The forbidden bread reassures me that Chastity will fight for us and for herself. I just hope the rest of the Maidens will see the opening and do what they must to regain their freedom.
And even if they aren’t ready to fight, I am.
Chapter 24
Adam
“You decided what we’re going to do about Davis?” Noah leans against the side of the Cloister, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
I take a spot next to him as he passes the smoke. Pulling in a lungful of nicotine, I hold it, then let it go in a white plume. “I’m still thinking.” I can taste the alcohol on the filter, but I already smelled it on Noah when I walked up.
He raises a bruised brow. “You’re actually considering wearing a wire?”
“Hell no.” I stuff my hands into my pockets. “I don’t narc. You know that.” I’ve been toying with the idea, even if I tell Noah otherwise. Wearing a wire would be simple, and I could catch my father saying any number of illegal things at any time. But, everything he says will also implicate Noah and me. That’s not an outcome I will accept, especially when Davis doesn’t have the authority to offer us full immunity.
“Then what?”
“I always look for a way to play both ends against the middle.” I shrug and shift from one aching foot to the next.
“You found a way to do that here?”
“Not yet.” I motion for the cigarette and take the last hit. “But I will.”
“I can’t believe that douche is FBI.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “Threatening us with prison time.”
“He doesn’t have a thing on us or we’d already be busted and over a barrel. The most he’s got is me beating his ass and our breaking and entering his house—but he won’t do shit about that. It would blow his cover.”
“Right.” He scrubs a hand down his jaw, the bristles loud in the quiet night. “I guess we need to backburner him and think about Tuesday.”
“Tuesday.” I nod. “You know what to do. Just be prepared. It’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better.”
“What if…” He swallows hard. “What if it comes down to it, and I’m the one who has to… you know, kill Dad. I don’t know if I can do—”
“I’ll handle that. You just watch your back and make sure none of the Protectors get out of that room. Then we’ll fight our way to Mom. Once we’ve got her and Delilah, we’re out.”
“And after?” His light blue eyes are inscrutable as he stares at me. “What then?”
“Anything. Anything we can think of. We’ll have money and freedom. We can go wherever we want.”
“Anywhere?” His reticence gives way to a note of hope.
“Yes.” I can’t help but smile at the idea. Real freedom. “After Tuesday, we are free to have our own lives, to be different people—the people we would have been if it weren’t for this place.”
His smile is wistful. “I like the sound of that. Maybe we can move to, I don’t know, like an island or something? In the Caribbean?”
“With the money I’ve stashed, we can buy our own island if we want.”
He smiles, finally, his grin boyish and warm. “I’ll name it Noahland and give Felix and Gregory the run of the place.”
“Good to know you still have the ambitions of a sixteen-year-old.” I clap him on the shoulder and laugh when he winces. “Pussy.”
“Dick,” he mutters as Zion walks up.
Zion smirks at Noah, probably admiring the bruises he put on my brother’s face.
Once he’s inside, Noah turns to me. “Now that’s one guy I won’t mind putting down for good.”
“That’s the spirit.” I can’t deny my need to see Delilah any longer. Pushing off the wall, I stride to the door, Noah at my back. We walk the long hallway to the dormitories and separate.
When I walk in, Delilah is on her knees, her head slightly bowed. For the first time in my life, I actually feel lucky. To have a woman like this waiting for me is something I never expected, and I certainly don’t deserve it. I stride over to her and sit.
She rests her cheek on my knee, and I stroke her hair.
“What training did you get up to today, little lamb?” I feather my fingers across her neck.
“I had a special session with Miriam.”
My usual scorn for the woman churns inside me. “And what pearls of wisdom did the First Lady of Alabama have to offer?”
“She told me that even if I’m married to Evan, that my true responsibility is to the Prophet.”
I nod along. “That’s correct.”
“And as long as I serve Evan in whatever ways he wants—” My fists clench, but she continues on, “And submit to him as his wife in every way, that I’ll—”
“That’s enough.” I yank her off the floor and slam her on the bed.