Would God punish her? She probably deserved it.
Trixie slowed and gestured for Pippa to hurry up. “The back road is just up there,” Trixie whispered, setting down her pack to retrieve wire cutters she’d stolen from one of the gardening sheds. “Jack will be waiting.”
Pippa paused and tried to catch her breath. “Jack looks scary to me.”
“Jack is scary,” Trixie said, hitching her pack into place. “But he’s on our side. The guy doesn’t like cults.”
“Isn’t he in a gang?” Pippa asked, clutching her hands together.
Trixie nodded. “Yeah. He’s a businessman. We’ve agreed on the price for our escape and for some really good fake licenses and passports. This is the only way to go.”
A stick snapped in the forest, and Pippa jumped. She drew the large cutting knife she’d taken from the kitchen earlier. If they got caught, Isaac would punish them until they wished they were dead. So she’d fight.
Trixie showed the way through the trees, and they came to the chain-link fence. Rolls and rolls of barbed wire extended up from the top, making it impossible to climb over. On the other side, Jack waited on a narrow dirt road in a banged-up gray two-door car. He exited the car, looking big and scary.
“Hurry up,” he hissed, his light brown eyes all but glowing through the darkness.
Trixie bent and started snipping the fence. The process seemed to take forever, but finally, she’d made a big enough hole so she could shove her pack through and then herself. “Come on, Mary. Let’s go.”
Mary. She’d never use that name again. Oh, she’d use a few different aliases, but when she was safe, when she could be herself, she’d be Pippa. Forever. She’d just started to move when strong arms grabbed her from behind.
She yelped.
“I’ve found them,” Mark yelled. Men’s voices roared through the forest.
Damn it. Mark was one of Isaac’s top lieutenants, and he looked at Pippa like he wanted to both strangle and rape her. The guy was known to hurt the younger girls.
Pippa started to struggle. “Let go.”
He pinched her breast. Hard. “Oops. That was an accident.” His laugh was gleeful.
Pain and shock ripped through Pippa. She reacted without thinking, striking back with the knife. It slid shockingly easily into Mark’s leg.
He bellowed and released her, falling back. Like an animal, she turned, stabbing repeatedly. His stomach, his hands, his arms as he tried to protect himself.
“Mary, come on,” Trixie yelled. “We have to go. Now.”
Sobbing, Pippa shoved Mark and dropped the knife on the ground. Turning, she ran for the hole in the fence and wriggled her way thorough, scraping her neck and arms in the process. It didn’t matter. She was free.
Jack started the car, and Trixie jumped into the backseat.
“Mary.” Isaac stood on the other side of the fence. “Come back here. Now.”
She whirled around, her breath panting, her body freezing in place.
Mark shoved himself to his feet, hate in his gaze.
Isaac looked over Pippa’s shoulder at the car. “If you come back, I’ll let Tulip go. She can be free. Forever.”
“No,” Trixie shrieked from the car. “Get in here, now. We have to go.”
Pippa hesitated.
Isaac reached down and grasped the knife. Was he wearing leather gloves? It wasn’t that cold yet. “Mary. Obey me. Now.”
“No,” she gasped, backing away from the fence. The opening wasn’t large enough for any of the men, but they could probably make it bigger quickly. She had to run.
The moonlight seemed to surround Isaac in a way it didn’t the others. That was her imagination. It had to be. He watched her, those eyes seeing everything. Then he grabbed Mark and pulled him to the side. “Look what you’ve made me do.” Hard and fast, Isaac plunged the knife into Mark’s back several times.
