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“Don’t fucking touch me, you creep!”
The two men laugh as Joanna hurries to her daughter and hisses something in her ear.
Jacob finally finds his feet and holds a hand to his face. “God has ordained this match! Nothing you do can stop it. Now stop being a little bitch and do what you’re told!”
“You’re the only little bitch I see around here!” Charlie shoots back.
Good girl. I smirk.
Jacob sputters as the other men start up another belly laugh.
Joanna grabs Charlie’s elbow and drags her toward the doors. “You are going to behave or I’m going to allow them to handle Grams. Do you understand?”
My blood goes cold. These bastards are off the fucking rails.
Charlie digs her heels in. “What?”
“You heard me.” Her mother whirls on her. “Her death would be for the good of the ministry and for your good, too. So don’t give me a reason, young lady.”
Charlie stops fighting and hangs her head. Her mother drags her the rest of the way into the building, and Jacob and the men follow.
Once the doors close, I hear nothing but the hum of a small airplane far overhead and the rumble of a tractor in the distance. I move quickly, darting between the cars until I reach the building, where I hurry along the wall and around to the side. There has to be another way into this place. I can’t go through the front doors, not when I’m fairly certain there would be armed men waiting for me. But I’m not leaving here without Charlie.
I keep going, my head on a swivel as I come to the back corner and turn. Up ahead, there are several young women lounging by a pool. I keep going, straightening my posture and trying to pretend like I belong.
“Hey. You aren’t supposed to be back here.” A guard steps from a shadowy alcove against the back of the building.
“Sorry, I was sent out to the field to pray.” I bow my head and hunch my shoulders. “But the sun got to me. I’m afraid I’m going to pass out.”
The girls cover up, tossing towels over themselves. Once I get closer, I see one of them has a black eye.
“The Prophet’s girls are sacred and not for your unwholesome eyes.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I just–” I clutch my stomach with one hand. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Don’t vomit on the travertine!” The guard sighs and gestures toward the building. “Get inside before he finds out. Hurry. Go straight to Deborah. She can check you out.”
“Thank you.” I clap my hand over my mouth and dart past him as he opens the rear door for me.
It slams shut, and I stay still for a moment as my eyes adjust to the dim interior. A long hallway leads deeper into the structure, doors on the left and right, some of them open. As I pass, I find sleeping quarters, most of them sparely decorated, the beds made with hospital corners. I duck into one and look around, searching for a weapon.
Dropping to my knees, I feel under the bed. Nothing. Then I run my hand beneath the mattress. When I feel cold steel, I grin and pull out the gun. A revolver. Checking the cylinder, I find six shots. I tuck the piece in the back of my waistband and let my flannel shirt fall over it.
Then I return to the hallway and listen for the smallest sounds, knowing one of them will lead me to my Bunny.
22
CHARLIE
“Do we have a dress that will fit her?” A man that is the spitting image of Jacob, only older, asks. His eyes rake up and down my body. “She’s a bit plumper than our other females.” He licks his lips. From his expression, I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not. But based on the way he was staring at me earlier, I’d have to say he likes what he sees.
“Child-bearing hips.” Jacob grunts.
I really am going to throw up. My mind can’t let me think of having Jacob’s babies. Out of the corner of my eye, I see my mom’s mouth pursed shut. She was quick to hand me over to her lover, but it looks like she’s not so happy about the idea now. The second Jacob glances over at her, a fake smile lights up my mother's face. I swear I don’t even recognize her anymore.
“I’ll have this one ready in no time, Prophet Micah.” A pretty blond girl comes into the room with a white garment over her arm. She’s younger than me. As with all the girls I’ve come across since I entered this place, she is thin and not in a natural way. Are they not feeding them because they don’t want plump females as Micah had said or because he wants them weak? I’m gonna go with the latter. It makes them easier to control.
