I lean down, brushing my mouth against his, wanting another one of his kisses that makes me forget about everything else in the world. His hands tangle into my hair, and he gives me exactly what I’m craving—deepening our kiss. We don’t stop until we are both breathless. I lay my head down on his shoulder. His arms come around me to hold me. He runs his hands up and down my back, soothing me.
“I grew up in a place known as Guiding Temple.” His hands pause for a moment. “Have you heard of it?”
“Yeah, on the news a few times.” His voice is thicker. He hesitates for a long moment. “It’s a cult,” he finally says. I lift my head. I know some people spit and fought when we were raided. Their minds were so blurred about reality that they would have given their lives to protect it.
“It is,” I agree. “They are horrible people. It didn’t take me being rescued to know that.”
“How long were you there?”
“They think since I was about five or six, but it’s all I remember. I have one memory of my father which I know was before my mom took us there after he died.”
“Your mom. Where is she?”
“On the run with the prophet Jerima.” I shake my head. “I mean Jerima. He was a self-appointed prophet. Some habits can be hard to break even though I’ve been away from there for a while now. I suppose when you're used to getting a beating for doing something wrong it can make it that much harder.”
His entire body stiffens at my words. “Your back?”
I reach up, touching my shoulder. “I didn’t get it as bad as most, but I’m sure it’s because no ‘prophet’ wants the goods to be too damaged. The day I was told I was promised to Jerima, I cried. My mom was livid that I wasn’t excited to be his fourteenth wife. She left those marks on me.” Colt’s hands slide down to my hips, holding me there. I can tell it’s taking everything he has to stay calm, but I can see the anger in his eyes. “Jerima lost it when he’d seen what my mom did. Not because he cared about me, but I wasn't as perfect or pretty anymore. He beat her pretty badly.”
“He ever do anything else to you?” He clears his throat, his words coming out choked.
“Some lingering touches and such, but honestly being promised to him kept me safe from others. I was off limits. At least to the men. Some girls got really mad that he picked me. His first wife included. I didn’t understand why she hated me so much. She was downright cruel to me when he wasn't around. I got filled in on a few things last night that make me understand more now.”
“If you don’t want to keep going, you don’t have to.”
I wish I never had to utter any of these horrible things to another human being again. Especially him. But he deserves to know. “Agent Green said they think Jerima and my mom might try and find me. A few things have come to light recently that suggest that. I guess the reason his first wife hated me so much was because Jerima divorced her to marry me legally. I’d wondered why he was waiting ‘til I was eighteen. A lot of the girls got married younger.”
A loud growl comes from inside Colt that has a trace of a smile forming on my lips. “I’ll kill him if he comes here.”
“That’s sweet of you, but let the FBI do their job. I don’t want you pulled into this mess any more than you need to be.”
“We’ll see about that,” he mutters. I keep going.
“I guess when my dad died he had some insurance money. He had a policy for my mom and one for me. She got a lot from my understanding. I didn’t know anything about it, but I’m pretty sure it’s all gone at this point. But mine is still left. I guess she couldn't touch a penny of it. I can’t either until I turn eighteen.” One million dollars. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around that.
“It’s why that asshole wanted to marry you legally.”
“Yep. I guess his first wife Julie was so mad about all this she turned against him. She’s the one who cooperated with the FBI from the beginning. She’s the reason I was set free.”
“That’s fucking nuts.” I nod. It really is. I haven't been out of that life long, but it already feels as though it’s a distant dream in some ways.
“There is a bit more. During the raid someone got a hold of my journals. I’d hidden them in a loose floorboard. I guess a lot of the things I wrote that were going on are going to be used in some court cases. Agent Green wanted me to know.”