Page 27
Brittany
I knew this day was coming. The day when both my parents and Silas Harper ganged up on me to leverage me into marrying him. Sitting across the dinner table from him with my parents sitting at each end like nothing unusual was going on. They clearly believed they could control the situation by simply creating a new reality, one where I hadn’t been abducted and forced back into their world.
As the meal wound down, Harper’s kitchen workers place a lemon pound cake on the table with dessert plates and flatware. After a short silence spins out in the room, my mother speaks, “Have you forgotten your manners, Brittany?”
I know what she wants from me, but I’ve decided to refuse to cooperate. “I only serve people I care about, not assholes who pay to have me abducted or parents trying their best to traffic me for their own benefit.”
My parents are shocked by my response. I’m not sure what shocks them more, my cursing or my flat-out refusal to live up to the subservient role they have in mind for me. Truth be told, I don’t particularly care.
My father takes a stab at controlling me first. “Brittany, it’s an unfortunate fact of life that we all have to sacrifice for the sake of our family. Your mother and I have made our fair share of sacrifices, and now it’s your turn.”
“Unfortunately, I stopped caring about this family the first time you made a deal to marry me off for a church appointment. I think it’s kind of sick that you put your own aspirations to be a deacon over the best interests of your daughter.”
My mother gasps and immediately jumps in to defend my father. “Brittany, it wasn’t like that. What kind of people do you think we are? Arranging a marriage between you and Bishop Harper was more for your benefit than ours.”
I look my mother straight in the eye and tell her, “You’re a liar. And I don’t think people tell you that enough.”
“Don’t talk to your mother like that, Brittany. She may have phrased that poorly, but you need to understand duty and sacrifice.”
My mother makes an exasperated sound as she cuts her eyes towards my father. “And just so you know, marrying a bishop isn’t a sacrifice. It’s an honor, one you don’t even come close to deserving.”
“I agree, so why don’t we call the whole thing off?”
My father tries again, “You’re our daughter, and we’re sitting around this table tonight in order to save your soul. You have trespassed and it’s our responsibility as your parents to lead you to the kingdom of heaven.”
“I know being a Mormon is important to you. It’s not how I want to live my life, and I need you to accept that.”
“We’ll never accept you falling into sin,” my father spits out. “We didn’t spend years looking for you, just to see you walk right back into sin. Your church and your bishop need you.”
“Absolutely not. ‘No’ is a complete answer and the only one you’re going to get from me.”
Suddenly, Harper speaks. His voice is angry and harsh. “That’s enough discord at my dinner table.”
Turning to my mother, he says, “If your daughter won’t do her duty, show her the way.”
My mother immediately comes to her feet and begins slicing cake for everyone. I don’t know why, because we’re all too agitated to eat it. All I can think is that it must be nice to be a man. They just sit around being served cake while telling their womenfolk what to do.
When she sits back down, Harper takes a drink of water and speaks in a more moderate tone. “You will be sealed to me, whether you want to or not. Unlike some people, I realize that women need choice in their lives. Therefore, I will let our wedding take place on the day of your choosing.”
“That’s real generous of you, sir. The only problem is that I have a child and a life to get back to.”
“Your daughter will be delivered to you at midnight tomorrow. I will accept her into our family and treat her like my own.”
My blood boils at the thought of Victoria being under his control. Unable to control myself any longer, I slam my fist down on the table and come to my feet. “I have my own generous offer for you, Silas Harper. If you let me go now, I won’t report you to the police or let the Savage Legion burn your new church to the ground like they did your old church.”
“How did you find out about that?” he demands.
Silas is furious that I know his business. Lightning strikes my brain. I know exactly how to get at him.
“People around this place gossip. It’s hard to remember whose lips that bit of information fell from. Since gossiping is a sin, I didn’t expect to encounter so much of it among your congregation. You don’t seem to be shepherding your flock very well, Bishop. So, why should I entrust you with my eternal soul?”
“Who else would you trust?” He flings back. “That biker club couldn’t keep you safe. I had those whores steal you right from under the Savage Legion’s noses.”
“And they burned your church and home down, rescued the teens you were starving in the church basement, and gathered enough information to put you in jail for the rest of your life. I wouldn’t test them if I were you.”
“Really? You think I am threatened by this. If I have transgressed, then where are the police?” he demands.
He has a point, I have to admit. But I know how the Savage Legion works. The only reason Silas hasn’t been arrested is because they have something planned for him. I just smile serenely and say, “You will reap what you sow.”
“You are very much mistaken if you think I’m afraid of your child’s father or that ridiculous motorcycle club he belongs to.”
“Well, you should be. Tusk wants me back, and he’ll do anything to get me. His club brothers will tear your world apart if they have to in order to free me. And I guarantee you they will sleep like babies at night.”
Harper pulls out his cell phone and sends a text. Shoving it back into his pocket, he leans over the table on both hands and looks me in the eyes. “You’re not his woman. You’re mine. You are my Eve.”
Suddenly, I hear the sound of a dozen or so feet stomping towards us. To my absolute shock, the room fills with bikers. They’re a bit grubbier than the Savage Legion crew and have Sons of Rage on their cuts.
One of them jerks his chin at Harper. “We got your text. What do you need?”
“Just a display of force, so my Eve can feel safe.”
He walks to the far back wall, roughly shoves the blind aside, and gestures for me to step forward with one hand. I force myself to put one foot in front of the other until I get to the window. What I see outside sickens me. There are dozens of bikers patrolling the area.
The man holding back the blind tells me proudly, “You’re deep in Sons of Rage territory. We’re a hundred strong on any given day. Trust me when I say no one can get to you. You can rest your head easily, ma’am. We’re protecting every inch of this building.” Then he winks at me, like we are best friends. It is surreal.
“Thank you,” I stammer.
Harper says crisply, “That will be all, Jasper.”
Jasper replies, “Yes, sir,” and they all file back out of the room.
I turn to Harper and say, “My answer is still no.”
He walks up to me. When he gazes down at me, I feel the battle of wills going on between us. “You don’t want to see what’s next in my repertoire to convince you to do the right thing.”
“I know you can lock me up in the basement and starve me, torture me, or do any number of horrible things to me. The fact is, I don’t care.”
When he doesn’t immediately come back at me with more bullshit, it occurs to me to ask something. “Why me? Out of all the women who are true believers, why would you want a heretic like me as your wife?”
He reaches out and touches me for the first time. “It has to be you. No one else. Just you. Only you have what I need.”
“You’re the king of weird and cryptic responses. You know that, right?”
“Go rest. Once you have your daughter in hand, I suspect you will become quite malleable.”
The words slip out before I can censor myself. “I think I might actually hate you, Silas. Remember that when you’re trying to force me to marry you.”
I give him my back, leaving him staring at me and both my parents furious with me. I need to find a way out of this little chamber of nightmares that Silas has created for himself.