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I touched a thumb to her cheek, stroking it gently over her face. The rain was falling harder now, and her blond hair was wetly draping over the perfect bone structure that drove me so wild. She was so fucking beautiful it made me ache. I wondered if she knew how crazy she made me feel. If she felt the same way.

The rest of the world seemed to melt away around me as I leaned down and crushed my lips against hers, sliding my tongue into her hot mouth, tasting every sweet inch of her. It instantly felt as if we’d been transported to our own personal paradise, somewhere far away from the sinister confines of New Eden.

The rain fell faster. Heavier. I didn’t care if the water soaked me through. I couldn’t wait to kiss her again and again. I neededto. So fuck the weather. Fuck the wet grass and dirt muddying up our legs and feet. Fuck everything else that wasn’t Jolie.

“You came back for me,” Jolie murmured after we finally broke apart. “You really came back just for me.”

“That’s right. You,” I replied. The rain was slowing, but she was still shivering. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close, hoping to transfer my body heat to her.

She suddenly began to cry again, wrenching sobs which broke my heart. I understood. She’d been through a massive shock. Discovered her entire life was a lie. She’d be jolted and heartbroken for a long, long time.

I held her through it. Wiped her tears with my hands. Murmured comforting words, even though nothing I said could really take away the pain she felt right now.

Finally she wiped her face again and looked up at me, determination sparking in her eyes. “Take me away,” she said. “Please. Take me to the police, or whoever it is out there who deals with animals like this.”

By animals, I knew she meant her father and the Elders, not to mention the other older male members of the Path of the Covenant.

I reached out and touched her lips again, a ghost of a smile on my lips. I’d often wondered if men like Jacob weren’t singularly motivated by a desire to enslave women and keep them down just for the perks it got them. I wondered if perhaps they were actually somewhat afraid of women; if they were frightened of the twisting, living thing that lay dormant in so many of them, white-hot rage stirring and readying itself to lash out after all the years of male suppression and dominance. I wondered if they were frightened of what could happen if all that anger was finally unleashed.

If the men here had one woman in particular to be afraid of, it would be Jolie. They should be scared of her.

“I want to get you out of here, more than fucking anything,” I said, stroking her softly. “But I can’t do it tonight. I’m sorry.”

“Why not?”

“Because of all the others,” I said. “There’s over a hundred other women here. Children, too. If you and I suddenly vanish in the night, the men might realize what’s coming, and they might enact some sort of backup plan. Your father is a very rich and powerful man, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he had another place just like this one. Somewhere he could hide everyone if he felt threatened.”

Her shoulders slumped. “Of course. I’m so selfish.”

“No. You’re just eager to get the hell out of this prison now that you know the truth. And you will. I promise,” I said. “So will the others. I just need to get all the evidence I can possibly gather, along with some video testimony from you. I can’t do it alone, for obvious reasons. Will you help?”

Jolie stared up at me, eyes brimming with angry tears, expression filled with thunder. “I want to destroy every last one of these men,” she said, chest heaving.

I smiled. “So that’s a yes?”

She nodded, steeling her jaw. “Yes. I’ll help.”

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