“How many members do you have?”
“Staying here, over two hundred,” Sutcliffe said.
She couldn’t see how two hundred people could live in this one house, but Ben cleared that up for her. “There are other properties. Some families prefer to have their own space. There are cabins throughout the trees where people make homes for themselves in a safe space, where they don’t have to fear for their children.”
Ben had to be in his thirties. He was attractive and fit. She couldn’t quite figure out why someone who appeared to have at least moderate intelligence would agree to give up so many of their personal liberties just to be a part of a cult.
Some people were susceptible to the power of suggestion and it could be as simple as that. But maybe it wasn’t Ben’s choice to be here. Maybe he had been coerced. “Do you have a wife and children on the property?” she asked.
Sutcliffe laughed and leaned back to pat a hand on Ben’s lower back. “He’s free and single if you’re interested,” he said.
Her eyes widened on their own with the mortification she felt at such a suggestion. But Ben took Sutcliffe’s hand from his back and gave it back to him. Although the man wore a smile, he spoke as though to a meddling uncle who was trying to play matchmaker. “I don’t think that’s why she came here or why she asked,” Ben said, then made eye contact with her. “I’m here by choice and I’m here because I believe that what we’re doing is right. Every society has to start somewhere. At the moment, there are just two hundred of us, but Albert has ideas that could bring more members to our group.”
“I bet he does,” she murmured, but Ben carried on without acknowledging her comment.
“We can acquire more land and build our own community that doesn’t have to live in fear of crime or misfortune. To answer your question, yes, most of us hand over most of our wages. But is that any more unusual than handing them over to a landlord or a utility company? Here, we have our food and our board, we have all of our bills paid, and no one is required to work or to hand over money. Some people choose to stay here full-time, they tend to the crops and animals. They look after the children or help with other chores. Everyone contributes something because we all care about looking after each other.”
This was getting a little too after-school special for her and as she tried not to cringe at what Ben was saying, Grant spoke up. “You have a council who make decisions?”
“Yes,” Ben said. “Several people take part and when decisions have to be made anyone is welcome to come to the debate.”
She fixed a glare on the leader. “And the device that you want from CI, where does that fit in?” she asked Sutcliffe, not pussyfooting around the elephant in the room. “You don’t just want to recruit people for your utopia. You want to murder those who don’t subscribe to your politics.”
Clearly offended, Ben scowled. “No, that’s not true,” he said.
For whatever reason Ben was here, it wasn’t to give her the truth because he didn’t seem to have it himself. While her scoffed amusement sounded ridiculing, that hadn’t been her intention. As she folded her arms and fixated on Sutcliffe again, she waited for his admission of guilt that would clue Ben in.
“Your mind has been poisoned,” Sutcliffe said and now he was the one who seemed to pity her ignorance. “Your friends have not told you the truth.”
She was more inclined to believe the Kindred than to believe this man after what she’d seen of his intentions with her own eyes. “Why would you need such a device if it wasn’t your intention to hurt people? Was it your people who attacked Purdy’s? Why would you send them to do that if your motives truly are benevolent?”
“You’re getting ahead of yourself,” Sutcliffe said. “How would you like a tour? You can meet the people here and see what we’re doing for them.”
Ben came around the table, and when it was clear he was waiting for her to join him, she looked at Grant. “What harm can it do to go with him?” Grant asked.
Ben led her through the rooms of the house and she spoke to some of the people that they met. He took her outside and explained what they were growing. She met the children and the women. Everyone was happy. Too happy.
Her guide took her into the woods and down a path that got darker and darker as it got narrower. Zara slowed down, concerned about their distance from the house. Just as she glanced back and considered returning, there was a break in the trees, and they came out beside a large lake edged with forest. The still water reflected the moonlight shining above them.
“You’re not convinced?” Ben asked, pointing to a log near the water’s edge, which had been planed and smoothed into a makeshift bench. “Do you think that we’re hiding some sinister secret?”
She didn’t need to think. “I know you are,” she said, looking out over the water. “I think that everything you’ve shown me has been unthreatening. It’s a lovely portrayal of what an ideal society should be.”
“But?”
Getting a measure of this guy could be useful, they might need an inside man somewhere down the line. “Either you’re deliberately misleading me or you’re being deliberately misled. I haven’t decided what your role is in this. But I know for sure that Albert Sutcliffe is not the second coming here to save you all.”
“I don’t know much about you, Zara,” Ben said. When she glanced his way, he was examining the reflection of the moonlight. “But I do know that you are affiliated with the people who killed Tim. People who dislike Albert and all he stands for.”
“And you think that we’re indiscriminate killers out to tear down the happiness of others?”
“No,” he said and shook his head as he laughed and twisted to face her. “But I do think it’s easier to be seduced by the dark side than it is to build something good from nothing. To be a part of our community, you have to be willing to put in time. It takes effort and hard work. No one gets a free ride here. Even the kids help with the land and the milking. But you get out what you put in and being a part of this… it’s the most incredible place in the world. I wish you could see that.”
His naivety reminded her of her own. “I don’t doubt that most of the people here believe this community is the end game, that this is the point. But don’t you see that this is a cult? Like so many other thousands of them that have come before, and how many of them end well? You’ve been deceived or you’re deceiving me.”
“To what end?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. “Do you think you’re that much of a prize?”
If Sutcliffe could win her over, he could recruit anyone. “No, but I think that Sutcliffe believes me to be. Because if I take up your politics and subscribe to your cause…”
“What?”
The truth was so much easier than any lie. “It will damage my allies. He may even believe I’d use my influence with them in order to alleviate the pressure on his cause.”
Bafflement made a groove form between his brows. “I don’t understand,” he said. “What do your allies give you? Do you have a similar community? Are you all pulling on the same oar for the same purpose?”
When he put it that way, she had to take her attention back to the water to figure out the answer. What did she get from the Kindred? They didn’t have a utopian land where she had crowds of people invested in her well-being. At that moment, the only person she could rely on was Tuck. Yet, he had been right when pointing out that although they were friends, and cared about each other, there was no vested interest in their relationship which would dictate the likelihood of any decision to go above and beyond for each other.
What she got from the Kindred was her man. Brodie. Her love. And as distant as he was at the moment, it didn’t change her dedication to him. She had missed him this weekend and although she knew she was staying away for his own good, it didn’t alleviate her want to be by his side. If she had been able to crawl into his bed and rest her face on his chest after the attack in Purdy’s, she wouldn’t have dealt with as much anxiety about taki
ng Elvis’s life, of that she was sure.
“We do want the same thing,” she said. “And our ends are not nearly as nefarious as yours. What does Sutcliffe tell his recruits? Are you told to move here and take up a role on the farm and live happily ever after with a cult girl? What about the women? What purpose do they have? Are the children tools at Sutcliffe’s disposal as well?”
Maybe he was curious about her, but all she read was negative judgment. “You hate him, don’t you? Why is that?”
“He killed my friend,” she said without any hesitation. “He sent his nephew Tim to seduce me in order to use me for his own means.”
“Which were?”
Watching him, she anticipated any flicker that might indicate Ben’s knowledge level. “They want a device, one built by the company I work for, CI. Grant’s company. They want us to be a part of this group not because it’s best for us, but because of what we can offer them. What do you do for a living?” she asked, wondering if new members were selected for similar reasons, what they could offer Sutcliffe, rather than what Sutcliffe could offer them.
“I’m a physical therapist,” he said.
She tilted her head in a slow, single nod. “Medicine,” she said, with exaggerated interest. “That’s significant. You can offer useful skills to Sutcliffe.”
“I have my own practice.”
Ben might think that he was exonerating Sutcliffe. Instead he was giving her another opportunity. “And you’re a business man as well, even more fruits for Sutcliffe to select from. You are a useful prize for him.”
“So if I work with him and don’t charge him for it, what? I’m evil? I’m going straight to hell?”
She almost wanted to spit out at the word because such a concept was so far beyond what these people were capable of. Tucking her hands over the edge of the log, she leaned forward.
“This place is not what you think it is. And I’m sorry to be the one to tell you that. But it’s not.”
“I thought I was supposed to be educating you about the merits of what we’re trying to achieve,” Ben said, and his cordial manner made her sorry for what he was going to find out. He wanted this place to be his savior, and now she would have to obliterate his illusion.
“I know that you’re here to convince me of Sutcliffe’s benevolence. But I have a feeling you were sent because you’re as naive to the truth as I once was. Who better to convince me of his intentions than a man who believes he is nothing but good?”
“So educate me,” Ben said, turning to throw a leg over the log so that he was straddling it to look straight at her.
To prevent any misconception of dishonesty, she moved into a similar position, but crossed her legs on their solid base and held her purse on her folded shins to ensure Tuck would have the clearest possible audio of the conversation.
Zara didn’t worry about revealing Sutcliffe’s secrets. She had no loyalty to him. Ben deserved to know the truth and maybe planting a seed of doubt would cause him to ask questions in front of others. Breaking up the cult from the inside was unlikely, but any dissension aided her cause.
Gearing up for a candid conversation, she moistened her lips. “The device that he wants from CI is meant to spread disease.”
He frowned, and she took that as a signal that she’d been right about his ignorance. “Why would your company produce such a product?”
She shook her head, frustrated that he was fixating on the wrong thing. “That doesn’t matter. It wasn’t the original purpose for the product. That’s just one of the ways it can be applied and that’s why your boss, your landlord, wants it.”
“Why would he—“
“He wants to cleanse the world,” she said and was pleased to see that Ben looked as horrified as she’d felt the first time she’d learned about Game Time and what it could be used for.
“That doesn’t sound like Albert.”
“Maybe you don’t know him as well as you thought.”
Noise beyond the tree line stopped her from saying anything else. Either they were being listened to or someone was about to interrupt them, whichever it was, she didn’t want to be hung for naysaying by the good townsfolk.
As it was, Grant broke through with a man she didn’t know and they beckoned her over to say it was time to go home. Ben buddied her back to the chopper that was already warming up for take-off. Just before she parted from his side, he slid a business card into her hand.
“If you have any more questions,” he called over the racket of the rotors. “Or you want to talk some more. Give me a call.”
She nodded and offered a smile in thanks for his hospitality. Whether or not he knew the truth of what Sutcliffe was cooking, he had been an amiable host. So she got back into the chopper with Grant, who made eye contact as they were taking off. Powerful searchlights lit their ascent, but soon they were drifting away from the Sutcliffe compound.
It would take a while to get back to CI, but she was grateful that the excursion was ending. She was eager to talk to Tuck, she wanted to recount her impressions and her experience with Ben. After all she’d seen, she had a better idea of who Sutcliffe was, but that didn’t make her any more comfortable with his motivation or his desire to harness Game Time.
EIGHT
Grant tried to tempt her into coming back to his apartment. He said that there were things they had to discuss. But after the chopper ride, she was exhausted and Tuck was her priority. She needed confirmation that he had heard her conversation with Ben and for his take on how they should move forward.
After giving Grant assurances that she would think about what they had learned today, she went upstairs to her apartment and didn’t bother turning on any lights because the only place she wanted to be was in her bed.
Stripping off on her way through the living room, she didn’t bother to pick up her clothes, or even to collect her purse from where she’d dropped it onto the floor beside her keys after locking the door. There were too many thoughts in her head, too many possibilities. She needed help sorting through them because all she felt was overwhelmed.
By the time she reached her bedroom, she was naked, and would be visible to anyone outside. The only ones who could see her this high up were those who had a camera pointing into her home: the Kindred. She was sleeping with half of those who could put eyes on the feed. They’d have to zoom in and adjust to night vision if they wanted to see anything, and she doubted Tuck was inclined to do that. He had already confirmed he had no interest in sleeping with her and was dedicated to Kadie anyway.
With a yawn contorting her features, she pushed into her bedroom and closed the door with her weight. Sagging against the door, the cool silk of her kimono tickled her back, but she wasn’t going to cover herself, not when her welcoming bed beckoned to her.
Glancing to the chair in the corner, she thought about Brodie and craved the old days when he would come to her. She needed him now and hated the sore pang of disappointment that snapped in her chest every time she was reminded that she was dealing with this alone. Brodie had his own shit to process. He would take his rightful place in the Kindred chain of command when he was ready.
Berating herself for languishing in the past, Zara drifted toward the bed and crawled onto it to lie right in the middle, face down on the pillow.
“Old habits die hard.”
The sound of his husky voice made her gasp and sit, pulling the comforter to her chest as she did. The room was so dark, she couldn’t see much, then the lamp on her nightstand lit up and she saw her memory come to life.
Fright became delight and the weight of the world lifted from her shoulders. “Brodie,” she said, unable to believe this was real. But it did appear that he was in her bedroom, standing in the corner diagonally opposite his old haunt, just to keep her guessing.
“Why am I coming to you here?” he asked and didn’t sound impressed.
Even if he was mad, she’d take it. He’d come out of the manor for her. Over the last three months, he
had chosen not to leave the manor for anything. Yet, here he was in her bedroom. Nothing could extinguish this joy. She needed him and he was here. He’d been a recluse blinded by grief, and he was out in the world again. This could mean he was coming back to her and to the Kindred.
For a few seconds she forgot all about Sutcliffe, Grant, and Game Time. The man she loved was emerging, he was healing, and she’d underestimated what a relief it would be to her to see him make progress. This was more than a baby step; this was a massive leap in the right direction.
The light didn’t offer complete illumination and until he slunk out of the corner, she couldn’t see his expression. His hair was a mess, but it hadn’t been cut in three months, and his scruffy face was adorned by a judgmental glare, but her insides clenched at this sight of him in her bedroom again.
“Grant dropped me off,” she said, trying not to over play her elation for fear it might scare Brodie back into hiding. The realization of her dilemma cooled the fizz of happiness. She’d been with Grant at Sutcliffe’s ranch, days after being attacked in Purdy’s where she’d killed a man. But how much should she tell Brodie? How much truth could he take? “We’ve been… we got back late and… I couldn’t tell him to take me to the manor, could I? And, uh… Swift and I thought it would be a good idea if you didn’t… if you and I didn’t…”
“He told me,” Brodie said and another surge of relief flooded her. The last thing she wanted to do was lie to Brodie.
Dropping down to sit on the bed, he seized her chin and pulled her face into the light so he could see her bruises. For the first time in what felt like forever, his hand came around to the back of her neck and he gripped her so tight that she yelped at the pleasure it gave her to feel his familiar touch.
As happy as she was, he appeared equally pissed. “You’re going to tell me how the fuck this happened or I’m going to tear apart this world until I find every man responsible.”
Swallow (Kindred Book 2) Page 9
