by Brent, Cora
“Hey,” Orion snapped his fingers at Kira, “What the fuck you looking at?”
“Nothing,” she said innocently, still staring in an interested way at Gray’s unfastened pants.
Orion rolled his eyes. “Women,” he swore.
Chapter Twenty Six
Alice Carter was as good as her word. An hour and forty five minutes later I was sitting at a table in the Riverbottom, nervously glancing at the clock above the bar when I heard a loud engine rumble to a shuddering stop on the other side of the door.
“What the hell is that?” Gray wondered, stalking over to the door and peering out critically. I crept behind him and looked over his shoulder.
An ancient pickup truck, clumsily painted turquoise at some point, was sitting in a cloud of dust behind the row of motorcycles. Gray let out a low whistle when the occupant jumped out of it.
Her blonde hair spilled around her shoulders in sloppy layers and she was almost embarrassingly voluptuous, a fact which she didn’t bother to hide in a short khaki skirt and tight blouse.
She saw us immediately and hastened over after slamming the painfully creaky truck door. “You’re Promise,” she laughed, switching her laptop case between shoulders and holding her hand out. She didn’t wait for me to answer, leading the way into the dim bar and quickly setting her laptop case down on a table. She had a sharp way about her; as she settled into a chair and looked around with a shrewd expression I knew she was mentally absorbing everything and everyone.
Rachel and Grayson chose to hang back a little as Alice crossed her long legs and watched me searchingly. “So,” she said, “how about you tell me a little bit about yourself, Promise?”
I met her stare. “Are you going to write an article about it?”
“No,” she said thoughtfully. “Your situation is sad and fascinating. A human interest piece. Good people would be outraged, as they always are, over the oppressive treatment of women, the abuse of power, blah blah blah.” She waved a hand and looked at me flatly. “But it wouldn’t be enough.” She suddenly leaned over and ran a cool finger across my cheek. “By the way, who did that to you?”
I put a hand self-consciously over my face. “They did.”
She raised her eyebrows. “They were here?”
“Yes.” As I relayed the awful events of the day before Alice’s face softened into sympathy. Then she looked angry.
“They believe they are beholden to none,” she muttered more to herself than to me. “They think they can do whatever the fuck they want and there aren’t any consequences.”
I thought about that. “That’s because there never are any consequences. Sure, the law swoops in once in a while and makes a good show for the cameras but it never matters much.”
Alice nodded approvingly. “You’re angry. That’s good. Just don’t wallow in it.”
I glanced at Gray, who was standing next to Rachel and listening quietly. I reached a hand out and he stepped forward and took it. “Someone else told me that once,” I whispered.
“Is there anyone you love back in Jericho Valley?”
Of course my first thought was of Jenny. Then I thought of my mother too. I hadn’t thought much about her since I’d last seen her the day of my wedding. She was never a strong woman. The memory of her kind face as she tucked me into bed a thousand lost times and sang me lullabies about sweet children sleeping softened my heart somewhat. All at once I remembered the immense cast of people who’d been left behind. Sisters, brothers, cousins.
“Yes,” I sighed as Grayson drew closer and put his hands on my shoulders. “There are many people I love there.”
Alice gave me a sharp look as she tapped her fingers on the table. I noticed her nails appeared bitten down. “Promise,” she said carefully. “It’s ending.”
“What is?”
Alice licked her lips. “They are.” She patted her computer bag. “I’ve been working on exposing the Faithful Cooperative for years. And my boss agrees that we finally have enough ammunition to take it to the pages. Jesus, there’s a lot of people who are going to be in deep shit over this. Not the kind that’ll put you in a metal box, although the feds might be interested in some of those fraudulently acquired public works contracts. But still, the kind that will ruin people. Public gets kind of squeamish when it comes to associating with businesses who secretly partner with those who abuse little girls.”
She must have seen something in my face.
“What is it?”
“My sister. Her name is Jenny. They married her off to Josiah Bastian shortly before his death. She’s back in Jericho Valley now but it won’t be long before they give her to someone else. Alice, when all this blows up will it be enough to help her?”
She shook her head slowly, sadly. “Not soon enough,” she said. “It’ll put a painful dent in the church’s finances and a deeper look might put some of the leaders away but it will take more than that to help girls like Jenny.” She bit her lip and searched my face. “It’ll take someone coming forward and giving the state the ammunition to raid the damn place and see what’s going on.”
“A raid?” I said with some alarm. I heard Rachel’s sharp intake of breath from a few feet away and glanced at her. Her brown eyes were wide and she clutched the back of a chair. From a young age the Faithful children had been taught to fear the law in the common world. Terrors were whispered in their tender young years, about how they would be taken. It had happened before, they were told. It could happen again. The majority of the people of Jericho Valley were innocent. They did not deserve to suffer. But it was time to ensure the cycle came to an end.
“How?” I asked and Alice raised her eyebrows again. “How can we make that happen?”
She smiled. “I was hoping you would say that.”
Alice withdrew her laptop from the case and turned it toward me. “Do you think you can talk into the camera? Tell your story? Tell the world about your sister and all the girls like her?” She saw my fear and hurried to quiet it. “I’ll blur your face. This will be released to the public but you won’t be recognizable.”
After a reassuring squeeze from Gray I slowly agreed. It wasn’t as intimidating as I would have thought. At first my words came haltingly but strengthened as I talked. I remembered the therapy group where I’d spoken them aloud for the first time. I thought about all the abused women and girls out there with their own stories and was hopeful. Maybe my words would make them feel slightly less alone.
I had managed to say it all without crying once but as Alice turned the camera off and closed the laptop a single tear made its way down my cheek. Grayson knelt in front of me, gently took my face in his hands and kissed me.
“I love you, angel.”
“Oh, I love you!” I collapsed into his arms and held him tightly, breathing him in and wishing for all the world we were alone.
Rachel was smiling at me. “Tough bitch,” she said quietly.
The door to Riverbottom opened as Brandon and Maddox poured through it in a whirlwind of cursing and hot leather. Maddox noticed Alice first and his eyes lit up with interest.
“Well hello, little lady,” he said a practiced drawl as he ran a hand through his dark hair and flashed his most overwhelming bad boy grin.
Brandon was more to the point. “Shit, you’re fucking hot,” he said, looming over her and leering at her substantial cleavage.
Alice seemed unfazed by their lewd attention, graciously accepting introductions and keeping them at a classy distance. I supposed she was used to such responses from men.
Maddox seemed to figure he had the upper hand since it was usually the case where women were concerned. He flattered her excessively and then wanted to know if she would join him at the bar for a drink.
“Why not?” Alice shrugged. “I’ve been rather depressed ever since I broke up with my girlfriend.”
Brandon did a double take and Maddox’s face suddenly resembled that of a child who has had a candy bar ripped from his grasp.
Rachel laughed and poured Alice a beer from the tap. Brandon grumbled and shuffled away but Maddox seemed to feel trapped. He reluctantly settled onto a stool and glowered into his own beer.
Alice didn’t linger long after that, gathering up her things and hugging me as I walked her to her truck. After we were out of the building she gestured to Maddox who was still scowling into space.
“Maybe some other time,” Alice winked. “He is hotter than shit.”
I was perplexed. “But I thought you said-“
“Yeah, I did say that. And it’s true. But his mistake was assuming I’m a one team gal.” I must have still looked rather nonplussed. Alice leaned over conspiratorially. “I’m bisexual.”
I stared at her for a second and then began giggling. I pointed to the bar. “Should I tell him there’s hope?”
Alice smiled slowly. “There’s always hope.”
She flung open the creaky door to the truck cab and climbed casually inside. Before she started the engine she leaned out and took my hand. “You know,” she said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to meet a lot of different kinds of people in my line of work. And, Promise, it’s not religion itself that’s bad. I’ve even known a few loving families who practice polygamy and that’s not bad either. It’s them, the men who lord themselves over the Faithful who are bad. Remember that. I’m glad to have met you today. We’ll be in touch,” she called before turning the key and letting the truck’s ancient innards groan to life.
“Bye,” I whispered.
As I gave her one final wave I felt Grayson’s arms circling me in a protective cocoon. I reveled in the strong feel of his body, turning around and accepting his kiss once again.
“Hey,” he said softly. “In case I don’t say it enough, you’re amazing.”
I leaned my head back, looking up at him. “I like you too.”
He pretended to be offended. “You like me?”
“Yeah. I might even keep you.”
He started kissing me and I felt his arousal. “How long will you keep me?”
I pressed into him. “Long enough to take care of one or two things.”
Gray grinded his hips. “I can live with that,” he said gruffly.
“Well, feed me first. Can’t have you thinking I’m a cheap date.”
“Can I buy you for a hamburger?”
“You could have had me for even less.”
Grayson groaned pulling me up so I could feel the whole length of him. “I need you now,” he begged.
“Later,” I promised. “Right now we should eat and bring Teague home.”
“Fucking tease,” he shook his head regretfully.
We borrowed Rachel’s car and Grayson offered me the keys. It had been a while since I’d driven. It was a good feeling, steering the car the car where I needed to go. It was freedom. Gray kept his hand lightly on my thigh as we paused for lunch and then went to the hospital.
Teague was disagreeable as ever. He muttered several different incarnations of ‘Fucking shithole’ and spit a wad of phlegm on the floor by the nurses’ station. I tried to give everyone apologetic waves as we hustled him out of there.
By the time we got Teague home and settled into his trailer it was getting towards evening. As we sat at a table in the Riverbottom listening to Brandon complain about beard maintenance in the extreme heat, Gray rubbed my arm and leaned in to talk quietly.
“Hey,” he said. “You want to get out of here tonight?”
“We don’t have to hang out in the bar all evening.” I ran my hand down his leg. “We can go home anytime.”
“Home is always nice,” he agreed, pulling me into his lap and nuzzling my neck. “Just thought you might like a temporary change of scenery. Cas has a piece of shit cabin in the wilderness outside Prescott.”
“What’s Casper doing with a cabin in the woods?”
“Won it,” Casper called from across the room. “Got a good hand playing with some button down fucks from Scottsdale. Comes in handy now and then.” He looked at me. “Take a ride up there. Get out of this hellish heat for a day.”
Gray smiled at me and pushed his hand under my skirt and between my thighs. Not enough to be graphic, but enough to make me a little wild.
“Let’s go,” I whispered.
Twenty minutes later we were on the road after hastily packing a few things. Now that we were on our way I was very enthusiastic. I’d left my hair purposely loose and it whipped in the hot wind like fiery waves as I held tightly to the man I loved.
Gray wasn’t kidding when he titled the cabin a ‘piece of shit’. It looked rather like a pioneer relic which had been sagging into oblivion since the days of covered wagons. Still, miraculously, the inside was clean enough and the place was well stocked with canned goods, blankets and everything else we weren’t able to carry with us on Gray’s bike.
It was nearly dark, the sort of dark which can only be appreciated far away from the city lights. I went outside and gazed up at the riot of scenery in the night sky. Gray was close behind me.
“I missed this,” I said with wonder.
“The sky?”
“Yes. When I lived in Salt Lake City it never got this dark.”
Gray’s hands went around my waist. “Never got this dark in prison either.” He nudged me. “You know them?”
“Who?”
“Perseus, Andromeda, Ursa Major.”
“Oh, the stars.”
“Constellations,” he corrected me and proceeded to patiently point out what he knew.
I turned toward him, kissing his jaw. “I love it when you get all academic.”
He reached under my shirt. “What else do you love?”
I was beginning to get breathless. “I love it when you undress me.” He held my arms up and removed my shirt. “And when you tease my breasts with your tongue.” I put my hand around his neck as he bent to my chest. “Yeah, like that. Gray, I love it when you’re not shy about showing me how hard you are. I love your shudder when I take you in my hand and feel you.” I got to my knees as he watched me. “I love it when I kneel in front of you and have to stop talking because your dick is in my mouth.”
As the rigid muscle moved between my lips the sound of his groan echoed through the woods. He tried once to push me back but I stubbornly kept him in my mouth, wanting to finish him this way.
“And I love it when I make you come,” I finally said after he’d unleashed himself.
“Well you’re damn good at it,” he said and I could hear his smile. He reached for me. “Now let me do something for you.”
I was agreeable. “I would love that too.”
Later, as we lay naked together on the musty mattress inside the cabin, I propped my chin up in his chest.
“This is my favorite part, I think,” I said sleepily, tracing constellations on his chest. It wasn’t just the sex; it was the quiet enjoyment of each other’s company, the comfort of being in the arms of someone who loved you.
He hauled me up closer. “I don’t know, there are other parts equally as fun.” He played with my hair, his voice dropping. “But yeah, I get what you mean.” He took my hand and kissed it. “You want a ring?”
“A ring?” I frowned.
“Yeah, you know, a ring. Girls like shiny permanent shit.”
“No,” I said softly, content to listen to his heart. “I just want you, Grayson.”
“Well, angel, you already have me. Always did.”
I fell asleep in happy peace, knowing his words were completely true.
Chapter Twenty Seven
Grayson was as reluctant to leave the next morning as I was. We lingered in the cool green woods until it was nearly afternoon. Then we climbed on his bike and rode back to Quartzsite.
“What’s wrong?” I asked when Gray stopped the bike several hundred yards away from the Riverbottom.
He pointed. “You know that guy? The one who’s talking to Rachel?”
I squinted and noticed the tall bl
onde stranger. His back was to us but his familiar stance and the way my cousin smiled up at him triggered something.
“Daniel,” I breathed.
Grayson turned around and looked at me.
“My brother,” I explained. “Half brother actually. I haven’t seen him in about eight years. He was kicked out for fighting with my uncle. And for being a male.”
Rachel had spotted us. She waved, beaming. Gray coasted over to where they waited.
“Promise,” my brother choked, wrapping me in an emotional hug.
I was not able to contain the well of sentiment. “I looked for you,” I sobbed. “I searched for you online but I never found you.”
“Changed my name,” he said wryly. “I’m Daniel Smith now.”
“Smith?” I smiled, wiping my tears.
“Anonymity,” he answered. His face grew long and sad. “I saw your video, Promise. Oh, your face was blurred but of course I recognized my sister. I managed to get in touch with the woman who had posted it.”
“Yes, Alice,” I said. “You saw it? How many other people saw it?”
Rachel took my arm. “It’s everywhere, hon. Made national news.”
I was amazed. “My god,” I said softly.
Daniel turned and drew a small dark-haired woman to his side. I hadn’t noticed her before. In her arms was a beautiful baby girl. “Promise, I’d like you to meet my wife. Lupe. And our daughter, Bella. Lupe, this is my little sister.” Daniel’s voice had grown rough with emotion and Lupe touched his arm gently before turning to me.
“I am so happy to meet you,” she said in a slightly accented voice as she wrapped an arm around me and kissed my cheek. Before she pulled away I reached out and touched the head of my small niece. The baby was perfect. She would have a happy life. She would never be given away. She would be raised with loving parents who always told her what she was worth.
Gray had remained a few feet behind, watching quietly, but I pulled him to my side with stern insistence.
