And this is the part where I admit to being a selfish person. ‘I was told that Gideon had tried to run away because he was lazy and didn’t want to work. I was told he’d died in his attempt. There were . . . consequences to his escape. Life was harder for my mother and me after that.’
John made a strangled sound, his eyes growing haunted. ‘More abuse?’
‘Yes,’ Mercy said levelly. ‘And I hated Gideon, because I blamed it on his laziness. But that was a lie. He escaped because he was abused, too.’ She tried to smile, but it fell flat. ‘I was angry at Gideon because he’d found this awesome family in Sacramento and at the time I didn’t have anyone. Then I met you and Angela and all the others and . . .’ She closed her eyes. ‘I wanted to keep you for myself. I never gave Gideon any of the messages you sent. I’m so sorry, John. So damn sorry. I cheated you out of six years with Gideon. I’ll understand if this changes things between us.’
No one said anything as the seconds ticked by, then John’s voice pierced her misery, and she nearly started crying again at the warmth in his tone. ‘Mercy, open your eyes.’
Preparing herself, she did, only to see John smiling at her sadly. ‘Nothing changes. I promise. I said this morning that we’d figure it all out, and I meant it.’
She pressed her hand to her mouth to stifle the sob that rose to choke her. ‘Thank you.’
Gideon pulled her close. ‘It’s okay, Mercy. Cry if you need to.’
‘I’ll mess up your suit.’
Gideon chuckled. ‘Wouldn’t be the first time. Besides, Daisy hates this suit. She says it’s scratchy.’
Mercy rubbed her cheek on his lapel. ‘She’s right.’
John blew his nose noisily. ‘How much of this can I share with the sibs?’
‘Anything I’ve told you,’ Gideon said. ‘When this is all settled and Mercy is safe, we’ll come out to see you. Together. And then we can all sit down and hash this out once and for all.’
John frowned, then shook his head hard. ‘I forgot why I was calling you, Mercy. I saw the video. The one from the airport,’ he added quickly, and Mercy figured her face had shown her horror. ‘The one of that man trying to take you away.’
‘His name is Harry Franklin,’ Gideon said, ‘but we knew him as Ephraim Burton.’
John’s jaw tightened, his eyes flickering with sudden rage. ‘He’s the one, isn’t he? The one that hurt you both?’
Gideon and Mercy exchanged a look. ‘Yes and no,’ Mercy said. ‘Yes for me, but for Gideon it was Ephraim and his brother, Edward.’
‘Mercy, that man in the video was here.’
Mercy jerked upright. ‘What?’
‘When?’ Gideon barked.
‘Friday,’ John said grimly. ‘My wife and I weren’t home from work yet. Our nine-year-old daughter opened the door.’
‘Oh my God,’ Mercy breathed. ‘Did he hurt her, John?’
‘No, she’s safe. After that policeman called us this morning, we weren’t sure what to tell the kids. We didn’t want to scare them, but decided it was better to be scared but safe. When we showed the kids his picture from that airport video, Michaela pointed him out. Said he’d been by looking for you, Mercy. She was going to tell you, but you left town before she could.’
‘What exactly did he say to her?’ Gideon asked tensely.
‘Just asked if Mercy lived there. Michaela told him no. But she gave him your address.’ John’s jaw clenched. ‘That’s how he found your neighbor. The one he killed.’
Mercy felt sick. ‘You have to go somewhere safe, John. Please.’
John looked from her to Gideon. ‘Do you agree, Gideon?’
Gideon nodded. ‘Yeah, I do. I hate to say it, but we don’t know if Ephraim has helpers outside the community.’
John frowned again. ‘Community? You mean the commune your mother joined?’
Gideon hesitated. ‘Yes.’
John pinned them with a cold stare. ‘In other words, it was a cult.’
Gideon sighed. ‘It was, and the FBI is investigating. We don’t want to give them a heads-up that we’re looking for them, so please keep that to yourself for a while?’
John’s nod was harsh. ‘I will. But I wish I’d been home when he came.’
‘No, you don’t.’ Mercy could hear the hysteria creeping into her voice and she made a conscious effort to dial it back. ‘He’s killed people. Please find a place to hide. Please.’
‘The kids are in school,’ John protested, then snapped his mouth shut. ‘They’re vulnerable there, aren’t they?’
‘If he comes back, yes,’ Gideon said. ‘At the moment we have no idea where he is.’
‘He hurts people you love to keep you in line,’ Mercy blurted. ‘He knows you could be leverage to hurt Gideon and me, to make us do what he wants.’
‘All right. We’ll make plans to go away for a week or so. I hope that’s long enough.’
Me too, Mercy thought. ‘If not, we can figure out the next steps together. I don’t want you guys touched by this. By any of this.’
‘Same goes, Mercy. You two be careful, okay?’
‘We will.’ Mercy hesitated, then sighed. ‘You knew I thought you’d seen the other video.’
John’s jaw tightened again. ‘Yeah. I read the article. The video was gone by then. I have attorneys at my disposal. I can ruin that asshole.’ His lips twisted. ‘Jeff Bunker. If that’s even his real name.’
‘It is,’ Gideon said, surprising her. ‘Trust me, I already looked him up. He’s a college kid. Communications major in Sacramento.’
‘Punk,’ John growled.
Gideon’s chuckle was harsh. ‘You’re not wrong. We’re going after him for posting that video. It was part of someone else’s plea deal in New Orleans, so by posting it, it linked him to the original crime. We’ll take him down. Don’t even worry about it. You just keep yourselves safe.’ He paused, then said, ‘We need to go, John. We need to inform the investigators about Ephraim coming to your house. They may want to talk to you.’
‘They’ll have to follow us to Florida, then,’ John said. ‘We’re taking the kids to Disney World. That far enough away, Gideon?’
‘Just make sure you keep your family in sight the whole time and call me if you see anything that makes you feel unsafe.’ Gideon ended the call and Mercy drew a deep breath.