Page 20 of Stay With Me
“Yeah, she’s shy, and you can tell she’s often overwhelmed, but that’s to be expected. She starts therapy this weekend, and I’m hoping they can get her to open up more.”
“Yeah, she’s been through a lot. You’re right, though, a therapist might be able to get her to open up without feeling overly pressured or causing her to shut down more.”
I lean back in my chair and cross my arms over my chest. “I agree. Luna and I have been giving her space to decompress before either of us asks any kind of questions.”
“And Luna, has she told you anything else about her story?” he asks.
I shake my head and sigh. “We haven’t had a ton of time to ourselves.”
“You’re a good man, Noah. I know you’ll do right by both of those girls, and you have the town’s support. I do have a contact for you, though. I think that the identification issue, as well as the fact that they ran away from a cult, is beyond our scope of work.”
“Yeah, I was going to talk to you about using outside resources.”
“Great minds think alike. Which is why once this is settled, I want to talk to you about running for sheriff when I retire.”
I just blink at him, at a loss for words.
“Don’t look at me like that. You’re more than qualified, and you love this town as much as I do. Plus, this won’t happen tomorrow. I just want you to know that I’ll endorse you.”
“I?.?.?. Thank you, sir. I’m honored you think I could fill your shoes.”
“You’re the best one for the job.” Mike reaches into his pocket and, after pulling out a paper, extends his hand across my desk. “Here’s the contact I have from the FBI. He’s the head of a task force for the organized crime section but focuses on cults andclans. Give him a call and see if you can set up a time to chat with him. I don’t know if The Family is on his radar.”
I look down at the piece of paper with a name, phone number, and email on it.SupervisorySpecial Agent Elijah Hunt.
“I’m going to get out of your hair. I’m doing the first round of patrols. I believe Eden put you on the rotation right before your shift ends. Keep me posted.”
“Yes, sir.”
After knocking his knuckles on my desk twice, he gets up and walks out the door.
Setting the paper aside, I power up my computer and start to search for The Family. I haven’t had time to do it before now because we’ve been so busy. I meant to sit down and ask Luna about it, but she’s so tired at the end of the day that I haven’t had the heart to bring it up.
Just thinking about her makes my cock swell. A picture of her walking toward me wearing my clothes from the other night comes to the front of my mind, and I have to distract myself with my work to-do list.
As much as I want to take her out, I don’t want her to feel pressured or obligated like she owes me because I stepped in and became the emergency foster for Jess.
We also have to think about a babysitter for Jess, and I’m not sure Luna is ready for that. Hopefully soon, though.
Opening Google, I do a quick search, because why not start with the basics. I type The Family and Utah into the search bar.
The oldest articles I find talk about how the local religious group is helping the community. They helped build a new park for kids and opened a soup kitchen. The first couple of searches talk about the good they did for the area when it first started.
But more recent articles have headlines likeThe Family, a local cult that is suspected in a string of kidnappings of young women.
Were my girls kidnapped? That might make sense for Luna since she doesn’t have any identification, or they just don’t have the babies at the hospital.
I tap my fingers as I read through some of the information on the internet. The articles also say that they are the main suspects in a string of burglaries and vandalism of buildings in a few towns surrounding their land.
When I check my phone for the time, I shoot Luna a text.
Me: Do you think Jess will like tacos or quesadillas for dinner?
Lunabella: Um I don’t know? I think as long as we make it, she might eat it. I think it would be good for her to try.
Me: We can make her something else if she doesn’t like it. Work going okay?
I know she’s nervous with Jess being in school for a half day, and nothing that I say will really make the fear that she might just disappear go away.
