Raven’s gaze flicked back to him.Hawkeye saw his president’s eyes harden in a look that could only be called rage.
“Set aside?She said that?”
Hawkeye nodded.
Raven let his head drop.“Did she say how old she was when she was ‘married’?”
“No, but she said she’d been married to that bastard for six years.Unless she’s lying about her age—and if she is, it’s to say she’s older—they married her off to him at thirteen.”Hawkeye glanced around, found the trash can and got rid of the empty water bottle as he fought to keep from clenching his fists or hitting something, anything.He hated the idea of anyone being ‘married’ to some pedophile so young.He would have felt the same for any kid in that situation, he told himself.It wasn’t just because it was her.There was truth in what he told himself, but he also knew there was more to it because it was her.
“Son of a bitch.She came from that fucking cult,” Raven muttered.Hawkeye wasn’t sure if the president was talking to him or to himself.He didn’t much care.
“What cult?”Hawkeye didn’t know anything about a cult around there.
Raven pulled out a chair from under the table and sat.He motioned to another chair, as if he knew this was going to be a long explanation and Hawkeye would need to sit for it.Not sure what he was getting into but needing to know, he pulled out a chair, spun it around and straddled the back.He didn’t sit like this often because he usually needed free access for his hands to a computer but that wasn’t an issue now.He folded his arms and let them rest on the back of the chair, then watched Raven, waiting to find out what was going on.
“There’s been a group somewhere in the mountains south of Pocatello, I don’t know exactly where.I’ve only heard gossip and rumors.I looked but never found anything solid, then I figured they’re nearly two hundred miles away, what trouble can they cause us?What business is it of ours as long as they’re not hurting anyone?”Raven shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose before looking up and meeting Hawkeye’s gaze.“I didn’t know they were doing the child bride thing.”He looked up at Hawkeye.“Are we sure they’re not waiting until the girls are older for sex?”
Hawkeye shook his head.“Delilah said he set her aside because she was barren.No children, not even a single pregnancy, in six years.Something about he couldn’t have a wife with no children and take a second wife.”
Raven closed his eyes.It wasn’t until his jaw stopped bulging from clenching his teeth that he opened his eyes again.The guilt and misery Hawkeye saw there made him feel better.His president might have heard rumors about the group, but he hadn’t known what was going on.
“I don’t know why the police haven’t gotten involved.They’ve been around for years.Long enough for word to get out,” Raven said after a few moments.
“Unless they’ve got everyone local on their side.I can think of a couple ways to do that, depending on who is assigned to the area.”Hawkeye hated the thought of it, but what if they’d bought the local lawman’s silence by supplying him with something he couldn’t get on his own, at least he couldn’t get and keep his job.He wondered if Delilah’s fuckwad ex was part of it.He liked the term fuckwad for the idiot.He would not, even for a minute and not even in his head, think of that piece of scum as her husband.Besides, the marriage was never legal—it couldn’t have been if she’d only been thirteen.Even in Idaho, there were laws in place to prevent that.Hawkeye briefly considered using the term ‘abuser,’ but that could be her father, too, from where he sat.For now, fuckwad worked.
He reminded himself that he still needed to get fuckwad’s name.As well as her father’s.That would help him find them and figure out the best way to make them pay for what they’d done to the beautiful girl sleeping in the other room.
“What else do you know about them?”Hawkeye pulled a deck of cards in a worn box from the inside pocket of his cut and tapped them against the back of his chair, running his thumb and middle finger down the length of the box, then using one finger, he flipped the box so his finger and thumb were at the top once more, then tapped them against the chair again, sliding his fingers down the length of the box.He’d rather be on a computer or even a phone looking up information but all he had on him, all any of them had on them, were burners.They didn’t want their own phones to be tracked on this mission, so they’d left them in Craven’s Creek.He could call someone but then that might put the burner’s number on someone else’s call list, and he wasn’t that stupid.It would wait until they got home, and he could get to his computer.Then he would find everything there was to find on these assholes.
It also gave Delilah time to rest before he had to question her.Since she’d fallen asleep literally on her feet, he wanted to let her rest as long as he could.
“Not a lot.They call their compound Jericho.The group is The Chosen or something like that.”Raven shrugged.“I’ve only heard a few rumors over the years and nothing from a source I wouldn’t take with a grain of salt.”
“The Calling,” came a soft voice from the direction of the hall.“They call themselves The Calling.”Delilah stepped around the corner.“Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, I was looking for someone, anyone, to tell me where I am when I heard you talking.You’re talking about me, aren’t you?”She stopped just inside the room and looked at first Raven, then Hawkeye with wide, fear filled eyes.
“We are.”Hawkey tossed his cards on the table beside him and pushed himself to his feet.“Do you need something?Are you hungry?”
“Water would be nice, but I need to use the facilities.”
“Down the hall, first door on the right,” Raven said.
“Directly across from the room you were in,” Hawkeye added.“If you’ll come back when you’re done, I’ll have water and maybe some food, if the guys are back.”
She nodded, then turned and disappeared into the hall again.Hawkeye pulled two more bottles of water from the refrigerator then turned his chair around before sitting again.He picked up the deck of cards and began spinning it through his fingers again, thumping it against the table with each turn.He looked up and found his president watching him, an expression Hawkeye couldn’t interpret on his face.
Hawkeye narrowed his gaze as he watched the president back.He was considering whether or not to ask what was up when Delilah returned.
“Come here, little dove.”Hawkeye straightened in his chair and held one arm in her direction.She hesitated for a moment, looking back and forth from him to Raven and back again.
“We’re not going to hurt you.This is Raven.He’s my president.We just want to ask some questions, make sure we have all the information we can.”
She took one hesitant step, then another.When she was close enough, he hooked an arm around her waist and tugged.He pulled until she sat sideways across his lap.There was no way to miss how stiffly she sat, as if she wasn’t comfortable, but wasn’t willing to say anything.
“It’s okay.I meant it when I said no one here will hurt you.”He kept one arm around her middle to keep her from getting up and fleeing, then took his other, picked up her hand and wove his fingers with hers.He could only hope she understood he had her back.He didn’t know why or how he’d gotten here, but he wasn’t going to let her go without a fight.Even then, only if it was what she wanted.“You told me to call you Delilah ...we can do that.We’ll call you whatever you like, whether it’s your name or not.”
She turned to face him, a frown creasing her brow.
“Do you think Hawkeye is my real name?What about Shotgun?Dagger?We all have road names, something with meaning, something we’ve earned.If you want to be called Rumpelstiltskin, that’s what we’ll call you, and no one will say a word.”He watched her a moment.She relaxed in his arms, at least some, as if she was letting her guard down, but preparing herself in case they tried to hurt her.
