by Karen Rose
From Tamar’s pained expression, she knew it, too.
“I want you to stay as still as possible,” Rebecca said. “I don’t want you to go into labor until Sister Coleen returns. I want a healthy baby, so you will do everything in your power to delay labor. That includes staying put.”
Hayley wanted to kill the bitch. She wanted a healthy baby? “If I promise to lie still, will you go? Because I’m really hating you right now.”
One side of Rebecca’s mouth lifted. “Don’t worry. You won’t have to expend your energy on hating me for much longer.”
Tamar’s eyes closed and Hayley knew she wasn’t being paranoid in taking Rebecca’s words as an obvious threat. There were so many things Hayley wanted to say to the woman. She wanted to threaten her back. But Rebecca held the power right now.
And the woman was right about one thing. She did want to delay labor for as long as possible, because Graham was so close to being able to call out for help. She hadn’t mentioned the mild contractions to him. She hadn’t wanted to break his concentration. He’d set up the last of the healer’s computer equipment this morning and was using this latest trip to empty the pots to try to send out e-mails to the cops and Cameron.
Please, Graham. Please. Be careful. Be successful.
Her heart sank when there was a furor out in the common area. She could hear Joshua’s voice. And Graham’s. Neither sounded happy.
The curtain ripped back. Joshua had Graham by the collar and was shaking him. Bruises were forming on Graham’s face and Hayley wanted to kill Joshua, too.
But all she could do was watch helplessly.
“Take him away,” Rebecca cried, waving her hands. “He reeks.”
“On purpose,” Joshua growled. “He was up there, in the rocks . . . I’m still not sure what he was doing. He had a computer. He somehow smuggled a computer into the compound.”
Rebecca’s shock was genuine. “What? How?”
“It’s not mine,” Graham shouted. “I keep telling you. It’s the healer’s. It’s Pastor’s.” Graham’s voice was carrying and already the membership was gathering beyond the curtain. Which, Hayley figured, was Graham’s intent, because Joshua was shaking him again, snarling at him to be quiet.
Graham was having none of it. There was desperation in his expression, in his voice, in the way he held his body rigid, fists clenched at his sides. He knew he was no physical match.
He was hoping for someone in the community to have the courage to stand with him.
“They hid this technology from you!” Graham continued to yell.
Joshua clamped a big hand over Graham’s nose and mouth, and Hayley struggled to get up. The bastard wasn’t trying to quiet Graham. He was trying to smother him.
“Get your fucking hands off him!” Hayley yelled. “He’s telling the truth. I saw the computer in the healer’s office at the last site. Stop! You’re going to kill him!”
“Brother Joshua.” It was Isaac, their mother’s husband. “You cannot kill this boy. If he has erred, it’s Pastor’s responsibility to decide his sentence.”
Sentence? The hope that had speared Hayley’s heart died. Isaac wasn’t going to help them. Why would he? She was sure their mother had told him all kinds of lies about them.
“Pastor left me in charge,” Joshua said in an ominous tone.
“Not to pass judgment.” Isaac stepped up to Joshua and forcibly removed his hand from Graham’s face. Then stared at him.
In challenge, Hayley realized. Isaac wasn’t doing the right thing. He was vying for control.
Still, it was an intervention, and none too soon, because Graham was wheezing and coughing. Joshua would have killed him while she watched. The rage that had been on a constant simmer since they’d been dragged to this hell erupted.
“Do none of you care that your Pastor had a computer?” Hayley yelled. “Like you’re pretending not to care that he went to a hospital when he let your loved ones die?”
The gathering crowd went silent for several long beats before the murmurs resumed. But this time they seemed to be agreeing. With that last statement, anyway.
“My baby died,” one woman said loudly, even though her husband tried to shut her up.
“My wife died,” a man said. “She was thirty-five. She might have lived if Pastor had allowed me to take her to a hospital, but he refused, no matter how I begged.”
“And we can discuss that,” Joshua said in his booming voice, trying to regain control. “For now, this boy has brought contraband into our community.”
Graham pushed himself to stand at his full height. “Dude,” he said, his voice hoarse from coughing, “I don’t even have my phone. It was the size of a deck of cards and you confiscated it. Where would I have hidden a computer, for God’s sake?” He staggered when the back of Joshua’s hand connected with his mouth. Blood dripped from Graham’s lip.
Joshua was breathing hard. “You will not take the name of our Lord God in vain.”
“Fuck you,” Hayley growled and struggled to get up.
Rebecca pushed her back down with ease. “You are a whore,” she hissed in Hayley’s ear. “If you don’t shut up, I’ll cut this baby from your body and make your brother watch.”
“Lady, you’d better take your hands off me.” Hayley was calm now.
“Or what?” Rebecca murmured.
Hayley ground her teeth impotently. Because Rebecca was right. She had no power here.
Graham wiped the blood from his mouth. “I repeat. Where would I have hidden a computer? And a set of solar panels? And a satellite dish? You’re out of your fucking minds!”
Joshua’s fist made a crunching sound as it struck Graham’s jaw. “Be silent!” he roared. “If our healer possessed these things before you arrived, how is it that no one has seen them?”
Graham went down and Hayley tried to crawl to him, only for Rebecca to yank her back.
A single voice cut through the noise. “I have.”
Again, silence reigned, the only sounds Graham’s muted groans and Joshua’s panting breaths. One of the oldest members pushed her way through to stand next to Joshua. Her nose wrinkled in distaste at Graham’s smell, but she squared her shoulders to glare up at Joshua.
Joshua was a big man and this old woman was tiny. Her name was Sister Judith and she led the quilters. Hayley had never spoken with her in the weeks that she’d been here. Joshua turned his attention to the old woman, giving her a death glare that didn’t seem to frighten her.
From the corner of Hayley’s eye, she saw Tamar skirt the crowd to get to Graham, dropping to her knees to help him. Tamar gave Hayley a reassuring nod. Graham was okay.
Hayley returned her attention to the old woman, who’d lifted her chin.
“Will you hit me, too, Joshua?” she demanded. “Your own mother?”
Oh. Wow.
“Step down, woman,” Joshua said quietly. “I don’t want to have you removed.”
“And you would, wouldn’t you?” The woman turned to her fellow Edenites. “I saw the computer in Sister Coleen’s office two moves ago. I wasn’t sure what it was. Or, I knew what it was and didn’t want to admit it to myself.”
Joshua looked like she’d slapped him. “You didn’t tell me.”
“I was being a good member of the flock. But this—” She pointed to Graham. “You would have killed him, Joshua. His sentence is Pastor’s job. He would have cast him out and let the wolves take care of him. You’re wresting control because he is not here, and your father and I didn’t raise you to do that.”
Hayley shook her head, unable to believe this. The woman wasn’t upset because Graham was right but because her son was usurping Pastor’s authority.
“This boy did not bring a computer into Eden,” the old woman continued. “Now, I’m not going to question Pastor. He must believe that we nee
d this machine.”
“Well, then,” Graham said, still on the floor, his words slurred but his disgust still clear. “He’ll be really angry when he comes back. Mr. Genius here broke the solar panels. Nothing works without a power source.”
Oh no. Oh God. That was it, then. They were fucked. She looked to Graham, who held up one finger, then shrugged.
One e-mail? she mouthed.
Cameron, he mouthed back.
The murmurs had resumed and it seemed that the entire group took a giant step back, distancing themselves from Joshua.
“I didn’t know the solar . . . things were his,” Joshua said, sounding like a petulant child.
“I’m sure he’ll understand that,” his mother said. “But he won’t if you usurp his authority. Put the boy in the box for now, Joshua. Get him out of your sight and cool your mind. Then, once Pastor returns, he can choose the boy’s fate.”
“Cast out,” the group said, almost as one.
Hayley shuddered, because it was damn eerie. And then she gasped when the first real contraction gripped her, stealing her breath with its strength. Shit.
“Now look what you’ve done,” Rebecca spat. “She’s gone into labor. Go. Everyone go!”
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA
TUESDAY, MAY 30, 1:30 P.M.
I need to get out of here. DJ had been pacing in Coleen’s bedroom for hours, watching the news with mounting dread. The Feds now had his photo on every network, and for a brief time he’d been trending on Twitter. They even knew he was now bald.
At least they didn’t know he was here. They didn’t know anything about this place. So he was safe. For now.
But Gideon and Mercy had won. For now.
He’d retreat. For now. But he wasn’t leaving here without Pastor—or at least Pastor’s cash. He’d find his sunny island and pay someone else to take care of Gideon and Mercy. It wouldn’t be as satisfying as putting a bullet in their heads himself, but the job would get done.
He consolidated the bags he’d brought with him, adding the fake license plates and magnetic signs to the weapons bag. The laptop didn’t fit, but it didn’t matter. This wasn’t the first time he’d had to ditch a laptop. He’d bought a model with a removable hard drive for just this reason. He popped the drive and tossed it into the duffel.
He’d turned for the door when it opened, and Coleen entered the room. She closed the door behind her and leaned on it. And said nothing, simply watching him.
New dread coiled in DJ’s gut. “Where is he?”
“Back in the solarium after his nap.”
“What did he do while he was there?”
“He met a little girl earlier, and they chatted. He wanted to feel the sun on his face, so I took him back and left him with his nurse. I wanted to talk to you.”
“What did they chat about? And who’s with him now?”
“They chatted about all kinds of things. His kids, you know, his real kids. Bo and Bernie.”
“That doesn’t hurt me like you think it does,” DJ said. “I never wanted to be his kid.”
“He told the child his name was Ben.”
DJ stared. “He what? Has he gone senile?”
“The nurse said it’s probably an aftereffect of the anesthesia. That sometimes people get confused. I looked it up on the computer there—” She pointed to the computer the facility provided for the suite. “And it’s true. But I also looked up all kinds of other things.”
“Like what?”
“Like the news. Lots of stuff has happened in thirty years, you know? I kept up with medical news on the computer you gave me, but it seems most of the Internet wasn’t available. I wonder why that is.”
Because DJ had blocked their access. “Stop talking unless you have something to say.”
Coleen tilted her head. “Mercy Callahan.”
Fuck. “I don’t know that name.”
Coleen smiled. “Well, she went by Mercy Burton back then. She looks just like her mother. It’s uncanny. Oh, and she’s alive. Which you knew because you’ve been trying to kill her.”
“I killed her thirteen years ago. I told you that.”
“Either you were mistaken or you lied. Either way, you’re trying to kill her now. And not doing such a good job of it.”
He took a step closer, annoyed when she didn’t flinch. “And how do you know this?”
“Because I saw a report this morning, before I took Pastor to the solarium. It was an interview with a lady whose husband’s body was found in a freezer yesterday by the FBI. Who say you’re the lead suspect. But you knew that, too.”
DJ took another step closer. “That has nothing to do with Mercy Callahan.”
“That’s not what the man’s widow is saying. She said that the family down the street is responsible. That they took in Mercy Callahan and Gideon Reynolds. Their photos popped up on the screen, and imagine my surprise. I thought Gideon was dead, too.”
So had I. Thanks, Dad.
“Seems like your father also lied,” Coleen said. “I wonder what Gideon’s mother had over men. I mean, she was pretty, but not that pretty. But she had Amos and Ephraim and Waylon wrapped around her finger. And you, too, until you actually killed her.”
“She did not have me wrapped around her finger,” DJ spat. “I wanted to kill her when I let her stow away in my truck.”
“Both Mercy and her mother were supposed to die then?”
At least Coleen saw the truth. “Yes. I wanted them to think they were getting away.”
“So you took them to civilization, let them think they were getting their freedom, and then you killed them. Or tried to.”
“I thought Mercy was dead. I didn’t know until last month that she wasn’t. Gideon either.”
“I see.”
He smiled tightly. “Good. Glad we had this chat.”
“Well, maybe.”
Coleen was playing him somehow. “Are you going to tell Pastor?” he asked.
She shook her head. “If I were going to tell him, I’d have done it already.”
She was lying. He could see it in her eyes. He moved faster than she’d been expecting, trapping her against the door, pressing his forearm into her throat.
“What are you doing, Sister Coleen?” he asked in a low hiss.
“Nothing,” Coleen rasped. “Just filling in the blanks. You’re hurting me, DJ.”
He used his free hand to pat her down, chuckling when he found the tablet concealed down the back of her shirt. It was Sunnyside’s tablet and she’d figured out how to make it record audio. He hit the end button and dropped the tablet, crushing it with his boot.
Her eyes widening, she clawed at his arm as she fought to breathe.
“You were getting me to confess so that you could play it for Pastor.” He smiled down at her, energized by her fear. “You thought you were smarter than me? You’re just a woman.”
He grabbed the chain around her throat and twisted hard, cutting off her air supply as he dragged her to the bed. He shoved her down and grabbed a pillow. Leaning close, he whispered, “This is how Waylon died. Just so you know.”
He pressed the pillow to her face, putting all of his weight on it. She struggled. And then she was quiet. He remained another few minutes. Just to be sure.
Then he took her pulse, just to be very sure. She was dead. He took off her shoes and set them aside, then tucked her into bed, like she’d taken a nap.
He needed to get Pastor out of this place and back to Eden. Or at least partway to Eden. As far as it took to get him to cough up the codes. He’d have to steal a car to get out of the lot. And then he’d return to the Explorer he’d set aside. That would get him back up into the mountains.
Putting on the surgical mask, he slipped from the suite carrying his duffel. He met Nurse Innes on his way to the employee
entrance.
“I’m glad you’re leaving. I didn’t want to have you escorted out.”
Bitch. “My mother has everything covered. I’ll call for an Uber,” he lied, “but I want to stop and say goodbye to the old man on my way out.”
“I’ll walk with you.”
He gritted his teeth. “You really want me out of here, don’t you?”
Her smile was thin. “You’ve created quite a mess for yourself, Mr. Belmont. You are a security risk. If the authorities find you here, you’ll put this facility in a very bad spot.” They stopped at a door marked SOLARIUM. “Your father is inside. There, chatting with the nursing assistant.”
DJ peered through the window. “That’s not the assistant he was assigned.” The nurse sitting nearby was the same, but not the assistant.
“She works in pediatrics. He met her this morning when she brought her patient to the solarium, and he demanded that she be assigned to him. We do our best to meet his needs.”
There was something about the nursing assistant that bothered him. She was familiar. And then she turned her head and he saw her hot pink cat-eye glasses with sparkling rhinestones.
He’d seen those glasses before—in the scope of his rifle on that rooftop. She’d been with Mercy in the eye doctor’s office. She’d blocked his shot.
She’d fucked everything up. And then the real truth descended.
She was with the FBI.
Fucking hell. He remembered Nurse Gaynor, the little bugs she’d been planting. Had she been hired by Kowalski or had she been with the FBI, too?
Either way, the Feds knew that he was here. They were probably waiting for him outside. Why hadn’t they stormed the place? What were they waiting for?
Me. They’re waiting for me. He’d snuck in via the ambulance the night before, so they didn’t know. But they’d know now, because this woman was likely wired like Nurse Gaynor had been.
He needed to get out of here. But in a way they wouldn’t suspect.
The ambulance they’d used last night would be perfect. Nobody would stop him from leaving, and any Fed waiting outside would assume he was legit.