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prologue
16 years ago
“Summer,”her mother whispered, her voice harsh and full of anxiety. It wasn’t anything new. Joseph was a monster. Her mother lived in a constant state of terror. Everyone at the compound did.
“It’s time to go.”
Summer blinked, trying to get her mind to focus. “What?”
“Let’s go. We need to go.”
For a long moment, her brain swam in confusion as if it were drowning in denial. Then, finally, something clicked, and she sprang into action. They had planned this for over a month, and it was finally happening.
She grabbed her go-bag and her shoes and ran to join her mother. Silently, they slipped down the hall, their bare feet barely making a noise. They moved like that until they reached the outside of the building. It was cooler outside, a light trade wind dancing over her hair. Fudge, she should have put her hair up. It was too late, but she would fix it when they were free of this cursed compound.
Crowding their bodies up against the outside wall of the house, they made their way to the back of their dwelling. They were lucky that her mother was the only woman legitimately married to Joseph, which afforded them the two-room “house.” It was more of a condo with no real kitchen, but it was better than one of the many multifamily units. Those were crowded with people.
Her mother raised her hand. Summer held her breath. The seconds ticked by…the silence surrounding them as fear pounded in her head. She knew it had only been a few seconds, but it felt as if she would die if she didn’t take a breath in the next few milliseconds.
Finally, her mother waved her hand. Summer gulped in air as she followed her mother. Their house backed up to the fields, giving them an easy way out if they could avoid the patrols.
Her mother stopped and slipped on her shoes, and Summer followed suit. They hurried to the taller crops that would give them cover as they stole away from Joseph.
They were almost to the edge of their property when the shouts went up, with the sirens sounding. Panic hit her first as they picked up their pace, running and not caring how much noise they made. Their pursuers were getting closer, then they heard the four-wheelers.
Her mother stopped so abruptly that Summer ran into her.
“Oof,” Summer said.
Her mother took Summer by her upper arms and propelled her forward.
“Go. There will be a man named Sam Smith. He will take you somewhere safe.”
“Where are the other girls, Mama?”
She shook her head, her tired eyes filling with tears. “I couldn’t get them out. Just you.”
“No!”
“I know you don’t think much of me, but you must go. Sam’s an old friend. He knows who you are. Go with him. He will explain everything. Just run straight ahead. He should be waiting on that dirt road back there.”
“What does he look like?”
“He’s tall, handsome, with dark hair and amber eyes. Go.” Her mother pulled her into a hug so tight Summer almost stopped breathing. “Make sure you tell people. We need to save those girls.”
Then, her mother turned and cut across the fields, leading the idiots on a chase. Tears filled Summer’s eyes. Her mother had just sacrificed herself. Joseph wouldn’t hesitate to torture her.
“She’s moving North now,” Amos yelled out. That guy was a moron.
Knowing that she had to move, or she would end up back on the compound, she turned and ran as fast as she could, knowing those pinheads would pursue her mother and not send scouts out to make sure they hadn’t split up.
Her side was hurting by the time she arrived on the dirt road.
“Woah,” a cultured English voice said as a man approached her. “Are you okay, love?”
She looked up at the man. Salt and pepper hair, big, strong…and amber eyes.
“What’s your name?”
