Page 108 of Forged in Deception

He shook his head. “Promise to pray for me.”

“I will,” she said.

God had clearly been with them when they’d escaped the cabin just in time for it to be struck with a flash flood. Maybe He’d been there all along.

Axel leaned down and kissed her again.

A few moments later, he was pushing on ahead, gun raised as he slipped silently along the wall.

ASHER

“Third time’s the charm,” Asher said to himself as he jiggled the knob of yet another locked door.

With a slight groan, he pressed on. There was another metal door up ahead, and this one had a few boxes leaning against the wall beside it. Maybe that was promising.

He could feel the sun beginning to warm his back now.

Even at this early hour, it was obvious that it was going to be a hot day for Amarillo in late October.

The same desert that had become a life-threatening nightmare mere hours ago would transform into something beautiful. Flowers would peek out in search of the light. Mineral veins would glitter in their barren red stones. Beauty would follow the darkness and gloom, and shine all the more brightly for it.

Maybe that was promising, too.

He stopped in front of the door and leaned down to peer into the tops of the cardboard boxes. They were filled with cans of Pepsi, which was totally not what he expected a bunch of cult members to drink, but whatever.

He paused to get Karlin’s attention, pointing at the door. She gave him a thumbs-up from her position. Shockingly, she’d kepther promise, and was staying safely out of the way. Hopefully, she’d continue to keep it.

The door swung inward easily, and he kept his gun carefully ahead of him as he slipped out of the growing sunshine and into a shadowy, slightly musty-smelling room. He could hear the drumbeats again, mingled with the occasional yell and round of chanting, but it was quieter now. Somehow, that made it even creepier.

He moved through several rooms–the cult clearly used this area for cargo and storage, or maybe the prior inhabitants of the building had simply left it that way–and headed in the direction of the noises. He could hear Karlin behind him somewhere, but he didn’t want to stop and direct her. If she got lost in the cargo area and stayed away from the action, all the better.

At last, he entered a long hallway. Up ahead, he could see that the room opened up into a larger space, and he could hear the sounds echoing off of the concrete walls.

Gripping his gun like a safety blanket, he moved forward slowly, realizing to his horror that he was actually using a couple techniques he’d been taught at the stealth course Gabe had forced all of the FBS operatives to go to. Not that he’d ever actually tell his bossy big brother he’d been right about anything.

As he reached the edge of the wall and the end of his cover, he felt his adrenaline beginning to surge. He was going to be hopelessly outnumbered, and he wouldn’t be surprised if the cult was armed–he knew at least Lily had a gun– but he couldn’t let such details deter him. Not if someone might be facing their imminent death, and not when Karlin was behind him somewhere, trusting him to keep her safe.

But none of his thoughts prepared him for what he saw when he poked his head around the corner and peered into the room.

There was no crowd.

The drumbeats surrounded him, the sound pouring gently out of huge speakers that had been set up at intervals around the perimeter of the room.

The spooky cult chanting had been about as authentic as Bajwa’s get-in-the-mood-for-drugs mix CD.

But the room wasn’t empty, either. Several people milled around the large space, which was surprisingly modern and well-maintained considering the rest of the building. It sort of reminded him of a nicer version of a high school gym.

He saw several scrawny guys, two of whom were wearing dreadlocks and presumably ironic Britney Spears t-shirts, along with several girls who couldn’t have been out of their teens yet.

Well, that was one local mystery solved. So long as he managed to get the girls out of here safely.

But where were Lily and Cora?

He took two steps forward. He would be exposed if anyone looked in his direction, but so far, he hadn’t seen any other weapons.

As his field of vision expanded, he noticed a huge photograph on the wall. It featured an older man with thick glasses, who was mostly bald and dressed in a short-sleeved button-up shirt. It was such an odd decoration that for several long seconds, he didn’t realize what was located directly beneath it.

He gripped the gun more tightly, trying to stop his hands from shaking.

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