“You plan to get her out?” I asked, pointing toward my cell.
Samson hesitated, then he sighed in defeat. “When we knew the prophet was recalling us to New Zion, we tried to get Harmony to leave. We had people that could get her out in Puerto Rico, but she would not go.”
“She had no one she knew outside of us. She would have nowhere to go, nobody she loved . . . ” Brother Stephen said.
“So we told her all about Prophet David. She knows he lied about his revelations from God. That he was obsessed with gaining power. She knows he liked raping young girls,” Solomon spat, venom in his tone. “When we told her we would return to New Zion to try and bring it down, she would not let us leave her behind.”
“I tried to make her leave,” Brother Stephen said. “I did not want her to return here, or be scouted by the prophet’s guards. But she would not go. For a deeply personal reason, she wanted to help. When the guard came and announced her as a Cursed, she decided that was how it was to be done. Harmony told us she wanted to marry the prophet so we could get closer to the evidence of the commune’s crimes. She willingly sacrificed her freedom to help us in our mission.” My chest ached, yet filled with such fucking pride at her bravery.
“But she did not expect the prophet to be so cruel,” Sister Ruth whispered sadly. “She has never said anything, but I can see how this coming marriage is affecting her.” Ruth cleared her throat. “She feels like the fate of this commune rests on her shoulders. And like the brave soul that she is, she suffers in silence.”
“She will willingly marry that monster to help those she loves. She is willing to submit to his cruelty and risk her life so she can save those who are trapped,” Brother Stephen added. He met my eyes. “We did not know the prophet was so cruel.” His face contorted. “I would never have brought her here to do this had I known beforehand . . . we have brought her to hell.”
A thick silence stretched over us, then Solomon said, “We cannot let him marry her. She has already been through so much. We cannot see her publicly raped by him. The prophet will kill her eventually. Either he will or his consort will—we have heard nothing but frightening truths about Sister Sarai too. The things she has been doing to some of the younger girls the prophet awakens. Sick things. Sexual things.” He took a deep breath. “Harmony would never agree to this, but I cannot live with myself if I stand by and watch her destroyed for our cause. We have to think of another way to bring this place down. And we have to get her out before she is tied to the prophet and taken from our hands.”
“How?” I asked, in complete agreement with everything they said.
“We are planning to somehow get us all out, then we will go to whoever we need to and give them the evidence we have. It is not as much as we would like, but we only need the outside authorities to come and investigate. There will be enough evidence on the property to arrest all in charge for child sexual abuse and child pornography,” Brother Stephen said. “I used to live on the outside world before I came here in my twenties. It was a long time ago, but I remember how some things work.”
I shook my head. “No. It won’t work.” All eyes were suddenly on me. I inhaled deeply. “We are in alliance with the KKK. I helped make the deal directly. We have—Judah has—connections in government and in the police. The commune is protected. Heavily protected by powerful allies. You would be killed before anyone who could help got wind of this place. Too many people have too much to lose. I’d bet all the fucking money I have that those people are profiting from all the porn videos you’ve been telling me about. They won’t let that get out.”
“Shit!” Solomon said and rubbed his hand across his face. “Then we need a new plan, and quickly. The thought of that bastard taking her the way I have seen him with other women . . . ”
My mind raced with possibilities. But all the routes led me to just one place. One outcome. It would be death for me, but it could help the other people chained to this life . . . it could save Harmony. I lifted my head. “I have an idea. It’s risky, it might not work . . . but it could be our only choice.”
The group listened with wide, hopeful eyes as I told them of my plan. With each word, I grew more and more confident that it could work, and if I knew my brother as well as I believed I did, he would fall right into my trap. Judah’s pride would always be his biggest downfall.
“Hell,” Brother Stephen said when I had finished speaking. He locked eyes with Samson and Solomon in turn, and finally Sister Ruth. She had been silent as I had spoken, her head bowed.
“It is our only option,” Samson said reluctantly.
Brother Stephen held out his hand. I slid my hand into his as he said, “Then it is agreed.”
“But don’t tell Harmony,” I said. “I don’t want her to know, in case it doesn’t come off.”
Stephen released my hand. “I was about to ask you the very same thing. If she thought we had lost faith in her, if she thought we were removing her from this task, she would refuse. She has a strong sense of duty. She is fearless, like no one else.”