Page 14 of The Sheik's Vow

Dihrain’s pen slid across the paper in a violent line. Kaia didn’t know what he’d written.

“Wait,” Riaz said, his voice softly furious. “You are older than Kaia. Were you married off?”

She shook her head and this time, she didn’t bother to tuck her curls back. She leaned forward, letting her hair screen her face as she continued to stroke the dogs.

“Ethan Howell took a personal interest in me. I know now that he didn’t reserve his lust just for me, but I was his personal goal. One day, he explained to me that I would be his wife and he had this…alarmingly creepy look in his eyes.” She looked directly at Riaz. “Creepier than normal. I can’t really describe it, but the expression on his face warned me that I wasn’t going to like what he wanted from me.”

“What did your parents say?”

“My mother had already passed away. She died of a mysterious disease. Ethan told the community that she wasn’t faithful enough, which was why she’d passed.” There was a long silence, then she continued. “One night, before Ethan could do more to me, I ran. I hid in the barn, and when the men started searching for me, I ran to the woods, hiding up in the trees.”

“Why?”

“Because I knew what Ethan was going to do to me.”

“What was his plan?”

She squeezed her eyes closed briefly. Then continued. “He…liked…the beatings,” she whispered, her words strangled as she tried to explain. “He would watch the other men beat their wives.” She cleared her throat. “They weren’t called beatings, by the way. They were referred to as ‘discipline’. Ethan explained that the men needed to discipline their wives in order to keep them holy.”

“So, this man’s plan was an all-encompassing justification for his perversions.” Riaz said the words that Kaia had thought so many times.

“Yes.”

“How did you escape?”

“I ran from the village. We were way out in farm country, so there were several barns around. I hid in the barns. When the families would go out, I’d sneak into their homes and get food, clothing. Whatever I needed to survive.”

“You ran away?”

“Yes, but I couldn’t go very far. I needed to stay close for Tara.” She smiled slightly. “And Tara helped by sneaking food and blankets to me.” She looked up into Riaz’s dark eyes. “We were a team. Tara will tell you that I saved her from a horrible fate, being married at twelve. But the truth is, Tara also saved me so many times.”

“You didn’t…?”

She shook her head and Riaz stopped.

“I earned money by babysitting. That helped. I saved enough to buy a bike. That allowed me to get a job in the nearby town.” She lifted her eyes and, for the first time since she started telling the story, there was a tiny smile on her face. “The job was in a drug store that also printed photos. They also soldinexpensive cameras.”

Riaz’s concern increased. “You didn’t…?”

She chuckled, but had to wipe away another tear. “I did. I snuck back to Ethan’s house and took pictures of him doing disgusting things with various women. It took me a while, but I finally discovered that the man has a secret room in his house. Also, I figured out where he went every day, because he didn’t work on the farms like the other men did.”

Riaz and Dihrain both leaned forward. “Where did he go?”

Her grin widened. “Mostly bars, but he also visited prostitutes. Some of those women, he convinced to join his community, using the allure of redemption and a simple life. He bragged that the community members took care of each other. If someone was hungry, the others in the community fed them.” She sighed and shook her head. “The truth was, he controlled every aspect of every person’s life.”

“What did you do with the pictures?”

“Nothing at first. Then, I slipped the pictures to the others in the community.” Her shoulders slumped. “He told the members that the images were fakes and that he’d sent the pictures to everyone. He convinced them that he was testing their loyalty, trying to determine who were the true believers. That’s when he started claiming he was a prophet, which heightened his power over everyone.”

Dihrain chuckled, shaking his head. “That’s actually brilliant, in a maniacal sort of way.

“What happened next?” Riaz prompted.

She shrugged. “Technology got better. Since I lived in barns, I started to save money from my job at the store and my babysitting money. That allowed me to purchase better technology. I got several wireless cameras, hiding them around Ethan’s house and in the community center. I captured images of Ethan doing truly cruel things to women. There’s a room in his house that no oneelse knows about. There are whips, chains, manacles, and some tools that I don’t recognize.”

“So, the man is a con artist and a sadist,” Dihrain said slowly. “Why didn’t you take your information to the authorities?”

Kaia laughed. “Because Ethan controls the money in the village. The farmers bring all of their grain, corn, vegetables, and the livestock to him. He then takes everything to the local cooperatives. He tells everyone that he puts the money into a bank account that is owned by the community. But in reality, he’s stolen it. He doles out whatever the members need. He builds their houses, controls the food supply by bringing in canned goods and meats, eggs, whatever he thinks the members need, they are completely reliant on him. If Ethan doesn’t think that someone is holy enough, they might not get food for a few days.”

---