Page 85 of Montana Silence
“The handcuffs are only temporary, Mara, I promise. Once you remember the truth, they’ll come off. You’ve been away from the fold too long. But you’ll remember. People always remember when they come back.”
I swallowed. Of course they “remembered.” Because they were trying to avoid whatever beating or consequence was coming to them if they didn’t follow his exact instructions.
Digging deep, I pulled in a breath. “Why do you look like Malcolm?”
Neil smiled. “Do you like it? It’s not perfect yet, but there’s still time. I thought it might ease the transition for The Family to have someone who looked familiar.”
“So, they…don’t know about this?”
“Some of them do. And soon, they all will. Once we get home and tell them everything, they’ll all be with us.”
A chill ran down my spine. What could I do? I needed to get out of this, and I had no idea how.
He touched my shoulder from where he sat, and it was all I could do not to recoil. “There are so many of us who have looked forward to your return, Mara. I’d kept the veil and the dress. It’s a pity they had to be destroyed to get you back, but we won’t be waiting on dresses and veils now. It’s been long enough, and The Family can change with the times.”
With the times? Because kidnapping women to marry a whole community of men was totally with the times.
“You really did me a favor, Mara, helping put Malcolm away all those years ago. I mean, he helped lay the groundwork, but his leaving was what gave The Family a chance to actually change. Grow. I think you’ll be impressed with what we’ve become.”
I doubted that.
“But the biggest reason I have to thank you is for introducing me to Claire. She made so many things happen for us.”
Looking over at her, I kept my breath and voice steady. The fear was so strong it was as if I’d removed myself from everything else. “You sent the packages.”
“Of course she did.” Neil didn’t let her speak. “Like a loyal wife should. She’ll be one of my wives as well. But you’ll be first, Mara. You’ll always be first. For everyone.”
The statement didn’t seem to bother Claire. In fact, she no longer seemed agitated at all. Perfectly calm and happy now that Neil was in the car. A dreamy, contented smile filled her face.
“Where are we going?” If I could keep him talking and keep them both distracted, maybe I could think of something to help me.
Neil sighed and leaned back against the seat. He didn’t have a seat belt on from what little I could see in the rearview mirror. “Ecuador. It took everything we had to get people down there and set up the new compound. But this one is much better. Much more secure. Plus, as long as we keep paying the right people, Ecuador has a handy habit of not complying with extradition requests.”
“So, everyone is there?” I asked.
“Almost.” He shrugged.
Sickness roiled into my stomach. He was basically telling me there was no coming back from this.
I closed my eyes.
Focus, Mara.You are not that girl in the closet.
The last few years, I’d seen my friends and family do incredible things to save the ones they loved. Now it was me. My entire life, I had stayed silent and let things happen. Even now, it was my first instinct to curl up into a ball and hide until everything went away.
That wasn’t going to work if I ever wanted to see anyone I loved ever again.
If I ever wanted to see Liam again.
The car flew down the highway. A glance over at the dashboard told me we were going nearly seventy. If I bailed out of the car, I could die. Not ideal. But signs for Mexico were appearing. If I didn’t fight before we crossed the border, it would be so much harder.
What would Liam do?
Anything.
Liam would do anything to get to me. It was what he was doing right now. I knew it. And I needed to do anything in order to get back to him.
The car needed to slow down. Though it wasn’t busy, the highway was full of enough cars that I didn’t want to hurt anyone. But it might be my only option, if it came down to it.