to his aid. He told them he was down on his luck and had nowhere to go. They said they’d let him work for food until he got his head straight, and he could listen to the word of the prophet, who would nourish his soul.
Eli was looking forward to that.
He climbed into the bed of an old pickup and they headed out of Austin to the hills. One man, Nathaniel, sat with him; two women were in the front with Samuel, the other man. No one spoke. They turned off a highway onto a dirt road. When they turned again, it was onto nothing more than a cow trail, and the ride was bumpy and dusty. This area was sparsely populated and there wasn’t a house in sight, just thick woods and brush.
Soon they stopped at a locked gate and Nathaniel got out to open it. Eli noticed the eight-foot-high barbed wire fence and the four-foot-high wire mesh that extended from the bottom up and enclosed the property. It wouldn’t be easy getting out of here.
They drove into an area that had been cleared and buildings stood in a circle, as Tom had said. Eli counted six shacks and a larger structure that had to be the kitchen and eating room. Women and children were working in vegetable fields beyond the compound. They all wore brown robes.
Chickens scratched in the dirt and goats wandered freely. Behind one shack was a rickety barn of sorts. The compound had a strange feel to it—as if it was out of step with time. And there was something else about it he couldn’t quite define.
As the truck pulled to a stop, the smell of smoke drifted to his nostrils. He wrinkled his nose in distaste. This wasn’t cigarette smoke, though. What was it? He didn’t have time to ponder the question as two women, both pregnant, and several toddlers came to meet them. The women stared at the ground and didn’t speak. The children looked at him warily.
“Come this way,” Samuel said, and Eli followed him to the largest of the primitive houses. Samuel tapped on the door.
“Come in, my child,” a male voice called.
They walked in to find a man sitting at a table with a Bible opened in front of him. Two men stood behind him. Eli knew this was Amos Buford, and his heart hammered with anticipation, but he was careful that nothing showed on his face.
“Master, I found a needy soul and brought him to you.”
Buford raised his head, and Eli was unprepared for the emotions that gripped him as he stared into those evil gray eyes.
Tuck was right. Eli wanted to kill him.
He wanted to put his hands around his throat and choke the life out of him…as Buford had done to Ginny. But he wouldn’t. Caroline Whitten’s life depended on his honor as a ranger, and he wouldn’t forget that.
“What is your name, my son?” Buford asked.
“Eli Carter,” he replied, using the fake name the FBI had given him.
“Are you in trouble with the law?”
“I’m separated from my wife, and when I went to the house to see my kids, she called the cops and had me arrested. In the separation agreement I’m suppose to be providing child support, but I lost my job and was unable to pay her any money.” That was the story the FBI had also given him. Buford hated women who tried to dominate a man.
“Women do not know their place in this world.”
Neither do you, you bastard.
“Tell me about it,” Eli murmured.
“All persecuted souls are welcome here. You will work for your food. There are fields to tend and goats to milk, but you can only stay if you follow the rules and the prophet’s word.”
“No problem.”
“This is Ezra and Peter.” Buford introduced the men.
“They’re in charge of guarding the compound…and me.” He let that sink in, then added, “They will search you for any hidden devices that might harm us. Do you object?”
Eli got the feeling it didn’t matter whether he did or not. “No. I have nothing to hide.”
Ezra, a big somber man, gave him a thorough once-over. He nodded to Buford.
“We have to be careful,” Buford said. “There are people out to hurt us.”
“I just need a place to stay.”
“Then you’re welcome here, brother. You will not speak to the women, though. They’re off-limits to you. Do you understand?”
“Sure. A woman is the last thing on my mind.”
“If you’re in need of female comfort, let me know and I will arrange something.”
Eli managed to suppress his shock. Did they share the women? It was too sickening to think about.
“You will have a trial period, then you’ll be asked to join us in our beliefs or to leave.”
“I understand and thank you.”
The words tasted like sawdust in his mouth.
“We don’t have extra sleeping quarters, but there are some heavy quilts you can use to sleep under the stars, or if the weather is bad, you can sleep in the eating area.”
“Thanks,” Eli said again.
“Brother Michael and his sons are cutting wood. Brother Samuel will take you to help them.”
“Sure,” Eli replied, and they left. Outside he wanted to suck fresh air into his lungs, but he resisted and followed Samuel through the woods to the chopping site.
Eli kept searching for something out of place, something to indicate that Caroline Whitten was here. The place had an eerie quiet about it. The grass and trees were green and the air was fresh and invigorating, but he didn’t hear any birds or other sounds in the woods. It wasn’t an eerie quiet, he decided. It was a deathlike quiet.
They reached the site. A big dead tree had been felled and Michael and his sons, Daniel and David, were cutting it up with handsaws. Two mules hitched to a wagon waited nearby. Eli was introduced and Samuel left.
Eli helped load the cut wood until his arms ached and he was soaking with sweat. Finally the last piece of wood was on the wagon and they headed to the compound. Michael drove the mules and Eli walked behind with the boys. They had to be around fourteen and fifteen and were already sprouting beards.
“That’s a lot of wood,” Eli commented, trying to get information. “Does it last very long?”
“Not too long,” the older one, David, said. “We use it to cook.”
“And we need it for the wedding,” Daniel added.
“A wedding?”
“It’s going to be a big one. The prophet’s taking his seventh wife. It’s very important ’cause—”
“Daniel!” David exclaimed in a reprimanding tone.
The youth
