Page 41 of Keeping Lilith

Would her life had been different if she had a sibling? She would never know, but she liked to think that they would’ve been close after Freedom and Love had been disbanded. Maybe if she had had a sibling, she wouldn’t have ended up at The Hopeful Sunshine.

Lilith shut down those thoughts quickly. There was no point in wishing for something that hadn’t happened. It was just her, and while she’d made missteps, this time, she would not repeat her mistakes.

The job site finished loading, and she scrolled through the recent listings. Ideally, she’d love to get a job working in a garden, but that looked unlikely. No matter how much she willed a job to appear, none did. Perhaps it was time to look at something else. She knew she didn’t want to work in a restaurant, but maybe she could get a job in a clothes shop. Or a handbag shop. Something that would tide her over until her perfect job came along.

A listing caught her attention, and as she skimmed over the words, dread pooled low in her belly. The words were so familiar to her. They were the same words that had sucked her into her second cult.

Are you looking for a career change? Then look no further. At The Petal Lodge, we’re looking for people who are seeking a new adventure. Benefits for working at our lodge are plentiful. Not only will you have your very own first class, high-quality accommodation, but all meals are included. We know you’re perfect for our organization. What are you waiting for? Click Apply Now and start your new future.

The first time she’d been lured in by those words, it hadn’t been via the internet. No, it had been a flyer left on the table at the restaurant where she’d worked. It all sounded wonderful. So much better than how she’d been living.

At the time, she’d been so gullible. This time, though, she wasn’t. Someone was recruiting, and she needed to let Julian know now.

Chapter Twenty

“Julian!”

Lilith’s call had him rushing out of the living room. He’d finished his call to Rose and was gazing out the living room window, happiness swirling around him at the news that his sister was pregnant.

He skidded to a halt as he rounded the corner of the kitchen. Lilith’s face was as white as the dress shirt he wore to formal events. Her computer sat open in front of her. “What? What’s wrong?” he asked and hurried over to her side.

She said nothing but turned the computer to face him. He looked at the screen and saw a job listing. He read the words but thought little of them. It sounded too good to be true, but then again, some employers always embellished their listings to lure people in for interviews. Other times, what they wrote was really the truth.

“I don’t understand, Lil. Why are you showing me this job ad? Are you thinking of applying?”

“No! It’s not a job. It’s a recruitment ad. Someone is recruiting people.”

He didn’t want to say that’s what most of the ads on the site were for—recruiting people to work for them.

What was he missing?

What was it about this ad that had scared Lilith so much? And she was scared. Her hands trembled as they rested on the table.

Julian squatted and placed his hand over hers, hoping that the touch would calm her. He re-read the advert, this time looking carefully at each word. All the while, her warning that someone was recruiting bounced around his mind.

After reading it for the third time, it finally sunk in what she was saying. “Someone is looking for followers. Simone is starting, or has started, another cult.”

Lilith nodded. “This was how they got me,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. “The promise of better things. But it wasn’t better. It was worse.”

Julian pulled her into his arms as sobs wracked her body. Whoever this person was, they had balls to advertise in such a public way. Then again, whoever they were believed they were untouchable. That they were doing nothing wrong.

Lilith’s sobs slowed, and she pulled back to look up at him. Tears clung to her lashes, and the light hit the sheen of moisture clinging to her cheeks. He brushed his thumb across her skin, wiping it away. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I lost it like that.”

Julian pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. “You have nothing to be sorry for. It’s a completely normal reaction after seeing a reminder of what happened to you. But you have to know, you finding this . . .” He pointed to the screen. “Is a huge help. I’ll be able to give the link to our tech guys, and they can chase it up and see where it originated from.”

“What if I’m wrong? What if this is really a legitimate ad, and the place is a fancy hotel or something?”

“Then we file it away in case it proves useful in another case. Do you know how many leads the Agency gets that lead tonothing? A lot, but if we ignore them and disregard them, then we could put people’s lives in danger.”

“I guess.” Her eyes flicked to the screen, and he could see the wheels turning in her mind.

“No. Don’t even think about it.” He slammed the lid shut on the computer.

“What? How do you even know what I’m thinking?”

He may have only known this new Lilith for a few weeks, but he’d watched how she reacted with everyone. How she always wanted to help if she could. “You were thinking what harm would it do to respond to the ad? Go check it out and see if your suspicions were right that this is indeed a cult.”

“No, I wasn’t.” Her voice was pitched a little higher, definitely an indicator that she wasn’t being entirely truthful.

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