Page 13 of The Sheik's Vow

“Because I think that the police are involved somehow.” She curled her fingers into fists, then hid them in her lap. “Notallof the police. Just, maybe, the top echelon on the police force close to Todras, Kentucky.” She sighed heavily. “I went to them to ask for help initially.” She looked down at the table, absently reaching out to stroke the furry head that nudged her thigh. Scratchingthe dog’s ears actually soothed some of the pain from those old wounds. “Eventually, I’ll figure out what he’s up to and I can take that evidence to authorities that aren’t under Ethan’s influence.”

Dihrain glanced over at Riaz, who immediately took control of the conversation.

“Kaia, if the police are involved, then that’s even more reason for us to help out.” Riaz looked at her intently. “I have connections and power, Kaia. Please, fill in the gaps for us. Tell us what you know and let us help you.”

Kaia stared at the two men, then at the closed door.

Immediately, Riaz realized where her mind had gone. “Would you feel more comfortable if the door was open?”

She thought about it, her eyes darting to the door once again, but in the end, she straightened her shoulders and shook her head. Riaz admired her strength as well as the bouncing curls that danced around her shoulders whenever she moved. He doubted that Kaia had any idea of her appeal. And that appeal wasn’t due just to her lovely green eyes, the adorable nose…he suddenly realized that she had a spray of freckles across her nose. He’d noticed the freckles on Tara, but not on Kaia. However, the two were related so it made sense that they had similar skin tones. Perhaps he hadn’t noticed her freckles until now because he’d been so fascinated by her personality. Or maybe it was because of her expressive, green eyes. Either way, he liked the freckles.

“I was born into a very religious family,” she began slowly, looking down at the table. When she lifted her eyes, he’d expected tears at the retelling of her painful past. But her eyes were dry. Riaz saw only fury. “When I say ‘very religious’, I don’t mean just going to church every Sunday and saying grace before meals. The whole community was part of our congregation. We went to church every morning and evening. The Sunday service was several hours long and ended with a meal that the women spent several hours the day before preparing.” She paused, but neither Dihrain nor Riaz asked any questions. Yet. “The members of the community all led what most would consider a traditional familylifestyle, but it was more than that. The leader of the group,” she stopped and looked thoughtfully out the window, “I’m not going to call it a church anymore.” She paused, thinking through something before continuing. “I’ve spent time out in the world now, and what Ethan Howell commands his congregation to do is not a religion. It’s his personal fiefdom.”

Kaia stopped suddenly and looked under the table. Had she been petting the dog this whole time? Marta was leaning against Kaia’s legs, clearly trying to comfort her.

Kaia cleared her throat, not pushing the dog away and Riaz didn’t give the order for Marta to come back to him. Marta must be sensing the same thing that he and Dihrain were witnessing. This was an emotional conversation for Kaia.

“Please go on,” Riaz urged.

Kaia took a deep breath and continued. “It wasn’t just the daily church attendance, which was required even if we were sick. Ethan claimed that the lord would heal a person’s body faster if they were properly dedicated to their prayers.” She sighed. “I know now that Ethan required everyone to attend church morning and night, so he could keep tabs on everyone. It was his way of taking attendance as well as keeping people busy and exhausted, so that they didn’t have time to gossip. If everyone was in church in the morning, then working the fields or the shops all day, there was no time to gripe about whatever was happening in the community.”

“You keep using the term community. Can you explain more about that?” Dihrain asked.

Kaia nodded and paused, gathering her thoughts before continuing. “Ethan Howell inherited a large tract of land from his father, who had built a massive fortune as a coal mine owner. I don’t know if you’re aware of the American coal mining industry back in the early nineteen hundreds, but the coal mine owners were corrupt, evil people who oppressed the workers and created a system where the workers couldn’t afford to leave. The mine owners didn’t even pay their workers. The miners were given script money that could be used to buy food and necessities at the grocerystore, which was also owned by the mining company.”

“I’ve heard about the way that the mine owners controlled their workers,” Riaz replied.

“Good. So, you understand where Ethan got the idea for building up his own village.” Kaia nodded, tucking some curls behind her ear in a futile attempt to control them. “Ethan Howell adopted some of his father’s methods, and he added a facade of religion extremism over his efforts. He somehow convinced a small group of people that he knew the ‘true’ way to achieve holiness.”

“I’m guessing his methods weren’t legal?” Dihrain asked.

Kaia didn’t answer. She stared blankly at the table, unaware of her fingers tangling in Marta’s fur. She stroked the dog’s ears and down her neck. She felt another weight against the opposite side of her legs. The feeling of being surrounded by a pair of dogs that were basically hugging her, was soothing. The warmth and weight of the dogs gave her the strength to continue telling her story.

“Women were required to cook and clean the house daily. The men were required to work in the fields or raise animals for food. Everyone starts work before dawn. At seven every morning, the wives and daughters would bring food out to the fields for the men. At eight o’clock, every member of the community was expected to be in the community center for a sermon. Afterwards, women worked in the fields next to their husbands, only coming home to start dinner preparations. After dinner, the women cleaned the house again before meeting for a bible study. The men would gather either at Ethan’s house or at the church for another service or a meeting.” She shuddered. “The men’s early evening meetings were to discuss the women’s behaviors. Specifically, anything that they hadn’t done exactly right, according to the husband or father.” Her voice faltered towards the end of that statement.

Dihrain and Riaz looked at each other, both of them understanding that this meeting, and the deficiencies that were discussed, were the crux of the abuse. Riaz looked back at Kaia, who had a hand on each of the dogs now, soothing them as they soothed her. “What were some of the reasons a man would find his wife’s or hisdaughter’s behavior lacking?”

Kaia shrugged one shoulder as she stared at a spot in the middle of the table. “If she didn’t bow her head low enough when she served her husband. If the food wasn’t prepared to her husband’s liking. If there wasanydust in the house at the end of the day.” She paused, shuddering again. “If the husband felt lust for his wife.” She paused, squeezing her eyes shut. “Or any female in the community.”

“That’s–”

Kaia didn’t wait for Riaz to finish. She interrupted him, saying, “If the man felt lust for a woman in general.”

“Why the hell would that be the fault of the woman?”

Dibi and Marta shifted their body weight, nuzzling her hands, urging her to continue petting them. She did, and the stroking of their fur soothed the welter of emotions inside of her as the memories assaulted her.

She took in a deep breath, then continued. “If a man felt lust for his wife, she was beaten for being sinful. If a man felt lust for another woman, his wife was beaten for not servicing her husband’s lust adequately. If a man had lustful thoughts for one of the other daughters in the community, and he wasn’t married, then he reported his lustful thoughts to Ethan. The man was beaten, then forced to marry the girl.” She lifted her eyes, the green irises shimmering with tears. “It didn’t matter how old the girl was. My sister was wedded to a man at the age of twelve because Elijah had seen her walking down the street with her arms filled with fresh bread. Officially, Ethan told the community that the marriage was because their farms were adjacent to each other, so it made sense to connect the two and ensure that the land stayed in the family.” She snorted with disgust. “I know that the true reason is because the ass admitted that he’d had lustful thoughts for Tara, so Ethan mandated that he wed her.”

“Attwelve?” Riaz hissed, obviously appalled.

“Yes,” she replied, then hiccupped. “I couldn’t get her awaybefore the ceremony, but I waited until Tara was sent to Elijah’s bedroom. I got her out of his house and we hid until Ethan and the other men stopped looking for us.”

Riaz and Dihrain were appalled and furious now and Kaia felt a grim satisfaction.

“That’s…disgusting! A twelve year old is a child!”

“There were other men who married girls younger than twelve,” Kaia whispered. She lifted her eyes. “Ethan is a pedophile, among his other vices. So he recognized the look in other men’s faces, then tempted them to join his community. He told the men that he could show them the way to holiness and still allow them to ‘rejoice’ in their temptations.”

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