Forgotten Son

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll buy you another one.”

She didn’t have any strength left to deal with Colin and everything she was feeling about their relationship. She turned away. “I need to rest.”

“Sure. I’ll come back later.” He kissed her cheek, but she didn’t respond.

When he left, she began to cry. Tears ran down her cheeks to her neck and gown and she didn’t try to stop them. She cried for everything that had happened, for all the changes in her life and the changes that were to come.

And she cried for Eli.

CHAPTER FIVE

ELI WOKE UP FEELING strange. His right arm was on fire and it took a moment for everything to come rushing back. He was in a room, attached to machines. Good God, was he dying? Turning his head, he glanced at his arm. It was bandaged and looked as big as a log. How bad was it? he wondered.

Tuck was sitting in a chair with his long legs stretched out in front of him, his hands folded across his chest, his head against the back of the chair. He was asleep. Tuck could fall asleep anywhere. Eli had teased him about that for years. He was never so glad to see anyone in his life.

Eli moved his legs and Tuck was instantly on his feet. Another thing about Tuck—he was a light sleeper.

“How are you?” Tuck ran both hands through his hair in a nervous gesture.

“Did they arrest him?” he asked instead of answering. He was surprised his voice sounded so hoarse, but then he remembered the anesthesiologist saying something about putting a tube down his throat.

“Yeah. They arrested Buford and his followers.”

“Good,” Eli murmured, and drifted back to sleep.

When he woke up again, he wasn’t feeling so strange. Tuck was still there and got to his feet when Eli opened his eyes.

“You’re awake,” he said, coming to the bed.

“Yes,” Eli replied, his throat still dry. “You said they arrested Buford?”

“Sure did. They were sitting around a campfire praying when we arrived. The FBI called for a bus and they went peacefully. One of the dogs got out of control and attacked an agent and the dog was shot. The other dogs are at the pound and they’ve been checked out. They’re clean, so you don’t have to worry about that. But they’ll probably be put down because they’ve been trained to kill.”

“What about the dark-haired woman called Jezebel?”

“She can’t remember anything before Buford’s followers picked her up on the street. Child Protective Services is helping with the children, and several other agencies have been called in to help. The FBI is making sure Jezebel gets help, too.”

“Good. Did forensics get all the evidence they needed from that secret room?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“There wasn’t a room when we got there.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Eli moved in agitation but quickly calmed himself when pain shot through his arm.

“The vegetable cellar was caved in and the ground leveled. All the jars of vegetables were stacked against one of the huts. They scattered chicken feed and goat feed over the area and the animals were busy scratching and eating. I’m not sure how they did that so fast, but obviously it was built that way—to cave in easily.”

“Buford’s a smart son of a bitch.”