Darkness at the Edge of Town (Iris Ballard #2)(52)

“Mrs. Lange!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. All eyes moved my way, momentarily surprised by my voice. I walked toward the group. “It’s Gia’s cousin, Carol. We met a month ago? I-I think it’s time for you and your husband to leave.” I glared at my stepfather. “Don’t you agree, Mr. Lange?”

“You should listen to Carol, Mrs. Lange,” Helen said calmly. “I promise to pass on the message, I promise, if you leave immediately without further fuss. If you don’t, not only will I tell your son you came in and insulted not only us but him, but we will call the police and press charges against you and your husband for trespassing.”

“Please, Mrs. Lange,” I said, touching Mom’s arm, “let me walk you out to your car. Now.”



Mom glanced at me, still furious and breathing erratically, but when the corners of her mouth twitched, I knew she’d seen some clarity through the haze of fury and indignation. Khairo placed his hand on her shoulder too. “Come on, baby, I told you, this ain’t the way,” he whispered to Mom.

“They’re leaving,” I told Megan and Helen.

But Mom couldn’t let them get the last word. I’d learned it from her. Mom looked Helen square in the eyes. “I know your game, lady, but Billy already has a mother. No matter what you say or do, he will never be your child, you dried-up old bitch.” She glanced around the room. “You’ve all been brainwashed! This is a cult! All they want is your money! Get out while you still can!”

“That’s enough!” I hissed in her ear. “You’re making an idiot of yourself.”

“Five seconds,” Megan warned.

“They’re leaving. Come on,” I said, yanking on her sleeve. Khairo took her by the arm and literally turned her back toward the door. I mouthed, “It’s okay,” to Helen and followed Mom out.

Mom was about to open her mouth, but I hissed, “Not yet,” and her mouth shut. Their car was across the street, far enough away that the members couldn’t hear, but I knew some watched from the windows. Though I wanted to throttle her, I kept a pleasant smile on my face. “What the fuck were you thinking coming here?”

“I was thinking the longer my son and grandbaby stay with those whackadoos, the more danger they’re in,” she hissed back, “and that my daughter didn’t understand that fact. That the person I thought was here to help was dragging her heels for some unknown reason.”



“Dragging my…” I had to slam my mouth shut and take a deep breath. “I’ve only been here twenty-four hours and already have several leads. Mother, I’m a hairsbreadth from being invited to the farm. All your histrionics have done is put the group on alert and given Billy another reason to hate you. They are going to twist what you said to make them appear sane. The victims of your insanity. Not to mention if he actually is in physical danger, you just increased that danger threefold.”

“What? I didn’t—”

“You just threatened a group of volatile people, possibly with criminal activities going on, with the police, FBI, and worse, the press. That is the last thing they want.”

“Then they’ll think Billy isn’t worth the trouble and kick him out,” Mom said.

“Yeah, so they kick him out. Because of you. He’s lost the people he loves, he has no job, he probably won’t see his wife and baby that much, and then what? He thanks you? No, there is a real chance he will either truly disappear, never speak to you or any of us again, or he’ll just kill himself. It’s not just about finding him, Mom. He is so lost in that place, so tangled, he’s probably barely Billy now. If we really want to save him, we have to extract him gently. Clip away their vines, not just yank him out. He has to see reason, see them for what they truly are, or we’ll never get him back. Not truly. I know you’re scared and frustrated and pissed off, but you need to take a step back and let me do my job. Go home.”

“But—”



“Go home. Now,” I hissed. She had to get out of my sight or I feared I’d slap her.

I took a deep breath and plastered on a smile for our audience, spun around, and walked back to The Temple as calmly as I could fake. A few people were watching through the windows but scattered as I got closer. Hopefully I could turn Mom’s spectacle into a positive. It certainly got people primed to talk about Billy.

The atmosphere was tense as I came inside. At first I chalked it up to Mom’s tirade, but when I saw Paul standing beside the scowling Megan looking as horrified as Helen did, I stopped walking and scanned the group. Most of the others’ expressions matched Megan’s. And all their gazes were directed at me.

My body immediately flicked into battle mode again.

Oh, fuck.

“It’s definitely her, yeah,” Dutch said from his position beside Helen. “I recognize her from the magazines at the grocery store. I knew I knew her from somewhere.”

Double fuck.

“What—” I started.

“Your name’s not Carol, is it?” Megan snapped. “Is it Iris?”

My mind became a furious whirlwind attempting to find a plausible lie, a way to salvage my cover, but no angle came to me. My cover was blown. I sighed and frowned. “I’m sorry. Yeah, I’m Iris Ballard, Billy Ballard’s sister.”