“Carlos needs to see us.”
I bit the inside of my cheek hard as I willed myself not to say anything stupid. There was an awkward tension, but addressing the elephant in the room would send me into a panic attack so I ignored it.
“Fine. Lead the way.”
I followed him downstairs to his car. I hated to admit that I was scared shitless of what Carlos wanted from me. The thought that I was willingly working for the man that murdered my brother was making me nauseous. And after everything I’d already done, I feared the worst for what else was to come.
You told me to fight like hell, so I’m just doing what you asked, Javier.
I wasn’t surprised to be taken back to Carlos’s luxurious ranch, but I still found myself nervously sweating as we entered the room where I had sold my body to a bunch of fucked-up cumwipes. Adrian led me to a large conference table located in a room off to the right of the lounge area where they’d defiled me.
Vargas was there, standing in the corner of the room as if he expected the place to be raided at any moment. I hoped thefucker had horrible reflexes and took a bullet to the penis if he ever got into a gun fight.
“Sit, sweetheart,” Carlos said with a smile, motioning to the empty chair on his left across two men I’d never met. I hadn’t seen him since I finished my initiation, and the sound of his voice rang in my ears.
“Good girl.”
I avoided the gaze of the two men and focused on not throwing up as I sat down.
“Gentlemen,” Carlos said, inclining his head to the two strangers. “Meet Miss Olivia Lane. You will be briefing her today.”
“What the fuck is going on?” I asked Carlos, my palms beginning to sweat in my lap.Why the hell was he calling me that?
“Let them speak and you will find out,” he said, giving me a stern look.
I shut up, leaning back in my seat, letting my eyes take in the two men. They didn’t look threatening, wearing professional clothes, and one of them even smiled at me. I narrowed my eyes with skepticism and waited for them to speak.
The man on the left cleared his throat. “Well, we’ve orchestrated a plan to get Kit Walsh on our side before the Class 1 senate election in three years.” He paused, fumbling with a remote control and suddenly a screen on the opposite end of the room lit up.
I took in Kit Walsh’s picture, trying to imagine what he was doing and why it mattered to Carlos. The man in question was good-looking for someone in their fifties. Dark hair with some graying, brown eyes, a nice suit and a bright smile. Strong chin and jawline, but he didn’t seem to put a ton of money into trying to maintain a younger facade as I could see the crow’s feet and smile lines on his clean-shaven face.
“He plans to run for the Class 1 senate election in 2024 but is currently the head of Reformation Church.” The slide changed to an image of a group of men standing in front of what looked to be a church. “This is Reformation Church. Founders of a right-wing revival known as The Reformation Movement. Their slogan is ‘Restore our Values: Bring Back the True American Spirit—Men Lead, Women Nurture’. They are a fringe religious-conservative group focused on putting women back in the kitchen so to speak.”
He clicked to the next slide.
“Kit Walsh is the son of the founder of The Reformation Movement, or RM for short. His father, Alec Walsh, was a Southern Baptist pastor who started the movement about thirty years ago. It didn’t pick up much national traction until Kit took over the church about twelve years ago. It has since flourished, and they’ve got satellite churches across the country. Kit Walsh, like I said, is the current head of the only Reformation Church in the state of Texas.”
I raised a brow, wondering how the hell I was going to factor into any of this.
“So, what’s this got to do with me?”
“Well, Kit Walsh will be leaving his role as head of the church next year to start his campaign.”
“Again…what the hell does this have to do with me?”
The man sighed, getting annoyed by my constant interruptions. “He’ll be leaving his position to his son, Theodore Walsh.” Theodore’s image appeared on the screen, a younger, handsomer version of his father. “Now, Theodore is currently single, but according to sources, he needs to be married before he can take his position as head of this church.”
My stomach dropped.No. No fucking way.
“Now we know what he’s looking for, who his church typically recruits. And you will be just that. A young,impressionable woman that the church can take under its wings. We’re hoping that under the right circumstances you’ll be able to move within his circle and marry him.”
“You’re joking, right?” I stared, jaw slack with shock at Carlos.
Carlos nodded before speaking up. “Now, we don’t know yet if you would even be selected to be the wife of Theodore, but you are the perfect person to infiltrate his circle as a new church member.”
I blinked, licking my chapped lips and eyeing the image of Theodore.
“But youwantme to marry this guy?”
