Beyond His Control (His 2)

I can’t even respond to that because I know deep down that she’s right.

“Now get out,” she says, holding the knife firm while her tears flow freely down her face. “Leave!”

I step back and open the door again. She may think this is going to work, but I will always come back for her. “I won’t let you go.”

“I don’t care!”

A wicked smile spreads on my lips. “We both know I’ll see you again soon.”

Then she slams the door in my face even though we both know I have a key.

But I also know she’s only going to come with me if she knows the full and honest truth.

It’s time.

“I just want you to know …” I call out through the door. “The reason all of this happened. Why you had to leave the community and why I had to bring you back. I want you to help me overthrow the community’s leadership and bring it to an end.”

Chapter 7

Noah

As I walk off, the door behind me creaks.

A devious smile forms on my lips.

I glance over my shoulder. She’s peeking out.

I have bait.

I’ve waited so long with this information because I know that in the wrong hands it could mean my imminent death. But she’s ready now. She hates that place while at the same time, she cares for the people there. It’s the perfect combination, a storm waiting to burst. And with my child in her belly, I’ve secured my own safety because she’d never betray me and risk her son or daughter growing up without a father. Even though she threatened me with that knife, she’d never go through with it.

“What did you just say?” she mutters.

With my hands in my pockets, I turn around. “I want them gone.”

Her pupils dilate. “The patriarchs?”

“All. Of. It.”

She blinks a couple of times, completely flabbergasted.

I’d probably do the same if that kind of a bombshell was dropped in front of me.

“Why?” she asks.

“Because the people are suffering,” I explain.

Her eyes narrow. “No, this isn’t about the people. You don’t care about them. So what is this about exactly?”

I run my tongue across my lips. “Your mother and I made a deal a long time ago. I would bring you with me on a trip and set you free so you could live your life here for a few years. Then I’d bring you back in.”

She opens her door wider and folds her arms, waiting for a further explanation.

“You’d know what freedom meant … and then you’d learn what the Family you were born into really does to people.”

“And my mother knew all of this?” she asks.

“Not the part about destroying the patriarchs. But she knew I wanted to bring you back in again. She agreed because she wanted to give you the best chance. She just didn’t think I’d actually be able to find you and bring you back in.”

“She trusted you with my life,” she says.

“She knew exactly what we agreed to,” I say. “She hates the other patriarchs as much as I do. And no woman from the outside world wants her child to grow up in a place like that…”

“But the president is her husband,” she says, seeming confused.

I raise a brow. “You saw the bruises, didn’t you?”

Her face darkens, and she smashes her lips together. “He hurt her …”

I walk toward her and lower my head as a sign of respect. Marsha is her mother after all. “She’s been hurt many times.”

Tears well up in her eyes. “I hate him. I hate him more than anything.”

“I do too, which is why I want to overthrow them.” I grab her hands and lock them tightly with mine. “We could rule the community together. You and I. Together. We could bring peace to the people there.”

Natalie

I try to wrap my head around this. Can I believe him? What if he’s lying to get me to come back with him?

My hands slip out of his, and I take a step back, hesitant to trust him.

“You’ve seen what it’s like at the community now. You know how toxic it can be,” he says. “I want to change that, and we can do that together.”

“It won’t be any different with you as the president,” I say. With each step I take back, he takes one forward until we’re back in my apartment again. “You’re the same as them.”

“It will be different with you by my side,” he says, closing the door behind him. “You’d be a queen.”

“What guarantee can you give me that things will change?” I say.

No, I shouldn’t even be thinking about this.

“You’re my everything, Natalie,” he says, closing the distance between us. “I want you to be safe.”

“I wasn’t safe there,” I reply.

“You will be from now on. I promise.”

He reaches for my stomach, and the second he touches me, emotional turmoil coils my heart. “My baby is in there. I will protect you both.”