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"It’s just Rawley," he said And then he was gone

Overwhel Mercy beside her Mercy She had wanted to name her Mary in the first place, after her aunt Mary had been failing fast the last tio

Tears started to just run out of her blue eyes

"We’re free," she whispered to Mercy

"Mama, where’s the kids?"

It was Sister Laine who had helped Devon find a way out of The Fellowship Laine hadn’t been with the fa, not even six months And, unlike soet sucked into group thinking, nor did she vie for Jacob’s favors She was careful, though Disciplined and obedient Around Jacob she seehtened, but there were other tirin and wink, or maybe a startled look She didn’t talk about her past, other than to say she’d come from a bad place and that Jacob had promised her peace and safety It was implied she had been abused by a man Laine’s story reminded Devon that they weren’t all the same no matter how much Jacob wished it so

Laine learned that Devon wanted to leave the compound and that Jacob wouldn’t let her take Mercy It was hardly secret--Devon had beenonce she first learned she was pregnant But Jacob said no, absolutely no, because Mercy was his child So, for several years Devon and Mercy s onewhen Laine whispered, "I know you want to leave"

"No," Devon said, hiding surprise, cautious in case of betrayal "I’o and if you do, I can help If you turn on nore me"

But Devon said, "Help how?"

"Listen carefully On June 9 there will be a hole in the fence behind the henhouse, right over there There will be a backpack with soranola bars--look for it outside the fence behind a tree At hts will be off The driver will take you over theGo to the coast You shouldn’t travel Highway 5, it’s too close to the coht away if anyone decides to look for you If they look, they’ll only look as far as you can walk Hitching a ride on Highway 101 is safer If anything goes wrong, try to find a women’s shelter and tell your story As a last resort, if you have no other way to get help, tell the police"

"Why a last resort?"

"Because, Devon, once you tell, they er Jacob will fight back So, only tell the police if that’s the only way you can be safe"

"Why would you do this?"

She shrugged and said, "I fixed it up at the Far to do it ure out so if she’d lost her mind

But Laine shook her head "Two of us and Mercy traveling together would be too easy to track If you get in a fix, tell so on here The ardens If you have to tell, tell to keep yourself safe It is not safe here"

"It was once Or it seemed to be," Devon said

"It’s not safe now, I can tell It’s tiet the children out I think you know that Now let’s find soh at my jokes, for God’s sake!" Then she set the children out Those words struck fear in Devon’s heart and she knew she had to act She had to take the chance that was being given to her She had to trust Laine But, once she had made her decision, Devon nearly counted her heartbeats until she and Mercy could escape

Just as Laine had pro was ready And, before she knew it, she’d done it

Rawley got back to the beach bar around two in the afternoon He walked in on one of the most unlikely friendships he’d ever known about, and he’d known of some odd ones since Vietna on a stool facing him This was a fairly new friendship As Rawley heard the story, Spencer had been married to an old fiancée of Cooper’s and the poor lady died She had cancer or so, Rawley recalled And several months before her death, blood work had been done and revealed that their ten-year-old son, Austin, was actually not Spencer’s biological son, but Cooper’s

Well, noley thought That’ll make or break a man

But the reed to take a job in Thunder Point so both dads could live in the same town and be parents to one little boy And ten-year-old Austin had the potential to be spoiled rotten

"Hey, Rawley," Cooper said "How’s your cousin?"

"Huh? Oh, she’s okay I left her to get a nap, relax or whatever"

"How long you think she’ll stay?"

Rawley just shrugged "Can’t say Might be she doesn’t find an old Vet much fun to live with and just moves on"