“I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for her here. Visitors are not allowed in that part of the compound. For Callie’s sake, I’m making an exception.”
“You’re pushing your luck, Reverend.”
Skye heard the tightness in Edge’s voice and came back down the aisle. She rested a hand on his arm. “You don’t need to worry. I won’t be gone long. I’ll be fine until I get back.” A silent communication passed between them. She could handle herself—something Edge knew. She would get a look at another part of the compound. After they left, they would decide the best way to proceed.
Edge gave a single brief nod. “Go.”
Skye followed Dutch out to a silver Dodge pickup. He opened the door, and she climbed up in the passenger seat. Dutch climbed in on the driver’s side and started the engine. Pulling away from the church, he drove past the cottages that surrounded it.
The pickup rumbled over the uneven ground. “Have you been here long?” Skye asked as the truck jolted and swayed.
“About a year, I guess.”
“So you like living out here?”
“I like it fine.”
“Are you . . . umm . . . married?”
His glance sliced toward her. “I got a woman. All of us do. That’s part of the deal.”
Her breath hitched. “The deal? What deal is that?”
“Look, lady, I’m just supposed to drive you out to the vegetable patch.” He pulled up in front of a fenced-in area and put the truck in park. “That’s it, right there.” He pointed toward a large, rectangular plot. Women in long cotton dresses worked the soil, some bent over pulling weeds, others using long-handled hoes to dig up the earth.
“What are they growing?” Skye asked as her gaze searched for Callie.
“Beats me. That’s woman’s work. I think they planted cabbage and carrots last month, some broccoli, maybe some brussels sprouts.”
“Sounds like you’re pretty self-sufficient out here.”
“That’s the idea.”
Skye spotted Callie, and her gaze zeroed in. “There she is!” With her long blond hair and trim figure, Callie stood out among the other women. Skye cracked open her door and started to get out, but Dutch’s big freckled hand wrapped around the top of her arm, stopping her.
“Stay in the truck.” His grip felt like a band of steel, and determination darkened his eyes. “You’ve seen her. You can see she’s just fine. Now sit back down and close the door.”
Skye thought about forcing the issue, but everything inside her warned that if she made a scene, Callie would be the one to suffer.
“Of course.” She slammed the truck door. “Whatever you say.”
Edge was standing next to his car when Dutch drove up in front of the church. Skye climbed out before the pickup had come to a complete stop, walked over, and slid into the passenger seat.
She didn’t say a word until they were outside the gate and headed back down the road toward town.
“I saw her,” she finally said. “She was working in the garden, just like Henson said. I don’t think she saw me. Dutch wouldn’t let me get out of the truck.”
“Something’s not right,” Edge said.
“No, it isn’t.” She turned to look at him. “We need to come back tonight.”
Edge nodded. A muscle flexed in his jaw. “My thought exactly.” He flicked her a glance. “It’s going to be interesting to see what Henson is hiding out there.”
“You think that’s it? He’s doing something illegal?”
“Maybe. Could be he’s just on a power trip—you know, like David Koresh or Jim Jones. Either way, it’s not good for your sister.”
“The real question is how do we get her out of there?”
