Page 64 of The Cult

His eyes grow big before he asks, “How do you know so much about them?”

Even though I hate to admit the truth, I answer, “I was part of The Golden Light until I escaped tonight.”

“Escaped?” he asks as if I just admitted to jumping bail.

“Yeah. It’s even worse than you think. I’ll be happy to tell you anything you want to know, but first we have to go help my friend. She can’t go with them. She won’t make it out alive if she does.”

That finally seems to get him to want to move, and he grabs his gun from his desk drawer before hurrying toward the door. “I don’t have anyone to call for back up. We’re a small force. We’re not set up to handle kidnappings or anything like that.”

My heart sinks at his lame excuses, but one cop is better than none. At least he has a weapon. Hopefully, we can get Lara out before Micah’s men arrive. If we can’t, one gun isn’t going to be enough.

“It’s two streets over,” I say as we rush out the door.

“I know exactly where it is. As I said, we’ve been getting complaints. Mrs. Alastair said they were acting like hippies, but since she’s like a hundred, I didn’t think much of it,” he explains as we hurry down the street. “Then another lady said they tried to convince her granddaughter to join them. That’s when the chief told her religion or no religion, they have to follow the law.”

With each step, I grow more worried that Officer Jameson and I are going to be no match for even Lara’s sister and Mario. If only I can show her she can’t help her sister now. No woman who’s ever gotten involved with Micah left the group.

I break into a run and make it back to the car before the officer. Lara is standing in the middle of the street talking to her sister and Mario, and for a moment, it looks like everything’s okay. Then out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of light and turn my head to see what it could be. As I feared, Micah’s men have found us.

“Lara! Get out of there!” I yell just before a shot rings out.

Lara, her sister, and Mario run across the street and crouch down behind a car. Officer Jameson hides behind the corner of a building but screams, “You didn’t tell me there were armed people. Get back here before you get killed!”

“Don’t think you’re getting away,” Adam yells before taking another shot.

I run back to where the cop is hiding and scan the area to find a way to get to Lara. “They’ll shoot us dead where we stand. Don’t believe for a second they won’t.”

“What the hell are they shooting for?”

“Because I escaped and that means they want me dead. My friend too. Nobody leaves The Golden Light. Not alive.”

His hands shake as he holds his gun in front of him. “How many of them are there?”

Good question. If this time is like the other times a member escaped, Adam’s got to have at least four or five men with him. I have no idea if there are men in the information center where Rina was. If I had to guess, I’d say yes, but I can’t be sure.

“At least five, I’m guessing. I don’t know about at their center, but it’s right over there,” I say, pointing at the building where Rina came from.

He mumbles something, but all I’m focused on is seeing if Lara is okay. I can’t find her behind the car, so all I can do is hope Adam and his men aren’t aiming for her.

“Come out, Nash! You know how this goes. You just have to come back to the farm, and everything will be okay. Micah only wants the best for you. He wants you to find your greatness. That’s it.”

Officer Jameson looks at me and says, “I’m guessing you’re Nash. Why do they want you back so badly?”

“Because I know too much to be allowed to leave.”

“My chief is going to want you to give a full statement. You understand that?”

He says that like I’d hesitate to tell everything I know about The Golden Light. I’ll be happy to confess everything I’ve seen and done. I want to make a fresh start, and if that means exposing Micah and every last one of them in that group, then so be it.

I nod my understanding of what he wants. “You get us out of this, and I’ll tell you every last detail of what I saw there.”

“Okay,” he says in a trembling voice. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt, so maybe I can defuse the situation. Stay here.”

He steps out from behind the building and announces, “This is Officer Jameson of the River Crest police department. Put your guns away. This doesn’t have to escalate. Let’s have a calm discussion.”

The silence that greets him doesn’t make me feel any less uneasy. While Micah always stresses any dealings with authorities are to be positive, this is Adam in charge now, and if he’ll gun down a helpless woman running away from him, I doubt he’ll have second thoughts about killing a cop from some small town.

“Just come out of the shadows and let’s talk.”

---