Page 24 of The Cult

“We’re not allowed to. The guards will kick my ass again if they find out.”

His face darkened; sharp lines appeared on his jaw. “I’m not gonna let them do that to you.”

“I don’t know about this …”

“Abel. I’ll break their bones if they lay their hands on you. I promise.”

His words filled me with warmth, but it didn’t change who he was and his role in all of this. People didn’t care about me often. Around here, we were nothing but a revolving door of guys; dispensable, replaceable, and expendable. We could disappear and no one would ever look for us. It had happened to the guys before me and would happen to those who followed. A diabolic cycle I hoped to break. I couldn’t remember how many times I’d asked about the guys they took from the compound, but the answer was always the same: none of my business.

“What are you waiting for? Go,” Tobias instructed.

“Shit.” I cast a glance behind me before taking another step. This could blow up in my face, undermining the progress I’d made.

“No one is out here,” he said, reading my mind.

My eyes darted around nervously as I followed Tobias outside and deeper into the woods. We moved in stealth, creeping with our backs against the walls, avoiding the cameras installed outside the building until we were out of their line of view. We crouched behind a stack of weathered crates when a duo of guards replaced the tandem manning the entrance to the warehouse.

Tobias moved silently, his form almost melting into the shadows. Every step he took was calculated, avoiding loose rocks and dried leaves that could betray our presence. He moved like a fucking ghost.

It was as if he’d done this a million times before.

The darkness closed in around us; the only sounds were our breathing and the distant hoot of an owl. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen. I was involved, after all. All I had was bad luck. “Are you sure there aren’t cameras here?”

“Yes.” Tobias finally came to a halt, and the moonlight filtered through the thick canopy, casting haunting silhouettes across his face.

“How do you know?” I couldn’t make out his expression, but I felt his gaze.

“I checked,” he answered, shrugging. The silence hung heavy between us, broken only by the soft whisper of the wind through the leaves. What did Tobias have to say that required us to be out here in the middle of the night?

“What do you want from me?” This was the last place I wanted to be: high risk with no payout.

“I need you to tell me where the rest of your family is.”

Why did he care? “I don’t need to tell you anything.” Their location wasn’t a secret. All he had to do was ask his buddies.

“Don’t test me, boy.” Tobias’s expression was resolute: pressed lips, locked jaw. “Where are they?”

“Why do you wanna know?” I was learning that he had two demeanors: enraged and more enraged.

“Because I made a promise to Oliver.”

That statement didn’t sit well with me. The mention of Dad made me see red. “Don’t you dare say his name. Dad trusted you, and you know how much he hated this place.”

Tobias appeared undeterred by my outburst. He remained stoic and composed. His expression didn’t waver as he continued to eye me.

“Does he even know you’re here?” I doubted my dad knew. He would’ve told us if he’d known.

Again, Tobias’s eyes bounced between my lips and eyes. He was hiding something, and I didn’t care to find out. He was one of them and he needed to be treated like one. “There are things you don’t understand,” he said.

“Like what?”

“Listen, kid—”

“Don’t fucking call me kid. I’m not a kid,” I fumed. Was that why he wouldn’t tell me? Because he thought I couldn’t handle it? “And don’t you fucking treat me like one.” I stood toe-to-toe with him to prove that I could take him and the truth. “Now you tell me, Uncle Tobias, where is my dad?”

“Don’t call me uncle.” He shook his head, fuming and turning his back on me. “I’m not your fucking uncle.” I didn’t know what the big deal was. My sister and I used to call him that when we were younger. Mom and Dad told us to call him that. Tobias faced me. “Don’t ever call me uncle.” Discomfort pinched his handsome face. “Never again, boy!”

“Fuck you!” I turned to walk away.

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