She pulls the paper down, bites into it, and chews. Her eyes widen and she turns to me, her cheeks puffed out like she’s a gerbil. It’s cute and I laugh.
“You look so funny,” I say fondly.
“Oh, my word,” she mumbles. “Oh, wow.”
I grin at her. “Good, huh?”
I recall only too well how amazing food outside of the commune had tasted. Meals there had been basic and fairly bland—meat, fish, potatoes, rice, and bread. Of course, there were things I’d remembered from childhood, and I’d eaten thosewith relish, but then I’d discovered new foods, things I hadn’t tried as a small child and had no opportunity to once in the commune.
“It’s amazing.” She smiles for the first time.
“It’s the pesto,” I say. “And the cheese, of course.”
We had cheese in the commune, but not stringy, hot, delicious mozzarella.
Daisy beams at me, and I feel we’re back on more even footing, but then Mal opens his mouth.
“There are so many amazing things you can try in the outside world, Daisy. So many delicious temptations.”
I get that he’s being playful, but it’s totally the wrong thing to say because she stares at the panini and her face clouds. Her shiny eyes dim, and her mouth turns down. Mal has just turned her treat into a sin, and he doesn’t even realize it.
“You need to eat, Daisy,” I say softly. “Finish it.”
Nodding, she continues to eat, but I can see that unbridled joy is gone.
Hatred for the Prophet thunders through my body like a heavy, roiling storm.
He’s ruined so many lives. Made so many people feel that the tiniest moment of happiness or enjoyment is a sin. That fucking bastard.
Finishing my panini, I collect everyone’s wrappers and put them all into one bag, tying a knot in the handle and placing it by my feet to dispose of later.
Then I sit back and let the hatred of that man fill me and turn my blood molten.
CHAPTER 15
Cain
We’ve crossedinto West Virginia on the main freeway and driven for about thirty minutes. The sycamores and oaks lining the roads are on the cusp of change, the leaves looking heavier under the softening sunlight.
“Anywhere look familiar?” I ask Daisy, twisting in the passenger seat to look at her.
She bites the inside of her cheek, a habit she has that annoys the crap out of me.
“Not yet. Keep going.”
Mal sighs from behind the wheel. “We could drive right past where we need to turn off. If she doesn’t know where to go…”
“There’s a town about an hour away from the commune,” she says. “It’s small, local—we go there occasionally to buy goods and things. It’s really tiny compared to the places we’ve been driving through, and kind of old fashioned.”
“That narrows it down,” Roman mutters from the back.
I blow out a breath. “Okay, Daisy, think. What landmarks are there near the cul…commune? Lakes? Mountains? There’s that town. Anything else?”
“Oh, okay, so there are two lakes that you pass between the commune and the town. I got to the town when I left, and from there I got a ride with an old man.”
“Okay.” I mess about on my phone, inputting all the information into a search engine and asking it to recommend what area she might be talking about. It comes up with an answer and directions.
“We’ve got a hit here,” I say. “Two possible towns. They’re only thirty minutes apart.”
