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“Shh, the only way they’ll find me is if you keep squawking like that demented chicken in the coop.” He dropped to his knees beside her, holding a water bottle to her lips, and she chuckled before taking a sip.
As the tepid liquid filled her mouth, she swished it before swallowing.
So good.
“More, please,” she said, still sounding like an animated frog.
Eric held the water for her again, and as he did, her gaze drifted to the fuzzy blonde head of their baby sister. The one whose mother was younger than Delilah herself. Barely eighteen to be exact. She’d recently married their father and lived a life no one would envy.
Eric gave her a small smile before stroking a tanned finger across the baby’s head. “What are we dealing with here, Delilah? Can you walk?”
Her throat thickened as tears formed. She tried to pinch them off, but one escaped. As was his way, he patiently waited until she’d composed herself.
Her brother was a saint. The boy was huge with dark hair and dark eyes, like their father. At sixteen, he’d already passed six-foot-two and would continue to grow. Years of working on the farm and mandatory military-style training had honed his muscles as well. Eric could easily pass for older than she was.
No matter how many hundreds of hours her father had spent trying to mold his son into the perfect little soldier, Eric remained as gentle a giant that ever lived.
Until someone threatened those he loved. Then he could be as vicious as a junkyard dog—far more man than the boy he’d never been allowed to be.
Each of her five siblings had life beyond their years. All except little Rae, who, if everything went according to plan, would be the only one of them to experience an actual childhood. That thought, that hope for Rae’s future, stoked the flame of defiance inside Delilah. Rae would have a life outside the gates of the community. So would the rest of her siblings.
“Roger discovered my birth control pills. He roughed me up pretty bad and hasn’t fed me at all.”
Eric nodded as he helped her drink another sip of water. “I thought it was something like that. Are you going to be able to walk out of here?” He was the only one who’d known her secret.
With a snort, she shrugged, then winced. “Haven’t tried. It’s been hours since Roger was last in here, and the most I’ve moved was from flat on the floor to against this wall when you knocked.”
“We’re ready to go, Delilah. The kids are packed and in position.”
What?
“Eric,” she breathed. She’d have grabbed him and shook him if the action wouldn’t make her shout in agony. “We can’t.” Her heart kicked up, pounding against her aching ribs. This was insane. Pure madness. How could they pull it off? Rae was so young. So dependent on her mother for every second of her survival.
Even if this was the time to go, could Delilah’s bruised and broken body cooperate enough to handle the physical demands of escape?
Madness.
“We have to,” he said with panic in his voice. “Things are changing, Delilah. Roger is furious like I’ve never seen. I overheard him ranting like a madman in father’s office. He was screaming about you being defective, and how he was promised offspring from the founder’s bloodline, and he is demanding that promise be fulfilled.”
“Oh, God, it’s going to be impossible for me to protect myself from pregnancy after this.” She tapped a hand to her aching forehead as though it would get her nerves firing more effectively. “I need to think, but I’m so hungry it’s hard to concentrate.”
“Delilah,” he said in a severe tone that had her focusing on his face. “You don’t understand.”
Dread rolled through her empty stomach forcing bile up her esophagus. She swallowed, wincing as the acid burned. “What don’t I?”
“H-he wants Cathryn,” Eric whispered.
She shook her head. His words struck a cold bolt of fear deep into her gut, yet at the same time, her brain rejected the statement as impossible. “She’s fourteen. It’s not—they’ve never—”
Eric nodded. “I know.”
“Father said no, right? He’s crazy, but even he’s never gone that far off the deep end. Please tell me he said no.” If she could have, she’d have crawled across the floor and knelt at Eric’s feet, begging him to tell her their father refused Roger’s demand.
“He agreed.”
Delilah sagged. “Oh, my God. We have to get out of here. Now.”
“First thing I did was grab the money and get the kids packed. They’re ready to go. We need to leave tonight, but, God, Delilah, you look awful.”
She let her eyes fall closed as she huffed out a painful laugh. “Thanks, Eric. You’re sweet.”
“You know what I mean. I’ve never seen you so bruised. How could he do this? I wish I could kill him. I’m not even kidding. If Roger or father walked in right now—”
