Page 10 of Bryson's Treasure

Next to him was a young girl no more than four feet tall with shoulder-length hair. Her blue eyes held so much pain and bitterness. Lynn didn’t need to know the little girl’s story to understand she had lived through something terrible. Her little hand gripped the hand of the man who’d saved Lynn.

The man next to him she knew. Noah came over and gave her a hug. “You look pretty good for being in an accident a couple of days ago.” He handed her a wrapped plate. “Tilly made you some homemade cookies. She wanted to come over and check on you with us, but she had to run to Bozeman because Sebastian needed something for class.”

“Please tell her you didn’t have to do that.” She peeked under the lid. “Are these peanut butter cookies?” The last time she’d enjoyed cookies was years ago. Not waiting for Noah to confirm, she reached in and took one out. It was delicious. Not wanting to be rude, she offered cookies to everyone. The young girl was the only one to take her up on the offer. The smile on the girl’s face from the cookie made it worth sharing.

“I heard you guys had a meeting with Hank,” Taz said as he walked over and shook Noah’s hand.

“Yeah, that’s the other reason we’re here.”

“Azadeh, why don’t you ask Collin if he’ll help you pet one of the horses?” the sexy cowboy told the young girl. He wore jeans and a black jacket, and his sandy-blond hair peeked out under his cowboy hat. She couldn’t help but stare, and the way he took care of the young girl made her swoon even more.

When it didn’t look like she was going to move, Collin walked over and kneeled in front of her. “Hi, Azadeh. My name is Collin, and I know Midnight would love a carrot. Do you want to help me feed him?”

“Okay.” She dropped the cowboy’s hand and followed Collin out of the barn.

Lynn had a sinking feeling that the men wanted to talk to her. She feared they were going to demand she talk about the cult. Deep down, she knew she should’ve told them everything. She didn’t want to retell the story, because now that she was out and knew about what had been going on, the regret of not doing something to help the others was overwhelming her. All the women who had been sold could’ve been saved if she had opened her eyes.

“Lynn, this is my brother Bryson,” Noah introduced them.

“I’m glad to see you’re doing better. You scared the crap out of us.”

“Thank you for saving me. I should be the one cooking for you guys. Noah’s saved my life twice in one month.”

Noah blushed for a second before schooling his features. “I wish we were here just to see how you are doing, but we need to ask you a few questions.”

Lynn shifted on her feet and sighed. “I know I need to talk about my time in the cult. It’s not easy.”

“Cult?” Bryson shook his head. “We aren’t here to talk about the cult. From what Noah said, everyone involved is dead or in jail. No, we’re here to talk about who wants you dead.”

Lynn rolled the word around in her head: dead. She didn’t even know anyone anymore. “I’m pretty sure you have me confused with someone else.”

The three men didn’t say a word. They continued to watch her. With each second that ticked by, she felt more unsettled.

Laughter bubbled up. They were serious. They thought someone wanted her dead. “I’m not sure why you think someone would want me dead. It’s not like I’ve talked to anyone in the real world except a few people at Brighter Days and the feed store. Mr. Richman seems to like me and he’s not the type to attempt to take me out.”

Noah’s lips twitched. “I think Mr. Richman would rather have you go on a date. Last I heard, he was trying to set you up. I know we haven’t talked about Faith of the Glorious One much. Did we miss someone? Or is someone from your past looking for you?”

“Why don’t you explain why you think someone wants me dead? I haven’t seen any signs of someone wanting to harm me.”

Bryson tilted his head to the side. “The truck you were driving was tampered with.”

Taz leaned against one of the stalls. “I know for a fact it didn’t happen out here. Someone did something when you were in town.”

The man at the store came to her mind quickly, but she dismissed it. Lynn had never seen him before, and she didn’t think he was from Eagle Ridge, anyway. The men were making her feel paranoid, but if someone was after her, that put everyone at Brighter Days in danger.

“Can you give me a couple of days to try to find a job before I leave?”

“Why the fuck would you leave?” Bryson shouted.

She immediately shut down before remembering she wasn’t under Keith’s control anymore. “Because if someone’s after me, I’m not putting Taz and Hannah in danger.”

“We aren’t going to let you leave.”

Saying those words to most people would make them feel safe. As someone who wasn’t allowed to leave a house for years, she didn’t feel the same way.

“I will not be held captive again.” She pointed at Taz. “I appreciate everything you and Hannah have done, but you will not hold me here against my will.” Her hands shook, and the room blurred from the tears in her eyes.

Bryson sighed. “How about you guys go see how Faith of the Glorious One is doing while Lynn and I talk?”

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