Page 82 of Bitter Falls

“You, then?” I ask her. “J. B., no. I can’t ask you—”

“That wouldn’t work anyway,” she says briskly. “Cults like this don’t have any use for older people. Father Tom has no use for women if they’re not of childbearing age.”

“Then who...”

I realize what she’s saying, and it grabs me by the throat. I choke on it. I shake my head. Violently. “No.No.Absolutely not. I won’t let Lanny go anywhere near this—”

“You don’t have to. I’ll do it,” Vera Crockett says.

She sounds calm as chamomile tea. She’s even smiling a little bit. We all stop and look at her. Vee, with her attitude and her fragile strength and her slightly mad eyes.

“Vera, you can’t,” I say. “I know I’m not your mom, but—”

“You ain’t my momma,” she agrees. “I can take care of myself. I took care of my own mother more often than not. I’m the right age, ain’t I? They like young girls.”

“No,” I say flatly. “Out of the question. These people arekillers.”

Vee stares at me without a quiver. “You think I don’t know that? The Assembly folk in Wolfhunter killed my momma. I know ’em better than you do. And I can act the part. I can!”

“That’s a lovely offer,” J. B. says, “but it won’t work. If it was any other time, I’d say Vera would be an ideal candidate to let them recruit. But it would have to be done gradually, over time. Not the same night the FBI shows up. They’d kill you, Vee.”

“I can sell this,” Vee insists. “Ican. And you need to let me!”

There’s absolutely no way in hell I’m going to let this girl do something like this. She may not be my child, but she’s my responsibility. “No!” I shout it this time, and it surprises Lanny to the point that she flinches and grabs for Vee’s hand. Vee doesn’t even blink. “You arenot doing anything like this, Vera!I will not allow it!” I take a beat to get my pulse under control, my tone less sharp, and turn to the others. “I need options. Does anybody have some?”

Vee turns and walks away. She goes down the hall, and I hear a door slam. Fine. I want her out of this anyway. Her and Lanny both. My daughter looks torn; she gives me a pleading look, and I nod toward the hallway. She goes after Vee.

The four of us are silent for a few painful seconds, and then Javier says, “Tell me what the girl said again. About how they make their saints.”

I repeat Carol’s story, best I can. About how Father Tom drowns his captives and sinks them in the pond. It’s borne out by the evidence the FBI found in the lake at the abandoned compound, so it’s almost certainly still going on at Bitter Falls.

Javier listens without any expression and then nods. “I’m opening up the gun range. We’ll arm up out of the stock. If the FBI isn’t going in, then we’re going to have to. It’s risky. You and me, Gwen.”

“And me,” Kez says. Javier turns expressionless eyes toward her, and she stares right back. Nobody bends. “You don’t decide for me, Javi.”

“Fair enough,” he says, and cracks a crooked smile. “I know I can’t stop you when you get going anyway.” He looks at J. B. “Ma’am, I don’t know you, and I can’t trust you can handle this. Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she says. “I’m past my fence-climbing days. But I’ve got two operatives who aren’t, and they’re waiting on my call. Solid people. You can count on them.”

“In a firefight?” I ask her. “Because that’s where this is heading, J. B.”

She lifts a single shoulder. Half a shrug. “Cicely West and Joe Froud. You know them. You tell me. They volunteered, by the way, when they heard about Connor and Sam.”

Joe Froud is a tall, lanky, funny man; I’ve met him a few times, worked with him once. But never in a dangerous situation. Cicely—well. I’ve already seen her in action. If J. B. thinks Joe’s in her class, I’m fine with that. “Please tell them this is incredibly dangerous,” I say. “And I understand if they take a look and decide it’s not for them. No judgment.”

“Let me make the call,” J. B. says. She goes into the kitchen and turns away from us. I look at Kez and Javier.

“You two, same thing,” I say. “I can’t ask you for this. I don’t want you risking your lives for me—”

“Hey,” Kez says. “We’re not doing it for you, Gwen. We’re doing it for Connor. We both love that boy. If there’s anybody innocent in this situation, it’s him.”

Javier just nods in agreement, and I have to stop for a moment. The weight of this is both welcome and crushing. I need them. But I also need them to be safe. But I need my son. There are no right answers here, and I’m flailing in the dark.

J. B. ends her call and comes back. “They’re going to meet us there,” she says. “Question is, how do we get out of here with the FBI parade blocking our way?”

“We don’t ask,” I say. I stand up and go knock on Lanny’s door. There’s no answer, so I swing it open.

My daughter’s standing at the open window, staring out. As I watch, she slides it down and locks it before turning back to me with her arms crossed. “Vee’s right,” she says. “You don’t get to decide for her, Mom.”

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