“What exactly did he say to her?” Gideon asked tensely.

“Just asked if Mercy lived there. Michaela told him no. But she gave him your address.” John’s jaw clenched. “That’s how he found your neighbor. The one he killed.”

Mercy felt sick. “You have to go somewhere safe, John. Please.”

John looked from her to Gideon. “Do you agree, Gideon?”

Gideon nodded. “Yeah, I do. I hate to say it, but we don’t know if Ephraim has helpers outside the community.”

John frowned again. “Community? You mean the commune your mother joined?”

Gideon hesitated. “Yes.”

John pinned them with a cold stare. “In other words, it was a cult.”

Gideon sighed. “It was, and the FBI is investigating. We don’t want to give them a heads-up that we’re looking for them, so please keep that to yourself for a while?”

John’s nod was harsh. “I will. But I wish I’d been home when he came.”

“No, you don’t.” Mercy could hear the hysteria creeping into her voice and she made a conscious effort to dial it back. “He’s killed people. Please find a place to hide. Please.”

“The kids are in school,” John protested, then snapped his mouth shut. “They’re vulnerable there, aren’t they?”

“If he comes back, yes,” Gideon said. “At the moment we have no idea where he is.”

“He hurts people you love to keep you in line,” Mercy blurted. “He knows you could be leverage to hurt Gideon and me, to make us do what he wants.”

“All right. We’ll make plans to go away for a week or so. I hope that’s long enough.”

Me too, Mercy thought. “If not, we can figure out the next steps together. I don’t want you guys touched by this. By any of this.”

“Same goes, Mercy. You two be careful, okay?”

“We will.” Mercy hesitated, then sighed. “You knew I thought you’d seen the other video.”

John’s jaw tightened again. “Yeah. I read the article. The video was gone by then. I have attorneys at my disposal. I can ruin that asshole.” His lips twisted. “Jeff Bunker. If that’s even his real name.”

“It is,” Gideon said, surprising her. “Trust me, I already looked him up. He’s a college kid. Communications major in Sacramento.”

“Punk,” John growled.

Gideon’s chuckle was harsh. “You’re not wrong. We’re going after him for posting that video. It was part of someone else’s plea deal in New Orleans, so by posting it, it linked him to the original crime. We’ll take him down. Don’t even worry about it. You just keep yourselves safe.” He paused, then said, “We need to go, John. We need to inform the investigators about Ephraim coming to your house. They may want to talk to you.”

“They’ll have to follow us to Florida, then,” John said. “We’re taking the kids to Disney World. That far enough away, Gideon?”

“Just make sure you keep your family in sight the whole time and call me if you see anything that makes you feel unsafe.” Gideon ended the call and Mercy drew a deep breath.