Darkness at the Edge of Town (Iris Ballard #2)(62)
If that was how he wanted to play it, I’d go along. I smiled as they reached the gate. Mathias unchained and rolled it to the side to allow me in. I maneuvered the car up to them. “Thank you,” I said, my smile never wavering. I drove up to the farmhouse beside a van like the one used by rec centers. The other six cars were all at least a decade old. I thought I recognized one or two from The Temple.
Well, they haven’t shot me on sight, I thought as I shut off the car. Good start.
As I did, another man came onto the wooden porch not ten feet from where I parked. His naturally narrow eyes were practically pinpoints as he stared at me. His salt-and-pepper brown hair was flattened into a perfect crew cut. The rest of him was thick, from his nose and his square jaw to his muscle-bound body. He carried himself like The Hulk, ready for a fight. He must’ve been in many, as the scar cutting down his eyebrow to his cheek suggested. He may as well have had “Done hard time” tattooed across his forehead. It was probably the only tattoo he didn’t have. He wore a wife-beater, jeans, and a gray overshirt that barely contained his massive upper arms, one of which was entirely covered in tattoos. I made a mental note of the tattoo on his left wrist of a red dragon that wrapped all the way around and the blue Buddha at the crook of his elbow. Both could be used to find his rap sheet. The guy had to be Ken. With him looming above me, not even the car felt safe anymore. I grabbed my purse, draping it across my chest. At least Ken made it easier to get out of the damn car.
I ignored Ken and focused on the three smiling people approaching me. Then it came. The moment of truth. Billy may have been smiling, but part of me was convinced it was all a fa?ade. The expression was to hide his true intent. To yell. To slap me. I tensed and waited for the inevitable. That inevitable turned out to be:
“Oh, my universe! It’s really you!”
My brother bridged the gap between us and wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace. He was always affectionate, a hugger, but it was still shocking. He smelled of BO and wood chips and had lost twenty pounds since I saw him last, so it was almost like hugging a stranger, but I did hug him back. After a second, I even began to enjoy it. I’d done it. I’d found him. He wasn’t maimed, he wasn’t dead, and he actually seemed joyful. The fact that he was happy to see me was just an added bonus. “Hi, Billy.”
My brother released me and took a step back. “Oh, Iris, you look great.”
“Yeah, well, the last time you saw me I’d just gotten out of a month in a hospital, so…” I chuckled. “But you! You look great too. So muscular.”
“I’ve been helping out here for a while and cut out processed food. I feel amazing!”
Mathias smiled like a proud father behind Billy, while Betsy shrunk against the guru as she had Billy. Either she was naturally shy or I was more frightening than I knew. Probably both. I glanced over at them and Billy turned around. “Oh, sorry,” Billy said. “I’m being rude. Iris, may I introduce you to the man and woman who changed my existence, my soul even. Mathias Morning and Betsy Ballard. My wife.”
Billy studied my face for my reaction to this news, maybe hoping to shock me, but I just smiled. “It’s nice to finally put faces to names.” One in particular. “Welcome to the family, Betsy. You poor, poor dear.”
“What?” Betsy asked, face scrunched up in confusion. God, she can’t be more than nineteen, I thought.
“She’s joking, baby,” Billy said.
“You’ll understand if you meet our mother,” I said.
“When you meet our mother,” Billy corrected.
Mathias stepped forward, holding out his hand. “It is a unique pleasure to meet you, Agent Ballard. Welcome to The Apex,” he said, perfectly pleasant.
I shook his hand. “Thank you for allowing me to come,” I said in the same tone. “And it’s no longer Agent Ballard. I’m not affiliated with the FBI anymore.” So you don’t need to worry about them right now. “Please call me Iris. And should I call you Grand Journeyman Morning?”
“Mathias is fine, Iris,” he said, smile growing again. “I do have one request, though. Would you mind turning off your cellphone and leaving it inside your car? You can keep the gun on your ankle if you wish, though.”
I couldn’t hide my shock when he said that. How the hell did he know? Billy was just as shocked, though for an entirely different reason. “Iris, you brought a gun here?”
“I—”
“It’s perfectly fine, Billy,” Mathias said, his smile turning gentle. “I assume she brings one with her everywhere. If I had been through half of what your poor sister has, I would as well.”
“I-I suppose,” Billy said.
Mathias looked back at me. “This is a sanctuary of peace and healing. Any electronics can interfere with the natural energy of this land. As for the gun, if it makes you feel secure, if you do not trust us or your brother to keep you safe, by all means keep it on your person. But I swear to the universe, Ms. Ballard, you will leave no worse for the wear from here. I promise.”
Rat bastard. First gauntlet thrown down. If I kept my gun it would show my brother I was suspicious of his friends and, worse, didn’t trust him. Not the best start to the family reunion. I stared into Mathias’s hazel eyes, which were slightly raised at the corners, almost smiling. He was enjoying my reluctance. I knew I had no choice. “Well, if you promise.” I looked at Billy. “And I know my brother will protect me from any stampeding cows we might find on the farm.”