A Merciful Promise (Mercy Kilpatrick #6)(37)

I’d do the same again.

“The problem is your methods. This is your second day, and you’re already pushing the boundaries,” Pete stated. “You need to reevaluate if you want to be here. You are this close to going home.” He held up his thumb and finger an inch apart.

“Give her a break, Pete.” Chad turned to him. “She comes from a job where she told people what to do all day long. Doesn’t mean she doesn’t believe as we do.”

Judging by Pete’s face, Mercy didn’t think Chad was helping her case.

“Forty-eight hours,” announced Pete.

Beckett’s icy-blue eyes narrowed on Mercy as he grinned. Did that mean she had forty-eight hours to decide to stay? Confused, Mercy glanced at Chad. He looked stunned.

“Pete.” Chad took a few steps to place himself in front of Mercy. “I’ll take the punishment for her.”

Punishment? Mercy’s heart contracted. Swift and severe. Chad’s words from yesterday rang in her head, and she grew more conscious of Sean and his rifle behind her.

“You can’t do that,” Beckett burst out as he lumbered forward.

“I can,” Chad told him. “Right, Pete?”

What is going on?

Pete was silent, his gaze moving between Chad and Mercy. “He can.” Pete rubbed his chin. “But I’ll only let you take a quarter. Thirty-six hours for her. Twelve for you.”

“Thirty-six hours of what?” Her words were steady, but her heartbeat thundered in her chest.

“No rations. It’s level one.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “Don’t go to level two.”

“Thank you, Pete,” answered Chad, ducking his head.

He’s thanking him for denying us food? She could handle a day and a half of no food. That was no big deal. Forty-eight hours without food would have sucked, but it wasn’t impossible. Annoyance shot through her. Pete doled out punishment like a dictator.

He was a dictator; they were standing in his country.

“I’ll see that we get medication for the infants on the next supply trip,” Pete stated.

Relief swamped her. “Thank you.”

Now I’m thanking him.

Pete was smooth. He knew how to take away and then give a fraction back, so his people were grateful.

Beckett’s burning gaze caught hers, rattling her with its intensity.

She had an enemy.



“You’ve got to cool it down.” Chad’s words were harsh. “You’re gonna get kicked out—or worse—before we figure out what’s going on.”

Mercy spun to face him. “I get it. We’ve already been over this. You don’t need to tell me again.”

He grabbed her arm. “Apparently I do. You don’t understand these guys.”

Some of her anger faded. “I do understand them. That’s part of the problem. I grew up around people like them, and sometimes it makes me defensive.”

“And you can’t resist poking at them,” Chad added, a bit of humor in his gaze. “You’ve gotten under Beckett’s skin in a bad way. You need to step carefully around him.”

“The fact that I simply exist bothers him,” Mercy muttered. “I could wear a handmaid’s cloak, and I’d still annoy him.”

They held hands as they moved on, walking one of the paths under the pines, stealing a few minutes of lovers’ time away from the rest. Chad had said he’d planned to show her where he’d buried the satellite phone but changed his plans after her punishment session. He told her she’d have more eyes on her than before. Eyes she couldn’t see.

Mercy didn’t agree with that. She was perfectly aware of Sean’s presence several yards away. He was currently out of earshot, but his gaze burned a hole in her back. She glanced down at their clasped hands. Chad didn’t have a brand.

A tension she hadn’t realized she harbored evaporated.

“Several people have those brands on their wrists,” she said.

“It’s crazy,” Chad told her. “I swear they would die for Pete. He manages to pull extreme loyalty out of people. It’s a gift of some sort.”

Mercy pictured the calm leader. Pete made cold, calculated decisions and followed through on them. She had no doubt he’d clean up a mess by disposing of his men. Like the man Chad doubted had been taken to the hospital.

Where would Pete put a body?

She looked up at the distant hills covered in forests. Plenty of places to bury a body.

Chad’s hand tightened on hers, and she instantly missed Truman. That morning she’d woken confused, reaching out for him and fighting back the empty feeling that swamped her heart when she realized she wouldn’t see him for days—or weeks.

We’ve got to get this done. I want my life back, and I want out of this crazy place.

“What is the new building for? Vera said something about a special project that was taking all the construction hands.”

Chad’s gaze was on his boots as they walked. “It’s for the vehicles. Pete wants them protected from the winter elements. You’d think something simple would be sufficient—like just roof coverage—but this one is really well built and even partially insulated. They won’t let me see the inside even though I handle the vehicle maintenance, and Pete says I have to wait until it’s completely done.”