Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Blakely gripped the coffee mug, wishing she could just walk out and not tell them anything. But she’d been running for a long time. Her life had gone to hell after leaving The Faithful. Heck, her life hadn’t been good before leaving.
She turned to face them and leaned against the counter, her gaze locking with Jump’s. Could she do this story justice? The crazy part wasn’t Grayson or her on the run, it was everything else that came with The Faithful.
“I know this is going to sound like something I made up, but it’s not.”
Jump sat back and crossed his legs at his ankles as he lifted his coffee mug. “I’m ready. Go ahead.”
She drew in a slow breath, letting it go just as slowly.
“I was born into a cult. I’m lucky because when I was a toddler, I was taken into foster care.
I have a social security number and a birth certificate.
My siblings have none of that. No documentation at all.
But that’s not the wild part, I’m just setting it up for you, so you understand what it is like. ”
Jump and T nodded encouragingly. Most people when she told them about the lack of documentation they immediately thought she was lying, but she wasn’t.
“Anyway, there are only a few of us who have social security numbers or any forms of ID. So very few of us can have bank accounts. My father died two years ago in a terrible crash. My younger siblings were in the van with him. It was awful. They all died.”
“I’m sorry,” Jump said.
She nodded. “It was bad. My father was a leader in the community. He was one of only four adult men who had identification. The other ones live in different parts of the country. Anyway, because I had documents, he listed me on the bank account as a joint owner. Putting me on the account was the easiest way for the group to get money if my father was busy. Sometimes he didn’t have time to go to the bank, but I did.
So even though I was a woman, and couldn’t do anything else in the cult, I had access to the bank. ”
She blew out a ragged breath. How awful would they think she was? They could turn her into the authorities for theft. Grayson wouldn’t turn her in, instead he would torture her.
He wanted access to the accounts so he would have the money.
But she didn’t have any of that information with her.
Carrying bank records with full account numbers would be insane.
But Grayson didn’t know that she was careful, so careful that she had everything locked up in a safe deposit box.
She sure as heck would never let Grayson know which bank held her secrets.
“So this is all over some money?” Jump asked.
“Yes, it’s about money. But it’s not like the community uses the money. Not like you do here in the real world.”
“What do you mean by that?” Jump asked.
“Our food was grown in our gardens. The boys hunted and fished. That’s how women and children ate.
The men were the only ones who could use the money.
We did grow marijuana and sell it for cash.
” She shook her head. “Because the state knew about me, my parents couldn’t make me beg on the streets or do anything else weird on the streets. ”
“Weird on the streets?” T asked. “Are you talking prostitution?”
Her gaze fell to the floor. “Yeah, it sucked for my siblings. Both my brothers and sisters had to do some weird shit. They hated that I didn’t have to do it.”
“That is messed up,” Jump said.
She lifted her gaze and met his. Their expressions still seemed open, like they hadn’t dismissed her yet.
“It was. Like I said, I didn’t end up doing that stuff because they feared I’d tell someone or I’d end up being arrested.
The ones who were arrested were left behind and had to deal with the issues on their own. It was horrible for them.”
Jump narrowed his eyes. “Couldn’t your brothers and sisters tell anyone? Like couldn’t they ask for help?”
“They wouldn’t have known how to. The leaders got obedience from everyone.
You couldn’t escape punishment if you talked about what was happening in the group.
Also, I couldn’t share any information with my siblings.
” Now their eyes were starting to narrow and look at her suspiciously.
This was getting difficult to explain. “We weren’t allowed to have private conversations.
We were punished if we kept secrets. I couldn’t tell my siblings anything because then they would be punished in front of me.
Do you know how much it hurts to watch your parents twist your sister’s hair so hard it starts to pull out?
One of my brothers told a secret to another brother, and they slammed a hammer down on his hand, breaking his fingers.
He wasn’t allowed to get medical care. The leaders were violent, destructive, and they would kill if the other punishment didn’t work. ”
“Shit.” Jump sat up then stood. “So this Grayson guy, is he one of your siblings?”
She shook her head. This was where it would get messy. “He’s my husband.”
Jump’s eyes went wide and his mouth fell open. She needed to speak fast.
“We weren’t legally married. My dad, before he died, promised me to Grayson. I’ve never agreed and never moved in with him. He came for me two years ago. I took off. I’ve been hiding ever since.”
“Hiding?” T asked.
“Yes. This apartment was the fourth place I’ve lived in two years.
We aren’t from California. My family was in Washington state mostly, some of the time we were in Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana.
I’m not sure where else we were. I was a kid for most of it, and then even after I was twenty, they kept me in the dark. ”
“Wow, that’s…” Jump started but trailed off.
She wasn’t sure how to take it. Maybe he didn’t believe her. Few people did.
“When I found freedom, I spent months learning from everything I could get my hands on. I got my GED, and I started doing some online college classes. I think that’s how Grayson found me the first time and the second.
I don’t know how he found me this time. It has been almost a year, well, eight months.
I guess I got lazy, and he tracked me down. ”
“So, the money. Is there a reason you won’t give it to them?”
She blew out a long breath. “Grayson isn’t a good guy. I can’t let him have access to the money. He will gain control of multiple families who have children. I can’t be responsible for that. Grayson is really evil. He can’t be trusted with children.”
Both T and Jump frowned. They didn’t look happy. Were they angry she wouldn’t give the money to Grayson? Maybe she’d misjudged them both. Would they tell her to give up her fight and let Grayson have the money?