Honor sighed. “They picked on everyone.” She forked a piece of potato into her mouth. “This is so good.” After a pause, she said, “At the end of summer break, I would tell my mom I didn’t want to go back, but she’d send me anyway. Before ninth grade, I pleaded with her, but she wouldn’t listen. By then, she and Jordan had left the cult. She made me go back, but the next summer, I told Jordan about the school.” The hatred in her eyes vanished. “He told me I didn’t have to go back, and he brought me to the local high school, enrolled me that day. That night, he told my mom.” Honor laughed. “I thought she was going to poop herself.”
“Why wasn’t she more supportive?” Addison asked. “If you were unhappy there?—”
“She told me it was a great place to get a good education,” Honor said. “Last year, she finally apologized for making me gothere. She said she felt terrible and she promised she’d make it up to me one day.” Honor rolled her eyes. “I’m still waiting.”
Addison pushed out of her chair, pausing to give Honor a half hug. “I’m sorry you got stuck with her.” With the bottle of wine in hand, she returned to the table, topping off Brit’s glass and her own.
“You’re lucky Mom used to be nice,” Honor continued. “I got brainwashed Mom, then self-absorbed Mom. If Jordan hadn’t shown up at the cult… he’s super good to me. He’s funny and nice, and he’s always tried to help me. He paid for my two years of community college. When I go to a four-year college, he’s going to pay for that too.” She beamed. “He’s fifty-three and a successful businessman.”
“Do you have a job?” Addison asked.
“Not now,” Honor said.
“When you left the ranch, where did you go?” Brit asked.
“North Carolina.”
North Carolina… is she Clarice Sanders?
“I’ve been meaning to tell you, I love your name,” Brit continued. “Do you have a middle name?”
“Honor is my middle name, but I use that now.”
“What’s your first name?” Brit asked.
“Clarice.”
Excitement sent blood whooshing through her while her heart kicked up speed.
She’s the one Shawna mentioned.She’s Clarice Sanders.
Brit remembered Rebel’s guiding words—tread lightly—so she decided to back off.
After slicing off a piece of chicken, Brit grew quiet while she chewed, but her mind was racing with a multitude of thoughts… and many more questions.
“My husband and I own a nightclub,” Addison said. “We’re throwing an engagement party there for friends of ours—Prescott and Jacqueline—next month. You should come. It’s a cosplay club, so you can dress up in costume.”
“That sounds fun, but I’m not twenty-one yet, so I can’t go,” Honor said. “I know everyone has fake IDs, but I don’t. I’m kind of weird, but I respect the rules, follow the law. After living in the cult where the rules were made up, I love living in a society where we have real ones.” She set her fork down, pushed out of the chair.
“I’m going to the restroom,” Honor said. “I love all this sister bonding. This is one of the best nights of my life!”
Mine too.
I just got one step closer to finding the Alphabet Killer.
26
MEETING THE FAM
Joaquin
Rebel and Hawk found all three women nestled together under a blanket on the sofa watching a suspenseful movie, a half-eaten bowl of popcorn sat on the ottoman coffee table. All the lights were off, the glow of the television illuminating their faces.
Truth was, Rebel could stare at Brit all day. Her beauty tugged at his heartstrings, but it was her character that anchored him to her.
Rather than interrupt, the guys hung back.
Honor, sitting closest to the elevator, glanced over. “Aaaaiiiiiiieeeee!” She flew off the sofa, her eyes wild with fear.
