by Elle James
Rebecca straightened, glancing over the top of truck. “You can crawl beneath the tarp. I made a hole between the boxes of jam and jelly. It’s small, but I think you can fit.” She continued to stare over the truck. “Hurry, they’ll be back any minute.”
Jenna climbed into the back of the truck, staying low to avoid being seen and settled into the gap between boxes.
“Here they come.” Rebecca dragged the tarp over Jenna and the boxes.
“This is the last of it,” the lead woman said.
“Set them on the tailgate. I’ll stack them,” Rebecca offered, climbing into the bed again.
Wedged between boxes and buried beneath a heavy tarp, Jenna tugged at her shirt. Sweat beaded on her forehead and dripped down between her breasts. She prayed they’d get moving soon or she’d die of heatstroke before she made it to Sweet Salvation.
Rebecca arranged the boxes and secured the corners of the tarp to the metal anchors in the bed of the truck.
When she was done, she jumped down, the truck bed rising slightly. The tailgate slammed and the next sound Jenna heard was the truck’s door closing after Rebecca climbed into the cab. A moment later the engine started, and the driver backed out of the parking space. Not until they’d made it out of downtown Waco did the truck’s motion speed up enough to get air flowing beneath the tarp.
Hot and exhausted, Jenna’s eyes drifted closed.
Damn it. Jenna shook her head, forcing her eyes open in the dim light. She couldn’t go to sleep, even if she hadn’t slept much the night before. Too much was dependent on her staying fully alert. The truck bumped along. The heat and the rocking motion worked against her and she drifted off before reaching the compound.
*
DUSTIN SPENT MOST of the afternoon with his father, who was getting grouchier by the minute and feeling the pain set in from having his ribs cracked open and his heart worked on. No amount of cheering pleased the man, but he had a right to be petulant after what he’d gone through.
“Go,” Dustin’s mother said when she returned from the ranch, having showered, slept for four hours and had dinner. She looked rested, less stressed and ready to spend the night in the room with her husband. “Go,” she repeated. “Get some rest.”
Rest was the farthest thing from his mind. When the nurses had been in and out of his father’s room, Dustin had stepped out into the hallway and called around trying to locate Jenna.
Her boss at the television station hadn’t heard from her since that morning’s fund raising event. Each time Dustin called her cell phone, he got her voicemail. He tried finding Toby’s number, but it was unlisted.
When his mother told him to go, he didn’t hesitate. He drove straight to Jenna’s apartment and ran up the steps. He knocked and waited, his breath caught in his lungs. She didn’t answer the door, and he couldn’t see any lights shining through the blinds. Just in case she’d gone to sleep, he knocked louder.
Nothing stirred behind the door.
With nowhere else to turn, he headed for the news station. They would be gearing up for the evening news and weather. Someone had to be there who might have an alternate cell phone number for Jenna or Toby’s number.
The front door of the news station was locked.
Reaching the end of his patience, Dustin considered breaking the glass door and charging in.
“Are you looking for someone?” a voice sounded behind him.
Dustin turned toward a tall blonde he vaguely recognized as one of the station’s anchors. “I’m trying to find Jenna Turner.”
“Are you a friend or a stalker fan?” The blonde winked.
“Fiancé.” The word rolled off his tongue like it belonged.
The blonde’s brows rose. “I didn’t know Jenna was engaged.”
“I’ve been out of town.”
The woman’s gaze raked over him from head to toe. “I can see why she didn’t want to share. She won the sexy fiancé lottery when she landed you.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Ashlynn Grant. Jenna usually isn’t in the studio at this time.”
“I know. I’m trying to find her, but she isn’t answering her cell phone. I’ve been by her apartment and she’s not at home.”
“Is something wrong?”
“I’m not sure. I haven’t heard from her all day, and I’m concerned.” It wasn’t a lie. The darker the sky grew, the more worried he became.
“Have you called her cousin Toby? If they’re following a story, he’ll be with her.”
“I just got back town, I don’t have his number, and it’s unlisted.”
Ashlynn pulled her cell phone from her purse and scrolled through her contacts. “Here it is. He and Jenna are my go-to people for freelance reporting. They’re not afraid of anything, and they always do a great job.”
Dustin entered the number into his cell phone. Before he hit SEND, he nodded to Ashlynn. “Thanks.”
“Anytime,” she said and unlocked the front door, letting herself into the station.
Before the door closed behind Ashlynn, Dustin hit the SEND key and waited for someone to answer on the other end.
“This is Toby.”
“Toby, Dustin Ford. I’m looking for Jenna. Do you know where I can find her?”
“Uh…” Toby said and paused.
“She might be mad at me and not want to talk, but I need to tell her something important.” Dustin wasn’t above begging. “Please.”
“I don’t know anything about her being mad at you, but I don’t know if she’d want me to tell you where she is.”
Dustin walked back to the SUV he’d rented and leaned against the front grill. “Look, I don’t know why she’s not answering her phone, but I have to talk to her. Damn it, I love her and I don’t want to leave Texas without telling her.”
“I’d love to get her on the line for you to do just that, but she’s actually on assignment.”
“She’s working?” Dustin’s grip tightened on the phone. “She’s not covering another shoot out, is she?”
“Not that I know of…” Toby hedged.
“You’re not with her?”
“No,” Toby’s said, his voice tight, strained. “And I’m not happy about it.”
“Toby, if she’s in trouble, tell me.”
“I don’t know if she is or not.” Toby sighed. “Hell, I might as well tell you. If something goes south, you might be able to help her more than the authorities.”
Dustin wasn’t liking the sound of this. “Where is she?” he asked, his tone deep, insistent. He wished he could reach through the phone and drag the information out of Toby.
“She’s going to infiltrate the Sweet Salvation community. If all went well, she should be inside the compound now.”
Dustin’s heart dropped to the bottom of belly. “Isn’t that the religious commune outside of town?”
“Yes.”
“I thought they were all about peace, love and acceptance.”
“As long as you accept that you live by their rules, accept their punishments and don’t look behind the curtain,” Toby said. “Our cousin Rebecca joined the commune last year.” Toby filled Dustin in on how Rebecca had reached out to Jenna in her fear for herself and her mother. He told him she’d seen them bringing in wooden crates into the worship center, and then stowing them in the basement.
“So?”
“The elders are being very secretive, and Rebecca is concerned they’re doing something illegal. Jenna wanted Rebecca to get out if she was uncomfortable with what was going on, but Rebecca refused to leave her mother who’s also a member of the group.”
“And Jenna is going in to convince Rebecca and her mother to leave with her?” Dustin asked.
“That and to figure out what the elders are hiding in the basement of the worship hall,” Toby concluded.
Dustin scrubbed a hand down his face. What the hell had Jenna gotten herself into? “What was her plan?”
“She’s supposed to call me before morning to come pick he
r up on the highway outside the compound. If she’s successful, she’ll have Rebecca and her mother with her. Otherwise she’ll be on her own.”
“If she gets out without being detected,” Dustin muttered.
“Hey, I’m not any happier about this than you are. I gave her a mini-cam to video what she finds and a GPS tracking tag, so I can at least locate her.”
“You put a tracker on her?”
“Hell, yeah. She’s going into that crazy place. No telling what’ll happen.”
Dustin’s thought, exactly. The last time a commune in the Waco area was challenged, a lot of people died. He didn’t want that to happen again. Not with Jenna inside.
“Text me your address. I’ll be by to pick you up in fifteen minutes,” Dustin said.
“And do what?” Toby asked.
“We’re going to the compound.”
“They won’t let us in.”
Dustin’s hand tightened on the cell phone. “My brothers and I don’t need an invitation.”
Chapter Nine
‡
THE TRUCK JERKED to a stop, slamming Jenna against the stack of boxes, waking her. She held her breath and listened to the sounds of a gate opening and male voices speaking to the female driver.
Sweating, hot and nervous, she remained quiet and still. If the gatekeepers chose to look under the tarp, it would be all too easy to see her, and they’d refuse to allow her into the compound. They would accuse Rebecca of hiding her among the boxes of jams and jellies. If they were whipping cult members for infractions, they’d turn their whips loose on Rebecca, and Jenna couldn’t let that happen.
A minute passed with the gatekeeper chatting with the driver, and then the truck shifted into drive and pulled forward, off the paved road.
Jenna let out the breath she’d held the entire time. For the next five minutes, they bumped over what sounded like a gravel road. The truck slowed to a stop, the screech of unoiled hinges sounded and the truck moved forward slowly, coming to a halt. The faint light that had found its way through and around the tarp had diminished to near-darkness. The truck doors opened and closed, the women talking as they walked away.
“Aren’t you coming with us, Rebecca?” a woman asked.
“I want to load a few more boxes into the truck for tomorrow’s market so that we don’t have to do it in the morning.”
“We’ll save you a plate at the dinner table. Don’t take too long, or you’ll be late for worship.”
“I’ll hurry,” Rebecca responded.
The squeaky door hinge sounded again, and what little bit of light that had found its way to Jenna was extinguished.
“Are you all right under there?” Rebecca whispered, lifting the edge of the tarp.
Jenna sat up. “I am. You’d better go or they’ll come looking for you.”
“I will. What are you going to do now?”
“Is there any possibility of getting your mother alone?”
“Not until after worship.”
“When is that?”
“After dinner. Everyone eats dinner at seven-thirty, and worship services start at eight and last from thirty minutes to an hour. Sometimes longer, if Elder Snow thinks we aren’t pious enough.”
“Hang back from the services when they’re over and get your mother alone. I’ll be watching for you.”
“How will you stay out of sight?”
Jenna smiled and held up the bag she’d brought. “I’ll be hiding in plain sight.” She pulled a corner of the dress from the bag and showed it to Rebecca.
Rebecca smiled. “That was the first dress I’d ever sewn by myself.”
“It’s not my style, but it’s lovely.”
“You’ll be dressed like us, but everyone knows everyone else,” she said, biting her lower lip. “They’ll pick you out as a stranger.”
“Don’t some of them wear the bonnets they sell?”
Rebecca nodded. She still looked worried. “Yes, but I don’t know. It’s still risky.”
“I’ll wait until dark to come out of hiding. Don’t worry about me. Just get your mother away from the others long enough for me to talk sense into her.”
“Okay.” Rebecca leaned over the rim of the truck and reached for Jenna’s hand. “Be careful. I never thought we’d be in danger in Sweet Salvation, but lately…” She shook her head. “I just don’t know.”
Jenna gripped her hand. “Don’t worry. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
Rebecca held the tarp higher. No one’s in the barn right now. If you want to get out and find a better place to hide, now would be the time.”
Jenna eased out of the back of the truck and dropped to the ground, glad she’d worn the dark shirt and jeans. “Is it dark outside?”
“It’s getting dark early. There are storm clouds building from the southwest. We’re supposed to get rain.”
“Good. Rain will help conceal us if we need to get out tonight.”
“Should I pack a bag?”
“No. If things are as sketchy as you think, you don’t want to alert anyone that you’re thinking of leaving.”
Rebecca sighed. “It all seems so cloak-and-dagger. This place is supposed to be a sanctuary, not a terrorist training camp.”
“Why would sanctuary members need training on weapons?”
“I know, I know.” A door opened at the other end of the barn, allowing a dim, gray wedge of light inside. “Get down,” Rebecca said.
Jenna dropped and rolled under the truck.
“What are you doing in here?” a male voice said.
“Elder Snow,” Rebecca said, her voice tight. “I was loading boxes for tomorrow’s market.”
“You don’t need to. No one will be going to market tomorrow.”
“No?” she asked.
“No. We’re going to spend the day in the worship hall.”
“Everyone?” Rebecca squeaked.
“Everyone. So leave the boxes and get to dinner. We’ll discuss the plan at worship this evening.”
“Yes, Elder Snow.” Rebecca hurried away.
For a long moment Jenna lay still, waiting for the man to leave the barn and close the door. He didn’t. Instead, he walked around the truck and stood close enough Jenna could have reached out and touched his black shoes.
Finally, he left the barn and the door closed, plunging Jenna into darkness. Her heart raced too fast, her pulse pounding against her eardrums. Why would the elders call a commune-wide worship day out of the blue?
Jenna waited five minutes to give Elder Snow time to go back to his home and settle in to dinner. If everyone was supposed to eat at the same time, Jenna might have the opportunity to sneak into the worship hall and figure out what the elders were hiding in the basement.
She slipped out of her jeans and black shirt, pulled the dress over her head and tied it in the back, cinching the fabric in at the waist. Then she wound her hair up on her head, slipped an elastic band over it and jammed the bonnet over her head.
Jenna found her way to a side door and pushed it open a crack. Nothing moved in the compound. Though it wasn’t sunset yet, the thickening clouds overhead blocked the light, giving the sky a dark and sinister dusky haze. The worship hall was the biggest building on the compound and sat dead center of the houses and other buildings, not too far from the barn.
With a quick glance left and right, Jenna slipped out of the structure and, hugging the side of the building, hurried toward the corner and the shortest distance between the two buildings.
Glancing around the corner, she didn’t see anyone out and about. With a deep breath, she tipped her chin down and walked slowly across the open space between the barn and the worship hall as if she was supposed to be there, as though she were just another one of the members of the Sweet Salvation community.
No one shouted for her to stop or questioned why she was walking around at dinnertime.
When she reached the worship hall, she entered through the first door she came to, her gaze se
arching the interior for any movement.
Rows of chairs filled the huge room, facing a raised dais where a podium stood, draped in gold and white fabric. Nothing moved. The worship hall was empty.
Hugging the wall and keeping out of the direct light, Jenna made her way around the room, easing open any door she found, looking for the one that would take her into the basement.
One was an office with a desk, chair and bookshelves.
The next door led into a storage room with mops, buckets, brooms and folding tables stacked against the wall. As she circled the sanctuary, checking into each room, she began to think there wasn’t a door leading into the basement from the inside.
At the raised dais, she stepped up, her feet connecting with the solid wood flooring. Exposed to the room and anyone who might walk in, she hurriedly glanced around. No doors back there. Her eyes darting to the entrance, Jenna crossed the stage and stepped on a spot that didn’t sound the same as the rest of the solid flooring. It had a hollowness the other planks did not.
Jenna dropped down and studied the wood. Smooth lengths of polish boards ran the length of the dais except in one spot where a square had been cut out and replaced. At one point on the square there was a small indentation a person could slip his hand into and use as a handle.
Jenna hooked her fingers beneath it and pulled. The square rose on one side, hinged on struts that locked into place when she had it at a ninety-degree angle. Leading down into the darkness was a staircase.
A trap door on the dais? Was Elder Snow expecting to have to make a quick escape?
Gathering her skirt, Jenna descended into the darkness, pulling the trap door down behind her. With the door shut all the way, not a single speck of light found its way into the basement below.
Jenna pulled her smart phone from inside her bra and switched on the flashlight app. Able to see the stairs, she continued to the bottom and shined the light around. The room was stacked with wooden crates at one end. At the other end, old tables and chairs were positioned in front of a huge chalkboard like the ones that were used back in the mid-twentieth century. Whatever had been written on the board had been erased, but not all the way.
Jenna crossed to the board and shined the light over the lines that hadn’t been completely obliterated. From the residual lines, she could tell it had been a drawing of the compound with each building’s position and the outer walls defined.
