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“How did you get out of marrying him?”
“Rouge and I ran away.”
I kissed the top of her head before tucking it back under my chin. “You’re such a brave girl, Emily.”
“I don’t feel brave. I’m scared all the time. I’m constantly looking over my shoulder and questioning the intentions of anyone who even walks too close to me. I see his face in every stranger I see, and sometimes I think it’s going to slowly drive me crazy.”
“I don’t think being brave means you can’t be afraid. I think it’s doing something even when you're scared,” I said, working to keep my voice calm and steady. I wanted to rip the bastard to pieces, though. He’d put Emily through hell. She’d suffered for years.
She twisted the string on my hoodie around her fingers several times. I had to still her nervous movements before she would answer. “Maybe.”
“Has he been stalking you since you left?” A shiver wracked her small body and my heart physically hurt for her.
“No. Only for a few months,” she answered.
“What does he want?” Nausea bubbled in the pit of my stomach as possible scenarios ran through my head.
“Me.”
I knew that. Clearly he wanted her so badly he was willing to abduct her in a bar full of people. “To do what? Marry him?” She’d said he was her intended and I wanted to make sure I fully understood the situation.
“It’s a little more than that. He wants me to come back to the compound and help it grow. The Movement split in half apparently and there’s not many children now. Without children, they can’t keep it growing.”
“How do they want you to help grow it, Emily?” I was almost afraid to ask.
“By helping produce children and by bringing in other young women to help produce children. He believes my presence will give more females the confidence to commit to the cult. They will be matched with men who will get them pregnant. I won’t do it, though. Not only would I never willingly go back, I would never encourage another woman to live through that nightmare. She would never be viewed as a person, just a thing to be bred.”
Fuck.
“Each man has several wives,” she continued. “Rouge was one of four wives to her husband. The more children you have, the more things you have access to. We never had electricity or water inside the houses, but the men with the most children had houses closer to the water supply. It is why men take multiple women. Plus there’s more women than men, so that’s how they justify the marriages. I never understood why we had to be so young though.”
“Oh, princess,” I cooed, hugging her tighter. My heart hurt so badly for her and Rouge.
“Rouge… Rouge tried to run away once and my f-father and the other elders beat her so badly that she couldn’t walk for weeks. That’s why I didn’t tell her about this. S-she deserves to feel safe. She went through so much.”
“You both deserve to feel safe, Emily. We’re gonna make sure that happens from now on, okay? Neither of you need to be scared anymore,” Pike said.
Dallas climbed from my lap to his. I’m sure she was more horrified than either of us. Emily was her best friend and she’d had no idea about any of this.
“Are you mad at me?” Emily asked Dallas.Her head was still tucked under my chin, but she turned so she could at least see Dallas
“No, I’m mad at myself. I’m so sorry, Emily. I should have forced you to tell me. I should have been more aware.”
Emily reached her hand out and Dallas took it. “You did everything you could, Dallas. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you more. I just wanted to keep you safe. The Movement is so evil and you’re so good. I didn’t want it to hurt you.”
The world didn’t deserve these sweet babies.
“What do I tell the police?” Emily asked.
“The truth. You tell them about The Movement, how you were arranged to marry him, about running away, how he has been stalking and harassing you, about him trying to take you tonight, and how he hit you when you wouldn't go with him. ” I answered her.
“But they can only arrest him for tonight, right?”
“For right now, but then they can open an investigation on him and the cult. I’m sure there are some more charges there.”
I could tell by her stiffening body that she found something wrong with my answer.
“What’s wrong, princess?”
