Page 2 of Law

Never let it be said that Lovelyn Auria Reese was so easily stymied. “My breakfast was delicious. Can you please tell the cookI enjoyed it? It’s been a while since I had anything that good. I swear I can burn water, and the people I traveled with the past few years weren’t much better.”

That part was true. She’d tried to cook so many times Ravage now insisted they put her in a place with no kitchen. Something always seemed to go wrong. She tried, but the end result was always the same. It was gooey, gross, or burnt to a crisp. On the plus side, there wasn’t a fire alarm on the market she didn’t know how to deactivate.

Jazzy nodded, glanced at the door, then leaned closer. Matching Lovie’s volume, she said, “I’ll tell her. She’s very nice.”

Lovie smiled. “Thank you. I’m not sure when I’ll get the chance.”

Sally Scowls-a-Lot turned her frigid glare on her friend. “You aren’t supposed to talk to her, Jasmine. You’re going to get us in trouble,” she whispered.

Why was their talking to her such a big deal? It wasn’t as though she held some deep, dark, forbidden secret. The last thing she wanted was to get Jazzy in trouble, but she needed information. And face it, her options were limited, so she pressed forward. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. It’s kind of scary being held behind a locked door without knowing what’s happening. My younger brother is here, too. Well, not exactly here in the compound. But he’s close by. Have you heard of him?”

Sally Scowls-a-lot said, “No!”

But at the same time, Jazzy nodded. “He used to be here, but several months ago, he went into Darling and hasn’t come back. I got the feeling he was all right, but they were all really upset about it. I’m not sure why.”

Sally Scowls-a-Lot lost it. “That’s it! I’m telling Ravage, and he’s gonna spank you stupid. Well, stupider. I’m not getting punished because you can’t keep your mouth shut.”

Jazzy’s clenched hands punched her hips. “What Ravage does tome is none of your business. And if you say one word to him, I’ll tell Father Aron about you not coming to the nightly meetings three nights in a row a few weeks ago, Hyacinth.”

Well, it appeared Jazzy had put up with all of Hyacinth’s crap she was willing to take. Whatever Father Aron would do if someone missed the nightly meeting, it was bad enough to silence Hyacinth. Go, Jazzy!

Lovie kept Jazzy talking. “I love your names, by the way. I’ve never met a Jasmine or a Hyacinth before.”

Jasmine shrugged. “Thanks, but those aren’t our real names.”

Interesting. Jasmine was a regular fount of knowledge now, wasn’t she? “They’re not? Then why do you call each other those names?”

“Those are the names we got at the?—”

“Jasmine!” Hyacinth had gone pale. “You really need to shut up. If you keep talking, punishment nights in the closet will be the least of our problems. You’re going to get us sent to be some rich snot-nosed kid’s nanny. Is that what you want?”

The color drained from Jasmine’s face as well. “I wasn’t… I mean. I was just being nice. Hy, you know how my mouth can run away with me.”

Surprise pulsed through Lovie. Nights in the closet? Or worse? What the heck was being done to the women here? No wonder they were upset. “I would never say anything to anyone, Jasmine.”

The girl’s entire body shook. As if she hadn’t heard Lovie’s words, she ran to Lovie, tears streaming down her face. What in the world was going on? Jazzy grabbed both of Lovie’s hands in her own. Why were the girls so upset? What had she been about to say?

“Please,” Jasmine begged. “Please don’t tell anyone I said that. My parents will kill me if I have to leave. My family is depending on me. Please!”

Lovie reversed the position, taking Jasmine’s hands. “I already told you I won’t tell anyone. I promise. I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal.”

Hyacinth grabbed Jasmine’s arm and dragged her away. “We have to go. Right now. I hope you meant what you said about not telling anyone.” She dragged Jasmine out the door.

Lovelyn ran to the door as well, but the lock clicked back into place before she reached it. She slapped her hands on the door. Muffled shouts and angry tones were all she could hear from the other side of the door. Ravage wasn’t very happy, that was for sure.

Damn it! Jasmine had been on the verge of telling her something important until Hyacinth shut her down. She needed to talk to Jasmine alone.

Wait.

Jasmine and Hyacinth were beautiful names. Striking and unusual. So why were they so familiar?

Frustrated, Lovie kicked the door as hard as she could, almost breaking her foot in the process. Limping back to the bed, she sat on the side and rubbed her injured toes. What on earth had just happened?

Hyacinth hadn’t freaked out until she’d asked about their names. But why was that a secret? Reaching for her bedside table drawer, she pulled out her two best friends in the whole world. It'd been a miracle she’d had them in her backpack the day the Warriors had shown up. Buzzy and Owlbert were the only reasons she was still sane after all this time.

Turning her attention back to the landscape outside the window, she allowed the snowy fields of hills and brush to soothe her. Hugging one stuffie in each arm, she sighed. “I’d give anything to be outside with Zane right now. Well, minus the Warriors and the Society that is. He’d love the snow.”

She never wanted Zane anywhere close to the Warriors. Herkeeping them away from Zane was how she’d ended up in this predicament in the first place. She’d do anything to keep her baby brother safe. Anything.

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