Sitting on the bed, Molly fidgeted nervously. “I-I have to leave. By tomorrow they’re . . . they’re going to know I’m missing. Harley’s gone tonight. He’s off doing something for Daniel. He’s one of Daniel’s most trusted men. With Harley gone, I figured this was my best chance. I thank God you came along when you did.”

Edge sat in the chair next to a small, round Formica-topped table, watching Molly. Skye recognized the grim look on his face, the cold fury he had locked away.

“Harley is your husband?” Skye asked.

Molly nodded. “But I didn’t choose him, Daniel did.” The longer Molly talked, the darker Edge’s expression became.

“You’re safe with us, Molly,” he said. “Tomorrow we’ll take you away from here.”

Molly’s eyes filled. Skye felt a sting of sympathy behind her own eyelids.

“Talk to us, Molly,” Skye urged. “Tell us what happened. Start at the beginning.”

Molly gripped her hands together in her lap and took a steadying breath. Her face had a little more color now, but her lips occasionally trembled.

“I met Daniel Henson at a church picnic in Denver. Both my parents had recently died when their car hit a patch of ice and slid off the road. I was still in shock, still grieving. I had no brothers or sisters, no family, not many friends. I was always shy, worse after my parents died. Daniel took me to lunch and told me about this place where people like me—people left alone in the world—could help each other. He suggested I go out there with him and meet some of the others in the group, so I did.”

“What happened when you got there?” Skye asked.

“It seemed like an interesting place, one that sits in a lovely valley surrounded by mountains. They had some horses and a few head of cattle. They raised goats and pigs and grew their own vegetables. There was even a vineyard.”

She looked down at the hands in her lap, then back at Skye. “It was kind of old-fashioned, you know, with all the women in long dresses. Everyone I met that day seemed happy. When Daniel invited me to move into one of the duplex cottages with three other unmarried women, I thought it might be a way for me to get out of my old life and start a new one.”

“So the people you talked to were happy?” Edge asked.

“The ones I met at first were all new to the program. They’d only been there a few days, so they had no idea what they were in for.”

“What about the others?” Skye asked.

“Some of the women who live there like it. A few even have children. They don’t mind taking orders. They like the idea of being taken care of and not having to make any decisions.”

“But you weren’t that way,” Skye guessed.

“No. For people like me, it isn’t so good.”

“Go on,” Edge prodded when Molly fell silent.