Page 46 of Rescued By Midnight

“Alice, you’re fixating on the wrong things.”

“I just want to know. Because I’m very confused about how I was held against my will and could be considered impure if my kidnapper raped me, but you two voluntarily, consensually fucked?—”

“Alice! You can’t use that word.” He shakes his head in disgust.

“Or,” I hypothesize, “maybe that isn’t an engagement ring on her finger. It’s a wedding ring instead. Maybe you were married in the Church. Do you have two wives, Brayden?”

“That’s enough.” He stands and drops his napkin on the table. “Let’s finish this conversation another time.”

I’ve hit a nerve. Maybe they were married in the church, and my return made that marriage null?

The better question is why don’t I care?

Because Landon and Cody are waiting for me. I don’t want Brayden anymore. I want them.

I glance out the window and see night has fallen. The shadows remind me of the dark paths and corners of Blackberry Park.

“I can give you a ride back to…wherever it is you’re staying,” Brayden offers.

“Sure, thanks.” I don’t want to go anywhere with him, but I want to walk home in the dark even less.

I can imagine Landon asking, Is that safe, Wonderland?

It’s Brayden. He’s an asshole, but he isn’t dangerous.

“Where are you staying?” he asks as soon as I get in his truck.

“You can drop me off near that antique store, Julio and May.”

He gives me a sidelong glance. “That’s a nice area of town. Alice, who are you staying with?”

“I’m staying with some friends.”

“This is bullshit.” He squeezes the steering wheel, his forearms straining. “Tell me who you’re staying with.”

“I’ll tell you more when you tell me if you have two wives.”

His eyes narrow, but he doesn’t pursue the question further. “What the heck has gotten into you, Alice?”

I shrug. What has gotten into me? I never would have pushed and pushed like this, Before.

Actually, Before, I would’ve capitulated and moved back in with him with zero demands.

“This is the wrong direction,” I tell him. “We should’ve turned left down Caro.”

He sighs one of his weary sighs. “I have to stop for gas. It’ll just take a second.”

It’s nice to see some things never change—his giant truck never has enough gas in it.

He pulls into a gas station several blocks from Landon and Cody’s building. He gets out of the truck without a word. I think back to our discussion. Does he have two wives? It wouldn’t surprise me, given all the other bullshit I’ve discovered since I escaped Abe.

Plugged into the dash, Brayden’s phone lights up with a notification.

It’s a text from Jericha. So does she forgive you, or do I get to sleep in our bed tonight?

Two wives, I think. Two wives.

Why am I allowing myself to consider reconciliation? This is utter madness. Who cares if the church says we’re married? Obviously they didn’t take my marriage into consideration when allowing Brayden and Jericha to get together and get pregnant.