Page 53 of The Cult

Whatever this was had to stop. The plan had been to go back to the barn so I could snap images of what I’d found. Alone. But my stupid brain insisted that I take him with me. Maybe seeing his sister again would cheer him up. “Wanna go back to the Central Compound with me?” I asked before I changed my mind. “You can say hi to Maddy.”

“For real?” Abel’s expression morphed into happiness at the prospect of seeing his sister once again. But though he smiled, I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that there was something he wasn’t telling me. More importantly, why did I care? I would find out the answer one way or the other.

“Sure.” I shrugged, ignoring the twinge in my gut when he embraced me. The room around us closed in on me, and my feet were itching to get the hell out. I pried his arms away from my body, not because I loathed being touched but because I was beginning to like it more than I should. There was no turning back, no matter how hard I tried to deny my feelings. I liked Abel, which was the scariest thing I’d ever faced—and I was an assassin, for fuck’s sake. I couldn’t control my reactions to his presence and touch, but I could control our proximity—preferably thousands of miles away from this place so he would no longer occupy my mind.

“Umm. Thank you, Tobias,” he said, taken aback by my abruptness.

I headed toward the bathroom but stopped halfway. “Abel,” I grumbled. “No shenanigans.” I didn’t know if the warning was for him or me. I kept my back to him, waiting for his reply.

“I can control myself,” he answered. “Question is … can you?”

Fucking little shit. I debated my decision, but I couldn’t find it in me to take my invitation back. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Abel chuckled.

I smiled. Me. Smiling. Hell must have frozen over.

Sneaking out of the complex last night was a breeze, but not this time around. The main posts were guarded, so keeping our presence concealed was challenging. The crunching of gravel beneath our steps sounded like thunder in the silent night, and every rustle of a leaf turned into a potential threat, exposing our presence.

We scaled the first wall and managed to slip by without being seen. Vivid pictures of last night replayed in my head like a looping reel as we passed the spot of our first rendezvous. Abel must have had the same thought, because when I glanced at him, he was grinning from ear to ear.

We arrived at the old barn without stopping for extracurricular activities. Abel had stuck to his word and controlled himself. I didn’t know if I was disappointed or glad.

I slid the large wooden door open, stopping when the metal wheel above squealed. Thankful that it didn’t betray our presence, I wedged myself through the sliver of an opening into the dark room.

“I’ll be on the lookout,” Abel whispered.

“What? No!” I didn’t need his help. I could manage just fine. “Go visit your sister.”

“I’ll do that later. I’ll watch for the guards.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Who did he think he was? We were not a fucking team.

“Just let me help you, okay? You can thank me later.”

I groaned. I didn’t have time for this shit. “Stay out there, boy. D’you hear me?”

“Copy that.” Abel winked, smirking.

I made my way to the spot where I’d seen the metal crates and frowned. The stack of bins was half the height it had been before. “Where the fuck are the rest?” I whispered. I fished my phone from my cargo pants and turned it on. I snapped images of the remaining boxes, making sure that the serial numbers were visible for Zero. After taking a dozen photographs from different angles, I searched the perimeter of the barn for the rest of the crates. Having Abel guarding the door allowed me to move freely, inspecting every nook and cranny of the dark space. I spotted a ladder, its rungs disappearing into the pitch-black attic above. “Abel?” I whispered.

“Yeah?” Abel peeked inside, searching for the source of my voice.

“I’m heading up. Whistle if you see someone coming.”

“You got it.”

Step by step, the wooden ladder creaked as I climbed up. I prayed it’d hold my ass. The platform was as dilapidated as the rest of the place. Parts of the floorboards were missing a long chunk of plank, and I could see the barn ground below. I used the flashlight on my cell to illuminate the small space. Nothing but walls covered with dust, spiderwebs, and another ladder connecting a higher floor. The third level was in better shape. Empty magazines and bullet shells were scattered on the floor. I looked out the small window facing the main entrance of the compound. This was one of the tallest vantage points around.

A soft whistle drifted up from downstairs. “Shit!” I headed back down, and a bright light in the distance caught my attention. It appeared to be coming from outside the main gate. I glanced down at the watchtowers; it was unlikely the guards had seen it because they were facing inside the compound. The light beamed for another ten seconds before the woods turned back into darkness.

Abel was inside the barn, crouching, when I made it downstairs. He sprung up, wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and pulled me to the ground with him. “There’re guards outside,” he whispered. His breath smelled fucking amazing. Ceremoniously, I pulled his hand off me, which dropped to his side.

“How many?” I asked, craning my neck to peer out.

“Three.” Abel mimicked my position. “Armed.”

“Fuck.” I couldn’t believe I’d brought Abel into this shit. I should be protecting him, not delivering him to danger.

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