“Are you sure you’re up for that?” Cole questioned.
“It’ll help me feel better, more normal. I used to cook all the time at the compound.”
Cole relented, sinking onto the seat. The time blinked at him from the clock on the microwave. It was three in the morning. He suddenly found himself thankful that he didn’t have to go to work in a few hours, though given the hour, he wasn’t as tired as he expected. He watched Savannah move about his kitchen, surveying the sad contents of his fridge, removing items from the pantry and cabinets as she went.
“Sorry I don’t have much.”
“You have eggs,” she said, placing the carton on the counter.
He frowned, not able to recall the last time he went grocery shopping. “You might want to check the expiration date on those.”
She lifted the carton to read the date printed on the bottom. “Hmm. We don’t have eggs.” She pulled a box from the pantry. “Pasta then.”
It didn’t escape his notice that she’d said we, implying it was the two of them together against all the bullshit they’d suffered so far. He didn’t know what to make of that, but nodded. “Fine.” She was holding up surprisingly well, given the craziness of the situation.
She dumped an entire package of penne pasta into a pot of boiling, salted water. Cole watched her movements, and decided he liked having her in his kitchen. A satisfied little smile tugged at her lips, and she moved about effortlessly.
Only once they were seated in the small breakfast nook, nibbling on pasta with a rich sauce she made from milk, butter and parmesan cheese, did he venture to ask about her past.
“Can I ask you a few questions about the compound…and how you grew up?” He knew some of the details from reading the files on the case, but he wanted to hear the story in Savannah’s own words.
She nodded reluctantly. Her eyes were skittish—looking anywhere but at him.
“You just let me know if there’s anything you’re not comfortable answering. And we won’t talk about it.” He didn’t intend to push her too far tonight. She’d been through enough, but he figured if she was going to be staying in his home, there was some basic information he’d need to know, if only to make sure she felt as comfortable as possible.
“What was it like growing up there?”
She took a deep breath and began reiterating some of what he’d read in the case files. Jacob wanted to create a perfect community: they grew their own food, sold goods at farmer’s markets, and were entirely self-contained. He taught them that the outside world was a dangerous place, and that people were dirty and couldn’t be trusted. He taught them that germs and diseases spread from sexual contact would eventually kill off most of the population and they wouldn’t be able to procreate, so Jacob’s followers needed to separate themselves to live cleanly.
“How did your mother get involved?” Cole asked.
Savannah folded her hands in her lap. “She fell for him. He was a charmer, a smoother talker, confident. Easily able to convince people to follow him.”
Cole knew that much from the information the Bureau had collected in the file.
“He could be very persuasive. When he spoke, people listened,” Savannah explained.
“What about you; did you believe his teachings?”
She nodded. “At first. I didn’t know any different. But as I got older, I began to wonder. I had this urge to see for myself; it nagged at me sometimes.”
Finding her plate empty, Cole served up another helping of pasta for Savannah before urging her to continue.
She stabbed a forkful of noodles, looking lost in thought. “Most of all, I just wanted to go to school. Jacob couldn’t understand it. He tried to convince me it wasn’t safe. Boys out there…” she stopped suddenly, her eyes dropping to her plate.
“What? You can tell me.”
“He said the boys would only want one thing from me — to get in my panties.”
Had anyone been in her panties? And why did that thought make him want to punch someone? He had no right — no claim to her — yet he couldn’t help the possessive streak that surged inside him. “Okay. So I take it you didn’t go to school?”
“No. But I refused to relent and finally convinced Jacob to hire a tutor for me, so I could get my high school diploma. We met at the local library twice a week for the last year. I was one of the few given permission to leave the compound.”
Wow. He’d been right about her determination.
They ate in silence for several minutes. Cole didn’t want to push her too fast, he was happy that she was comfortable talking to him at all.
“This is delicious, by the way.” He stabbed a forkful of pasta and managed another bite, though he was stuffed four bites ago. He had a healthy appetite, but Savannah had made enough to feed an army — if the still full platter of pasta on the table between them was any indication.
“You obviously know a lot about me,” Savanna said, twirling a strand of long hair around her finger. “But if I’m going to stay here, shouldn’t I know more about you?”
He shrugged. “What do you want to know?”
She thought about it for a moment, continuing to play with her hair. Cole’s attention was pulled from her brilliant green eyes to her mouth and the way she absently toyed with stray lock of hair.
“No wife? No girlfriend?”
“It’s just me.”