Nam tiptoed in. Rose was sure it was them because of the way they moved, like a child with parents who shouldn’t be woken under any circumstance. They reached for Rose’s feet first, unlatching the repurposed belts and carefully laying down the buckles so they didn’t clang against the bed frame. Then they moved to her hands. All four limbs released at once, Rose contracted like a drop of mercury, curling in on herself. Then she pushed back out, carefully rolling off her back and the side of the bed that now held her shape, trying to minimize the squeal of the old springs. She reached for Nam’s hand, and together they left the room.

CHAPTER 22

A CAGE OPENS

Nam

THE STAIRS WERE A PUZZLE OF SOUND AND SPLINTER, one that Nam knew well. They took particular steps, shifting their weight so that the creak would be merely a low lullaby if it was noticed at all. Rose peered around the corner into the living room. Six Wives lay around the room on blankets, in chairs, one on the couch. Each one slept in their white garb, so still they turned to shrouds. They made their way down the hall to Derrick’s room. He was awake and waiting for them, held to the bed by chains and padlocks. Nam slipped the key from the front pocket of their blazer.

Nam felt every muscle and joint working in concert. They were hyperaware of the quiet in the house. They were so sure Rose and Derrick would feel it, too, that they were surprised when Rose held a finger to Derrick’s lips before helping him lift off the bed without a sound, as if noise would change the stakes.

Back in the living room, the Wives looked peaceful, just another family of cult groupies having a snooze. The truth was, they were so far under right now that it would have taken electricity to rouse them. The Chief was the only one who wouldn’t wake up—he was lying behind a closed door, his eyes wide open. Nam was glad he had known at the end, glad that he had come to understand that it was his own relative who had caused that end. There was more than one way to steal dreams, and Nam was done with being robbed.

Rose had made a plan, but it hadn’t been a good one. She had wanted to wait until everyone was asleep and then sneak out. Nam knew that would be impossible. There was no way to make sure the Wives would all be sleeping at the same time. And the Chief was a light sleeper, waking to footfalls in the hallway or the sound of someone opening the pantry without his permission. Years ago, at the beginning of all the mayhem, Nam had tried to leave but never made it. Today they would make it, and there was only one way to make sure of that.