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Leaning back on the pillow, Aiden brought me to him. “I can’t believe you dealt with that all alone. I wish I’d known.”
“I was afraid and couldn’t risk the wrong person finding out.” My voice was on the verge of cracking.
Aiden consoled me. “Don’t be upset, Kenzie.” A gentle caress touched my cheek. “It’s beyond fucked up what you had to deal with.”
“I know.” Playing with the ring Aiden got me, I knew I had to give Aiden an out. “If this is too much, we can end this. I lied and I know how you feel about lying.”
“Kenzie, look at me.” My eyes shot to Aiden’s. His face had lost the earlier scowl. “I’m not letting you go. When I said I loved you, I meant it. I can handle this.”
Fiercely, I hugged myself to him. “I love you. I love you so much. I’ll never lie to you again.”
The warmth of his welcoming embrace had me wanting to cry all over again. “You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. I’m thankful you ran into Brooklyn.”
“You guys have both been a blessing.” Aiden was deep in thought as he focused on a spot beyond my face. “What are you thinking about?”
“Just what all you went through and what it was like.”
I thought about life back at The Society; the tiresome days, the strict rules, and the sense of community. Part of me would always miss my home. “Back then, it seemed normal. It was all that I knew. But now, I feel violated like I was brainwashed.” I took a deep breath. “At times, it’s hard not to be angry with my mom for what she did.”
“I’d feel the same way.” More silence permeated the room as we were left to our thoughts. “Now, the question is what do we do, sweetheart?”
Conviction rose through me. “They’re killing people, Aiden. I need to find a way to try and expose them.”
Aiden dragged a hand down his face. “We’re going to have to be smart about this, Kenzie. I can’t put your life in jeopardy. I won’t lose you.” Thrumming his fingers on my back, I knew he was thinking. It’s what he always did while he contemplated his stories. “Let’s see what we can find and we’ll decide what to do from there.”
“I want to try and save all those people.”
“Me too, sweetheart. Me too.”
AIDEN AND I had both skipped class today. With all the revelations, I needed a day away from school even though we were in the library. A book with detailed foldout maps was on the desk beside Aiden’s laptop. I was researching the protection religious sectors receive from the government as well as other “cults” where incidents happened that became national news such as mass suicides.
Due to religious protection not much could be done without proof. Proof was one thing we didn’t have to start a more intensive investigation. I had stories of what I remembered from my mom’s death, but no proof. Everything else was conjecture. That was only enough to have someone go out there and see if there was anything out of the ordinary . . . on the surface. The problem was this was a case where innocent people were potentially being killed and had no idea.
First we were going to go to the police. If that didn’t work, we would contact the FBI.
My new phone vibrated on the desk. Quickly, I swiped it up. It was Brooklyn.
Brooklyn: Are you okay? Aiden told me what happened. I’m worried about you.
Aiden had agreed that Brooklyn couldn’t know the truth about The Society. Anyone who found out about it could be put into harm’s way if The Society knew I was still alive. No one left The Society. There were no stories in any of the papers about the community. It was as if they didn’t exist.
There had to be some sort of explanation for my behavior last night, so we’d decided to tell Brooklyn that I’d been at the library and been hit with a wave of sadness from losing my mom. It was the truth minus a few details.
Me: Thank you. I’m sorry I worried everyone. I’m doing better. I’ll be home tonight.
Brooklyn: Double movie date?
Looking over at Aiden, he was concentrating on something intensely. “Brooklyn wants to do a double movie date. Are you up for it?”
“Sure.”
He wasn’t paying attention, but I knew he wouldn’t mind as I responded.
Me: Sounds perfect.
Brooklyn: Yay! I’ll pick up the pizza.
I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling of the library needing a break before I went back to researching. We hadn’t really learned anything new from what I’d already found. The Keeper had been vigilant in keeping any specifics hidden from the public. From the outside, The Society looked like a respectful group.
