Eighteen
Gabriel
I’m not ready for this. Why can’t I ever just stick to a fucking plan? Jacob showed me the plans he’s making for his Ward when he takes her. Her whole days are mapped to the minute for weeks on end. A meticulous, military-style training program.
He helped me work out a plan for Eve, and I pretty much ripped it up and set it on fire the minute she arrived. At least if we hurry, we shouldn’t bump into him at breakfast.
Eve stares, wide-eyed, around my apartment as we pass through it. She’s being quiet and compliant, but I’m not fooled. I’ve been researching the psychology of captivity. It’s common for clever captives to play along with their captors, get them to drop their guard, then escape.
And I’ll have to watch myself, because I’m exactly the sort of idiot who would fall for it. I lay awake in bed for an hour this morning, not wanting to move because it was just too nice watching Eve sleep. She could wrap me around her finger as easily as taking a breath, and if I’m not careful, she’ll figure it out.
Then I’m fucked .
We pass out of my modern apartment into the weird, old-fashioned corridor. Eve’s brow furrows, and I can tell she’s dying to ask a question. I give her an opening. “What do you think of the decor?”
We pass a particularly gloomy painting of a stern, ancient Brother, hooded and reading a book. Kendrick once told me who he was, but the name escapes me, though I do remember he made some important discoveries about the properties of oxygen.
She stares at it, opens her mouth, then shakes her head. “Is he a friend of yours? He looks the type to keep women locked in his basement.”
Her attempt at black humor makes me smile, and I readjust her small hand in mine. She shoots me a sidelong glance, and my heart stutters.
Careful, Gabriel.
“I can’t remember his name. You’d find his story interesting, though. He worked with Priestley around the time he discovered oxygen.”
She scoffs. “No way. That’s nonsense.”
“It’s true. Not all Brothers remain in the Compound. Some work out in the world alongside other scientists. Like Jacob.”
She stares at the picture again. “And what about women? Is there a Sisterhood somewhere with well-behaved men as captives? Or are women not considered intelligent enough to change the world?”
It’s a question I’ve spent a lot of time considering, without finding an answer I like. The Brotherhood is sexist at its core. Not to mention that it only allows female Wards. I’ve often wondered what happens to Brothers who swing the other way, or those who aren’t interested in sex at all .
“It’s not perfect. I know that. But Wards work, too. The Brotherhood doesn’t expect women to stay housebound.”
She lets out a long breath, clearly unconvinced. I wish I had a better response for her.
We keep walking until we reach the end of the creepy corridor, and I use my handprint to open the door. Eve watches me like a hawk. Is she imagining chopping my hand off to escape, like the guy with the eyeball in that old movie. I search for the name. Demolition Man . She probably hasn’t seen it. Still…
“This only works with a living hand.” I throw the comment out there casually, and her eyes widen. She had been thinking it! All at once, the enormity of what I’m doing threatens to swallow me whole. She’s a person. A living, intelligent person who is actively trying to get away from me. How am I supposed to keep her under control?
By training her properly—that’s how. Just like Kendrick and Jacob have been trying to teach me.
The door slides open, but I grab her hands and spin her toward me. She yelps, gaze darting over my face.
“Listen to me. This tour, getting out of the room, it’s a reward. You behaved well last night.” I drop my voice into a menacing purr. “You do everything I say, exactly as I say it. If you do one thing wrong, you get punished. Don’t risk it.”
Her chest rises and falls rapidly, and a sharp breath catches in her throat. It cuts through me. Something is wrong. She’s too scared. Her face has paled, making her look ghostly in the white dress.
“Will you beat me?”
She’s trying to sound angry, but the high note of fear drowns out the fake bravado. It hits me all at once, and sour guilt poisons my blood. Her mother. Her fucking mother, with her wooden spoon and belt, beating her for every imagined transgression. Of course she’s scared.
I can’t help myself. I pull Eve into me, wrapping my arms around her and tucking her against my T-shirt. “No.”
I shouldn’t be telling her this—fear is a great motivator to behave—but I just can’t bring myself to use this against her. “I’m not saying I’ll never spank you—” She stiffens in my hold, and I rub her back. “—but that will be for fun. You’ll enjoy it. I’ll never hit you as a punishment.”
With what I have in mind, she might prefer I had, but that’s not something to bring up now.
She takes a deep breath against my chest, then pulls back. I let her go. “Do you promise?”
“Yes. I promise. Now are you going to behave for me?”
She nods, and I catch her chin with my fingers, turning her face up to mine. “Not good enough. What do you say?”
She pauses, throat working, then looks away as she mutters, “Yes, Gabriel.”
“That’s better. Come.”
I take her hand again. It feels so right wrapping my fingers around her. She doesn’t comment on the jarring change from old world to modern decoration. We pass down the main corridor, and I keep my eyes locked on her, waiting for her reaction as we reach the heart of the Compound and step outside. She stops dead, and a gasp slips past her lips.
I did the same thing the first time I saw it. It’s almost impossible to believe such a vast structure could exist completely in secret, surrounded by thick forest. The courtyard is about the size of a football field, a sunny oasis surrounded by the main buildings of the Compound in a thick circle.
It’s a well-manicured parkland, complete with shrubs, flowers, and fishponds. Paths wind through it, and even this early, a couple of people are already out jogging and riding bikes. A woman in her forties runs past, headphones in, and Eve follows her until her path turns and she disappears behind a hedge.
“Was she…” Eve breaks off, staring after the woman.
“A Ward? Yes. All the women here are.”
“But she was by herself.”
“Of course. Once I can trust you, you’ll be allowed out by yourself as well. You won’t want to leave.”
And if she tried, the impenetrable security perimeter around the outer edge of the Compound would stop her. That grim, barbed-wire- and armed-guard-covered monstrosity definitely isn’t on our tour plan for today.
She frowns but doesn’t bother to argue with me. Instead, she points to a clearing just visible through the trees. “What’s that?”
“A swimming pool. It’s one of those eco ones, no chlorine, and it has fish in it. But it’s really clean.”
“It has fish in it,” she repeats under her breath, then fixes me with a piercing look. “It’s all true. This place. Everything you've said.”
She doesn’t phrase it as a question. My stomach growls, and I get walking again along a gravel path, then over a grassy clearing. The refectory building is a short walk, but I’m starting to feel sick from lack of food. Since I started my new training regimen, I’m used to eating five times a day.
“Of course it’s true. Did you think I was lying?”
“I hoped you were.” Brittle honesty, and a quick glance confirms her face is pinched tight. Reality must be hitting hard. Kendrick warned me the process of adaption isn’t linear. A Ward might be happy and content one day, then crying and lashing out the next.
“You’ll love it here. I promise. ”
She huffs but keeps walking. We don’t speak as we enter the refectory. There’s a fancy restaurant too, upstairs, but it’s formal and might be too much for Eve. Also, Kendrick often lurks there, and I don’t want to bump into him unprepared.
I steer Eve toward a quiet spot at the back of the hall, protected from prying eyes. No one should—
“Gabriel! Come and join us. We’re dying to meet your lovely new friend.”
Fuckity fuck fuck shit.
Seb beckons from a table by the window, a big, smug grin on his face. Jacob sits across from him and turns to glare at me, fork in hand. Seb punches his shoulder. “I win. Pay up.”
Jacob sets the fork down with a sigh and passes a chocolate muffin to Seb, who gazes at it lovingly.
“I bet Jacob the last chocolate muffin you’d be in here this morning with your beautiful Eve.” He nods to her, gentlemanly as they come. “Jacob here thought you’d actually stick to the plan he so carefully prepared for you. Glad to see I was right.”
He bites into the muffin with relish, and Jacob shakes his head at me before granting Eve a rare smile. “Pleased to meet you. Gabriel tells me you’re a skilled chemist. I’d like to show you what I’m working on once you settle in.”
Eve makes a strangled noise. As a chemistry student, she would have heard the name Jacob West over and over again. It has to be weird for her beyond belief, meeting him in the flesh under these bizarre circumstances.
Seb rolls his eyes. “Jesus, give the lady a minute before you start finding jobs for her to do.”
Control of the situation is sliding through my fingers. I shouldn't have brought Eve here yet, but now it’s too late. I’ll murder my friends later. Well, Sebastian, anyway. Jacob could kill me with a teaspoon .
“Food,” I snap and tug Eve toward the selection of prepared meals. She follows wordlessly, though she takes a deep breath when we pass the bacon. She has to be starving. I hand her a plate and gesture toward the food.
She hesitates for a moment, then dives in, heading straight for the pancakes and bacon. I follow suit, though I grab a pile of eggs too. Have to keep my protein up if I want to keep seeing progress.
God. I used to laugh at the gym guys who worried about things like that. Now look at me.
Reluctantly, I guide Eve back to the table with my friends. If I try to sit elsewhere, they’ll only follow, and it will be even more awkward. Seb shifts, moving next to Jacob so I can sit next to Eve. They at least have the good grace to let us eat in tense silence for a while, before Seb opens his mouth.
“So, Eve. How are you finding the place?”
As if he’s making small talk with a business colleague at a fancy hotel. Eve freezes, fork halfway to her mouth, before setting it down. “I’m a prisoner here. In case you weren’t aware.”
Icy. Seb’s cheerful manner must be grating on her, and I don’t blame her. Seb is undeterred. He waves a hand at the window to the courtyard. “Still. It’s a pretty luxurious prison, don’t you think?”
“Shut the fuck up,” Jacob mutters.
Eve whips her head around to glare at him. “And you. You’re okay with this? Thousands of students look up to you. What would people think if they knew you’re a part of this cult? That you kidnap women and—”
She snaps her mouth shut, face and chest turning pink. Fuck. It’s too much. Way, way too much too soon .
“Gabriel. I need to use the restroom. Where is it?” She lays her hand on mine, and my stomach flips. She’s upset and looking to me for comfort.
I slip my hand over hers and point to the restroom doors across the hall. “Just through there.”
I squeeze her hand, and she gives me a tight smile before standing. She disappears through the doors, and I whirl on Seb. “The fuck? ‘A luxurious prison.’ Could you be more of a dick?”
“We both know I can.”
We sit in merciful silence for a minute before Jacob asks, “How far are you going to let her get? She’ll freak out if she reaches the fence.”
“What?”
I watch Jacob as his expression melts from concern into disbelief. “Aren’t you testing her? Letting her run so you prove you can catch her, then administer a punishment? It was in the plan. I assumed you’d moved things forward.”
“No, I–”
A heavy rock lands in my stomach.
Jacob speaks with exaggerated patience, as if addressing a toddler. “There are windows in the bathroom. A girl her size could squeeze out easily. Think about what side of the Compound we’re on. She could be halfway to the fence by now, and if she gets there, she’ll be terrified.”
Fuck.