Chapter 2

Something tells me this adventure was a big mistake.

Except Jimmy wasn't looking for an adventure. He thought he found us a lifeline, a way out of the cult that raised us. We had no money—everything we made, we put into the Family's pot to be shared by all—but over the last two years, Jimmy and I hid a few dollars here and there, looking for our opportunity to make a run for it.

We were promised to each other when we were toddlers, the next generation of devout breeders safe behind the compound walls. Only Jimmy has a secret—one that I've kept since I was fourteen years old. Our elders, along with the rest of the Family's wackadoos, would have believed they could beat his unnatural urges out of him, so we became a couple, ardently trying to conceive our first child upon my seventeenth birthday. Five years and no baby later, the pressure became too much for us. The elders grew suspicious that we were not a good match and were making plans for me to be married to one of the other men.

Over the last couple of weeks, the conversations became more frequent, and last I'd overheard, they were thinking of marrying me to Elder Patton, a fifty-five-year-old widower who has fathered twelve children with three different women, all of whom died tragically over the last thirty years. He is strict, but supposedly fair, and although he has sons closer to my age, he was deemed to be a more suitable match.

That's why Jimmy and I ran when we did. We thought God was smiling down on us when he met a guy at the hardware store who told Jimmy he could have a new life in Great Falls. All he had to do was buy a bus ticket to Bozeman and a guy would meet him there. Neither of us thought they would have a problem with me tagging along. That night, we packed two bags and snuck out, hitchhiking to the closest bus station in Idaho Falls.

Two tickets bought, one phone call, and four hours later, we were in Bozeman.

The way JoeJoe looked me up and down when Jimmy introduced me as his wife made my skin crawl. It was similar to the way the elders looked at me, but ten times creepier. I knew some elders wanted a reason to get me in their beds, but JoeJoe seems more likely to throw me on the dirty floor if given half a chance.

Luckily his boss wasn't nearly as vile. Mr. McMasters showed me a picture of his daughter and gushed about her like a proud father should. They gave us lunch and dinner and showed us to our room in his massive house where we slept decently for the first time in months.

Then this morning, a hard-looking woman with kohl-rimmed eyes came with JoeJoe to wake us up. They escorted Jimmy and me to another room in the house where a doctor gave us a medical examination and declared us fit to work. JoeJoe took Jimmy to another meeting with Mr. McMasters, while the woman escorted me back to the bedroom and instructed me to shower. When I came out wrapped in a towel, there was an outfit laid out on the bed that looked like it'd been plucked from her closet. Black tank top and T-shirt, short denim skirt, black heeled boots. There was no underwear provided, no bra, and when I reached for my own, she told me to leave them. She sat me down at a vanity table and did my hair, teasing it out to double its size and dousing it with enough hairspray to weather a tornado. After that, she attacked me with makeup, turning me into a mini version of herself—glam rocker circa 1988. Her words, not mine. Usually I wear my hair in long braids, no makeup, and while I was looking forward to branching out in our new found freedom, this is not what I was thinking. Throughout my life, my clothes have been baggy because the women said my body was sinful and a test from God.

I'm missing those baggy clothes right now.

Mr. Wilcox ushers us into the backseat of his shiny black SUV as JoeJoe turns and walks away without a word of goodbye.

I glance at Jimmy in the seat next to me. We haven't had a second alone since we woke up this morning. "What's going on?"

He shakes his head. "I think I screwed up, Dinah."

"Are we in danger?" I squeak out.

"I don't know." He presses his lips together when Mr. Wilcox opens his door and climbs into the driver's seat.

"Comfortable back there?"

"Yes, sir." I glance at Jimmy who only nods his agreement, his eyes glued to his hands in his lap.

"Tell me about yourselves." Mr. Wilcox speaks kindly with a smile on his face, his eyes coming to the rearview often to look at us. I'd guess he's in his fifties, but looks much younger than the fifty-year-olds in the commune. I suppose that's the difference between working out in the sun with your hands every day versus working in an air-conditioned office. "Our associate said you're from a small community in Idaho?"

"Yes, sir," I say again. Apparently I'm doing the talking for both of us.

"What does your family think of you coming to Great Falls?"

Biting my lip, I shrug. "They don't know we're here, sir."

"Really? They must be worried about you." His expression changes—the friendliness evaporating—and a boulder of dread drops in my belly. "Do you think they're looking for you?"

"Uh…" I glance at Jimmy who shakes his head but says nothing. "Maybe."

"But your family lives outside of the law, don't they? This community of yours is closed, and your elders are at odds with the local police. Isn't that right?"

Holy crap. How does he know that?

"I…"

Mr. Wilcox chuckles. "It's okay, Dinah. You and Jimmy have a bright future with us at Johnston Ranch, and you don't have to worry about the elders dragging you home. Life as you know it is about to change."

We drive for fifteen minutes before turning off the road and pulling up to a wrought-iron gate with cameras. Mr. Wilcox hits a button and the gates open up, leading us up a long winding road to an impressive mountain mansion. Giant wood beams and stone bricks with dozens of dazzling windows greet us. There are bronze carvings of wildlife decorating the front landscape, and two massive hardwood front doors that open as Mr. Wilcox rolls to a stop.

An overweight man with a bald head and round belly walks through the doors as another man with his gun holstered under his arm yanks open the back door of the SUV. Their eyes grow wide when they see me. Mr. Wilcox walks over to the bald man and whispers in his ear, his face flushing before he slowly nods his head.

He turns his bright eyes to us. "Welcome, Dinah and Jimmy. Please, come in."

"Is this who we'll work for?" I ask Jimmy who shrugs as his answer.

I jump out of the SUV and instantly smooth down my skirt. The lack of panties is ever-present in my mind, and I feel unbelievably vulnerable right now without them. I don't understand why women dress like this.

Jimmy and I are escorted forward to the man with the bald head and big belly.

"I'm Mr. Johnston, and I own this ranch." He takes my hand between his, engulfing it in his meaty palms. Turning his attention to Jimmy, he ushers us inside. "You're just in time for dinner."

We're escorted into a large room where four men with drinks in their hands wait for us. "Gentlemen, our guests have arrived."

Conversations cease as all eyes turn in our direction.

"Hi," I say shyly, clasping my hands in front of me.

Jimmy's voice cracks as he also says hello.

"What's this, Johnston?" a man with thick brown hair and blue eyes asks, waving a tumbler of amber colored liquid in our direction.

"A bonus." Mr. Johnston smiles, placing his hands on our backs and pushing us into the room. "Don't be shy. Introduce yourself to my friends."

I swallow down the lump in my throat and step forward, offering my hand to the man closest to me. "Hi. I'm Dinah."

"Wow. You are breathtaking." He clasps his fingers firmly around my hand and doesn't let go, not bothering to introduce himself to me.

"Oh." I touch my hair with my free hand. "I don't normally look like this?—"

"I like it. It's trashy." Another man leers down at me.

"And fitting," a third man says from behind me, his fingers touching the ends of my hair that hangs to my lower back. "How old are you?"

"I'm twenty-two," I squeak, glancing over my shoulder and shifting to avoid having him behind me. But it doesn't matter which direction I turn, I'm surrounded, the smell of alcohol and cigars permeating the air between us.

"Gentlemen. Give the lady some room to breathe." Mr. Johnston offers me his hand which forces the other guy to drop it. I take it like a lifeline, letting him pull me to his side. "Sorry, Dinah, but we weren't expecting you tonight. You're a surprise gift."

"I know you weren't expecting me, Mr. Johnston, but I'm a hard worker."

"I'm sure you are."

The first man with the brown hair and blue eyes speaks, his eyes glued to me from across the room. "I'm famished. Anyone else?"

"Yes. And we need to get these two fed. Lots of work to be done in the morning, and I want the two of you to have your strength. A good dinner and a solid night's sleep should give you all the fuel you need to survive tomorrow." Mr. Johnston exchanges glances with the men before ushering us out of the room. We follow a woman wearing a maid uniform to a formal dining room, and I'm shown to the seat at the end of the table with Jimmy sitting across from me. Our chairs differ from the others, with high backs and sturdy arm rests like thrones.

The kitchen staff brings out dish after dish—mouth-watering aromas wafting up from the plates—and yet my stomach twists into knots as the men talk about money and business portfolios, cheating wives and grateful girlfriends. They speak about the gluttony we were warned about, their appetites seemingly boundless as the second and third courses are placed in front of us.

I eat what I can, but the meat tastes funny, and a bone-weary tiredness takes hold as dinner progresses. Jimmy stands abruptly, gripping his knife. "Dinah?"

"Jimmy?" I try to stand, but my legs won't cooperate.

"Run," he says before he collapses, bouncing off the table and hitting the floor.

"Shit." The man with the blue eyes out of his seat and kneels next to Jimmy on the ground. "He's no good to us with a head injury."

I slump back in my seat, my limbs encased in concrete. "I don't feel good."

Someone drags my chair back from the table as another man leans over me, his face so close to my chest that I can feel his hot breath dragging across my skin. "How much for this one?"

"You want to buy and keep her for yourself?" Mr. Johnston asks.

"One hundred thousand," he offers.

"No way," another man says. "I'll pay a quarter million."

"Gentlemen. If you want her, you'll have to capture her alive tomorrow. Otherwise, our plans remain the same. How's our patient, doctor?"

Both men back up from me, grumbling under their breaths.

"Looks like he smacked his shoulder, but his head is fine."

"Splendid."

My stomach cramps and bile spews out of my mouth before I can stop it. I slump over the side of the chair, emptying the contents of my stomach on the fancy rug beneath our feet, and pass out.

Iwake up on the floor with Jimmy moaning his discomfort at my side. Glancing at the door beyond our feet, there are backpacks with two sixteen-ounce bottles of water, two granola bars, an old fashioned compass, and a discarded envelope.

"Jimmy?" I reach out to touch him, the taste in my mouth rancid, my eyesight fuzzy.

He shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Dinah. I'm so sorry."

"Are you okay?"

He rolls over to face me, grimacing as he pulls his useless arm over him, a piece of paper in his hand.

"What's wrong with your shoulder?"

"I think I dislocated it when I fell." His eyes go to the piece of paper. "Listen carefully, Dinah, because we don't have much time. They're going to hunt us. They're giving us a twenty-minute head start. As soon as they send us out, I want you to run south toward the road. I'll pull them in the opposite direction. I'm pretty sure they put trackers on us, but I can't find them. I'm not sure if they're in the backpacks or our clothes, but all I can hope is they're not embedded in our skin. So, you're going to have to strip before you run."

"Trackers? What are you talking about?"

Footsteps sound outside the door. "Run south as far as you can. You'll give me your backpack and clothes, and I'll head north to throw them off you."

"I'm not going to leave you."

"No choice. You have to find help. Otherwise, we both die."

The door unlocks and swings open, the man who helped me out of the SUV standing there with a friend as big as him. "Time to go."

Tears fall fast and sure, making my head throb in pain. "No!"

"Grab the water bottle and granola bar," Jimmy says, his voice sure for the first time since we arrived yesterday. The man reaches down and grabs Jimmy by his useless arm, jerking him to his feet. Jimmy howls in pain, a popping sound echoing through the small room. The guy pushes him up against the wall and body-checks him, smacking his injured shoulder against the hard plaster.

Jimmy crumples to the floor at his feet.

"Stop it!" I scream.

"I used to pull my shoulder out of the socket all the time. I suggest you use the backpack to brace your arm while you're running, otherwise it's going to hurt like a son-of-a bitch." He sets Jimmy on his feet and shoves him out the door into the arms of the second guy.

"Your turn, sweetheart." He offers me his hand, using a lot less force to pull me to my feet. "Be careful with that face. The gentlemen are banking on you staying pretty through all of this."

He grabs both backpacks, shoving the water and granola bars inside before thrusting one into my hands. "Start walking."

We walk through a mostly quiet house, deep male voices murmuring amongst the sound of utensils hitting fine china from a back room. We're escorted out of the same door we entered the night before and shoved into the blinding morning light. The guy has no emotion on his face or in his tone, as if this is just another Tuesday and not our lives on the line. "Good luck. You have twenty minutes."

The doors close behind us and Jimmy grabs my hand, making a mad dash for the trees to the left of the house. We crouch down and I shake my head in panic. "This can't be happening."

"It is. Strip!" Jimmy barks, ripping his shirt over his head.

I follow his lead, praying this is a nightmare I'll wake up from soon. Jimmy stuffs our clothes into a backpack and shoves a water bottle and granola bar into my hands. "There's the road. Stay off but near it. Just far enough into the woods to stay off their cameras, but close enough that you can flag down a passing car if you see one. I'm taking the compass and heading north."

Bawling, I shake my head. "I can't do this."

"You can." Tears streak his cheeks as he pulls me into a hug and kisses me on the lips. "You're my best friend and I love you, Dinah. Now go."

Jimmy takes off running, both backpacks in his hands. Pulling myself together, I run through the trees in the opposite direction until my feet burn and blister. Hours pass, and when I'm not sure I can run anymore, I come over a small hill and see a cabin in the distance. I'm not sure if it's safe or not, but I'm out of options at this point. Not one car has passed me. Either that, or I'm too far away from the road to hear them. I have to take a chance and pray this cabin is not owned by the men hunting us.

If it is, then Jimmy and I are dead.