Bullshit! We all have choices.
I bit my lip, doing my best to keep my Sara persona intact. The part of me that was Stella was no longer reliving pleasant memories. She was ready to take Dylan out for the hell he’d put her through.
“My uncle won’t be back here for at least a few days. I’m trying to come up with something.”
“Brother,” I said, conscious that the title made him uncomfortable, “I don’t want to stay here. I want to go back to my husband.” A real tear crept down my cheek. “I don’t want to be a bride of The Light. I know by not accepting this honor that Sister Mariam spoke of, I deserve to be punished, but I don’t want the honor.”
With each word I spoke about brides of The Light and honor, Dylan’s hand upon mine tensed.
“Here,” he said, scooting the phone closer to me. “Take this again. I put my number back in it. Don’t touch anything unless you need me. I have a few more people I need to talk to before I can leave you alone. Just stay quiet and finish your dinner.”
“Yes, Brother.”
He huffed and pointed toward a door I’d explored earlier. “There’s a bathroom, if you need it. Remember, don’t let anyone in but me.”
“Yes, Broth . . . Dylan.”
And just like that, he left me alone for the second time. I wasn’t sure whom he was going to speak to or whether it would help. No matter how convenient it would be, I wasn’t willing to put my faith in him. It was already taken by Jacob’s promise.
After I finished the sandwich and water, I looked out the window at the colorful pool. No matter what I did, my mind drifted to the Northern Light. I worried about Jacob and the envelope Father Gabriel had mentioned. I worried about Benjamin and Raquel. Father Gabriel had said something about speaking with them. He’d said it was no longer an issue. I didn’t want to even consider what that meant.
I eyed the computer at Father Gabriel’s desk. Could there be something, anything, there that I could access? Could it help Jacob’s case?
Carefully I sat in Father Gabriel’s large chair, but as my fingers hovered over the keyboard, I feared that trying to access information would set off an alarm. Instead I opened drawers and peered inside for anything.
Certainly, once the raids occurred, the FBI would thoroughly search the entire mansion. Maybe it would be better if I didn’t disturb anything.
Sometime around midnight, my tired muscles cried for rest. It might have been only after eight at the Northern Light, but unfortunately I’d awakened at the Eastern Light, and was still here. Not only were my muscles tired of standing and walking, but also exhaustion tugged at my eyelids. Over the last hour I’d formed a fleeting sense of security locked away in Father Gabriel’s office. I didn’t know where I would be told to sleep, but since I was here and so was the sofa, I decided to see whether I could sit. Though the leather was incredibly soft, sitting was too painful to allow me to rest; however, after maneuvering around, I found that if I lay on my side, I could get comfortable.
With Dylan’s phone tightly in my grasp and his number still available, I sighed and my tight muscles eased a bit. I closed my eyes. Lost in the familiar leather scent, in no time at all I drifted to sleep.
In my dream I was no longer a hostage in Father Gabriel’s mansion, and the talk of brides of The Light was forgotten. I wasn’t holding Dylan’s phone; instead my palm was warmly and safely encased in Jacob’s. In a gentle breeze, we were walking through the north acres at the Northern Light.
The warm kiss of the sun touched my hair and our arms brushed each other’s as we walked. When I looked up, I squinted. The bright sky behind him created a glow, but it was Jacob’s gaze that brought a rush of blood to my cheeks. I quickly looked down. I didn’t need to ask why he was looking at me or what he saw. It wasn’t because I wasn’t allowed to question. It was because I knew. I knew the swirl of emotions behind his soft brown eyes. I knew his consuming thoughts that words could never fully describe. I knew where we’d gone and what we’d done when merely his expression had the ability to accelerate my heart and twist my insides.