Page 3 of Keeping Lilith

Things were different now.

He was different.

“Right, make sure when you get in there, her safety is a top priority.” Julian didn’t actually have to say that. He knew how the team worked. How they always made sure all the innocent parties involved were protected when shit hit the fan.

“That’s a given,” Hound said.

“It’s go time. Let’s get this done.” Julian gave the order and watched from his position as the team and other agents made their move.

There were times Julian wanted to get involved. Wanted to be part of the group that stormed the building, but he didn’t have the training or the necessary skills they all had. His strength was knowing the inner workings of cults. The set up, which didn’t seem to change from one organization to another. They were all surprisingly similar. Some differences existed, but he could usually identify the weaknesses after the weeks of observation they did before they began their planning to infiltrate and destroy.

He listened over the comms as Fox directed his team and the others around the compound until they’d reached the house. Normally, they’d do their raid in the evening to go in undetected, but this particular location was surrounded by trees, not to mention the various gardens being tended by the women.

Using all their training, Fox and his team—along with the few agents who provided back-up—surrounded the house without detection. Not many of the men acting as guards would be carrying weapons, but if they were, they wouldn’t pose aproblem. Not to the men who’d been trained to work these types of situations.

“They’ve got this, Julian. Relax, everything is going well.” The female voice from the comms didn’t surprise Julian at all. Cassandra O’Reilly was the computer whiz who worked for Alliez, and she always tracked the missions the guys worked on. She would watch this one carefully, as her husband, Irish, was part of the team.

Julian adjusted the channel on his comms so he could speak to Cass and not disturb the guys going about their tasks. “I know. How’s it looking?”

At least with Cass overseeing things, he could know what was going on inside. The Alliez team wore tiny cameras in their vests that recorded everything. The FBI Agents had their own setup as well and together they had eyes everywhere, but he was never privy to what actually went down while it was happening. It was only after, in the debriefing sessions, that he got the full picture. Julian was sure the powers that be at the FBI had no idea of the information Cass gave him. Her skills were legendary, and there were times he went to her first to get what he needed before hitting up the FBI computer people.

“All good. They’re about to breach the back of the house. There’s a group of four in a large office. Three male and one female.”

“That would have to be the woman Hound saw get dragged in there.” It was on the tip of his tongue to ask if she was being mistreated, but he also didn’t want to know at the same time.

“Looks like they’re talking,” Cass said, as if she could see into Julian’s mind. And considering how often they’d worked together, maybe she did know his thought processes.

“Thanks.”

“They’re in.” Cass informed him, and Julian switched back the channel so he could hear the team.

The sound of a woman screaming over the top of the shouts from the team filled his ears. The sound of footsteps pounded on a wooden floor. Julian clenched his fists, wishing he could be there with them as the unmistakable thump of a body hitting the ground resounded.

Why was the urge to be boots on the ground with this particular raid so strong?

He hadn’t felt this way before. Was it because the similarities between Freedom and Love, the cult he’d grown up in, and this one, were too close for comfort? Maybe that was why he wanted to be there, to see the face of the asshole who ran it as the realization that his reign over the innocent people he’d lured into his sticky web was over.

“Stop! Leave me alone! Don’t touch me,” a woman screamed.

Julian closed his eyes, knowing the reason behind her cries—she’d been treated in the foulest of ways, and everyone was the enemy. Always out to hurt her.

“It’s okay. You’re okay. We’re not here to hurt you.” The voice belonged to Irish. “We’re here to help you. Get you out of here. Away from this asshole and all the other assholes in this place.”

Julian couldn’t hear any more as the rest of the agents who’d been waiting in the wings were now storming through the compound, and there was a lot of shouting for people to get on the ground.

It was time. Time for him to get in there and make sure that whatever papers Staunton Rello had in his possession were gathered up and put away safely. Anything he discovered that belonged to the members could be returned to them. In most cases, whoever ran the organization always took their identification, if they were carrying any, and anything else personal. It was all about control. If they had nothing of their own, they were easier to manipulate.

The leaders of cults weren’t stupid. They said all the right things that drew the people into their web of deceit, and once they were ensnared, escape was impossible.

Julian got up and dusted the dirt off his pants and got into the vehicle he’d parked out of sight and headed for the compound.

What would he find when he got there?

How downtrodden would the women be?

How arrogant would the men be? Most would’ve believed Staunton’s purple prose that they were untouchable and were above everyone else in the world. Hell, he’d thrived whenever the leader of Freedom and Love had given some bullshit speech that Julian had believed every word of.

He might think he was a better person than the current members of The Hopeful Sunshine, but at one time, he’d been as bad as them. That person still lurked deep in his soul. The need to seek out someone who would praise him until he believed his shit didn’t stink was a daily fight. He continued to battle those inner demons and remained victorious.

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