“Yes, it’s about money. But it’s not like the community uses the money. Not like you do here in the real world.”
“What do you mean by that?” Jump asked.
“Our food was grown in our gardens. The boys hunted and fished. That’s how women and children ate. The men were the only ones who could use the money. We did grow marijuana and sell it for cash.” She shook her head. “Because the state knewabout me, my parents couldn’t make me beg on the streets or do anything else weird on the streets.”
“Weird on the streets?” T asked. “Are you talking prostitution?”
Her gaze fell to the floor. “Yeah, it sucked for my siblings. Both my brothers and sisters had to do some weird shit. They hated that I didn’t have to do it.”
“That is messed up,” Jump said.
She lifted her gaze and met his. Their expressions still seemed open, like they hadn’t dismissed her yet. “It was. Like I said, I didn’t end up doing that stuff because they feared I’d tell someone or I’d end up being arrested. The ones who were arrested were left behind and had to deal with the issues on their own. It was horrible for them.”
Jump narrowed his eyes. “Couldn’t your brothers and sisters tell anyone? Like couldn’t they ask for help?”
“They wouldn’t have known how to. The leaders got obedience from everyone. You couldn’t escape punishment if you talked about what was happening in the group. Also, I couldn’t share any information with my siblings.” Now their eyes were starting to narrow and look at her suspiciously. This was getting difficult to explain. “We weren’t allowed to have private conversations. We were punished if we kept secrets. I couldn’t tell my siblings anything because then they would be punished in front of me. Do you know how much it hurts to watch your parents twist your sister’s hair so hard it starts to pull out? One of my brothers told a secret to another brother, and they slammed a hammer down on his hand, breaking his fingers. He wasn’t allowed to get medical care. The leaders were violent, destructive, and they would kill if the other punishment didn’t work.”
“Shit.” Jump sat up then stood. “So this Grayson guy, is he one of your siblings?”
She shook her head. This was where it would get messy. “He’s my husband.”
Jump’s eyes went wide and his mouth fell open. She needed to speak fast.
“We weren’t legally married. My dad, before he died, promised me to Grayson. I’ve never agreed and never moved in with him. He came for me two years ago. I took off. I’ve been hiding ever since.”
“Hiding?” T asked.
“Yes. This apartment was the fourth place I’ve lived in two years. We aren’t from California. My family was in Washington state mostly, some of the time we were in Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. I’m not sure where else we were. I was a kid for most of it, and then even after I was twenty, they kept me in the dark.”
“Wow, that’s…” Jump started but trailed off.
She wasn’t sure how to take it. Maybe he didn’t believe her. Few people did.
“When I found freedom, I spent months learning from everything I could get my hands on. I got my GED, and I started doing some online college classes. I think that’s how Grayson found me the first time and the second. I don’t know how he found me this time. It has been almost a year, well, eight months. I guess I got lazy, and he tracked me down.”
“So, the money. Is there a reason you won’t give it to them?”
She blew out a long breath. “Grayson isn’t a good guy. I can’t let him have access to the money. He will gain control of multiple families who have children. I can’t be responsible for that. Grayson is really evil. He can’t be trusted with children.”
Both T and Jump frowned. They didn’t look happy. Were they angry she wouldn’t give the money to Grayson? Maybe she’d misjudged them both. Would they tell her to give up her fight and let Grayson have the money?
CHAPTER SIX
Jump knew things like this happened. He was just surprised to have someone sitting in his kitchen—well, Wave’s kitchen—telling him that she had grown up in a cult. He needed to send a text to Tex or Thario. Tex was busy with some other stuff, but someone needed to see if they could track down this Grayson dude and see if they could do something about him.
“So I need all the information you have on Grayson. His last name, middle if you have it. Does he have a social security number?”
“Wait, why? Why do you need information on Grayson?”
T spoke before he could get a word out. “Because that bastard is a thorn in your side, and Jump isn’t going to stand for that.”
Blakely squinted at him. “Why would you help me?”
Jump took a step closer to her but paused. Though he’d asked her to sleep at his place the night before, he didn’t really know her and couldn’t pull her into a hug, though he wanted to.
“Listen, I know you don’t know me, and you don’t know how I do things. But I’m not letting some idiot who has issues with being a decent citizen of this country bully you. We’ll stop him.”
She blinked at him like she didn’t believe his words. “Really?”