Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

The sky turned from purple to black as night descended over him. Julian lifted his glass to his mouth and swallowed some scotch. The chirp of crickets filled the air, and he took a moment to appreciate it. He rarely sat outside at night, but he might make a habit of it now. The night held a certain peace, even though the sounds of traffic vied with nature's orchestra.

His relaxation time brought him closer to Lilith. Was she outside right now? Or was she in her room? Was she thinking of him? Julian scoffed at that last thought. Lilith had more important things to focus on than thinking about him.

After their lunch together, he’d gone back to the office and worked more on the job that had had him at Alliez’s office that day. The team and taskforce were ready to make their move, but they had to wait until they had confirmation that the women and children were going to be shipped out. Once they had that, they would make their plans and ensure that the innocent souls wouldn’t be dragged into a hell they couldn’t return from.

He’d struggled to concentrate. All his focus had been on his hand and lingering tingles from where Lilith had touched him—of her own free will.

The second her hand had landed on his, he’d frozen, enjoying the warmth her hand generated over his. He’d longed to flip over his hand and entwine their fingers together, but he hadn’t. After the way she’d reacted to his flyaway comment about helping find a job, he’d vowed that whatever happened between them would come from Lilith. He would follow her lead.

His phone buzzed beside him, and he was ready to ignore it, as his screen showed a number he didn’t recognize. Yet his gut was telling him to answer it. “Hello?” he said cautiously, fully expecting a robotic voice telling him they could help with his student loan debt. Or that the IRS was after him. Sadly, many people did fall for whatever the scammers were selling. They weren’t unlike those that sucked people into cults.

“Julian?”

His heart tumbled over when he heard Lilith’s sweet voice. “Yeah it’s me, Lil. Everything okay?”

Silence met his question, and he started moving inside, heading to where he’d left his keys. If she needed him, he would be there as quickly as he could.

“Yes,” she said eventually as his hand was on the doorknob, ready to twist it open. “Umm, Cass got me a phone.”

The tension left Julian, and he tossed his keys back on the table before sitting on his couch. “That’s good. Am I your first call?”

“Yeah, you are.” He could hear the smile in her voice.

“Then thank you. I feel honored.”

“Don’t let it go to your head. The only other numbers programmed into the phone are Irish and Cass’s, and seeing as I’m living with them, I can’t very well call them.”

Julian would need to thank whoever gave Lilith the phone for putting his number in it. “Still, I’m glad I’m your first call. How are you?”

“Okay. I’m trying to get used to actually having light at night. Not to mention something soft to lie down on.”

The vision of Lilith lying on a bed, her gorgeous black hair spread across his pillow, slammed into his mind, and his dick went hard, imagining having the freedom to kiss her plump lips.

Julian shook his head to dispel the image and take note of what she’d said. The luxury of power and a soft bed, something everyone took for granted, but for people like Lilith, it had been stripped away from her in the blink of an eye. “I’m sure it is. But you’re safe now. You know that, right?”

Had he tempted fate by saying that?

All the top people associated with The Hopeful Sunshine were all still in the FBI facility. Being questioned about the cult and the inner workings of it, Lilith should be safe from them.

Mac had said that a few were being helpful, but Staunton was remaining steadfast in keeping his mouth shut. Which didn’t surprise Julian at all. A man like him wouldn’t enjoy having his power taken away from him, and that was effectively what they’d done. Staunton would remain quiet as long as possible. After all, if he admitted to his crimes, he’d be facing a long time in prison.

“I believe I am. I kept to myself as much as possible. If anything, the women are more likely to come after me. None of them liked me. I never knew why,” she mused.

“I think it’s because you were independent.”

Lilith snorted. “I was far from independent. If I was, then I wouldn’t have found myself back in a cult after one year of freedom.”

Julian wanted to change the subject because he could hear the frustration and anger in Lilith’s voice. Clearly directed at herself. But he also wanted her to talk. The more she talked, the more she would come to realize that she was stronger than she thought she was and that her repeating the same mistake for a second time would be slim. “You were living by yourself. That’s standing on your own two feet.”

“Just because I was in a hut by myself doesn’t mean I was independent. There were rules I had to follow. It wasn’t my choice to be working in the garden. They assigned me there. Luckily, I enjoyed it. I still couldn’t think for myself. Couldn’t say what I wanted to say, and if I did, I was punished. I’m not sure how you could possibly think that I was in charge of my life and destiny. I wasn’t. Staunton and the other men were.”

What could he say? Lilith was right. She may not believe it, but she had more independence than some of the other women in the compound, particularly those paired up with a man. Those women had little autonomy. Now wasn’t the time to get into it though. It was time to change the subject. “What are your plans for the weekend?”

It was still two days away, but Julian wanted to do something with Lilith. Take her for a drive up the coast to Malibu. Or maybe they could take the train down to San Diego. Or perhaps she’d like to go to Disneyland.

“Not much, probably job hunting. I need to work so I can earn some money. I can’t live with Cass and Irish forever. The sooner I start working, the sooner I can get my own place.”

“I respect that, but I know they won’t mind you staying there for as long as you need.”

“Maybe, but Cass said they got married recently. I doubt they want me hanging around during their honeymoon phase.”

“I have a spare room if you want to stay here instead.” The words burst out of Julian before he even had time to fully process them in his mind.

It wasn’t what he’d meant to say at all, but now that he had, he liked the idea more and more.

“Umm.”

While he may like the idea, Lilith wasn’t comfortable with it. And why should she, considering she only knew the bare minimum about him? She understood more about the old Julian, who’d strutted around Freedom and Love as if everyone should respect him as much as Ralph Williamson.

“Forget I ever mentioned you staying here. But if you really are uncomfortable with Irish and Cass—and I promise I’m not taking over—but I can ask around the office to see if anyone with a spare room wants a roommate for a while.”

That idea didn’t appeal to Julian at all. He didn’t want to think about Lilith staying anywhere other than with him if she didn’t want to live with Cass and Irish. Yet he didn’t have that right. They’d only recently started talking to each other with no animosity. Why on earth would she want to live with him?

“I don’t think I’d feel comfortable living with someone I don’t know who worked for the FBI. And I’m not sure I want to forget your offer.”

Had he misheard Lilith? Had she really said she didn’t want to forget his offer? It was almost too good to be true, considering their rocky relationship. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, maybe I want to take you up on it. It’s weird though. I shouldn’t.”

Julian blew out a breath to contain his happiness at Lilith’s admission. “It’s not weird. And whenever you’re ready, the offer is there. I’ve got a pretty good space where we won’t be on top of each other. I can even set up the other spare room into a TV room or other sort of space that’s just yours. And you’ll have your own bathroom too.”

He would do whatever he had to do to make Lilith comfortable with whatever her decision would be. Just hearing her say that she wanted to take him up on it was enough for me.

“I don’t want to take over your entire home. Do you have a house or an apartment?”

“I’ve got a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house. It was a foreclosure, which is how I could afford it.”

“Could I come see it this weekend?”

“You can come anytime you want,” he responded, while mentally high-fiving himself as if he were in high school and the pretty cheerleader had agreed to go out with him. Not that he’d ever experienced going to a normal high school. All of his education had come via the school teachers Ralph had lured to the compound. Of course, only the boys were allowed an education. Educated women were dangerous—Ralph’s words and thoughts. He believed the more knowledge women had the less they were able to be controlled and Ralph was all about control. Ones Julian hadn’t agreed with when he’d been a teenager. He’d believed everything else but that. He’d let his sister, Rose, sit with him when he studied or did his homework, and taught her what he remembered the teacher said. They’d hidden it from their parents, but one day, their father had walked in, and that had ended that. A couple of weeks later, Rose had been groomed to become a bride. Something he should’ve stopped but hadn’t because his father had threatened that he would hurt Rose and he would never see her again if Julian tried to stop the wedding. The man chosen for Rose was the Ralph’s second-in-command, and it was considered a big honor for Rose.

As much as he didn’t want to, he believed his father would follow through on the threat. Part of him didn’t want to test his father. Ralph had also praised him for being a good follower, promising he had a special job lined up for Julian once he finished school. Saying Julian had so much potential to be a great leader. The words of praise, not to mention his father’s threat, had been all it had taken for Julian to forget about stopping his sister’s upcoming marriage. Looking back, Julian hated his younger self for falling for the manipulation, but it was in the past, and that was where it was going to stay.

In the end, everything had turned out for the best. Rose was happy, and he was . . . well, he was getting there. The more time he spent with Lilith, the happier he was becoming.

“Are you still there, Julian?”

Lilith’s voice reminded of where he was. That he wasn’t back in the past. He was in the present, and it was promising—if only he was brave enough to grasp it.

“I’m here.” He gripped the phone, wishing Lilith were in front of him so he could touch her. Ground himself in the here and now.

“Are you having second thoughts about offering me your spare room?”

“No!” He practically shouted the word. “Not at all. When you want to come over, let me know, and I’ll come get you.”

“Tomorrow at eleven?”

Elation thrummed through Julian. “Perfect. I’ll see you then.”

“I’d like that. Good night, Julian.”

“Night, Lil, sleep well.”

The call ended, but Julian kept the phone up to his ear like a lovesick teenager. Lilith was offering him a second chance. One he didn’t think he deserved and would not waste.

Micah Livingstone took a deep breath as he stepped out of the facility he’d been holed up in for over a week.

How dare those people believe they were superior to him? But he’d shown them. He’d played them for the fools that they were. He’d given them enough of what they needed. He’d played his part perfectly. Acted submissive and frightened. It had taken everything he had to keep himself from exploding with rage and indignation at the way they were treating him, the questions they were asking.

Micah had planned to escape so he could get his freedom and finally put his plans in place. Staunton Rello had misjudged him all the times he’d dismissed Micah. There was so much he could’ve given to Staunton. Ways to increase their numbers. Increase their wealth. Staunton was so short-sighted, and he was now paying the price. He wouldn’t see the light of day for a long time, while Micah walked into the night, his freedom a cloak he would never shed.

As he approached the gate, a car pulled to a stop, and Micah smiled when he saw who the driver was. He opened the door and got in, ignoring the seat belt as the car pulled away. “Is the plan in motion?”

“Yes, I did all you asked. Everything we planned to do at Hopeful Sunshine.”

“Excellent, Richard. You’ll make a wonderful deputy to me.” Micah was pleased Richard had followed the plans they’d discussed, not only at the compound, but on the bus to the facility they’d been held in.

“I’m excited to get started. Stella hasn’t been able to communicate with me, but I heard the fools who held us talking and took note of where the women were taken.”

Micah was even more impressed with Richard and his skills, but no way would he let the other man believe for even one second he was in charge of this new project. It was Micah’s plan, and Micah’s alone. He was the one who’d been able to take money away from Staunton without him even knowing. Or realize that he was being played. “I’m sure Stella will be a wonderful wife for you. Shall we go get her?”

“Yes, she knows what to do if I turn up. How to act. As if I am her husband that she had before she joined us at Hopeful Sunshine. Everything will go as plan.”

“Yes, it will,” Micah murmured, his mind full of the woman he planned to own as his wife. As his servant. As the one who would bow down to him every night and give him everything he wanted.

Lilith Bennington was the going to be his perfect possession. The day she’d arrived at the compound, she’d tried to buck the rules, but she’d turned docile pretty quickly. Always keeping in the background. He liked that about her. The message he’d received in a dream had told him she was his and when the time was right, he would know, and would stake his claim on her. He’d had his hands on her the day the Feds arrived and tore the place apart. He’d known his time had come when Stella had called him over—she didn’t even realize what she’d set in motion by that one action. He’d been planning to stake his claim and tell Staunton that he could keep her in line, but Staunton hadn’t given him a chance to speak.

That had been a mistake, but in the end, it all worked out for the best because now Micah could do what he want. And he couldn’t wait to make it all happen.