Page 40 of The Cult

Now it’s my turn to stare at him. How could he know that about me?

“Yeah. How did you know?”

Before he answers, I figure it out. How could I have not picked up on his voice? “You were one of those guys out there, weren’t you? The other one was a real bastard. Is he one of Nadine’s men?”

Real fear fills his expression, and he sits down on the bed next to me. I see in his eyes he’s terrified, but of what?

“Listen to me, Lara. Don’t tell another soul what you just told me. You won’t live to get the hell away from here if you do.”

“Why? That guy is one of Nadine’s goons, isn’t he? It fits. He sounded like he wanted to kill someone. That dude needs anger management stat.”

“He did kill someone out there at that farm. Trust me, you don’t want to let anyone know what you saw there.”

“I didn’t see anything. I heard a little bit of your conversation while I was hiding in the downstairs closet. That guy’s a psycho.”

Nash nods, but it’s like he’s not even listening to me anymore. “Yeah, and he’s one of Micah’s men, not Nadine’s.”

I wait for him to say something else, but he seems lost in thought, so I shake his arm to get his attention back on the immediate problem of me getting the hell out of this place and hopefully finding my sister. “Hey, they took my phone when I arrived here. Can you get it for me?”

He turns to look at me, wincing as if he’s in pain. “Maybe. I don’t know. You can’t call anyone. The only place on the entire farm where you can hope to get a signal is in Micah’s cabin.”

“What about messages? Can I get them anywhere here other than his rooms?” I ask, thinking that if I can get a message to Mario that I might be able to get help for me and anyone else who wants to leave here.

“Sometimes. The internet is spotty at best here.”

“Nash, I need my phone.”

What I really need is to get the hell away from this place, but I get the sense that asking him to help me with that would be a waste of breath. Nash may not be as bad as the other people here, but he’s no angel. Why he’s helping me I have no idea, but I don’t want to stick around to find out.

“Okay, okay. Let me see what I can do. In the meantime, I need to get you back to your cabin and back in your bed.”

Pure terror rushes through me. He wants to do what?

“No way! I can’t go back there. Just get my phone, and I’ll figure out a way to sneak out of here tonight.”

He stands up and begins pacing back and forth from the bed to the door. It’s a small space, so his long legs barely get three strides before he turns around and comes back toward me.

“You won’t get away tonight. This farm is miles away from another house, and there are armed guards stationed at posts around the perimeter. They don’t bother to ask who goes there before they shoot.”

“Isn’t anyone worried about people dying out here? Someone is going to start asking questions at some point. Or aren’t they thinking about that?”

Nash stops in front of me and shakes his head. “Trust me. They’re worried about people dying, but that kind of death they could explain as a trespasser on private property. No, let me try to get your phone after I take you back to your cabin. If I can grab it, I’ll find a way to give it to you tomorrow.”

“But I’m in danger if I go back there. At the very least, they’re going to try to drug me again if I stay. And exactly how do you plan on explaining where I was for the past hour. Someone’s bound to have seen you bringing me back here.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got that covered. At least I think I do. You just need to get back to where you belong. What’s your phone look like?”

I describe my phone and the black and pink case it’s in as I silently pray he means he’s really going to try to find it. I need to trust him, but I’m still not sure about Nash. I can’t figure out why he’s helping me or if this is some ploy by Micah to trick me.

“Okay, let’s go.” Crouching down, he wraps his arms around my legs, so I jump away, shaking my head.

“I have to carry you back.”

“Why?”

“Because I do. Stop asking so many questions. I’m trying to help you here.”

He again moves to sweep me up in his arms, and this time I don’t react. Lifting me like I’m as light as a feather, he begins walking with me toward the door.

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