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“What happened?” He held her in a safe embrace. She couldn’t say anything at first as tremors took over her body. He scooped her up and carried her back to their cabin. “Tori, you’re scaring me. What happened out there?” He gently laid her on a chair, wiped a strand of hair from her face. His brow furrowed as he studied her.
She finally caught her breath enough to whisper, “Jeremiah grabbed me.”
The muscles along Orion’s jaw flexed. “Where is he?”
“Ry, forget it. We need to get out of here. Now. We can’t?—”
A knock on the door stopped her.
“It’s me. Mara.”
“Do we let her in?” Orion asked. “Say the word, and I’ll make up an excuse and we can leave.”
But when it came down to it, she did trust Mara. And someone needed to warn the other women about Jeremiah. “Let her in.”
Orion opened the door. Mara walked in, but as soon as she saw Tori, her smile dimmed. “What’s wrong?”
Tori explained what had happened. “It’s not that we aren’t grateful, but we have to get out of here. Our team is probably worried. And I won’t stay any longer with Jeremiah here.”
Mara frowned. “I don’t blame you.” She looked around like she was afraid someone might be listening. “Jeremiah showed up about a year ago claiming he wanted to join our community. He hasn’t done anything like what he tried with you, but he makes many of us women uncomfortable.”
“Will you help us leave, then?” Orion asked her straight up.
She nodded.
Good, because Tori couldn’t get out of here fast enough.
SIX
Orion would’ve preferred moretime to prepare, but with Jeremiah nowhere to be found, their window of opportunity to leave before Amos got back was closing quickly.
With Mara’s help, they found a length of canvas and some old sleeping bags in case they had to spend more time out in the middle of nowhere. Once back in Hiram’s cabin, Mara had her brother John draw a map and explain it to Orion while she and Tori packed their one backpack.
“Thanks,” Orion told him. “You better go before the others return. And keep an eye out for Jeremiah. When I went back to find him, he was gone. So look after your sister and the other girls.”
Mara’s brother stood tall. “I will.”
“If you ever need anything, have the Brinks call the Midnight Sun base camp out of Copper Mountain,” Tori told Mara.
“I’ll be praying for you,” she said.
Tori nodded, but the smile she gave didn’t reach her eyes at all.
As far as Orion was concerned, it was all for the best that nothing had happened with Tori the night they met. Her discomfort with anything spiritual would’ve been a big point of contention.
But he couldn’t deny the ache that she didn’t share his faith. That was the main thing he appreciated about the Refuge. Their prayer time this morning had fed his soul. He hadn’t realized how parched he had been for fellowship, worship, and truth until Amos had gathered them all in the chapel this morning. But with the militia hunting Tori and him down, every minute they stayed was another minute they put these people in danger. And most of them didn’t deserve it.
Jeremiah was one he wouldn’t mind leaving in the hands of the militia. Then again, the man would probably fit right in with them.
Heck, he could be one of them to begin with since he’d only shown up last year so mysteriously.
“Let’s go.” He held the back door open for Tori while Mara and John left by the front door.
They skirted behind the main building and found the trail they needed. The cedars and spruces they passed were scrappy but dense. Patches of sun trickled down through the canopy and lit the packed-down dirt path. Ferns grew plentifully along the way.
With as many times as the trail branched off through the thick forest, Orion was grateful for John’s map. A couple hours later, they stopped for a water break.
“We must be getting close.” Tori swallowed another long draw.