Carlos drummed his fingers across the tabletop for a moment. “Ideally, yes.”
I swallowed.Shit.
“Are these…bad people? I mean, am I going to be in danger?”
Carlos chuckled and shook his head. “No. They are just a bunch of conservative Christians. While they hold some extreme views compared to our popular culture today, they’re harmless.”
I nodded.Safe. I could be safe with these people.
“Why do you want me to leave Los Siete?”
Carlos shook his head slowly, his eyes narrowing.
“Sweetheart, you’ll always be mine, ours. A member of this family until the day you die. You might be living with these other people, married to one of them, but don’t think for a second that I won’t still need you.”
My nails dug into my thighs.Maybe I’d be safer with this church than here. If I could get one of these men to love me, then maybe they’d protect me from Carlos.
“So, what do I have to do?”
“Well, first step is to get you two to cross paths. There is a church outreach event coming up next week at a women andchildren’s shelter. We’ve confirmed that Theodore and Kit will both be there as this shelter is one of many partially funded by the church.”
I nodded, reaching for the folder that Carlos passed to me. I flipped it open, skimming through lines of information regarding an Olivia Lane.
“That’s you. You’ll be Olivia Lane, with a full paper and online footprint already in place to support your identity,” Adrian said. Well, now I knew why he was here. Sabueso.
Olivia Lane was nineteen, born July 8, 2002 in San Antonio, Texas. Her parents and brother were killed in a house fire at their home in Windcrest, a suburb of San Antonio. Olivia obtained damage to her ocular region during the house fire which resulted in scarring and adverse reactions to her tears. She was currently unemployed and couch surfing between friends and various homeless shelters.
I reread the information several times, taking it all in, and trying to create the image of this person in my mind. How the hell were they expecting me to be someone I wasn’t?
I found myself shaking my leg with nerves.
“So, I’ll meet the Walsh family at this shelter. And what exactly am I supposed to do? Charm my way into Theodore’s life?”
The man with the beard who had yet to speak, nodded in agreement. “Yes, that’s about right. Theodore, Kit and his wife Marissa will all be at the event. It’s going to be a meal with gifts for the residents. Obviously, we will want to rehearse what you say and topics to avoid and others which you’ll have the best luck of catching his attention with.”
“I can’t just show up to the event though. How long will I have to stay there until the event?”
“Only one night. The event is on the 8th,” Carlos answered. “You’ll have a burner phone with you which we will be able tocommunicate with you on. Otherwise, you’ll be going in alone. We don’t want there to be any suspicion or doubt in their minds that you aren’t who you say you are.”
I blew out a deep breath, my lips vibrating. My stomach was beginning to churn with anxiety. How the fuck was Carlos expecting him to be interested in me? He was at least ten years my senior, and I was ugly and had the worst case of resting bitch face.
“So, what exactly do you want me to achieve by meeting them?”
The man leaned forward in his seat to address me. “We want you to simply be curious and perhaps spark a note of recognition when they see you attending one of their church services.”
“So, you just want me to talk to them?”
“Yes,” the other man nodded. “This is a long game here. We’re not expecting them to poach you right away to join their church, but we just want to get you on their radar.”
My mind was struggling to comprehend that this was actually happening.
“And you really think that Theodore’s going to be interested inme?”
“Yes. This church is known for ‘evangelizing’ to a certain population. You fit the profile to a T. You’re young, have a backstory that makes you easy to manipulate emotionally, and you’re attractive enough that it would be easy to find someone interested in marrying you within the church. Again, we’re hopeful that it can be Theodore.”
“And if it’s not?” I asked Carlos.
Carlos’s jaw ticked with tension, and he gave me a look that told me that wasn’t an option.
