Page 9 of Keeping Lilith

“Happy to rid the world of yet another asshole,” Fox said.

“Until the next one pops up,” Jag responded.

“Yep, as it’s often said, it’s like playing whack-a-mole with these guys. Get rid of one, and three more pop up.” When he got back to his desk, there would likely be another file waiting for him to investigate. It was how things rolled. “I’ll see you guys later.” Julian gave them a chin lift and climbed into his car.

Julian liked the guys from Alliez, enjoyed spending time with them when they weren’t on a mission, even Deal, when he wasn’t looking at him with mistrust. They worked well together and always went the extra mile to make sure whomever they rescued was okay. In a large group like the one they took down today, it was different, but for whatever reason, Irish had taken Lilith to their house, and Julian was determined to find out why.

Chapter Five

What am I doing here?

The thought bounced around her mind as Lilith stood in a bedroom with an attached bathroom where she could have a shower with hot water, something she hadn’t had in a long time.

The last couple of hours had been a blur. Irish had personally taken her to the facility where all the other women and children were. He hadn’t pushed her onto one of the buses, like she thought he might. Instead, he’d lead her to his car. They hadn’t talked much on the drive to the large warehouse, and since she hadn’t been allowed to talk to men in a long time, Lilith had leaned against the window and watched the scenery as it zoomed by.

The noise when they’d walked into the building had been too much for her. Women wailed that they wanted to go back. Children cried because their mothers were. Other women sobbed in happiness that they were finally free. It had been so overwhelming she’d frozen in the doorway, unable to walk in. From her past experience, she knew that while the authorities tried to do the right thing, they were stretched thin and tired themselves, and after having to deal with all the emotions from the rescued women, eventually their patience ran out andinstead of doing what they’d done for the first fifty women, they did the bare minimum so they could get away from it all.

Lilith didn’t blame them, but she didn’t want to be disregarded again. She’d been there, done it once before, and given that she’d been given a second chance to not screw up her life, she was going to take it.

As though Irish had picked up on her calamitous thoughts, he’d cupped her elbow and taken her outside. So frozen in her panic, Lilith didn’t notice that he’d touched her. It wasn’t until he’d called her name for the third time that she snapped out of it, and when he’d asked if she’d wanted to go somewhere else, she’d readily agreed, instinctively trusting he wouldn’t take her somewhere dangerous.

What she hadn’t expected was to be taken to his house. His wife was warm and welcoming, and had shown her to the room she now stood in.

On the queen bed were clothes with price tags. How had Cass managed to get them in the short time between them leaving the facility and arriving? Either way, she was grateful. She vaguely recalled Irish texting furiously before they left, so presumably it was to let his wife know he was bringing home a complete stranger and that she needed clothes. A request Cass had answered without question.

Who did that?

Who immediately opened their home to a woman they’d known for only a few hours? A woman who’d gotten suckered into yet another cult.

A soft tap on the door pulled Lilith from her thoughts, and she turned to Cass standing in the doorway, a gentle smile on her face. “You doing okay?” the woman asked.

Lilith opened her mouth and then closed it again, not sure what to say. For so long, any conversation between her and another woman had been brief. The interactions certainly didn’thave the hint of compassion she could hear in Cass’s voice. “I don’t know.”

The words burst out, and there was nothing but honesty in them, because Lilith didn’t know if she was doing okay. She didn’t know what to think. She didn’t know what to feel.

“Is it okay if I come in?”

Again, someone asking if it was okay to enter Lilith’s space. She couldn’t very well tell Cass that no, she couldn’t come in. No way did she have any control of a house she was a guest in. “It’s your house. You don’t have to ask.”

“Yes, I do.”

Confusion swamped Lilith. “Why are you doing this?” She voiced her thoughts.

“Doing what?”

Lilith waved her hand around the room. “This. Letting me stay here. Buying me clothes. You don’t know me.”

“Because you need help and Irish brought you here, and you know Julian.”

She straightened her spine at the way Cass said Julian’s name. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the woman knew him. After all, her husband worked with the man. Or at least knew him. Irish hadn’t been wearing anything with FBI blazoned all over it. “How do you know Julian?” Lilith fired back.

“We’ve worked together for a while now.”

“You work for the FBI, too?”

“No, I work for Alliez Security.”

“Wait. Who are Alliez, and why are they working with the FBI?” Obviously, Irish must work for this security group. Didn’t the FBI usually work just by themselves, or with another government agency?

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