The House That Built Me (Strawberry Inn Book #3)

Chapter 22

KELSEY

“What is your plan, Orem?”

“Shut up, Kelsey. Just shut up!”

I met Orem soon after we moved to the Prophet of the Sun compound and I’ve never seen him like this. Even when he was younger, he always had this air of control about him. Anytime he did show emotion, even just a smile, it was in a calculated manner. Right now he’s out of control, scurrying around this hotel room packing things into bags. From the looks of the room, he must have been staying here for days, possibly even weeks. 

“What is your end goal here? I already told you that I’m never going to marry you, so just leave me alone.”

“NO!” he screams in my face. “You don’t understand, it has to be you and only you.”

“That’s ridiculous. I’m nothing more than a screw-up, Orem. I’ve been fighting against the prophet since we moved there. You can find a nice lady who is a follower and who won’t fight you tooth and nail every step of the way like I will.”

“That’s not how it works, Kelsey. The prophet held off assigning a wife to me until he found the one who was chosen. We poured too many resources into making you suitable for your position next to me.”

“Chosen? Geez, I’m hardly chosen for anything.”

“God chose you for my wife, Kelsey. You are who the Prophet always waited to match me with. You’re the key to fulfilling the prophecy.”

“I don’t care about the stupid prophecy. I don’t care what happens to the church members or the prophet or even you. I’m not going with you and you can’t make me!”

I tug my arm even though I know the movement is useless. When we first arrived at the room, Orem used corded rope to tie me against the bed so I couldn’t run away while he packed everything up. I’ve tried to pull myself out of it this entire time, but the only thing I’ve accomplished is a rope burn around my wrist. I know the prophecy that Orem is speaking of and I want to be no part of it. I left the church for many reasons and one major reason was the outlandish prophecies that he would always preach to the congregation.

Orem slammed his suitcase on the bed next to me and gripped my chin in his fingers. “Listen to me you spoiled little wench. It doesn’t matter what you think or what you want to do. We’re hitting the road tonight and the second we get back home we’ll be married by the Prophet. What you want to do doesn’t really matter.”

A loud bang on the door pulls him away from me. He reaches into the side table and grabs a handgun. Once again his actions are not normal for him. I don’t know the man who is standing in this room with me right now and it scares me that he is unstable. There is another bang at the door, but this time it is followed by a man yelling, “This is the police, open up this door right now or we will enter.”

Orem paces against the front wall, going back and forth across the door. “Jesus, Orem, answer the damn door before something worse happens.”

“Shut up! Shut up!”

“Orem,” the officer uses his name this time, “this is your last chance to open the door before we forcefully enter.”

“Damn it, Orem, listen to them!” This time I yell at him while sobbing. He is getting more and more agitated and I know that makes him dangerous. I don’t know what is going on outside the room, but I need to do whatever I can for my own safety. “Fine! Fine! I’ll marry you, Orem.”

“You will?” He stops his pacing and looks shockingly at me. 

“Yes. If you open the door I’ll tell them that this is just a misunderstanding and that we’re engaged to be married. They’ll leave us alone and we can leave together.”

“You aren’t just saying that?”

“No, Orem, I’m telling the truth. Trust me, please.”

Orem’s eyes look like he’s coming out of his agitated state and I think the worst of it is over. That is until a noise comes from the bathroom and he snaps back into his panicked state. It all happened so quickly, the front door and the bathroom door both opened at the same time and a swarm of gun-wielding officers enter the room. They’re all yelling, but all I hear is noise, nothing in particular. Orem looks scared and for a moment I think he’s going to drop the gun and go peacefully, but instead of setting the firearm down, he raises it up and points it at the officers.

I scream and attempt to make myself as low to the ground as I can while still tied to the bed as bullets ring out in the small room. In my line of sight, I see Orem fall to the ground and I know right away that he’s dead. I don’t dare look any further, just close my eyes and wait for the chaos to stop. There is movement all around me, I can feel their heavy and hurried footsteps. Somebody kneels down by my side while another cuts the rope that has me attached to the bed. 

“We need the paramedics in here!” One of them yells. I open my eyes and see him kneeling over me, pressing his hands against my side. He looks down at me and offers a comforting smile, “It’s going to be okay, miss.”

“What..what is going on?” I stutter.

“You were caught in the crossfire, but you’re going to be okay. We just need to get you to the hospital.”

“I…I was shot? But I don’t feel anything.”

“Probably the adrenaline. The paramedics are going to give you something to help with the pain so it doesn’t hit you like a ton of bricks.”

The officer steps aside and two paramedics take over my car. They get an IV started and then lift me onto a backboard and then onto a gurney and begin to wheel me out of the room. We hit the pavement of the parking lot when I hear and see Chaz. He pushes past Harrison, who is there on crowd control, and rushes toward me.

“Sir, sir you need to get back.”

“It’s okay,” I let them know, “I want to see him.”

I reach up for him and he grabs my hand, “Are you okay, Princess?”

“I think so. It doesn’t hurt,” I smile weakly. 

“That’s a good thing, I guess.” He gives my forehead a small kiss, “I’m going to kill that motherfucker for hurting you.”

“Somebody beat you to it.”

“He’s…”

Chaz hesitates, but I nod, “Yeah he’s dead. I thought he was going to surrender. I tried everything I could to keep it from getting this bad, but he had other plans.”

“It wasn’t your job to fix the situation, Kels, that fucker had what was coming to him. You’re going to be okay and that is all that matters.”

“Sir, we need to get her in the ambulance now,” the paramedic reminds Chaz.

“Yeah, of course. We’ll talk later, okay Kels?”

I nod my head and Chaz steps away while they load me into the back of the ambulance. The paramedic riding in the back with me tells me that she’s going to give me something for the pain. I’m still not feeling anything except for a dull pain, but she inserts something into my IV, and soon after my eyelids are too heavy to fight it any longer.