Wyoming Undercover. Karen Whiddon

       Chapter 1

      Sophia Hannah loved her job working as an assistant in the Children of Eternity, or COE, medical clinic. They worked hard at matching their young adults with the perfect job. Sometimes there were false starts, but not in Sophia’s case. She’d truly found her niche assisting Dr. Drew, its main physician.

      As COE grew, the medical needs of its members multiplied, and a few years ago Dr. Drew had finally brought in someone else to help Sophia. An older woman named Ana. She didn’t like to work too hard, using her age as an excuse to sit back and watch while Sophia bustled around. But Sophia didn’t really mind. Staying busy made the day go by fast. And since she hadn’t yet married or started a family, she wasn’t in a huge hurry to go home after the clinic closed, so she used that time to catch up.

      Right now, Ana had disappeared again. A few times Sophia had seen her outside chatting with one of her friends. She figured Ana’s lack of a strong work ethic, something highly prized within COE, might be the reason why she kept getting moved between jobs. Ana had once boasted that she’d worked at ten different things.

      The front door opened and Ana came in. Her normally pale skin looked pink and her faded blue eyes sparkled.

      “Sophia, you’re not going to believe this! I have great news!” she exclaimed. Though she kept her wiry gray hair pulled back in a bun, some pieces had escaped here and there, giving her a slightly disheveled appearance. She wore COE’s typical golden band around her throat, a choker-like piece of jewelry that indicated she was married. Here in the COE compound, these necklaces were preferred over a wedding ring. Sometimes late at night, Sophia ached with the desire to wear one. But so far, no man had even showed interest in her, never mind claiming her as his wife.

      “Sophia?” Ana prodded. “Don’t you want to know?”

      Ana had clearly been gossiping, an activity that was frowned upon.

      “Aren’t you even curious?” Ana asked. “You should be, because this concerns you.”

      For whatever reason, possibly her innate stubbornness, Sophia didn’t want to give Ana the satisfaction of showing interest. Instead she tilted her head, eyed the other woman and waited.

      “You’ve been claimed!” Ana exclaimed. “Great honor and prestige has been heaped upon you, lucky girl.”

      “Claimed?” All Sophia could do was repeat the word. “But I haven’t even been courted by anyone.”

      “Pfffft.” Ana waved away her concern. “This situation is different. You’ll need to begin preparations immediately, as your new husband-to-be is impatient. I was told that your wedding is to be in one month.”

      One month? Sophia stared, her heart racing. “Are you playing a joke on me?” she asked. “Because if you are, this isn’t the slightest bit funny.”

      “I’m not, I swear,” Ana said.

      “Where did you get this information?” Sophia asked as she tried to figure out who among the many unmarried young men might have claimed her. The situation seemed strange, wrong somehow. She wanted to be courted, to fall in love. But this...

      “Well?” Ana demanded, clearly annoyed at Sophia’s lack of outward reaction. “Aren’t you curious? Along with excited, ecstatic, thrilled? All perfectly reasonable reactions to news such as this.”

      “Of course I am.” Sophia kept her voice calm as she spoke the lie. Truth be told, her insides were now a twisted mess of nerves. While she had been impatiently waiting to be claimed for six years, ever since she’d turned eighteen, the way it was happening had her sick with dread.

      This was not routine or normal. COE was all about both of those things.

      “Girl, you sure don’t act like it,” Ana grumbled. “You haven’t even asked who he is.”

      Mentally, Sophia listed and discarded the names of any man who might be about to become her new husband, and came up empty. She’d rarely dated, and she couldn’t imagine anyone having the gall to announce a marriage that she hadn’t even agreed to.

      “Tell me,” she demanded, partly ashamed and partly worried. “Who is he?”

      “Okay, okay.” Grinning, Ana actually made a show of looking around as if to ensure no one else might be listening. “You’ve somehow managed to catch the eye of our leader, Ezekiel. That’s why the announcement is being made without your consent. You’re lucky, because you will be honored above all other women.” Her smile turned a touch malicious. “Well, except for all his other wives.”

      Ezekiel. Dumbfounded, Sophia stared, hoping against hope that the other woman would poke her and admit she had only been joking. Ezekiel must be at least eighty years old and she’d never even met him. Alone among the people he led, he was permitted to marry more than once. Many of his wives were old enough to be Sophia’s grandmother.

      Instead, Ana cocked her head. “You should be celebrating,” she prompted. “Yet you don’t even look happy, never mind thrilled.”

      “Thrilled? But I don’t want to marry him!” Sophia heard herself protest, shocked that she’d even dared.

      Ana reared back, her eyes wide. “Don’t say that,” she admonished. “You know him choosing you is the highest honor.”

      She shuddered. “I just can’t do it.” This protest came out weaker. They both knew she had no choice whatsoever. Not in this. And after her wedding, not in anything.

      Hurriedly, Sophia dropped into a chair before her legs gave out. “When did he even see me?” she wondered. “I assume he must have. Otherwise why would he have singled me out? I’m just one of many.”

      Making a face at her, Ana shook her head. “I’m sure he must have caught a glimpse of you somewhere. I know you don’t realize it, but you’re actually really pretty.”

      “Right.” If she truly had real beauty, the other young men would have been vying to become her husband the instant she’d turned eighteen. Instead she’d turned twenty-four, still single, without ever truly being courted.

      “You should get ready for when they send someone for you,” Ana said.

      Sophia winced, smoothing her hands down her long, cotton skirt nervously. Part of her still balked, though pragmatically she knew she had no choice. The people of COE knew to bow to the wise and gifted will of their leader. And if Ezekiel, a man so powerful he’d been chosen to be the mouthpiece of the Cosmos, wanted her for one of his wives, then she had no place wishing otherwise.

      Except she did. She really, really did.

      * * *

      Jack Moreno sauntered into the dimly lit room. Without making eye contact with anyone, he chose a folding metal chair close to the back—and the door, which meant he could beat a quick exit once the meeting had ended. Since he’d only arrived in Wyoming yesterday, all the people inside were strangers, but they shared one thing in common. They might come from vastly different backgrounds and their ages varied from teenager to elderly, but they’d all once been addicted to some sort of narcotic. Meetings like this had probably saved more than one of them from dying.

      For