Chapter 20
chapter
twenty
Ellie didn't thinkshe could be more content than she was in that moment. Cal's warmth seeped into her, his strong heart beating a steady rhythm against her back. But she knew they couldn't stay like this forever. Hopeful was planning something, and based on Vigil's hurry to leave, she didn't think his plans were of the happy-sunshine variety.
"What do you think the package was?" she asked, tracing lazy circles on Cal's chest. "The one Hopeful took from the desk?"
He lifted a shoulder. "Something tells me it's probably not his stash of old porn magazines."
She pinched his nipple.
"Ow!"
"Oh, you liked it."
He gave that giddy, boyish grin that made her heart flutter. "I did."
She could tell by the way his cock jumped against her. The man was a boundless font of energy and marveled at the fact that he was already ready for another round.
"Oh my God, Cal. You're insatiable."
He growled in response, his hand tangling into her curls as he pulled her back to meet his lips. "Guilty as charged," he breathed against her mouth before capturing it in a deep, passionate kiss.
"You said only ten minutes."
"We can do a lot in ten minutes." He rolled, tucking her underneath him, and she gasped at the feel of him nudging at her entrance. She opened her legs wider and accepted him in. There was no urgency in it. It was slow, lazy, not as raw as before. She ached and every slide of him was delicious torture. His fingers curled into her hair, and he held her trapped under him, his gaze holding hers.
He didn't say the words again, the ones that scared her so much, but he didn't have to. They were right there in his eyes.
And for the first time, she let herself wonder what it would be like if she accepted that love and let herself fall for Callum Holden. The life they could have together would be beautiful and never boring.
Somewhere in the distance, a dog"s bark ripped through the night air, followed by shouts, and then an eerie silence.
Cal stilled on top of her. "Fuck. Razzy!" He was off her in an instant and by the time she sat up, he already had on his pants and was digging through the tangle of their clothes on the floor for his shirt.
She jumped out of bed and caught her dress as he threw it in her direction. "How could that be Raszta?"
"Pierce followed us up here. Or, more accurately, followed you. I think he has a thing for you."
Her head spun at the double whammy of information. Pierce followed them? He had a crush on her?
"Wait, what?" She shook his head. It wasn't computing. "Are you serious?"
"He was going to camp nearby and pull you out if things got too dangerous."
"And you"re just sharing this now?" Ellie yanked the dress over her head, the cool cotton settling on her still flushed skin.
Cal tugged his shirt over his head. "I'm sorry, but I thought it better to not tell you. I didn't want to put you in a position where you might have to lie. You're a horrible liar. I was afraid you'd inadvertently put him in danger."
She growled, but, dammit, he was right. She was an awful liar. "It sounds like he's in danger now."
"Yeah. Fuck," Cal said softly and caught her by the shoulders as she started for the door. He stared down into her eyes for a handful of heartbeats. "I want you to get to the car."
"But—"
He stopped her protest with a hard kiss. "I'm going to find Pierce and Raszta and we'll need a quick getaway."
And he wanted to keep her as far away from trouble as possible. She wasn't sure she liked that, but she understood. "What about the girl?"
His expression was grim. "We can't help her if we're dead."
Holy shit. That thought honestly had crossed her mind. Sure, the commune was a weird place, but they all preached love and harmony and peace. They didn't seem the type to kill. "Do you really think Hopeful would kill us?"
"I believe he has before—the couple that went missing right before we got here. Ben and Olivia Harrington. They didn't just leave all of their shit and money behind. They're dead, and if he's done it once, he won't have any qualms about doing it again."
A sudden realization struck. "You think he killed Hope, too."
"Unfortunately, yes. I'm starting to think he killed her and hid it from everyone, including his daughter. That's why True just said her mother was missing when she called me. She didn't know." Cal picked up the boxes of tapes and placed it in her arms. "We'll take everything we have to the police. There has to be something in here to incriminate Hopeful."
God. She was in so far over her head with this. But he was right—the best thing she could do right now was to keep the car running.
He held out the car keys and held them for a moment too long when she reached to take them.
"If I don't come out in a half hour, you don't wait. Go tell Ash everything."
"Cal—"
"I mean it. Leave without me."
She swallowed hard, her fingers tightening around the keys. "You better come out, Cal Holden."
"But if I don't, promise me you'll get yourself to safety."
She looked at him, her blue eyes wide behind her glasses, her heart pounding with fear for him and for their niece. But she nodded, accepting the keys. His hand lingered on hers for a moment longer before he pulled away.
"I love you," he said softly.
He didn't wait for her to respond and walked out of the cabin.
She followed him, but he was already running toward the commune's center. She threw one last look over her shoulder as he jogged in the opposite direction of their freedom, and her throat closed up.
She should've said it back.
Why couldn't she say it to him?
She turned and ran toward the front gate. Razzy's barking ricocheted behind her, staccato, almost gunshot-like, and she flinched at the undertone of fear and anger in it.
She hoped she'd have another chance to tell him.
Cal raced toward the barking, his senses on high alert. Raszta"s barking was a frantic warning. If the dog could talk, he'd be screaming, "Back the fuck up!"
None of the fairy lights strung around the commune were lit and the darkness was disorienting. Shadows seemed to flit and flee at the edges of his vision.
Suddenly, Raszta yipped and silence fell.
No.
He pushed himself harder. Ahead, two shadows wrestled on the mat used as the community dining table while the rest of the commune enclosed them in a circle, watching the fight in eerie silence. Nearby, a small shadow lay on the ground, unmoving.
Raszta.
Gritting his teeth, Cal charged into the circle, breaking the onlookers apart, and he got his first clear look at the two men fighting. One was Pierce, his face a grim mask of pain and determination. The other was a Blue Robe, but his back was to Cal, and he couldn't see his face.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Raszta start to stir and rushed over. The dog was dazed and had but seemed okay otherwise. Cal let out a breath and refocused on the fight.
Blue Robe threw a punch that collided with Pierce's jaw. He retaliated with a swift kick to the man"s side. The Blue folded in half with a umph, but it didn't stop him. He rounded on Pierce, a knife glinting ominously in his hand.
Cal didn"t waste another second. He picked up a broom someone had dropped nearby. It wasn't a weapon, but it was better than nothing. He rushed into the fight just as Pierce was tackled from behind by another Blue Robe who'd materialized from the crowd.
"Hey, assholes!" He swung the broomstick and hit one of them square in the back. The man grunted and staggered away from Pierce, freeing him to deal with the other guy.
"Enough."
The command wasn't shouted, but it carried over the crowd with an authority that sent chills down Cal"s spine. Hopeful emerged from the crowd, his long hair falling around his shoulders. He wore a robe of white with the hood pulled back, his pale face lit by the moon casting an eerie glow over the scene. His eyes, deep and dark, bore into Cal.
The fighting stopped instantly. Everyone turned to look at their savior and guide.
Cal straightened, broom still clutched in his hand like a lifeline as he met Hopeful's cold gaze.
Pierce scrambled to his feet. Sweat and blood trailed down his face in messy rivulets. His fists were clenched at his sides. He watched Hopeful with barely contained rage, then his gaze shifted to his dog and his relief at seeing Razzy up was palpable. Raszta lumbered to his side and glared at Hopeful, a low rumble coming from his chest. Even so, he wasn"t exactly intimidating—a thirty-pound mop dog with his dreads pulled up into a now-lopsided ponytail. A rottweiler would"ve been more helpful in this situation.
"Are you hurt?" Cal asked.
Pierce shook his head and swiped at the blood streaming from his nose. The guy was seething.
Cal turned back to Hopeful, broom still in hand. "What happened to all that shit you preach about love and harmony?"
"This is love." His smile was thin, brittle, a shard of ice in the moonlight. "Love is achieved through discipline, through obedience."
"That"s not love. That"s fear."
Hopeful sighed. "And here I thought we were finally starting to see eye to eye." He nodded to the Blue Robe that Pierce had been fighting with, and the man moved forward to stand beside Hopeful.
Sincere.
He wiped his split lip on the sleeve of his robe and gave a smile that was all white teeth and arrogance.
That lying fucker. He'd said he wasn't in the inner circle. Had Vigil known? Clarity? She was a Blue, too. Were they spies, too, or had they meant what they said?
Cal took his eyes off the men long enough to scan the crowd. He didn't see either of them among the faces, but he did spot Jeff and Marla, who both looked shell-shocked, and Tyler and Nico, who looked like they had no idea what was going on.
Hopeful turned toward the crowd and held out his arms as if to embrace them. "I have learned tonight that we have traitors among us."
Gasps filtered through the crowd as everyone eyed their neighbors suspiciously.
Hopeful patted the air in a calming gesture. "We have found them, and they have been properly punished for their betrayal." His gaze shifted back to Cal and Pierce. "However, these outsiders pose a far greater threat. They represent everything we swore to leave behind. The corruption, the greed, the lies!"
A murmur of assent rippled through the crowd.
"They want to tear us apart. To dismantle this sanctuary we have created. To steal away our Mother. Will we let them?"
"No!" The response was immediate and vehement.
"Will we protect Her?"
"Yes!"
"What should their punishment be for threatening Her?"
"Re-education!" The crowd chanted, several members raising their fists in the air. "Re-education! Re-education!"
From both sides of the crowd, two men stepped forward. Pierce made a hand signal to his dog and Raszta bolted through the crowd.
"Let it go," Hopeful called as several people tried to catch Razzy. "The animal can't harm us."
Pierce smirked, and that small, knowing smile seemed to unsettle Hopeful more than anything else that had happened. His expression hardened. "Take them to the Re-Education Chamber."
Where were they?
Ellie stared at the entrance of the commune, her heart in her throat, choking her with fear.
Come on, Cal. Come on. Come on.
The SUV's engine rumbled softly behind her, and she bounced on the balls of her feet. She felt exposed waiting out here,
Something was wrong. The feeling prickled at the back of her neck, a creeping chill that wouldn't budge no matter how hard she tried to shake it off.
Suddenly, there was a rustling in the underbrush nearby and she whirled around, her heart pounding in her chest. Raszta burst out of the thicket, his dreadlocks flying out behind him as he galloped towards her.
"Razzy!" Ellie dropped to her knees, throwing her arms wide open. The dog skidded to a halt in front of her, his pink tongue lolling out from the side of his mouth. His dark eyes were wide with terror, and he was panting heavily.
"Oh, Razzy," Ellie murmured, pulling the dog into a tight hug. She could feel his heart hammering against his ribs, matching the frantic beat of her own. She pulled back slightly and looked at him, then at the entrance. "Where are they?"
But Raszta only whined and squirmed in her arms, his claws scratching against the earth as he tried to push himself back into a standing position. She let him go, scrambling back onto her feet.
"Razzy, where are they?"
Before she could try to interpret his doggy distress signals, several figures ran out from the commune's entrance. Raszta bolted into the trees.
"Wait!"
He didn't stop and disappeared into the dark.
"Shit." She spun back to the figures, but it wasn't Cal and Pierce.
Marla and Jeff.
Had they been sent to find her?
She stiffened and groped around in the car for the tire iron she'd found while stowing the box of tapes in the trunk. She'd left on the seat in case she needed a weapon and closed her hand around it.
But then Nico and Tyler followed hot on their heels. Tyler was pale and wide-eyed. Halfway to the car, his knees gave out. Nico almost dropped him, and Jeff ran back to help.
"Thank God you have a car," Marla said.
"Where are yours?"
"We don't own one," Jeff said, grunting under Tyler's slight weight.
"Ours is in town," Nico said. "Sincere picked us up in the commune's van."
Ellie studied them, trying to gauge whether they were telling the truth, and her gaze finally landed on Tyler. He really didn't look good. There was no way he could be faking that pallor to his skin.
Ellie made the split-second decision to trust them and released her grip on the tire iron. She rushed to open the SUV's back door. "What's wrong?"
"They took his insulin, convinced us he no longer needed it. Jesus." Nico shook his head in stunned horror. "How did they convince me of that? I'm a fucking doctor!"
"Dentist," Tyler said, his voice slurred. "You're a dentist, Nic."
"But I knew better, and I still let them brainwash?—"
"Don't beat yourself up," Ellie said. "Brainwashing is powerful and happens faster than you think. We are all susceptible."
As the men loaded Tyler into the backseat, she looked over at Marla. "Where is Cal?"
"Hopeful has him and your other friend."
No.
She swung back to the gate, but Marla grabbed her arm, stopping her.
"You can't go back in there alone. You won't be able to help them. You'll only get caught, too."
She wanted to deny it. She wanted to run into the commune like a badass action heroine, swinging that tire iron and rescuing her boys. But she knew Marla was right. She was out of her depth here.
Promise me you'll get yourself to safety and take these bastards down…
She slid into the SUV's driver's seat.
"Get in," she ordered, her voice surprisingly steady. "We're getting the hell out of here and bringing back the cavalry."