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“I don’t want him to know about any of this,” Lee says quietly, and I pretend to be reading the side of a box, but catch Aiden looking at me out of the side of his eyes.
“I’ll talk to the kids,” my grampa responds. “And, honestly, Elsbeth will be happiernotknowing about any of this.”
The way home is a little easier since Lee has loaned me his horse to ride back, figuring that he’ll take him home in a few days after he drops off the Humvee and other goodies they agreed upon today. It’s when I see a familiar figure standing at the gate talking to Dylan and Russ that I get excited and ride ahead.
“Dad!” I call out, excited to see that he’s returned, but it instantly strikes me as weird that Eddie is nowhere in sight.
“Hey, beautiful!” he yells, giving me a huge smile as I slide from Lee’s horse into his embrace. “I just got back. We have a lot to discuss tonight.”
“Is Uncle Eddie home?” I ask, my heart dropping when I see him grimace.
“Dylan just asked me that,” Dad replies, his eyes shifting away from me. “I didn’t see him.”
This time I’m thankful that my gaiter is covering most of my face, because I don’t know how that is possible in a town that size. Thankfully, Grampa and Aiden catch up to us and encourage Jace to ride Lee’s horse to the barn, where the three of them can care for them and set them up for the night.
The moment they’re far enough away, I turn to Dylan. “You cannot tell Dad about Lee’s weapons, do you understand?”
“Duh,” he says, dramatically rolling his eyes. “I know, Grampa always says: ‘loose lips, sink ships’.”
“Dylan didn’t say a word about it, but I think you two should run and find Rachel,” Russ advises us before giving me a big wink. “Julia, we’re going to have a little chat about you accepting livestock from another man.”
“Oh, baby, he’s going to give us so much more than livestock,” I say, returning his wink and ignoring the gagging noises that Dylan starts to make. “You go check the garage and the house for her, Dylan. I’ll head to the greenhouse then find you before I look any further.”
Chapter 16
Eddie
In retrospect, heading to town to see what was happening was a stupid fucking idea.
Less than an hour after I had stowed away the extra pack Mike had made for me, I got knocked over the head and woke up in what seemed like a drunk tank. Except all the men around me were sober as hell, and either half-starving or half-frozen.
It was the clumsy actions of someone trying to steal my boots that woke me up and I was able to kick that man away, but I didn’t miss the looks some of the others were giving my coat.
I seriously had to take a deep breath and brace myself to prepare for the simple act of getting to my feet. There was no doubt in my mind that if I showed any weakness, several of them would jump me, taking what little I had left.
Shifting my right foot to the side, I sigh in relief. The switchblade that Mike had included in my pack is still where I put it when I hid the back-up bag. Now, I need to get an idea of what I got mixed up in.
“Hey,” I say, keeping my voice low and even as I sit up, making eye contact with the man sitting closest to me. “What’s the score?”
He looks at me with wary eyes before looking away. Swinging my gaze away from him, I look at the faces around him; more than half of them won’t look at me, and the ones that do either seem terrified or suspicious.
After I’ve given up on anyone answering me, a voice comes from over my shoulder.
“The ones that look like they wet themselves on a regular basis? Well, that’s because Tyton’s men are holding their loved ones hostage. Women and children, at least. They kill the elderly pretty quick,” the man says, and I turn to face him, trying to make out his slight accent.
“You don’t know that!” Another voice, barely above a whisper, comes from the darkness.
“When was the last time any of you saw someone around here over sixty?”
The man takes a half-step to the side, moving from the shadows to a sliver of the cage lit up by the moon. He has a familiar look about him, and I stare longer than I should, trying to place him. When I hear a stomach grumble closer to me, it clicks in my mind why I thought I had recognized him.
He has the same look I had when I had arrived at the Hughes farm. His face is sallow from losing weight too fast and malnourishment. Like me, he has a large frame, but currently his skin looks like a baggy suit hanging over a mannequin.
“And you?” I ask.
“They figure they can get some more labor out of me until I starve to death,” he replies. “That or give in and join them. If they captured you alone, you’ll be given the same choice I was.”
“Men with women or children don’t get that option?”
