Free Rock Harbor Series - 04 - Abomination by Colleen Coble Page A

wonderful news,” Bree said. “I really thought they’d make you shoot them.”
    “I’d hoped it wouldn’t come to that. I’m going to move them in a couple of days. I’ll have to sedate them or they’ll peck my eyes out. And then I’ll have to destroy the eggs in the nests. I can put oil on them so they won’t hatch.”
    The phone rang, and Bree answered it. Listening for a moment, she handed it to Elena. “It’s Anu for you.”
    Her boss had never called her before. Elena told herself it was nothing, that maybe Anu wanted her to work some extra hours. Anu normally let her off at four. She took the phone Bree held out. “Hi, Anu.”
    “Elena, I must have written down your Social Security number wrong. I got a letter today saying it was incorrect. Could you give it to me again?”
    Elena’s fingers tightened on the phone. She’d known this day would come sooner or later. “I thought I had it memorized, but I must have slipped up. Let me get ahold of the Social Security department and double-check it. Of course I don’t have my card any longer.”
    “That would be fine, kulta. I must respond to this letter within thirty days though, so you must handle this as soon as possible.”
    “I will.” She closed the phone and handed it back to Bree, who gave her a curious glance. “Everything okay?” Bree asked.
    “Fine. My Social Security number is wrong. I need to get it straightened out.”
    “You made it up, didn’t you?”
    Elena nodded. “I couldn’t remember it at the time.”
    “Do you now?”
    She shook her head. “But if I go to the Social Security department and give them my name, they can look it up, can’t they?”
    “Yes, but will they give it to you without any identification? We’ll have to check that out.” Bree’s gaze stayed on her face. “Elena, is there anything you’d like to talk about? I have a feeling there’s still something you’re ashamed to reveal to us. We’re your friends. You can tell us anything.”
    Elena looked down at her feet. “No, there’s nothing.” She waited to see if Bree would press the issue, but her friend let it ride. The silence stretched out until Kade got up and left the room.
    Bree touched Elena’s arm. “Are you sure? Kade’s gone now, so if you just didn’t want him to hear, we can talk now.”
    “There’s no reason to talk about the past. The present is all that matters.” Elena dared to raise her gaze to meet Bree’s.
    “Oh, honey, that’s so not true. The past affects everything we do, all that we are. Believe me, I know. You’re going to have to face it sooner or later.” Her eyes went to the scar at Elena’s temple. “I still want to know who hurt you. Don’t you want to know too? We could go to the police, get them to discreetly ask some questions.”
    “I’ve told you before—I can’t risk tipping off the man who attacked me. I’ve got Terri to protect. He didn’t hurt her last time, but he might if he finds us again.”
    “The police would protect you.”
    Elena nodded at the familiar argument. They would try hard, but what if they failed? She clasped her hands together and stood up. “I’d better go fix supper.”
    NICK LOOKED UP EVERYTHING HE COULD ON MOUNT SINAI AND discovered a survivalist community that went by the name. It had offshoots like Liberty’s Children and the newly formed Job’s Children. What he learned about them only intensified his hunch that Gideon might have a connection with them.
    Some of the derivatives weren’t as radical as the Mount Sinai group. The parent organization was suspected of an assassination attempt on the governor last year. They had unknown quantities of stockpiled arms, and there were consistent rumors that the group was affiliated with white-supremacist efforts and even the occult. Not a group to mess around with. Several murders had been laid to their account, though nothing had been proven.
    The only way to prove anything would be to get inside the organization.