Page 117 of Three to Fall

I dragged Kara farther up the hill, loving the way Hayley Jade just followed along like a little lamb trailing its mother. I glanced down at her. “You’re a good woman of the Lord, Hayley Jade. Doing exactly as you’re told. Josiah will be so pleased.”

I frowned when she didn’t acknowledge my praise.

She just cried those silent tears and tripped over her own feet, stumbling across the rough terrain, dodging trees as she tried to follow Kara up the hill.

“Keep up!” I snapped at her.

She moved a little faster. That pleased me.

Shouts came from the area we’d just left.

They’d probably found Queenie and Rebel then. I’d pistol-whipped the older woman hard enough to knock her out. Rebel was normally feisty, and I’d thought she’d put up a fight, but as heavily pregnant as she was, she hadn’t been quick enough to stop me. I’d left her sitting on the ground, gagged with her hands cable-tied behind her back.

Then told the kids there was a sniper in the woods, ready to kill them if they so much as uttered a sound.

Another lie the evil here brought forth in me.

Kara’s name was shouted through the night air by a dozen different voices. Chaos’s, Hawk’s, and Grayson’s mixing amongst others.

A trickle of worry made its way down my spine, but I sucked in a deep breath and reminded myself I needn’t fear. God was showing me the way.

My van wasn’t much farther. Once we got there, I’d drive us back to Ethereal Eden. Cleanse our sins with fire. Then take my spot as Josiah’s right-hand, as he had foreseen.

The clubhouse loomed. I just needed to get past it. Get a little farther up the hill. I peeked around some trees. Hawk, Hayden, and Grayson all stood in the middle of the clearing, their panicked expressions so typical of men with no faith. No trust that the Lord knew what was best for them.

I knew I was on the right path. I could wait. They wouldn’t stay there long. They’d disperse, searching for Kara.

Kara noticed them, and I clapped a hand over her mouth so even her muffled cries couldn’t be heard.

The fight in her body didn’t last long, and I whispered soothing words in her ear, reminding her the fatigue she felt right now was the evil leaving her body.

“Kara!” Hawk shouted.

Footsteps drew closer, each one cracking twigs and crunching over dead winter leaves. “Kara!”

That was Chaos. But from the rumble of low conversation between shouts, he and Hawk weren’t alone.

Kara thrashed in my grip, though the hit to the head had clearly disoriented her. I pulled on her bindings, watching the cord cut into her skin. “Stop or I’ll kill Hayley Jade right here, right now. You’ll give me no choice. And then her soul won’t be reborn, and she’ll rot in Hell for all eternity. Is that what you want for your daughter?”

Kara stared at me like I was some sort of monster. When all I was trying to do was help her. I held her tighter and glanced at Hayley Jade. She blinked up at me with huge, scared eyes. I shook my head, finger to my lips, reminding her to stay quiet.

Chaos’s shouts grew near. “Kara! Hayley Jade!”

Hayley Jade’s gaze darted to Kara’s.

And then she ran.

She lurched out of the bushes, sprinting for the three men heading toward us.

I knocked Kara off her feet, shoving her down, and lunged after her daughter, rage coursing through me.

“Hayley Jade!” Hawk ran toward her, his big strides closing the gap between us fast.

But I was quicker. Smaller. I didn’t have any of the bulk Hawk and Hayden had.

I caught Hayley Jade around the waist, lifting her off the ground, her feet kicking the air, her fingernails scratching at my forearms as she tried to get to the three men her mother had been whoring herself out to like a common slut for months.

I backed up to where I’d left Kara, her head bleeding, her eyes unfocused.

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