Darkness at the Edge of Town (Iris Ballard #2)(18)
For the first time since I came to The Temple, I felt like shit for lying to that girl. She seemed to believe every word that came out of her mouth. At least in that moment she truly wanted to help me. And I couldn’t find fault with anything about her and her beliefs. I just felt…dirty. I needed a moment to collect myself. “And it was definitely a good impulse.” I rose from my chair. “I just, I need to use the bathroom again. Excuse me.”
I kept walking, not looking at anyone until I reached the bathroom. I was on information and emotion overload. My saintly brother had cheated on his fiancée and gotten a girl he barely knew pregnant. He’d even gotten married the day before without telling a single member of his family. Not even a phone call. My brother, the lying cheater. I’d meant what I said. He wasn’t the cheating sort. The boy could never tell a lie. He’d never cheated on a test or tax return or even missed curfew. Of course I never thought I’d cheat either, but I did. But Billy? Not in a million years.
There were two ways to assess the situation. One, my brother had undergone a complete personality and morals transplant for the worse. He’d become a cheating, selfish, cowardly man almost overnight and that was not William Michael Ballard. The other possibility was this Betsy manipulated, then trapped him with the pregnancy to get his meager savings and keep him in the New Morning fold. With either scenario, I was worried for my brother more than ever. He needed help, either from himself or from others. And I was still no closer to finding him.
I needed last names, I needed the location of the farm, but I couldn’t get them without arousing suspicion, so I needed to remain “Carol” as long as I could. I came up with a plan and prayed I wouldn’t get caught. Party time. I fixed my makeup and hair with several sighs. I would not get caught.
Fortunately, Megan wasn’t lying in wait when I came out this time. People sat on the stairs, though, so I couldn’t get upstairs. I settled for moving around the dining room, pretending to clear the table of red Solo cups. When I had a stack of six, I checked to make sure no one was looking before sliding them into my large purse. When people had a history of addiction, a history of crime sadly often accompanied it. I just wished the guru had been there. I moved to the kitchen and began the process again. If I could learn the type of person drawn to The Temple it could help get me a better grasp of the psychological makeup of the group. Plus some members could have warrants out on them, and I could use that as leverage.
I’d just snuck my second batch of cups into my bag from the kitchen counter when I turned and found the handsome minstrel Paul stepping in from the backyard, that seductive smirk affixed to his face even as he sipped from his own cup. “There you are. I was beginning to worry you’d left,” he said.
“Why?” I asked as Carol, gazing down and shrinking in on myself.
He set down his red Solo cup. “Because you’re the most interesting person here. Not to mention the most beautiful,” he said, smirking as he moved toward me.
As lines went it was a good one, if a gal didn’t know better. “Carol” would have eaten that shit up, so I smiled. “I-I’m not that interesting. Or beautiful.”
“Oh, take it from me, you’re both.”
Paul stopped mere inches from me, close enough that I could sense his body heat. I glanced up at him for a moment. Not only was he gorgeous in a sensual way, but he reminded me a little of my first love, probably because they had the same coloring and first name. Even knowing what he was doing, knowing he’d probably been told to entice a potential member and had next to no genuine interest in me, a small part of me appreciated the attention from the charismatic rogue. It was the part that hadn’t had a naked man pressed against me in over two years. Who hadn’t been kissed or caressed or told she was beautiful in that whole time. I was only human.
Like any good predator or con artist, he sensed this and moved even closer to me. “You have the most gorgeous eyes. They say people with green eyes are the most spiritually open. And I’ve learned there’s nothing better than a woman who is…open.”
I had to stop an eye roll, instead looking down demurely. “I-I’ve never heard that before, ab-about the eyes. I don’t think that’s true, at least not in my case.”
He placed his hand on mine. “I think you’re wrong. I think you don’t know half your potential. If you could only see what I do…” He moved in closer so our chests almost touched. I could sense his heartbeat. Mine was pumping double time. “A sexy, vibrant, fascinating woman just begging to come out.” He laced his fingers with mine. “I sensed her, I sensed the true you the moment I laid eyes on you. It was like the universe spoke to me in that moment, Carol. I can honestly say, and I swear this on my own life, I’ve never felt anything like it before, not even when I first met Mathias.” He lifted my chin with his finger so our eyes met. My heart felt as if it were about to seize. “I’m meant to help her come out. I’m meant to be here…with you.”
The guy was good. Without a doubt. Damn good. Even knowing what I did, a small part of me wanted to swoon. I couldn’t even tell if he believed his own bullshit or not. He could have been so brainwashed that if Mathias or Megan had told him I was his destiny, he’d just take it as gospel and instantly believe it himself. I would have preferred it if he was in on the game, that he was aware he was the honeypot. I just couldn’t tell if he did, and that unnerved me. I looked away again.