Even now, a part of my brain wants to veer toward rational thought. A part of me wants to do what I know is smart and sensible. And on some instinctive level, I know what that is.

I need to figure out where we’re going, so that if opportunity strikes, I can get back.

But it isn’t looking good. The windows are tinted, and from my position on the floor, I’m completely unable to get a look at my surroundings. The angle is all wrong to see anything but sky, anyway. I try keeping count of the turns we’re making, but I’m in an unfamiliar city. Even if I could keep track, it probably wouldn’t be very helpful information to have.

I look up at the sea of people surrounding me. They’re all in ski masks, I notice for the first time—ghoulish-looking black knit face covers. Other than that, though, they look almost military. They sit with their feet firmly planted on the floor of the swaying van, shoulders squared. A few of them have guns resting across their laps. I’ve never seen a gun up close like this before—if the van pitched too hard, this one would probably strike me in the face.

How long before anyone notices I’m missing? I was supposed to show up in court today, of course, but I’ve already established that I’m unreliable by missing my original testimony. If I don’t show up, Vivian Yates will probably assume I was made sick by my pregnancy, and everyone else will just figure that’s in character for me. Maybe they’ll decide I’m like the other members of Pyrite Ranch—too weak and afraid to testify. Either way, it’ll probably be a while before anyone starts looking for me.

My mother would have looked for me quickly. So would Kyle. But Mom doesn’t know I’m here. God, why was I so determined to keep it from her? That was so stupid of me. And as for Kyle, well, he’s deliberately trying to avoid me in order to spare us both pain. If he doesn’t see me, he’ll just congratulate himself on a job well done.

My babies. My twin babies. This isn’t about me; I have to get out of here for their sake. Whoever these people are, they’re clearly violent, and they clearly have guns. They won’t hesitate to shoot me if they decide it’s important to their cause. I need to get my babies out of here before these people can hurt them.

As that thought crystalizes in my mind, the van slows and pulls over to the side of the road. The driver gets out, but nobody else moves. He comes around to the sliding passenger door through which I was pulled into the van, grabs me by the wrist, and yanks me forward.

“Get out.”

I stumble forward and nearly fall flat on my face on the ground. The driver catches me dispassionately and stands me on my feet. The other passengers unload behind me, and I get my first look at my surroundings. My heart sinks. I have no idea where I am.

We’re in the middle of a forest. I can say with certainty that it isn’t the forest that surrounded Pyrite Ranch, but that leaves literally every other forest in the world, so I haven’t narrowed things down much at all. I think back over the van ride—how long were we driving? Less than an hour, I think, although it felt like years, I was so afraid. We’re probably somewhere on the outskirts of Sacramento. I know there are national parks here; could we be in one of them? The woods are full of peaceful sounds—wind rustling leaves, distant birds singing—and it’s very hard to be afraid until I try to reconcile all of that with the masked men standing around me and holding guns.

Just as I’m thinking this, one of the men speaks. “Tammy Owens. Good to see you again.”

“Who are you?” My voice is shaking. I take a few deep breaths, trying to bring my nerves under control.

The speaker pulls off his mask. “I’m heartbroken. I would have thought you would remember me.”

Elias.

Elias, who worked hand in hand with Xavier, who was equally responsible for everything that went on at Pyrite. Elias, who was never caught.

Just seeing his face brings back memories. He used to stand in the doorway of the sewing room, watching us. It made everyone nervous to be watched like that, even though there was no punishment if you made mistakes. He seemed like he thought he was better than us. Looking back on it now, I imagine he felt the prestige of being second in command to Xavier.

He was never caught. The Navy SEALs who raided the ranch weren’t able to catch him. He’s been free all this time.

One by one, the other people standing around us begin to remove their masks. I had assumed I was surrounded by men, but it’s men and women both, and to my surprise and horror, many of the faces are familiar ones. Miriam is here. So is Evan, my fellow convert.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“Your testimony isn’t going to be needed today, Tammy,” Elias says.

“What do you mean?”

I feel a sharp shock of terror. Why is Elias interfering with the case? He escaped when the ranch was raided! If I gave testimony today, it might implicate him, but it wouldn’t actually do him any harm because he’s not the one on trial. He’s increasing the risk he’s under by being in Sacramento at all today. If I were him, I would have left the country by now.

Unless he has some other reason for being here…but what could that be?

My question is answered quickly enough. I’m expecting to have to pry the information out of him, but he gives it up so quickly and easily that I can tell he’s been waiting for an opportunity to tell me.

“We’re going to rebuild the ranch,” he says. “Right here, in these woods. Isn’t that wonderful?” He attempts a beatific smile that looks like a poor approximation of the peaceful look Xavier used to give us when we shared concerns with him back on the ranch. Elias isn’t good at looking soothing or happy. The expression on his face is closer to a leer.

I back away automatically and end up in Evan’s grasp. His hands grip my biceps firmly, but not violently, holding me still. “You can’t run, Tammy,” he says quietly.

“We’re going to break Xavier out of jail today,” Elias says. “When the trial starts, they’ll have to move him, which means the protection around him will be minimal. The timing couldn’t be better. And once we’ve got him away from those people and back with us, we’ll be able to rebuild. We’ll cut down some trees—” he waves an arm at the surrounding forest “—and build new dorms. We’ll get everyone back to work in the same jobs they once did. Of course, it will take a while to get back to the strength we once had…but we have time.”

“I’m not coming back,” I say.

Elias laughs, a cruel, angry sound. “I’m not asking.”

“Elias,” I say, desperation edging into my voice. “Come on. I don’t know what you’ve been doing for the last two years, but you’ve been out in the world just like I have—how can you let that go? What about all the wonderful things that exist in the outside world that just weren’t part of life at the ranch?”

Elias is stony-faced, so I turn to some of the other men and women around me.

“What about seafood, chocolate, coffee!? What about travel, seeing the world? And family? I’ve reunited with my parents since we left the ranch, and we’re just starting to rebuild our relationship. I’m not going to give that up.”

Elias laughs. “You’re not happy, Tammy. Your relationship with your parents isn’t what you describe, is it? Don’t lie. We know they’re not here in Sacramento with you. Why would they let you come testify all alone? Do they not care about what you’re going through? Or is it something else? Maybe…” His smile twists cruelly. “Maybe you didn’t tell them what was going on? What else haven’t you told them?”

Immediately, my mind goes to my pregnancy. There’s no way Elias could know about that. But even so, I feel a sudden wave of guilt and sorrow for the fact that I haven’t told my parents about it. If something happens to me here, if Elias and his acolytes manage to make me disappear the way they so clearly want to, my parents will never know they have grandchildren.

“No,” Elias continues, clearly unaware that my internal train of thought has jumped tracks. “You’re talking about the relationship you wish you had with your parents, not the relationship you actually have with them. And I’ll tell you what I think, Tammy. I think you’re all alone in the world since you left the ranch. You haven’t stayed in touch with any of your old friends. You weren’t married, so you don’t even have anyone you can relate to about the things you saw and experienced. You are all alone in the world.”

I’m quiet. Elias has highlighted the very thing that eats at me, the thing that keeps me up at night sometimes.

Most days, I’m confident that leaving the ranch behind me can only be for the best, but occasionally, rarely, I’m hit with a burst of anxiety that leaves me wondering…what if my life in the real world will never be as peaceful as what I had at Pyrite? What if I’m always stressed and sad? What if I never get over the things that happened on that ranch, and I never have anyone in my life who can really understand what I’ve been through?

“You don’t have to worry,” Elias says, now grinning wickedly. “I have the perfect solution. I think you’re really going to be happy with this, Tammy. And it’s something I’ve always wanted, too. You were a lonely girl even on the ranch, weren’t you? Never married. Never loved.”

“I…I didn’t find anyone I liked…”

“You never gave anyone a chance,” he says. “Xavier and I talked about you often, you know. We wanted you to be happy. We wanted to help you solve your problem. And now, I have the perfect way. When the commune gets back together, you and I will be together, too. Our marriage will be the first celebration we share as a reformed community. Won’t that be wonderful? The citizens of Pyrite Ranch reunited, and you and me, married at last.

“I’ve always admired you, you know,” he adds, stroking my cheek with the backs of his fingers. I want to bite him. “I’ve always thought you were the loveliest girl on the ranch. I must have said so to Xavier a thousand times. And he always believed that someday, you and I would unite. He told me not to give up. And just look—here we are.”

“I’m not going to marry you, Elias,” I say. I’m trying to sound assertive, but it comes out as barely a whisper.

Elias laughs. “Yes, you will. Xavier will stand before us and pronounce us man and wife, and what are you going to do about it, exactly? He knows you were on the verge of testifying against him, Tammy. He isn’t going to have mercy on you now. He isn’t going to let you choose your own husband when he’s given you three years to make a selection and you’ve failed to do it. You’ve made it clear you need his help. You should consider yourself lucky that someone wants to marry you at all.”

From somewhere behind us, there’s a loud snap. It echoes through the woods and seems to ricochet off the trees. If it weren’t for Evan’s hands on my arms, I would jump and spin around, trying to see what caused the noise. As it is, the surprise must register on my face.

Elias laughs. “I know you’re not imagining someone is coming to save you,” he says. “You understand that we’re out in the middle of the woods, right? Nobody knows where we are. Nobody is coming.”

But even as he says it, I hear another noise, a sort of rhythmic thumping that’s both strange and intensely familiar. A moment later, the wind kicks up around us. Elias is shouting now, giving orders to his accomplices, but none of us can hear a word he’s saying. Evan falls to the ground, taking me with him, and rolls on top of me. I struggle, trying to worm my way out from under his body, but he’s not letting up.

“Stay down,” he says, right into my ear so I can hear him. “Helicopter.”

Helicopter. Now I recognize that thumping sound.

It feels like the helicopter is right on top of us, but when I turn my head to the side and peer upward past Evan’s arm, I can see that it’s still several yards up. A rope ladder has been lowered, and several men in what appears to be combat gear are dropping to the ground.

“She’s bugged!” Elias screams manically.

“Don’t move,” Evan says, still covering my body. “Don’t move.”

“Everybody down!” a voice yells. “Everybody on the ground, now!”

It’s hard to see what’s going on from my perspective, but I can make out several bodies joining me on the ground, spread-eagle. Heavy boots march among us, and I hear the mechanical clicking and clunking I associate with guns.

“Where is she?” a voice asks. “Where’s the girl?”

“Here,” Evan says, and a moment later, his weight is gone from my back and I’m being helped to my feet by a man clad all in black.

“Are you all right?” the man asks. “They didn’t hurt you? Do you need to see a doctor?”

“I’m okay,” I say, feeling shaky.

He nods. “Why don’t you go sit down over there by that tree for a minute, while we take care of this bunch.”

I move toward the tree. Before I can make it, though, I’m intercepted, swept up in the most unexpected embrace of my life, and the arms surrounding me are so comforting and so familiar that I immediately return the gesture, without even thinking.

“Tammy,” Kyle murmurs. “My God. You scared me. Do you always have to scare me like that?”

“I don’t think it was my fault this time…” To my utter embarrassment, I’m crying on his shoulder, even as I’m half laughing. He strokes my hair, rubs my back, kisses my forehead. It seems he can’t stand to have any distance between us, and I feel exactly the same way. “How did you find me?” I ask.

“I was watching for you at the courthouse,” he says.

“I thought you’d be avoiding me,” I reply.

“I was. But I still wanted to see you. I couldn’t help myself. Then, you didn’t show up, and I overheard your lawyer saying something about how you hadn’t called or anything. I knew then that something must be wrong, so I contacted the authorities and had a SWAT team sent out to look for you.”

“But I still don’t understand how they found me,” I say.

“We traced your cellphone,” he says.

“How? You don’t even have my number.”

Kyle looks embarrassed. “The night we spent together, I sent myself a text from your phone. I know I shouldn’t have done it, especially after we decided it would be best for us both if we just went our separate ways. But the truth is, I couldn’t deal with the idea of having no possible way to contact you. I wanted the ability to change my mind about it. I didn’t think I would ever use your number, but…I wanted the option.”

“I should be mad at you for that,” I say. “You’re the one who decided we couldn’t see each other again. You made sure you had a way to contact me, but you left me with no way to contact you.”

“I know,” he says.

“And the fact that you saved my life does not mean you’re off the hook for that,” I tell him.

“Does it even help?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“What about the fact that I used your number to track down Elias?” He inclines his head toward the other man, who is now being handcuffed. “He’ll be held responsible for his crimes, just like Xavier, and we have you to thank for it.”

“All I did was get kidnapped,” I say, laughing a little.

He pulls me close, clearly not feeling the humor of the situation. “I’m just so glad you’re safe,” he says quietly. “If they’d hurt you, I don’t know what I would do, Tammy. Everything’s going to be all right now.”