Diana Racine 02 - Goddess of the Moon

both feet toward the middle . The cloth stretched but not enough for either foot to slip through ; however, th e post on the right side moved.
    Again, Steel.
    He did and the post loosened some more . Again. And again , until it broke away from the bottom of the railing . H e slid the tie down and freed his foot. He turned sideways, careful not to twist his shoulder, and pushed his free leg against the other post until it , too, came apart. He collapsed and took deep, calming breaths.
    Big fucking deal, he thought. What now? How in hell would he get his wrists free? He could break the top rail, but he might break both arms in the process . He shimmied up straighter and turned slightly onto his side. Grabbing the top rail with one of his hands, he pulled himself up so his shoulder was level with the rail. Then he rammed into it , hoping one of the posts detached, but all he did was wrench his right forearm. He stopped to catch hi s breath before he tried again.
    Thrusting harder, the rail loosened . He exerted more pressure and finally pulled it from the side post . He slid the cuffs to freedom. Using a liberated slat as a lever , he pried open one cuff; the other hung from his sore, swollen wrist.
    He comforted himself by thinking how his hands would feel around the cop’s neck . H ow he’d take his damn sweet time watch ing the fucker take his last breath .

Chapter Fifty- Five
    S ilent Confession

    L ucier hadn’t seen many people since he arrived, but he bet he was the only person of color in the whole place. So much reminded him of Nazi Germany that he shuddered when he thought of the eerie comparison .
    He went with Seth to get the children while Cal stayed with the women. Lucier trusted Seth Crane about as far as he could throw him, which prompted his hand to curl around the gun’s handle in his pocket.
    Seth eyed the bulge. “You don’t need a gun. I won’t give you any trouble.”
    We’ll see . “Who’s watching the children?”
    “ A group leader. He’ll be sleeping. There ’s never reason for anyone to be on alert. This isn’t the kind of place where people are held at gunpoint.”
    “But it’s the kind of place where people are put in cabins to go through indoctrination, huh? Everything’s fine and dandy as long as no one questions the rules.”
    “Rarely happens.”
    “What about Anat?”
    Lucier caught Seth’s sidelong glance. “Anat is smart and manipulative. She planted the seed that someone was abusing Phillip to get Maia to do what she wanted, which is to get out of here. I’d know if something happened.”
    “Maybe. Or maybe the idea was so remot e you never gave it a thought.”
    “My father wouldn’t let a perversion of that kind go on in his utopia.”
    “What do you call kidnapping babies if not a perversion?”
    Seth didn’t answer. Was internal angst causing a chink in this man’s armor?
    “Don’t tell me there hasn’t been any inbreeding here, because I won’t believe you . With all the group’s sons and daughters , sisters and brothers , nieces and nephews, they couldn’t possibly keep at least cousins apart.”
    Again Seth didn’t respond.
    They arrived at a large building Lucier assumed ― no hoped ― was the dormitory. The s pace carved out of the forest for th e dark cedar wood structure camouflag ed it from an aerial view . Same with Maia’s building . The compound hid in plain sight. He doubted they could hide a plane runway, though.
    The design of the building alleviated Lucier’s tension that Seth was taking him directly to either Crane or Compton. Neither man would reside in this simple no-frills building.
    “Wait here,” Seth said. “The kids will be sleepy, possibly cranky. If I’m lucky, they’ll be quiet. I don’t want to explain what I’m doing if anyone wakes up, and I sure don’t want to explain you.”
    Okay, so he’s maybe playing it straight . Still, Lucier felt like he stood on the fifty-yard line at the Super Bowl game, with all eyes on him. In another couple of hours, dawn would light the sky, but right then the area was as dark as pitch. No l ights anywhere to give away their position from above. Crane and Compton money had created an entire town ―no, a world― including their own water supply, c onstruction, and power source. How did they accomplish this faux utopia without anyone exposing them? Money. It was all about money.
    Seth carr ied out the youngest child with the other two trotting alongside . He signaled