Page 12 of Twilight Tactics

“Could I see the kennels sometime?”

“Absolutely. She’d probably even put you to work if you want.”

The girl’s eyes went wide. “Learning to train dogs? I’m definitely in for that.”

“Probably cleaning kennels too.”

Ollie didn’t even blink. “Just tell me when.”

The more Elena talked to the teen, the more she liked her. And was reminded of herself in some ways. “I’ll let Felicity know. In the meantime, I’m going to let you get some sleep. I need some too.”

“Thanks, Elena.”

She waved goodbye to Ollie and Piper and walked back to her home. Once inside, she stepped over to the bookcase on the wall next to her television. A whole display of bird carvings greeted her. This was what she wanted to show Ollie.

A memory slipped in. She’d been thirteen years old. They’d been at this new compound in Tennessee for only about a month and already she hated it. She’d been down by the river taking a break from cutting firewood, her feet in thecold shallow water. Sweat dripped from her temples, and she thought about dunking her whole body. But then it might look like she was goofing off and Papa LaRoche wouldn’t like that. He’d make her dad punish her. She swiped a tear and swallowed hard. Her father had changed in the last two weeks and not for the better.

“Eleanor?”

She jumped out of the water and slipped her feet back into her shoes. She grabbed the axe and another piece of wood and set it on the chopping stump.

Her father stepped into view, walking down the path, hands in his pockets. She held the axe at her side and scrubbed a rivulet of sweat from her chin. “What is it, Dad?”

“Can we talk?”

She tightened her grip around the handle, then dropped the axe to the ground. “All right.”

He motioned to the rock she’d just scrambled from. She walked over to it and took a seat. He did the same next to her. “You’re not happy here,” he said.

Be honest? Or lie? She sighed. “No. Mom isn’t either.”

“I know.” He patted her hand. “I think it’s just because you need to get used to it. Iris has adjusted well.”

“She’s Iris. She likes this kind of life.”

“You don’t.”

“I hate it.” She almost flinched when the words left her lips. She’d already learned not to express her real feelings to anyone. Not here. “I miss my friends.” She missed her life. She looked up at him. “Why did we come here?”

“Because we were invited. It’s a good opportunity for me. For our family’s future.”

“You never really explained why we were moving. Can you tell me more details? Like what kind of future? What kind of opportunity?”

He raked a hand over his head and looked out across theriver. Toward the town she’d give anything to escape to. “It’s hard to explain. In Virginia, I was passed over for a promotion in the group. Kimbell played favorites. And I wasn’t on his list of favorites.” Kimbell, one of the leaders of that sect. “I ... It made me furious. I felt betrayed. I reached out to LaRoche, and he urged me to come here, said he had a high-ranking position I’d be perfect for.”

“I see.”

He nodded. “Now I have a position here that I like. I’m in charge of making sure we have what we need to survive when the government finally has full control of everything. Our money, our land, our medical care, even our thoughts at some point if they have their way.”

“And you want to stay here.” It wasn’t a question.

“For now.”

“And you agree with the way LaRoche runs this place?”

He sighed. “Not everything. No. But it takes a strong leader to make sure an entire group of people are cared for. So, for now, I’m willing to overlook some of his ... idiosyncrasies.”

She nodded, her heart pounding with dismay, fear ... anger. “Okay.”