Samuel comes through the doors with his mother at his side. Lianne and I look away, standing with the other Everton members until he motions for us to sit, Mrs. Donovan sitting next to him.
“I want to thank all of you for coming on such short notice,” He addresses the room, still standing at the head of the table. Hisappearance seems off, his hair isn’t smoothed out and his eyes look sunken in as if he hasn’t been sleeping.
Good.
“I wanted to address any concerns about my actions lately and questions you may have.”
I internally roll my eyes at his lack of real emotions. He’s coming off as if he hasn’t been acting like a toddler throwing a tantrum when something’s taken away from him…something that didn’t belong to him in the first place. The only difference was that a toddler would move on. Samuel…he wasn’t giving up. He actually believed that Elliott was his to claim.
Over my dead body.
“I know I’ve been distracted from my community duties with the ongoing search for my Chosen wife. Eden’s greatly missed at home,” He places a hand out next to him and Mrs. Donovan embraces it with a stone-like look on her face. I don’t buy this bullshit. “My mother and I, the community,” his voice alters into a whimper, “has already lost my father, a great leader to not only us but to this family. And now Eden was taken from us. She’s scared, alone, and without her Divine-given family.” Samuel pauses, pinching the bridge of his nose as if he might cry.
He doesn’t care if she’s happy or safe. He only cares if he has control.
“I just want her home safely. The Divine has been in contact with me.” The whole room collectively holds their breath, “They have shown a path that we’re destined to walk, to provide thenext heir to the Vessel bloodline. The Divine is displeased with the interruption.”
My blood begins to boil. He thinks he’ll be getting an heir from Elliott. He is fucking mad. I dig my fingers into my dress pants under the table. My face stays perfectly still, hiding the anger brewing inside of me. I’ve had a lot of practice playing these kinds of roles, but this one is challenging because I have to listen to this fucker talk about Elliott like he owns her. He doesn’t get any piece of her ever again. Hunter, Marcus, and I will make sure of it.
“I hope you understand, as Children of the Divine, that my duties are to follow what the Divine needs. And what they need is Eden back. I also hope that this dinner and my words ease any tension you might’ve felt since her abduction.” He bows his head and begins to sit but a hand rises across from me.
“Yes, Mr. Crawson?” Samuel returns to his feet with a sour tone in his voice as he addresses the man at the table.
Mr. Crawson bows his head, “Thank you, Mr. Donovan for allowing me to voice my question. I wanted to address what many of us have been feeling.” He gestures around the table as the others begin to shift in their seats. “Has the community of Everton become compromised? We know that we’ve never wanted to be a part of the rest of the world, they don’t have the same…faith and lifestyle we care for. They are non-believers of the Divine. I just want to make sure that what we’ve built in this ever-changing world isn’t going to be compromised because ofsome girl.”
Samuel raises his hand to stop Mr. Crawson, “Do not refer to my wife, the Divine Vessel’s Chosen, as ‘some girl’. Are you questioning the Divine themselves, Mr. Crawson?”
“No. N-no, sir.” Mr. Crawson stutters at the venom in Samuel’s voice. “I simply want reassurance as a Child of the Divine that we’re safe.”
“Safe?” Samuel chuckles, “You’re worried aboutyoursafety when Eden was taken by who knows, to who knows where?” Samuel rubs the back of his neck, “Mr. Crawson, everyone,” he takes a deep breath, “I can assure you, you are safer than Eden. Your roles in the community and your faith are not being threatened.” He glares at the table and Mrs. Donovan pulls at his arm, whispering something to him. He closes his eyes, looking like he’s trying to compose himself. “With that being said, please enjoy this meal as a family, a community, and as Children of the Divine.” He motions to his right-hand man, who orders the housemaids to bring out the food.
Lianne looks at me with concern written all over her face and I try my best to use my eyes to ease her nerves but her husband next to her takes her attention away from me before I can.
I thank the housemaid who brings me my meal and continue with the mind-numbing small talk from the other men sitting next to me. The wives are quiet as they eat and talk only when their husbands address them or when they are brought into theconversations. My gaze drifts around the table as I take small bites of the chicken and roasted vegetables from my plate. My eyes landing on Samuel, who’s already eyeing me from the head of the table. He lifts his wine glass to me, his eyes gleaming at me with a small turn of his lips. I give the same gesture with my water glass, bowing my head in thanks to this dinner that I don’t want to be at. I let my lips form a smile as I grind my molars together.
I’m going to make you beg for mercy when I fucking kill you, Samuel Donovan.
42
Elliott
“Hey, gorgeous.” A kiss lands on my cheek and the mattress sways, jolting me awake. My eyes shoot open to see Kameron laying next to me in a full suit, his head resting on his arm that's propped up.
“When did you get here?” I whisper, scooting closer to him and looking at the clock on the dresser.5AM. “It’s so early!” I yawn, stretching my arms and legs.
“I can leave and come back in a couple of hours.” He lifts off of the bed slowly.
“No!” I whisper-scream, wrapping my arms around him, “You’re stuck here now!”
“Just how I like it.” He smiles at me, kissing my forehead.
“Why are you all professional Kam right now?”
“Well, to Everton I am going on a work trip for the weekend.”
“Wait…” my eyes light up and I jump to my knees, looking down at him, “The whole weekend? You’re staying the whole weekend?!” I squeal.
“Yes I am.” He smiles the perfect smile at me and my stomach develops butterflies. “Now the question is, what should we do all weekend?” He wags his brows at me as he pulls me closer to him, his lips hovering over mine and I push him away. His brows furrow, “What’s wrong?”
