Protecting Her(105)

I cover my mouth with my hand. “Oh my God.”

The reporter continues. “Mrs. Kensington had just attended Senator Wingate’s speech. It’s not yet clear why she was on the plane. Records show that she was already booked on a commercial flight leaving later tonight.”

The video ends and I slide the phone back toward Jack. “All those people are dead? Wingate? His staff? The pilot?”

He nods. “Yes.”

“And…me?” I grab Jack’s arm. “People think I’m dead? Pearce? Garret?”

“Yes.”

“Jack, we need to tell them! I can’t let them think—”

“I’ll tell them, but not right now. For now, this is how it has to be. Everyone has to think that you’re dead. They planned this, and if they knew you were alive, they’d try to kill you again. And next time, they’d make sure they succeeded.”

“You keep saying ‘they.’ Who’s ‘they’?”

“The people who made the order.” He points to the sheet of paper.

I pick it up again. “I don’t understand. What’s Member 1479?”

“It’s a membership number.”

“Membership in what? What are you talking about?”

“The organization. It’s a secret society. Every member has a number.”

Secret society? I know secret societies exist. They have for hundreds of years. I learned about them in my history studies. But why would a secret society be trying to kill me?

My hands are shaking as I clutch the paper. “Who’s 1479?”

He pauses, then says, “Pearce.”





CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE


23


RACHEL

My eyes dart up to Jack’s, my heart pounding. “What are you saying, Jack?”

“Pearce is a member of the organization. It’s a secret society that has been around for hundreds of years. I am also a member.”

I quickly shake my head. “No. That’s not true.”

“Rachel, I wouldn’t lie about this. I have no reason to. This group exists and your husband is part of it.”

My eyes return to the paper. “Who’s 1525?”

He looks down, then back up at me. “Garret.”

I slam the paper down on the table. “My son is not a member of anything! He’s just a little boy!”

“Yes, but someday he’ll be a member, like Pearce. Membership is passed to sons. Holton is also a member.”

“No. This can’t be right.” I take a breath, but it hurts to breathe. My chest is tight, like I can’t get any air in. “If Pearce was part of a secret society, I would know. He couldn’t keep a secret like that from me.”

“He can and he did. He has for years. He couldn’t tell you. If he did, he’d be punished. And you’d be killed.”

“Stop it!” I shove up from the chair, the metal legs scraping against the concrete floor. “Stop saying these things! This is absurd! Are you drunk? Or on some kind of drug?”

“It’s the truth, Rachel.” He leans back in his chair. “All these years, didn’t you wonder why he sometimes suddenly left late at night?”

“He had to go to work.”

“He didn’t go to the office. He was doing an assignment.”

“What assignment? What does that mean?”

“We’re given assignments.” He takes a drink of his scotch. “You might want to sit down for this.”

I return to my seat and Jack tells me what these assignments are. When he’s done, I feel like I might throw up. My stomach feels sick and my throat is burning as I fight back tears.

“Pearce would never hurt anyone.”

“He isn’t given a choice. None of us are. So to live with ourselves, we have to pretend it’s not us. We have to separate ourselves from our actions. The Pearce you know is not the Pearce who does these things. It’s someone else. Someone he would never let you see.”

“What if he told them no?”

“They would punish him. Hurt him. Hurt you. Or kidnap your son.”

“No! This isn’t true. It can’t be!”

“I’m sorry, Rachel, but it is.”

“Why do they make Pearce do these things?”

Jack explains the purpose of the assignments. He tells me about how this secret group tries to control things. Politics. The economy. Major industries.