Page 98 of Malachi
“I’m sorry? I don’t think I follow,” Levi questioned, the smile falling from his face. The Reverend stepped forward, as several Elders fell in ranks behind the Reverend and Father. He walked forward until he was mere inches from Levi’s face.
“Don’t play dumb with me, boy,” Reverend Jacob seethed. In all my years, and in all my screw-ups, I had never seen the likes of it. Not from Father, and certainly not from the Reverend.
I turned my head, eyeing the room’s only exit, only to see it blocked by five Elders standing with their arms crossed over their chests like a group of bodyguards. This was very,verybad.
“I’m not playing dumb, Sir. I don’t know what the problem is. Have I done something to offend?” Levi asked carefully, his tone cautious and calculated. Ollie turned to look at me out of the corner of his eye. Fuck. He had tried to warn us. I doubt he had known what we were walking into, but he knew it wasn’t good. And none of us had listened.
“You stupid son of a bitch,” Reverend Jacob spat at him. My eyes widened. The Reverend didn’t curse. No one in Zion did, at least outside of the privacy of their own homes.
“We tailed you last night,boy, so you can leave the ignorant act at the door,” Father fumed.
Fuck.
“We tailed all of you. You lot, minus Gideon here, were all out in the dead of night, parking off the beaten path. So you’re going to get real honest, real quick if you know what’s good for you.” It was impossible to miss the Reverend’s warning. His dark, ominous voice had my blood running cold. This was not a man you wanted to fuck with. And we had all fucked with his operation for the last year under the radar.
“We were simply meeting to put together a gift for young Gideon here,” Ollie offered. It was a good attempt, but when Father’s hand snaked out, smacking him across the face with an open palm, it shocked me. The sound rang out through the room, echoing in the otherwise quiet chamber.
Ollie’s gasp of surprise matched Gideon’s. He physically shrank back in response.
“You mean to have me believe that you lot had to go out into the woods in the dead of night to put a gift together? That’s rich. Leave the gifts to the women. Try again, and this time, how about you try the truth?” The Reverend fisted his hand in Levi’s shirt, tugging him forward until their faces were so close I was certain Levi could tell me what the man had eaten for breakfast.
“That’s the truth of it, Sir. We were just getting together to—”
Crack!
The sound of Reverend Jacob’s fist connecting with Levi’s square jaw sounded off like a gunshot. My knees bent, wanting to spring forward into action. Action that could likely get us all killed. These were not men you messed with. My gaze shifted, meeting Father’s stone cold blue eyes and stopping any plan I could have come up with. Now was not the time for action. It was the time for patience and planning.
But fuck it all, we did not have a plan for this.
“Last chance, Leviticus. Tell the truth or suffer the consequences,” Father seethed.
“I told you the tr—”
Thud!
Another blow landed square in Levi’s stomach. He doubled over with a loud grunt of pain. My own fists clenched at my sides. I wanted to hit them both, Father and the Reverend. Perhaps it would cause enough of a diversion that my brothers could get to safety, to get to our wives.
Our wives.
Eden.
Dread washed over me, greater than any I had ever known.
“Fine, if you refuse to tell the truth, I guess we will have to do this the hard way.” The Reverend released Levi, allowing him to slump over, grasping his midsection, but it was only a relief for a moment.
His hand shifted to the inside of his suit jacket. In a flash, he pulled out a pistol and racked the slide, chambering a round. He lifted the piece up and forward, pointing it straight at Levi’s face.
“Let’s try this again, shall we?” he fumed, anger blazing in his dark, evil eyes.
Double fuck.
The stakes had been suddenly raised, and we had brought a knife to a gunfight. Only worse… we didn’t even have a knife. We had no weapons at all.
Levi took a deep, slow breath. I could hear the wheels turning in his head as he struggled to speak.
“Reverend, is this really necessary?” Elder Taylor spoke. He was a newer member of the church, and it honestly surprised me to find him here at all. I didn’t dare spare him a glance though, other than through my peripheral vision. My focus was on the Reverend and the pistol he had pointed at my brother.
The beast inside of me roared, wanting to be freed to protect my family, but I stayed stone still, quiet as possible as to not garner any attention. Not yet. Not just yet.
