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“Who’s that?”

“He was a young man we raised. He would’ve been around nine or ten when we brought him here with the others back in ‘99. He always seemed like a good boy, but when he learned the truth as he came of age, he wasn’t too happy. I could always tell something was off with him. He liked women a little too much.”

“In what way?”

“I think he just remembered too much from the past about all the equal rights nonsense and so on. Never outright said it, but I could tell he didn’t like us keeping the women down here all the time.” Jacob sighed, and his brows knitted in a deep frown. “Anyway, he wound up having an affair with a girl his age named Rebecca Brady. She was married to Thibodeaux.”

He looked down the table at Elder Thibodeaux. He was stuffing toast into his mouth, completely oblivious to our conversation.

“This actually happened not long before you came to visit us a few months ago. Eric was overheard trying to tell Rebecca the truth about the outside world. Apparently they’d been having this affair for quite some time, months even, and he’d finally decided he was in love with her and wanted her to know the truth so they could leave together. Fortunately, they were caught and restrained immediately after that conversation was overheard. We removed Rebecca’s tongue before she could repeat anything to the other women, and then she was dealt with later in a reckoning. Adultery is one of the worst sins, you know.”

“Yes.” Bile rose in my throat. “She was burned, right? As is instructed for dealing with adulterers in His Word?”

“That’s right.”

“And Eric?”

“Excommunicated. He wound up in Baton Rouge, staying with a second cousin he knew from before.” Jacob licked his dry lips before continuing. “The thing some men don’t realize is you can never really leave this place. Even though Eric was banished, we had a few people out there keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn’t get any funny ideas.”

“I’m guessing he did.”

He nodded. “The cousin’s internet search history suggested Eric had been using his computer to look up phone numbers for local news stations and papers. It looked an awful lot like he might be considering going to the media and talking about us. He knew better than to involve the cops, you see, just in case we had an ‘in’ with them.” He tapped the side of his head. “So anyway, when we learned what he was up to, we arranged a little car accident.”

My blood ran cold. Christ, I wished I had a recording device on me right now. Why didn’t I think to bring one to every meal?

“I thought you said you don’t kill men,” I said stiffly.

“I said we don’t unless we have to. Nevertheless, Eric didn’t die. He was only injured. A couple of us went to visit him in the hospital and made it abundantly clear what would happen if he ever tried to talk.”

“I presume he was told that next time he wouldn’t just be injured.”

Jacob grinned. “You really are one of us, Mason,” he said. “Anyway, that’s what happens with men who leave us. Either they’re too scared to talk, or…”

He trailed off. He really didn’t need to say the rest.

Even though he was acting all chatty and smiley with me, his words contained a veiled threat. Try to leave or screw us in any way, and the same thing will happen to you. Live the rest of your life in fear, or don’t live at all. You can never really leave this place…

“I’m going to go to the church and read His Word for a while. It’s so much more enlightening than other religious texts,” I said once I’d polished off my eggs. I didn’t really want them, but I was hungry, and the Elders would be suspicious if I didn’t eat.

Jacob looked pleased at what I’d said. “See you at lunch.”

I headed down the hall toward the expansive underground chapel. The pews were uncomfortable, but the architecture was quite impressive. All around the top of the stone walls were elaborate carvings and faux stained glass windows with small lights behind them which made them look like real windows catching rays of sun.

On my way to the front of the church, I noticed several girls on their knees, eyes closed and hands clasped in prayer. Their pale blue dresses reminded me of Jolie. My Jolie.

My cock ached as I recalled the way she stood in front of me the other night and removed her dress, her movements halting and anxious. Her figure was slim yet curvy in all the right places, and her green eyes were bright and luminous even in the dim lighting surrounding her. I craved her more than I’d ever craved anyone or anything else in my life. If I hadn’t been there for such screwed up reasons, I would’ve wanted to tear her dress off myself and ravage her like a fucking animal.

That wasn’t possible, though. Not under those circumstances. She deserved better.

She needed time to adjust and understand the truth of her situation, and I needed time to become the most dominant figure in her life. That would draw her to me above all the other men in this place, and only then would I be able to enjoy all of her. Devour her like I wanted to the second I laid eyes on her gorgeous face…

Oh, Christ, it was going to be so hard to pretend with her until that moment came. So hard to pretend I was just like all these other guys, only darker and crueler and therefore more enticing to a faithful girl like her, who believed so strongly that men must behave in an abusive way to prove their devotion and affection toward women.

It would be especially hard considering how much I already cared for her after returning to her life only a few short months ago, despite our infrequent interactions. I still wasn’t even sure why I wanted and needed her so badly. Only that I did.

Maybe there really was a higher power out there, and it had kept Jolie in my thoughts and pulled me back to her when she really needed me. Like fate.

Then again, fate sometimes needed a little helping hand…

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