite how I would describe it. May I remind you that you broke the law, Jorja? I’m offering you an opportunity to not go to prison.”
“You tricked me, deceived me into stealing that painting! It’s entrapment, is what this is. I want a lawyer.”
But her words had no impact on Pascale and she watched him hang his jacke t over the back of his chair before he pushed his sleeves up and opened the folder.
“Take a seat, Jorja. I hate to have to do this but you have run out of options. The way I see it, we need you as much as you need us, so the quicker we get this done, the sooner we can all go on with our lives and you and Ben can drive off into the sunset together when he one day gets out of prison.” His voice broke as he spoke the words before he cleared his throat to continue. “What I’m offering you is complete immunity in exchange for your skillset and cooperation in taking the Gardiens down.” He paused, his head bowed as he waited for Jorja to respond.
Confusion and anger left Jorja pacing between the corners of the room, her palms flat against her temples as she struggled to make sense of it all. Questions flooded her mind. Why was he doing this to her? Why was he forcing her to sin by blackmailing her into working undercover with him? And why was he so bothered by her wanting to see Ben? If she didn’t know any better she’d swear Pascale was jealous. How dare he? He had no right to toy with her emotions like that. Before, when he tricked her, he had used his charm to rope her in, but now … now there was no logic to why he needed her. After all, he was an Interpol agent with all the resources he would ever need to succeed, and he was married to a woman who was quite obviously involved with the Gardiens. He already had everything at his disposable to take them down.
The reminder of his association with the Gardiens had her recalling the tattoo she’d seen on Pascale’s arm and she found herself glancing back at his exposed arms on top of the table.
“It’s fake,” Pascale said when he realized what she was looking for.
He had caught her by surprise and she quickly turned away from him.
Jorja’s reaction stung at Pascale’s insides. She had every reason to be angry with him. She was right. He had used her. The same way he had taken every opportunity available to him over the past decade in his mission to take down the Gardiens. He was desperate, but more than that, he had let his guard down and allowed her to mess with his head—and his heart.
Chapter Two
Annoyance tugged at Pascale and soon pushed him to his feet. Where he now stood behind his chair, his hands resting on the backrest, he dropped his head, desperate to find a way forward.
“You’re right. I used you. But, to be fair, it was pure coincidence that you got caught in my crosshairs. It just so happened that our paths crossed and I took the opportunity to do my job.”
He pushed himself away from the chair and placed both hands on his hips, his head bowed as if he were ashamed when he continued.
“You have every right to be angry with me Jorja. I did deceive you, but only because I didn’t have a choice either.”
Pascale’s voice seemed sincere and from his droopy shoulders and downward stare at his hands that now gripped the back of his chair again, Jorja guessed Pascale was battling an inward torture of his own. She slowly walked toward her chair and sat down across from him again. When he looked at her, something in his eyes evoked compassion for his circumstances and she spoke in a soft voice. “If I help you, you have to let Ben go.”
Pascale’s eyes narrowed as he looked up, the muscles in his jaw tense as if he was holding back a question—or holding all the cards. Unable to read the expression on his face, she tried again.
“Ben is like a brother to me, Pascale. He’s all I have left in this world. I will never be able to forgive myself if he has to spend the rest of his life behind bars. I’ll do whatever you need me to do if you keep him safe and out of prison. You have my word.”
There was a long pause.
“I’ll be back in a bit,” Pascale finally spoke, then turned and left the room, taking the folder with him.
Left alone in the room, Jorja turned her attention back to the sunlight that poured through the tiny window and suddenly lit up the entire room around her. It was as if a heavy cloak of darkness had been lifted away to make space for a warm blanket of peace that now wrapped snugly around her shoulders. She closed her eyes, pushed her chin out toward the light, and thanked God for saving Ben.
Even though her future was yet to be determined, even if she was still confused as to why God had allowed her to be in this position, she found peace in knowing that her indiscretions wouldn’t be the cause of pain on the lives of any more innocent people. Her wrongdoings had caught up with her. Every last one of them, and perhaps this was how she was meant to pay for it. Sacrificing the life she had always dreamed of living, her home in St. Ives, her beloved cat, Vincent, the hope of one day having someone to love and grow old with, it would all be worth losing if in return she atoned for her sins. She would take her punishment and claw her way through it to where she would hopefully, eventually, find rest for her weary soul. Even if it were to be in prison.
* * *
The door shut noisily beside her when Pascale re-entered the room to take his seat again
Jorja snapped back into the present. She watched as he placed the folder back in its place on the table in front of him then leaned forward. Jorja’s eyes widened with expectation as he spoke.
“I’ve had a word with my superior. In exchange for your full cooperation, they will grant Ben complete immunity. He will get a new identity and be relocated to an undisclosed location where he will be contractually committed to putting his skills to use for us, whenever we might need them.”
He paused to study Jorja’s face as she realized what that meant. “Unfortunately, that also means you won’t have any contact with each other from here on out for fear of compromising his association with Interpol. Not to mention the high risk it poses given your history together.”
Jorja slumped back in her seat and loosely folded her arms across her chest. A single tear trickled down her cheek. She had walked out on Ben twenty years ago, at peace with never seeing him again. She could do it again if it meant he’d be free. She at least owed him that much for nearly getting him killed.
She nodded as she wiped her tears on her sleeve. “What do you need?”
Pascale’s heart ached with what he had to do. Perhaps one day she could come to forgive him for forcing her hand, for using her. But he had given up too much to let all his work infiltrating the Gardiens go to ruin. He had lost a lot too.
It took Pascale a few seconds to reply. “I’m not going to lie to you, Jorja. Heaven knows I’ve done enough of that. So I’m going to give it to you straight. It’s not going to be easy. The road ahead will be tough and possibly require far more than what you are prepared to give, but we believe you are the only one equipped enough to get us to the finish line. Frankly, we thought Nikki was the one for the job, but you have far outweighed her abilities and proven your worth in getting the Salvator Mundi. Had it not been for that painting, we would have hit a dead end. We have been at it for nearly a decade and it’s the closest we’ve ever come to taking down the Gardiens.”
Jorja fell silent once Pascale had finished. It was a lot to take in. When she looked up she fixed her eyes on his.
“And once I deliver my side of our deal, will you grant me the same immunity?”
“Provided the mission is successful, yes.”
Jorja scoffed. “Sounds like a raw deal no matter which way you slice it.”
“We have the full backing of every single international government department and their resources. You’ve met and worked with the team. You will work with them again—barring, of course, Nikki, who won’t ever see another day outside her prison walls. I knew she was a risk, but I give you my word you will have my full support, Jorja—and protection.” Pascale leaned in. “Just don’t double-cross us like Nikki did and you’ll be fine.” His lips curled into a playful smile.
